Go, go new Power Rangers movie!
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Over the years, The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers has prevailed as a dominating franchise with 23 TV seasons and 2 movies. Although the players have changed, the plot’s formula has remained familiar.
A Brief Power Rangers’ History Lesson – Season 1
In 1993, Haim Saban’s adventures about 5 teenagers who fought injustice hit American households everywhere. Kids, including myself, tuned in to watch Kimberly, Billy, Zach, Trini, and Jason battle the evil sorceress, Rita Repulsa. For those of you who may want to correct me and add Tommy, I didn’t forget about him (he’s too amazing to forget). Tommy wasn’t part of the original 5; he came later.
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The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers fell into a predictable pattern that everyone loved. Rita Repulsa would send her latest alien creation along with putty patrollers down to earth to wreak havoc on the Power Rangers’ home: Angel Grove. The Power Rangers would attempt to defeat their foes but always needed an extra surge of power to win. Enter the dinosaur powers that propelled these normal teenagers into, you guessed it, The Power Rangers. This extra boost enabled the teens to triumph over evil, but Rita Repulsa always had one more move up her sleeve.
With a little magic, Rita Repulsa would make her creatures grow to the size of King Kong. The Power Rangers would call upon their dinasaur zords to combat the latest threat. After a few solo attempts, the teens would combine their zords into the Megazord. Then the Megazord would squash the monster, and Rita Repulsa would go back to the drawing board.
The New Power Rangers Movie
Director Dean Israelite plans to honor the first season by incorporating the coming of age story with a modern twist. Specifically, the Power Ranger suits will get an upgrade: “We’ve really pushed ourselves to make them feel different from any other superhero costume,” says Israelite. “They’re not really suits that people get into. They’re suits that morph . . . they already have this almost metaphysical quality to them.”
The multi-ethnic cast, which was a vital component in the original show, will also remain in tact. Israelite notes, “We switched all of the races around, but we made sure that the essence of each of those characters are who they were in the original show, and this really will be an origin story of those characters.”
Want more facts about the new Power Rangers movie? Here are a few more:
- Elizabeth Banks will play Rita Repulsa. Israelite wants fans to decide if Rita is out of her mind or if she is a brilliant strategist.
- The movie will be filmed in Vancouver, Canada.
- The movie hits theaters in 2017.
- Naomi Scott plays Kimberly Hart, The Pink Ranger.
- Becky G. plays Trini Kwan, The Yellow Ranger.
- Dacre Montgomery plays Jason Lee Scott, The Red Ranger.
- RJ Cycler plays Billy Cranston, The Blue Ranger.
- Ludi Lin plays Zack Taylor, The Black Ranger.