The Rangers have been assembled and the supporting players cast, which means but one thing: it’s almost morphin’ time. With little over a month to go before Lionsgate’s live-action Power Rangers movie lights up the big screen, Empire has premiered a brand new poster for Dean Israelite’s blockbuster, one designed to separate friend from foe.
Evoking memories of the film’s very first one-sheet – “together we are more” – below you’ll find all five Rangers striking battle poses under the looming shadow of Rita Repulsa, the all-powerful alien megavillain to be played by Elizabeth Banks. It heralds the actress’ return to franchise filmmaking following a brief spell in The Hunger Games, another of Lionsgate’s tentpole series, and we’re excited to see how Banks bends the character of Rita to her will. At least based on the film’s early trailers, fans can go in feeling confident that the Pitch Perfect veteran will deliver a sneering, deliciously evil performance to remember.
Long before Lionsgate’s franchise revival started to coalesce, the studio was negotiating with Chronicle‘s Max Landis over a potential script. From what we’ve learned about Landis’ scrapped pitch, it featured a decidedly different take on Saban’s iconic heroes, along with a truly terrifying version of Rita Repulsa – dubbed Xeno-Rita by concept artist Matt Frank – to put Lionsgate’s newfound mascots through their paces. Ultimately, the studio favored John Gatins’ more palatable screenplay, but the story surrounding Max Landis’ draft does make for interesting reading.
Power Rangers storms into theaters on March 24th and providing the box office odds are in Lionsgate’s favor, it may well spawn a franchise of films at the studio.
