This is not a test, nor is it some cruel post-April Fools’ joke. Saban Brands on Wednesday announced it’s teaming with Lionsgate for a new live-action Power Rangers feature film. The news comes just as comic book movies are at the height of popularity—Captain America: The Winter Soldier is a hit, and many big sci-fi and fantasy movies are set to hit this year. If Michael Bay can get his clutches on TMNT, why can’t someone re-boot the Power Rangers franchise?
You don’t know Power Rangers? Leave, now. Introduced more than twenty years ago, the series followed a group of teenagers who were chosen to protect the world from a group of alien invaders, including the enigmatic Rita Repulsa, and her four cronies, Goldar, Squatt, Baboo and Finster. The show was tailored for a younger audience, and was a smashing success for a number of years, eventually branching off into different live action shows; there were two movies as well: one that came out in 1995, and another in 1997.
“The Power Rangers stories and characters have been embraced by generations of audiences for more than 20 years, and today they are more powerful than ever, said Jon Feltheimer, CEO of Lionsgate.
It’s unclear if Lionsgate will take the franchise into more of an “adult” direction; i.e. similar to the many comic book movies we’ve seen over the past few years, such as Avengers. It would be great to see a similar approach, though Power Rangers is charming simply because of its campy nature, so we’ll see. With the kind of success Marvel and DC movies have enjoyed, Power Rangers can definitely have a huge screen presence, especially since it already has a massive worldwide audience.
There’s no indication when we’ll see the film hit, nor who will be tapped for leading roles. But with films like Star Wars, Superman vs. Batman, Avengers 2 and more set to hit over the next 24 months, Power Rangers will definitely have some stiff competition.
Source: Lionsgate