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New Power Rangers Movie Coming
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” is the latest throwback kids property to get a new turn on the big screen, as Lionsgate and licensing entity Saban Brands announced Wednesday that they’ll be developing another live-action movie based on the '90’s TV powerhouse.The companies said they will develop the film based on the characters that made the original series popular.“With an extensive and extremely devoted worldwide fan base as well as a deep and detailed mythology, the Power Rangers are primed for the big screen” the companies said in a statement, adding that the movie, which does not yet have an announced director or screenwriter, “will re-envision the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.” They did not say whether there were larger plans beyond a one-off feature.
Power Rangers, the hyperactive, high-kicking troupe of crusaders that have been an enduring part of kids' TV for over twenty years, have been earmarked by production company Lionsgate as a potential new film franchise.
They've partnered with the Rangers' creators Saban to develop a live-action feature film featuring the characters. "The Power Rangers stories and characters have been embraced by generations of audiences for more than 20 years, and today they are more powerful than ever," said Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer, with the characters' creator Haim Saban adding: "Lionsgate is the perfect home for elevating our Power Rangers brand to the next level. They have the vision, marketing prowess and incredible track record in launching breakthrough hits from The Hunger Games to Twilight and Divergent."
Saban's comments allude to Lionsgate's skill in creating not just one-offs but entire fictional universes across a number of films – the Twilight and Hunger Games franchises stretch to five and four movies respectively, while the second film in the Divergent franchise, Insurgent, goes into production this month. If a Power Rangers movie can net a new generation of youthful fans, it could be the start of a similar series.
The Power Rangers series began in 1993, and feature photogenic pan-ethnic teenage warriors who don colored suits to battle intergalactic antagonists; with the caveat that they can't start fights unprovoked, they then roundhouse kick their way through their foes, and utilize bizarre kitschy spacecraft and vehicles. The color-filled “Power Rangers” franchise centers on an ordinary group of high-schoolers given individual superpowers that can become even more potent if they combine, something they need to do to fight giant robots known as Zords and other antagonists. In some ways, the series echoes “X-Men,” “The Fantastic Four” and “The Avengers” in its look at a diverse superhero ensemble. “Power Rangers’ has had various screen incarnations -- not to mention owners -- since being launched more than two decades ago.
The original series ran on Fox for three years beginning in 1993 and attracted both a large constituency and plenty of criticism, as parents believed the series too violent for children in elementary school. An almost dizzying number of TV spinoffs and sequels followed, including ‘Lost Galaxy” “Mystic Force,” and, most recently, “Megaforce.” Beginning with Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, each series features fight scenes and action sequences taken from Japanese series Super Sentai, inter-cut with other original scenes shot in the US and New Zealand to localize the show for English-speaking audiences. As well as 17 TV series, there have been two feature films in 1995 and 1997, plus countless merchandising opportunities in toys and games.There are no details on plot for the new movie, though this being 2014, some kind of gritty origins story is entirely possible.
The franchise has also yielded two films, though none within the last 15 years; the first, in 1995, generated $38 million at the time.
The property has changed hands a number of times, including when Fox Family's Haim Saban sold the company and the Power Rangers property to Disney a number of years ago.
Lionsgate Chief Executive John Feltheimer said in the statement that “the Power Rangers stories and characters have been embraced by generations of audiences for more than 20 years, and today they are more powerful than ever.”
Still, it remains to be seen how popular the property is with younger viewers. With “G.I. Joe” spinning off two movies and the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” hitting the big screen for another go-round this summer, “Power Rangers” comes in with a well-trod path of youth-oriented movies whose names are more likely to appeal to their target audience's parents.Plenty of popular throwback fare has struggled making it to the big screen, as He-Man, Voltron and others have languished in development. The Power Rangers movie is in part an attempt by Lionsgate to establish global franchises; the mini-major has had success with “Twilight” and “The Hunger Games” but doesn’t have the kind of branded content in its arsenal that gives studios a reliable stream of potential blockbuster content, as Disney has with its Marvel Studios characters or Paramount has with Transformers.
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