One of the most anticipated movies releasing during the the first quarter of 2017 has to be Power Rangers. Originally titled Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, the property was a children's action television show created back in the 1993. The franchise (and its popularity) has persevered over the course of hundreds of episodes, which have aired during its impressive 23-season run - a run that will continue when Power Rangers Ninja Steel debuts in a few months. There are currently only two movies in the franchise that received theatrical releases - Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie and Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie.
Arguably, the second most important part of adapting a show beloved by fans of all ages are the Rangers' power suits (the first would be their Zords), and when they debuted online, the suits were met with various (but mostly negative) responses ranging from enthusiasm and cautious optimism to skepticism and downright pessimism.
At the start of the Licensing Expo in Brazil this week, MegaPowerBrasil was able to get a better look at the five Rangers' suits and snagged a pamphlet being handed out at the Cartoon Network's promotional booth. It's interesting to note the producer on hand also told Mega Power Brasil that a trailer for the movie was "coming very soon" - for whatever that's worth. With only action figures and helmets on display at SDCC this year, the fans' appetite to see these new suits in action grows bigger everyday.
With each additional view of the Rangers' outfits, skeptical fans gain hope that the suits might actually turn out to make logical sense. Afterall, production designer Andrew Menzies (Fury) said during an interview:
“It’s tricky finding a new language for a superhero costume. Ours is an alien costume that grows on them, that’s not man-made. You can’t win everyone over, but we are trying to appeal to a more mature audience and gain new fans.”
Touching on Menzies' comment for a moment, there was never going to be a perfect costume to satisfy everyone. If he made them look just like the Power Rangers suits from the show, then some people would claim they look too cheesy for a live-action movie that's aiming for a more realistic tone. To avoid that, he settled on creating them as alien armor, which should fit within the scope of the movie. So far, Rita Repulsa's (Elizabeth Banks) outfits appear to be stellar, while her henchmen, the Putty Patrol, will be almost all CG. Plus, although we've yet to see Bryan Cranston in his role as Zordon, it's safe to assume it'll be a mixture of CG, prosthetics and wardrobe.
[vn_gallery name="Power Rangers Movie (2017) Photos" id="793187"]
Power Rangers stars Nami Scott (The Martian) as the Pink Ranger, Becky G. as the Yellow Ranger, RJ Cyler (Me and Earl and the Dying Girl) as the Blue Ranger, Ludi Lin (Marco Polo) as the Black Ranger, and Dacre Montgomery as the Red Ranger. It's directed by Dean Israelite (Project Almanac) and written by Ashley Miller (X-Men: First Class), Zack Stentz (Thor), John Gatins (Real Steel), Matt Sazama (Gods of Egypt) and Burk Sharpless (Dracula Untold).
Saban’s Power Rangers will open in U.S. theaters on March 24th, 2017.
Source: MegaPoweBrasil via Comic Book