Online opinion may be split, but in its plans to reintroduce those iconic Power Rangers to the moviegoing masses, Lionsgate has integrated many of the hallmarks that helped ensure Saban’s color-coded superheroes became such a fixture of popular culture all throughout the ’90s – we have the reworked version of Rita Repulsa, Alpha 5, Goldar, the mighty Zords and of course, the Rangers themselves.
Dacre Montgomery will headline Lionsgate’s team as Jason (Red Ranger), an ordinary teenager bestowed with extraordinary abilities. He isn’t the only resident of Angel Grove to undergo such a transformation, as today’s all-new international trailer once again teases the origin story behind Naomi Scott’s Kimberly (Pink Ranger), RJ Cyler’s Scott Billy (Blue Ranger), Becky G’s Trini (Yellow Ranger) and Ludi Lin’s Zack (Black Ranger). It’s essentially a recut version of the original trailer, so if it’s new footage you’re after, you’d be best tempering your expectations.
Together, they stumble upon an alien artefact, which is a premise that’s proved a little too familiar for some – screenwriter Max Landis recently called out Power Rangers for its similarities to Chronicle. Regardless, the end result is shaping up to be a more realistic and authentic version of Saban’s heroes than we’ve ever seen before, and it’ll be fascinating to see just how director Dean Israelite and his VFX team take the film’s more fantastical elements – the Zords, Goldar, you name it – and ground them in reality, so to speak.
Power Rangers is booked in for March 24, 2017, and could well spawn a newfound movie franchise at Lionsgate – you know, providing the box office numbers are in the studio’s favor.
