Although the Power Rangers property has maintained a consistent presence on television since Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers kicked things off in 1993, the original teenagers with attitude were rebooted in 2017 for the big screen. This Power Rangers movie was intended to kick off a franchise but it was met with mixed reviews and only made a little over $142 million worldwide off a $105 million budget.
With a performance like, the chances of a sequel being made were drastically reduced, and now Dacre Montgomery, who played Jason Scott, the Red Ranger, in Power Rangers, says that while another Power Rangers movie is being worked on, it won't be connected to the one he starred in. In Montgomery’s words:
I think there is a movie in the works but it's not with me and the cast. So yes but not with us.
Dacre Montgomery revealed this information while doing a Reddit AMA to promote Stranger Things Season 3, letting fans know that the next time a Power Rangers movie hits the silver screen, not only will his version of Jason not be around, neither will Naomi Scott’s Kimberly Hart (the Pink Ranger), RJ Cyler’s Billy Cranston (the Blue Ranger), Becky G’s Trini Kwan (the Yellow Ranger) and Ludi Lin’s Zack Taylor (the Black Ranger). The 2017 Power Rangers movie also starred Elizabeth Banks as Rita Repulsa, Bryan Cranston as Zordon and Bill Hader as Alpha 5.
It’s a shame that these versions of the Power Rangers won’t get any more adventures, because along with the five main protagonists having a fun and interesting rapport with one another, the movie’s mid-credits scene teased the introduction of Tommy Oliver, the Green Ranger, who the cast argued should be a girl in this continuity. Alas, when your movie fails to make a notable impression either critically or commercially, it hardly shocking when a sequel doesn’t move forward.
If there’s any consolation, at least the Power Rangers stars haven’t been lacking for work since the morphenomenal project. As mentioned earlier, Dacre Montgomery’s appeared on Netflix’s Stranger Things as Billy Hargrove; Naomi Scott recently played Jasmine in the Aladdin remake and appears in Charlie’s Angels later this year, RJ Cyler has appeared on TV shows like Black Lightning, Scream and Swamp Thing; Becky G, along with keeping her music career going, starred in Gnome Alone and A.X.L.; and Ludi Lin popped up in Aquaman and an episode of Black Mirror.
Last year, Hasbro purchased the Power Rangers franchise, resulting in talk of another Power Rangers movie being made resuming. In August 2018, Hasbro acknowledged that while it did see “tremendous potential” for the property, there were nothing specific to announce just yet.
Nearly a year later, if Dacre Montgomery’s information is correct, the company does finally have a new Power Rangers movie in the works. Whereas Lionsgate handled 2017’s Power Rangers, I’m guessing that Hasbro will work with Paramount Pictures on the next reboot given that’s where the toy company’s other properties like Transformers and G.I. Joe have been adapted.
If/when a Power Rangers reboot is officially announced, I’ll be curious to see what steps Hasbro will take to ensure that this movie is more successful than its predecessor. The franchise is still going strong on TV and has expanded in recent years with several comic book series and video games, but what can be done differently with this adaptation to ensure that more people will check it out, let alone receive better critical reception? Ideally Hasbro is giving that a lot of thought.
Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more updates on what’s happening with the Power Rangers on the big screen. For now, keep track of what’s headed to theaters this year in our 2019 release schedule.
