The last time the Power Rangers graced the big screen, the end result was a dark and gritty reboot that arrived at least half a decade too late. As one of the most nostalgia-triggering and cheesy TV shows in history, playing things with a completely straight face was definitely the wrong creative choice, and only Elizabeth Banks’ scenery-chewing Rita Repulsa seemed to know what kind of movie she was in.
There were initially plans to make at least four sequels, but Power Rangers didn’t even get one after being the subject of middling reviews and lukewarm box office business, with the $105 million blockbuster topping out at just over $140 million globally. It did manage to turn a profit based on the all-important merchandise sales, but after Hasbro purchased the entire brand, another reinvention was quickly thrown into development.
Having apparently learned from the mistakes that were made the last time, the latest attempt at rebooting the Power Rangers is going to embrace the kitsch appeal of the Mighty Morphin‘ era and dive headfirst into 1990s nostalgia. Not only that, but there’s going to be a time travel element to the story that could open the doors to cameos from the entire run of shows across the last three decades.
Specifics are still thin on the ground, but at the Brand Licensing Fair, Hasbro confirmed that the time traveling Power Rangers will look to draw inspiration from the subgenre’s greatest ever entry, as you can see below.
Hasbro says we will hear more on the Power Rangers reboot by next year
The story reportedly involve time travel and brings the kids to the 1990s where they have to find a way back to the present ‘Back to the Future’ style
(via @bleurope) pic.twitter.com/smI2tAydYd
— ScreenTime (@screentime) October 7, 2020
If handled correctly, a light and breezy Power Rangers movie inspired by Back to the Future has the potential to be an awful lot of fun, and taking the opposite direction from Dean Israelite’s solemn 2017 effort is certainly the smartest decision Hasbro could possibly make.
