Anna Daniels
Sure, let’s try this again! A new Power Rangers reboot is in the works at Paramount, with Jonathan Entwistle, creator of Netflix’s The End of the F***ing World, in talks to direct. The Power Rangers hit the big screen again with a semi-serious 2017 reboot, which featured Elizabeth Banks hamming it up big time. While that film received better-than-expected reviews, it bombed at the box office.
THR has the scoop: another Power Rangers reboot is on the way. The previous Power Rangers movie came from Lionsgate, but this new incarnation is the property of Paramount. The new take apparently involves “a time travel element that brings the kids to the 1990s, and in Back to the Future fashion, they have to find a way to get back to their present.” Peter Rabbit 2 writer Patrick Burleigh is handling the script, and Jonathan Entwistle is wanted to direct.
Bringing Entwistle on board is certainly an unexpected choice, so maybe he’ll shake things up. In any case, I doubt the Power Rangers movie will end up being as dark as End of the F***ing World – Paramount wants to draw in wide audiences, and they want franchise potential – because that’s the name of the game.
Power Rangers began its life as repurposed footage from the Japanese TV series Super Sentai. It eventually blossomed into an entire franchise, featuring stories about ordinary teens who end up being recruited to become the Power Rangers, superheroes “able to use special powers and pilot immense assault machines, called Zords.”
The first big-screen adventure for the characters was Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie, released in 1995. Then came 1997’s Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie. The franchise received a reboot in the form of 2017’s Power Rangers, in which “five ordinary teens must become something extraordinary when they learn that their small town of Angel Grove – and the world – is on the verge of being obliterated by an alien threat. Chosen by destiny, our heroes quickly discover they are the only ones who can save the planet. But to do so, they will have to overcome their real-life issues and before it’s too late, band together as the Power Rangers.”
The 2017 film featured Bill Hader, Bryan Cranston, and Elizabeth Banks, and I’m not going to lie: I kind of enjoyed it. I was never a big Power Rangers fan to begin with, so I had zero baggage with the 2017 film. While I wouldn’t go so far as to call it a good movie, I’d say it was fairly entertaining, mostly for Elizabeth Banks’ over-the-top performance as Rita Repulsa.
Alas, the 2017 film only grossed $142 million worldwide against a budget of $105 million, which qualifies it as a box office failure. But Hollywood refuses to let any franchise stay dead, and the Power Rangers will now have a second chance.
Cool Posts From Around the Web: Written by: Slash
