The month of July 2016 is practically bursting at the seams with huge blockbusters. Titles like the animated Angry Birds and Steven Spielberg's The BFG and Roland Emmerich's Independence Day 2 are all scheduled to come out at the start of the month; the middle is populated by a new Marvel Studios project and the next Bourne adventure; and ready to close it out are movies like Guy Ritchie's King Arthur and Matt Reeves' sequel to Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. You'd think that this month couldn't possibly contain any more big features or franchise properties... but you'd be wrong.
Lionsgate has officially announced that their in-development Power Rangers movie has now been placed on the release calendar and will be making its way into theaters on July 22, 2016. Even with so many titles mentioned above, the only one that the title conflicts with is King Arthur, but that's still a pretty big deal. With Guy Ritchie in place and a prime summer blockbuster date, it's not hard to imagine that Warner Bros. is thinking Sherlock Holmes level success for their Medieval action adventure film, and that should be stiff competition for Power Rangers.
No director has been hired for the film just yet, but currently guiding the ship as Executive Producer and story developer is Transformers/Star Trek/Amazing Spider-Man 2 writer/producer Roberto Orci (because apparently it's not a Hollywood franchise unless he's involved). Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz, who are best known for their work on comic book movies like X-Men: First Class and Thor, are currently penning the script, having been hired for the job a few weeks ago. No nitty-gritty plot details have been released, but the official description of the new Power Rangers movie says that it is " a modern reinvention of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, a group of ordinary high school kids who find themselves infused with extraterrestrial powers and must harness those powers as a team to save the world."
One doesn't have to think too hard to see the connection between Power Rangers moving forward and the recent success of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Both were introduced into pop culture around the same time (late 80s/early 90s), which gives the film a certain nostalgia appeal, and they both have the capacity to drawn in the incredibly valuable kid audience. Even as an August release, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has already managed to pull in $79 million in five days. One could see why Lionsgate would want to attempt a movie on the same basic level.
The big next step for this project is going to be finding a director who can introduce a particular creative vision for the Power Rangers (unless the studio just wants to get someone who will say yes to everything they say). Who would you like to see be up for the job? Tell us what you think in the comments below.
