The New Blue Power Ranger Loves That His Character Is an Homage to Bryan Cranston

For Bryan Cranston to play Zordon in Power Rangers is certainly a moment of coming full circle for the award-winning actor. In the ’90s, well before he was Walter White, Lyndon B. Johnson, or Dalton Trumbo, Cranston did voice-over work for the television series as various villains. Clearly, Cranston made an impression, because they decided to name one of the characters after him, with a slight tweak. The Blue Ranger, played by David Yost, had the real-life alias of Billy Cranston.

When Yahoo Movies had the cast of the newly updated franchise in our Los Angeles studios, we asked the new Billy Cranston, R.J. Cyler, about what it was like to assume the mantle of a character named after a popular actor.

“They named Billy Cranston after Bryan Cranston, which is, like, no pressure, almost,” Cyler joked. “It’s really cool to have that connection. I used to watch him on Malcolm in the Middle and Breaking Bad. So I’m like, OK. This is the reason you name Billy after Bryan, because Bryan’s so awesome.”

Watch: Bryan Cranston Morphs Into the Red Power Ranger on ‘The Late Show’:

Read more from Yahoo Movies:

• The New ‘Power Rangers’ Talk About How They Morphed Into Mighty by Training

• The New Yellow Power Ranger Thinks Original Series Fans Will Be ‘Very Happy’ With the Movie

• Shooting on an iPhone in a Closet and More: How the New Power Rangers Got the Gig

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