Go, go Power Rangers!
It’s the ‘Year of Love’ for the Power Rangers, with the rainbow-spandex donning, martial arts masters riding high on a wave of 90s nostalgia. Not only are they getting an angsty new movie but Adi Shankar, showrunner of Netflix’s recently announced Castlevania, is working on a ‘dark’ animated reboot of Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers.
In 2015, Shankar produced the short fan film Power/Rangers in which Earth had brokered a truce with the Machine Empire, and the Power Rangers disbanded. The former didn’t adjust to the new world order all that well, with giant monsters proving easier to with than: mass murder, torture or suicide. It wasn’t the joyously camp show you watched eating Coco Pops in your Spider-Man pajamas.
Speaking with Polygon, Shankar said:“It’s a complete retelling of the first three seasons. And it’s going to be really fucking dark. Darker than any other Power Rangers series.”
Airing from 1993-95 Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers three seasons are perhaps the most fondly remembered of any of the series. As well as the Rangers dealing with the monster of the week, they had to contend with: the rise and fall of the Green Ranger, upgrading Zords, the malevolent union of Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa, and being turned into children.
Now the franchise is hurtling through puberty to arrive fully modernised for the 21st Century. Eventually, new teens with attitude will be chosen to fight Frankenstein-like monsters created by former Blue Peter presenters and amateur ‘Arts and Craft’ aficionados, from randomly selected household items. That’ll be when the heroes aren’t too busy: taking selfies, Tweeting, or locking themselves in their room to figure out their most recent existential crisis. Fun as those things are, a life or death battle with the Toilet Roll Yeti awaits!
Oh, those Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers.
Power Rangers directed by Dean Israelite arrives in cinemas in March. The animated reboot is yet to be commissioned.
