It’s about to be morphin’ time again — the Power Rangers are making a return in 2017, this time on the big screen. The classic teen heroes have been assembled with a brand new lineup and cast, and Entertainment Weekly gave an exclusive first look at the new Power Rangers.
From left to right: R.J. Cyler as Billy (Blue Ranger), Naomi Scott as Kimberly (Pink Ranger), Becky G as Trini (Yellow Ranger), and Dacre Montgomery as Jason (Red Ranger). As viewers of the vintage Saturday morning shows might notice right away, the only black actor (Cyler) is not the Black Ranger, as was customary in the show. Instead, he’s Billy, who was the nerd genius out of the group in the show.
The movie’s director David Israelite, spoke on those dynamics with EW:
“From the very beginning, diversity was a very important part of the whole process,” he said. “We switched all of the races around, but we made sure that the essence of each of those characters are who they were in the original show, and this really will be an origin story of those characters.”
Israelite also talked about the new “modern, edgy” approach to the new Power Rangers costumes:
“We’ve really pushed ourselves to make them feel different from any other superhero costume that’s out there,” Israelite said. “One key that’s different to the Power Ranger suits is that they’re not really suits that people get into. They’re suits that morph onto our kids, so they already have this almost metaphysical quality to them.”
Elizabeth Banks was tapped to play the infamous Power Rangers villain Rita Repulsa, which is an exciting casting because of Banks’ ability and Repulsa’s historic ties to the franchise.
Your all new Power Rangers are slated to hit theaters on March 24, 2017. Here’s the synopsis:
Saban’s Power Rangers follows five ordinary high school kids who 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 that they are the only ones who can save the planet. But to do so they will have to overcome their real-life issues and band together as the Power Rangers before it is too late.
