‘Power Rangers’ Reboot Updates: Director Dean Israelite Seeks to Make Superhero Story More Grounded; Green Ranger to be Introduced?

‘Power Rangers’ director Dean Israelite admitted that he wants to make the upcoming superhero film more grounded and character-driven. Meanwhile, speculations emerged of the Green Ranger’s appearance in the planned cinematic series.

During an interview with Empire, Israelite admitted that he hopes to make the upcoming superhero film’s storyline more grounded. He said, “I grew up on it and I have all the same questions other people have… How are we going to update this? How will it exist in the contemporary superhero cinema canon?”

He went on to add that he added some naturalism and a “grounded nature” to his storytelling strategy for the latest live-action adaptation of Saban’s iconic ‘Power Rangers’ media franchise. He also intended for the film to be more character-driven.

The upcoming superhero film is set to star Naomi Scott as Pink Ranger Kimberly Hart, Becky G. as Yellow Ranger Trini Kwan, RJ Cyler as Blue Ranger Billy Cranston, Dacre Montgomery as Red Ranger Jason Lee Scott, and Ludi Lin as Black Ranger Zack Taylor. Bryan Cranston is set to voice Zordon of Eltar while Elizabeth Banks will portray the modern version of evil sorceress Rita Repulsa.

According to Comicbook.com, Israelite revealed that Cranston was doubtful about taking on wise galactic sage credited with the creation of the Power Rangers. Israelite said, “Like everybody, [Cranston] was skeptical but he saw a bunch of footage and got excited for the potential. I think it’ll be a thrill for fans to see what we’re doing with Zordon."

One specific character still yet to be confirmed is the Green Ranger. According to Moviepilot, the Green Ranger was considered the most powerful Power Ranger of all time.

Tommy Oliver a.k.a. Green Ranger was first introduced in the later part of the first season of the original 1990s television series ‘Mighty Morphin Power Rangers’. He was originally chosen by Rita Repulsa to become her evil Green Ranger tasked at destroying the Power Rangers. However, he was eventually defeated and officially became part of the team as the sixth ranger.

It is unclear whether the Green Ranger will be appearing in the film but Lionsgate previously revealed that it is planning a cinematic series for the rebooted franchise. It is possible that the character will make his way to the big screen in later films.

‘Power Rangers’ is an upcoming action-adventure and fantasy film intended as a reboot of the original television series from the 1990s. It is scheduled to premiere in U.S. theaters on March 24, 2017.

The first film adaptation, released in 1995, and was entitled ‘Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie’ and featured the regular cast members from the original television series including Amy Jo Johnson, Karan Ashley, and Johnny Yong Bosch. It managed to earn $66.43 million worldwide on a production budget of $15 million despite receiving generally negative reviews.