We’ve already clocked eyes on Lionsgate’s radical new version of Rita Repulsa – brought to life with gleeful menace by Elizabeth Banks – and today, Entertainment Weekly has assembled the studio’s Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers.
Donning the famous, color-coded suits of old, it is the fresh faces of RJ Cyler, Becky G, Ludi Lin, Naomi Scott and Dacre Montgomery that will be bringing the Rangers to the big screen, and director Dean Israelite (Project Almanac) spoke to EW recently about engineering suits that reflected the energetic nature of their super-powered owners.
Pitched as an origins story of Saban’s fantastic five, Israelite noted that “the show was about kids coming of age, about metamorphosis. These suits needed to feel like they were catalyzed by these kids and their energy, their spirit.” That’s certainly something that comes across in today’s first look image, showcasing the polished, almost futuristic suits that will be lighting up theaters in little under a year’s time.
Settling on new duds for the Power Rangers was no mean feat, of course, with production designer Andrew Menzies admitting that “it’s tricky finding a new language for a superhero costume.” Bouncing off Israelite’s comments, Menzies went on to state Lionsgate is aiming to strike a balance between appealing to more mature audiences that perhaps grew up with the Rangers, as well as attracting fans new to the sci-fi lore.
“Ours is an alien costume that grows on them, that’s not man-made. You can’t win everyone over, but we are trying to appeal to a more mature audience and gain new fans.” Fans like the Yellow Ranger herself. “It’s the coolest costume ever,” Becky G says. “I’m gonna wear it for Halloween for, like, five years.”
Lionsgate’s sharp-suited and rebooted Power Rangers will grace cinemas on March 24, 2017.
