Lionsgate’s Power Rangers reboot from 2017 wasn’t the hit the studio were hoping for, but one thing about it that was widely praised was the increased diversity of the team. To be fair, the original 90s show had an Asian-American and an African-American actor in the cast, but that most recent movie included a few more firsts: an autistic Ranger (Blue) and another (Yellow) who was hinted to be gay.
With Lionsgate’s franchise long dead, though, Paramount is now working on a new reboot. The project was officially announced last December, with The End of the F—ing World’s Jonathan Entwistle directing. And it seems the studio 100% intends to continue what the previous film did and increase the diversity of the Ranger line-up, offering even more major breakthroughs for the franchise.
According to sources close to WGTC – the same ones who told us Paramount was working on a Transformers reboot, which has since been confirmed – one of the new Rangers – a female one – will be trans. We don’t currently know which one it’ll be, but this follows on from prior reports that the Blue Ranger may be gay and the Red Ranger may be female (something that’s been controversially rare in the TV series).
It seems Paramount are keen to make this project feel very contemporary, then. But at the same time, it’ll no doubt still offer up a huge hit of nostalgia, too. After all, THR’s original report that broke the news confirmed the movie will feature time travel, with the modern-day team ending up in the 1990s. WGTC has also heard that the new group will crossover with the original Mighty Morphin line-up, with the old actors brought back, as CG will be used to de-age them to their 90s selves.
If they do this right, Paramount could have something truly special on their hands that appeals to pre-existing Power Rangers fans and manages to win over a whole new generation. Fingers crossed it’s as morphenomenal as it sounds.
