The ‘90s was definitely a time for groups of usually four or five color-coded individuals who liked to take the world by storm. The ’80s-born 'Turtle Mania' wasn’t quite done, there were the Spice Girls, the Teletubbies, and of course the Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers. If you’re a mid-late ‘80s child, you’ll remember that the spandex-wearing superheroes became a global phenomenon, rivaling even their pizza-munching reptilian predecessors. The original 1993 show was an instant hit with kids, and soon stores everywhere were flooded with merchandise.
The premise is perhaps even cheesier than the Ninja Turtles, though, focusing on a team of “teenagers with attitude” who are recruited by cryogenically-bound alien Zordon and his trusted android assistant Alpha 5, who bestow the teens each with ‘morpher coins’. These powerful artefacts allow the teens to transform into legendary heroes known as the Power Rangers, donning bodysuits and helmets and equipped with signature weapons and colossal assault vehicles known as ‘Zords’, which assemble together to form the ‘Megazord’.
Sounds cool enough, right? Their enemy – a Maleficent-esque witch who lives on the moon with a band of alien minions, one of whom uses putty to create soldiers and other monsters that they send to earth to wreak havoc, before inevitably growing to Godzilla proportions. Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers was actually inspired by Japanese show Super Sentai, and most of its footage is even recycled. Nevertheless, the Power Rangers went on to spawn countless seasons – which continue to this day (although at this point they’re barely recognizable).
There was even a 1995 theatrical movie, which over the years has developed something of a cult following (and rightly so – it might be cheesy, but it’s actually pretty awesome and still holds up pretty well!). But it would take a long 22 years before a second movie would ever happen. That second movie, however, came in the form of a reboot in 2017, courtesy of Dean Israelite, director of 2012 found-footage superhero movie Chronicle. In many ways, the 2017 film was a reboot of the ’95 film and the original show combined, but either way, it surprised both fans and critics alike.
But now that we’re almost five years on from the reboot, will there be another Power Rangers movie? Join us in the Command Center as we take a look at the Viewing Globe (we couldn't help ourselves).
Will there be a sequel to the 2017 reboot?
Power Rangers (2017) requires very little in the way of an explanation where its characters and villains are concerned, but with that said, there’s a lot more in the way of character depth here than you might have expected. There’s Zordon, Alpha 5, Rita Repulsa and of course the ‘original’ Rangers themselves – Jason, Zack, Trini, Kimberley, and Billy. The alien characters you can pretty much slot into any version of Power Rangers and they’d still work, but the teens are the ones who really shine through here.
Director Dean Israelite opts for a gritty portrayal of the characters, delving deep into problems a person their age might face and uses this to wash away any tropes and build some pretty likable and relatable characters from the offset. As for the plot, the Rangers are recruited by Zordon to battle Rita Repulsa, who has risen from a watery slumber. The teens, however, aren’t getting along, and can only become Power Rangers once they learn how to function as a proper team. It’s this that leads to the film’s character building, even if we do spend a long time before they finally suit up.
There are some notable differences between the reboot and the original show, though – Rita herself is a former Power Ranger (the Green Ranger, no less), while Angel Grove’s happy-go-lucky Californian vibe is demoted to a washed-out port town that the teens can’t wait to leave. Power Rangers is a solid affair, and the fact we don’t get to see them in action until the backend of the third act isn’t the real problem – it’s that Israelite tries to have his cake and eat it. Simply put, the film’s gritty style and the sudden injection of ‘90s cheese don’t mix, even if both are most welcome.
So, the reboot might have been a hit with fans and critics, but unfortunately, it didn’t quite reach the projected box office takings its studio had hoped for, grossing $142 million against its $105 million budget. The director has since expressed that he feels the film’s PG-13 rating contributed to its underwhelming box office performance. Whether or not he means Power Rangers should have been way darker is unclear, but we can hardly imagine it being toned down completely.
Either way, any chances of a sequel were put to bed shortly after the film’s release. Before it theaters, however, the Lionsgate CEO spoke confidently – perhaps too confidently – about wanting multiple sequels for the film, naturally hoping to build a multi-movie franchise. But despite the film’s truly solid efforts to lay foundations for subsequent films, it doesn’t look like this will ever happen.
It was said that Lionsgate had a “six-film story arc” at the time, though, but as time went on, even one sequel looked slim. Had this have happened, though, Israelite had already made it clear that the follow-up would have included original Green Ranger Tommy Oliver and villain Lord Zedd, both of whom are teased in the 2017 film. In May 2018, however, Power Rangers’ owner Saban agreed to sell the IP to Hasbro for $522 million.
Power Rangers (2017) stars Dacre Montgomery, Naomi Scott, RJ Cyler, Becky G, Ludi Lin, Bill Hader, Bryan Cranston, and Elizabeth Banks.
Will there be a sequel to the 1995 movie?
The fact that Hasbro now owns the rights to the Power Rangers isn’t a bad thing, especially if you’re looking at things entirely from a merchandising perspective. However, in 2019 they announced that they’ll be working with Paramount Pictures to create a sequel to the 2017 Power Rangers reboot, however, ‘Red Ranger’ Dacre Montgomery announced that Dean Israelite the original cast – himself included – would not be returning.
It was reported in 2019 that the new script will actually include time travel and will take place in the ‘90s. While the idea that a sequel to the 2017 film is no sequel at all is quite sad to hear (and very confusing), the fact that it instead sounds like a possible sequel to another Power Rangers movie entirely is pretty exciting, to say the least. So why don’t we take a trip back to the ‘90s ourselves, and revisit the first-ever theatrical Power Rangers movie…
Picking up roughly where the TV show operated at that time, Power Rangers: The Movie saw the then-rangers – Tommy, Kimberley, Adam, Billy, Rocky, and Aisha – continue to fight evil in sunny Angel Grove, under the tutelage of Zordon and Alpha 5. However, when a new threat emerges (quite literally at a construction site) in the form of ‘Ivan Ooze’ – a purple, slimy warlock (played brilliantly by Paul Freeman of Indiana Jones fame), the Rangers lose their powers and must travel to the jungle planet of Phaedos to seek out an ancient power so they can save the earth.
The film is a surprisingly charming affair, and ‘oozes’ more ‘90s cheese than you can shake a stick at. Some of the special effects don’t hold up, but overall it’s still a major upgrade to its television counterpart, and obviously doesn’t use any stock footage whatsoever. There are some pretty cool action sequences and in true ‘90s fashion, the film also rocks a soundtrack that’s as colorful as its titular heroes.
While we know little else about this new script, it is possible the film will serve as a sequel to the original 1995 movie? Should we expect a movie, not unlike Avengers: Endgame in which we get to revisit events from a previous film? We have so many questions already! But unfortunately, we’ll have to sit as tight as the Rangers do when they’re in the Megazord’s cockpit as they fly off into space to battle giant purple villains and evade fiery comets.
But there is one question we’re happy to answer. Do we want to see another movie in this franchise? We have only four words: Go go, Power Rangers.
Directed by Brian Spicer, Power Rangers: The Movie stars Jason David Frank, Amy Jo Johnson, David Yost, Jonny Yong Bosch, Karan Ashley, and Steve Cardenas.
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