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by Becky Fuller
– on Aug 19, 2018
in SR Originals
News that a sequel to 2017's Power Rangers movie was in development came as something of a surprise. The movie itself, from Saban and Paramount, failed to relaunch the franchise in the way they had hoped, and grossed a meager $142 million worldwide.
However, Power Rangers' home release figures were strong, and fans of the movie were still hopeful that Power Rangers might get at least one more shot at box office success. That idea seemed all but dead, until it was announced that Hasbro had bought the rights to the Power Rangers brand.
Related: Hasbro Developing Power Rangers Movie Sequel
While the renowned toy company said they had plans for Power Rangers movies, many assumed this would come in the form of a franchise reboot. It was taken as given that Hasbro would want to put their own stamp on things, but a recent report states that Hasbro and Paramount actually have a Power Rangers sequel in development. It might seem like an unlikely approach, but actually it could well end up saving the franchise completely - if they go about it the right way.
This Page: How Power Rangers 2 Can Build On a Strong Foundation
Page 2: Power Rangers Needs A Better Villain... And The Green Ranger!
A Soft Reboot Is The Best Place To Start
The fact that Paramount and Hasbro have opted to make a sequel to Power Rangers rather than a reboot is a good thing; there were many elements from the movie that were worth keeping, including the cast, but a soft reboot needs to happen in order to give the franchise a new lease of life. Certain creative decisions meant that Power Rangers ended up straying too far from the original brand. In essence, it seems to be a case of Power Rangers trying too hard to update itself and be taken seriously when really, all we wanted (as adults) was a fun superhero movie we could take our kids to that would deliver on the action with a healthy kick of nostalgia.
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Case in point; the new Ranger suits, which caused uproar when they were first revealed, mainly because of the hideous 'boob armor' that the pink and yellow ranger were wearing. The suits were so far removed from the original Ranger design that the only aspect that made them recognizable was the color. The Rangers weapons were also missing. We did see the Red Ranger's power sword, but there was no hint of the Yellow Ranger's daggers, or Black Ranger's axe, and the others. Additions like that in the sequel would be more pleasing to fans.
The young cast, Dacre Montgomery, RJ Cyler, Naomi Scott, Becky G, and Ludi Lin, all turned in great performances, and the diversity of the cast and characters is to be applauded. Hasbro's decision to make a sequel must surely be, in part, due to their abilities. But at times Power Rangers veered into teenage coming of age movie territory, and any sequel would need to bring the superhero aspects to the fore instead.
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Related: Here's What Hasbro Brought to SDCC 2018
More Focus Needed On The Rangers and Zords
Power Rangers was intended to be an origin story, and that's fine, but the movie spent so long building the Ranger's character arc that they didn't suit up until nearly two thirds of the way through the film. It was frustrating for fans, who were hoping for more action, but now that those characters are well-established, it allows any sequel to spend less time on origins and more time on the Rangers doing what they do best; fighting monsters and villains.
Power Rangers barely delivered on the Zords, either, a key factor in all Power Rangers TV series over the years. There was not enough time spent on the Rangers learning how to use these important machines, and the Mega Zord was only used in the movie's climax. A sequel would need to utilize the machines a whole lot more, along with the aforementioned weapons, and the Mega Zord is a hugely powerful machine that deserves a whole lot more screen time- and some top villains to fight against.
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August 28, 2018 is officially National Power Rangers Day. On August 28, 1993, Power Rangers first premiered when Mighty Morphin Power Rangers aired its very first episode, ‘Day Of The Dumpster’. 25 years later, the brand will celebrate its 25th anniversary on a national holiday. National Power Rangers Day will be based around the theme that ...
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Share. From a story by writer Ryan Parrott and artist Dan Mora. From a story by writer Ryan Parrott and artist Dan Mora.
A new comic book cover for Saban’s Go Go Power Rangers series published by BOOM! Studios shows the original five Mighty Morphin Power Rangers with swapped colors and weapons.
Take a look:
As you can see Trini is now the Red Ranger wielding the Power Sword, Jason is the Yellow Ranger with the Power Daggers, Billy is Black Ranger with the Power Axe, Kimberly is the Blue Ranger with the Power Lance, and Zack is the Pink Ranger with the Power Bow. This image was first shown at this past weekend’s Power Morphicon in Anaheim, California during the Boom Studios Presents: Shattered Grid and Beyond panel. Although the reason for the palette swap wasn’t given, we’re speculating that it has something to do with the fallout of the current Shattered Grid event storyline. Lord Drakkon’s master plan involves harnessing the Morphin Grid itself through violent means, so perhaps one of the side effects is the Power Rangers' powers going on the fritz and swapping to a different member of the team.
Every Power Rangers Costume 10+ IMAGES Fullscreen Image Artboard 3 Copy Artboard 3 ESC 01 OF 24 Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (1993) - These are the Rangers folks are probably the most familiar with -- the original Mighty Morphin team. Creator Haim Saban struggled for nearly 10 years to bring "Super Sentai" to the states, but he finally succeeded with his adaptation of the dinosaur-inspired Zyuranger, which, funny enough, was the sixteenth iteration of Japan's multicolored heroes. 01 OF 24 Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (1993) - These are the Rangers folks are probably the most familiar with -- the original Mighty Morphin team. Creator Haim Saban struggled for nearly 10 years to bring "Super Sentai" to the states, but he finally succeeded with his adaptation of the dinosaur-inspired Zyuranger, which, funny enough, was the sixteenth iteration of Japan's multicolored heroes. Every Power Rangers Costume Download Image Captions ESC
At the panel, a cover of Jason and Trini in the midst of a passionate kiss was also shown, along with one of them fighting back-to-back against a horde of monsters.
The two teammates have been training one-on-one and have formed a deep bond throughout the pages of the Go Go Power Rangers series, and now it appears as though their relationship will be taking the next step. Although, comic book covers often do not tell the whole story, so it’s hard to say how things will work out for the pair.
Finally, it was teased that this story will sow the seeds for the iconic “Green With Evil” story arc, showing how Rita Repulsa first obtained the Green Power Coin.
For more on Power Rangers, check out our thoughts on what the sequel to the 2017 Power Rangers movie needs to get right to be a success:
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Joshua is Senior Editor of IGN Comics. If Pokemon, Green Lantern, or Game of Thrones are frequently used words in your vocabulary, you’ll want to follow him on Twitter @JoshuaYehl and IGN.
