EXCLUSIVE: Creator Jules Katanyag explains why 'Victor Magtanggol' is definitely not a rip-off of the movie 'Thor'

We are just weeks away from the highly-anticipated pilot airing of Pambansang Bae Alden Richards's newest Kapuso action series, Victor Magtanggol. The Telebabad soap is shaping up to be one of the biggest projects by the country's pioneering TV network GMA-7 and will continue its legacy of creating top-notch telefantasya series that Pinoys will rave about in years to come.

EXCLUSIVE: Alden Richards, goal na maging "lean and strong" para sa 'Victor Magtanggol'

GMANetwork.com had an exclusive chat with Victor Magtanggol's concept creator Mr. Jules Katanyag and costume designer Edrian Baydo to shed some light on their source of inspiration in doing the Kapuso series and why Filipinos would be able to relate to the character Alden will portray.

Mr. Katanyag reveals that he was so excited when they were tasked to pitch a story inspired by Norse mythology. According to him, as a writer he was fond of myths because of its rich storyline.

He explained, "Being a writer I have a fondness of the myths. For me, myths are archetypal stories that attempt to explain the hidden forces that shape our lives. In myths, forces are given anthropomorphized personalities so the human condition can be better reflected."

Katanyag added, "When we were asked to pitch a story inspired by the Norse mythos, I became excited. Pop culture’s access to this timeless story is limited only to Marvel’s repurposed version of the tale. But there is more to the story than that. The opportunity presented itself to tell an ever enduring, and still relevant story… that can be reshaped into something that the Filipino audience can appreciate."
 
Creating the story of Victor Magtanggol was a laborious task and Katanyag needed to work closely with the creative team to make a truly striking story that Pinoys would surely love to watch.

"After close consultation with my senior creatives, we came up with a timely story that best reflects the Filipino condition. We live right now in a time of uncertainty; the world as we know it is on the brink of chaos. In the Norse mythos, chaos is represented by the demi-god Loki. And as this disorder creeps in, we are in need of a representative hero to protect our world and those that we love."

He continued, "In the Norse myths, the time of the Gods ended with Ragnarok, but since the story is set in the present day, and the story is set in our country, this necessitates a character that best represents our identity and our passion to protect the things that we love—this necessitates the creation of a hero that will protect us from chaos. Thus, Victor Magtanggol is created."

Katanyag also addressed the issue that Victor Magtanggol is a copycat of the popular Marvel hero movie, Thor. He stressed that Thor's story was inspired by Norse mythology which is public domain.

Public domain is defined by www.copyrightlaws.com to refer to content that isn’t protected by copyright law. Works that are in the public domain may be used freely, without obtaining permission from or compensating the copyright owner.

"It is in the nature of pop culture to reference what’s currently popular Hollywood without considering the original sources and preceding off shoots. Marvel’s Thor character and other associated Marvel literature, appeared in comics series during the early '60s. The popular chain of movies these past few years is based on these comics. Yet all these are based on the mythology of an entire culture that existed hundreds of years ago. The few existing written material were made during the 13th century, almost 700 years ago."

Katanyag stressed, "These stories belong in the Commons, the public domain. Nobody can lay claim to it and no individual can own it. These stories are rightfully owned by the entire human race, which means anybody can draw from it."

Is Victor Magtanggol the carbon copy of Thor?

Katanyag pointed out the difference of Victor Magtanggol’s story to the beloved Thor movie.

“Since Victor Magtanggol and Marvel’s Thor draws from the same source material, the names and terms are the same but the similarities end there. One glaring difference is that Marvel’s Thor tells the story of the God of Thunder, an inter-dimensional being, which came to earth to fight supervillains threatening the universe. Victor Magtanggol tells the story of what happened after the events of Ragnarok where Thor is already dead.”

“Victor Magtanggol is a true Filipino character, who loves his country and family, and reflects our virtue of resilience and capacity to sacrifice for the things that we love,” Katanyag added.

He also wished to clarify that when Victor Magtanggol’s story begins, Thor is already dead.  “The story of Victor Magtanggol begins where the Norse mythology ends. Most of the gods are dead including Thor. Victor Magtanggol is not Thor; Thor is already dead when our story begins,” Katanyag said.

What’s more, this will be the first time that premiere actor Alden Richards will be doing an action-fantasy role in his career.

“Premiere dramatic actor Alden Richards will play Victor Magtanggol. Here, he battles monsters and form alliances with Norse gods in order to protect the things that he loves from the schemes of Loki who seeks to reduce the world back into chaos.”

One interesting piece of trivia that the concept creator of Victor Magtanggol revealed is that even the popular Japanese anime, Attack of the Titan, was also inspired by Norse mythology.

Victor Magtanggol’s armor

Meanwhile, costume designer Edrian Baydo gave us some details of the impeccable armor that Alden Richards will be wearing for the show.

Mr. Baydo is a Fine Arts graduate from the oldest existing university in Asia, University of Santo Tomas, and he is currently working as a concept artist and illustrator for mobile games.

Victor Magtanggol's armor is special, because Baydo added unique Filipino elements to it. He explained, "Parts of the costume design were inspired from the Moro maille armor."

He further discussed his design inspiration for the stunning costume that is truly world-class.

"Victor Magtanggol's armor is a modernized version of metal and leather battle gear inherited from its previous mythological wielder. Its design is inspired on Viking age lamellar and maille armor but stylized as a superhero suit."