Production is officially underway in Vancouver on Saban’s all-new Power Rangers film reboot, whose title was recently confirmed as the admittedly succinct: Saban’s Power Rangers. The movie will follow the established Power Rangers format, introducing five ordinary high school kids who rise to the occasion when they discover their small town of Angel Grove is under the evil eye of an alien menace.
Recently, it was announced that that very menace will be Rita Repulsa, played by Elizabeth Banks (The Hunger Games, Pitch Perfect). Banks isn’t afraid to step into the role of an over-the-top personality, but her role in Saban’s Power Rangers marks the first time she’ll be playing a straight-up Big Bad villain, so that’s reason enough to be excited.
Banks will be joined by an army of newcomers taking over the suit of the Rangers:Â RJ Cyler (Billy the Blue Ranger), Becky G (Trini the Yellow Ranger), Ludy Lin (Zack the Black Ranger), Naomi Scott (Kimberly the Pink Ranger) and Dacre Montgomery (Jason the Red Ranger). The movie will be directed by Dean Israelite (he helmed Project Almanac).
The writing side of things is a bit crowded, which is perhaps the first major cause for concern over the big-screen reboot. It’s being written by John Gatins, Burk Sharpless, Matt Sazama, Zack Stentz, Ashley Miller, and Max Landis. Considering that we don’t know the tone they’re going for yet (please don’t be dark, please don’t be dark), and given the series’ Saturday morning origins, it could all become one big hilarious mess pretty fast. But let’s hope the amount of talent behind the movie can craft something that’s at least entertaining in its ridiculousness.
We’re just over a year out from Saban’s Power Rangers debut, which will release on March 24, 2017. In the meantime, check out the cast of new Power Rangers in the gallery below and let us know how excited you are for the series’ return in the comments.
