‘Power Rangers’ Movie Updates: Official Trailer Grittier in Tone than Original Television Series; Cast Talk Reboot

‘Power Rangers’ official trailer features a grittier tone than the original television series from the 1990s. Director Dean Israelite together with the new cast members attended the New York Comic Con at the Madison Square Gardens to talk about the new reboot.

The upcoming reboot of the popular superhero television show of the same name recently unveiled its official trailer. According to The Guardian, Dean Israelite’s reimagining seems to be aimed at a more mature audience with its grim and moody tone that extremely contrasts the original television series.

In the official trailer, the five teenagers dive into a new world after their new discovery leads to them procuring powers that renders them with superhuman abilities. The trailer welcomed the first look at the young leads Naomi Scott as Kimberly Hart, Becky G. as Trini Kwan, RJ Cyler as Billy Cranston, Dacre Montgomery as Jason Lee Scott, and Ludi Lin as Zack Taylor. Other famous names rounding up the new cast include Bryan Cranston as Zordon of Eltar and Elizabeth Banks as the witch Rita Repulsa.

The film is intended as the third big screen adaptation of the ‘Power Rangers’ franchise created by Haim Saban. The first film adaptation was released in 1995 and was entitled ‘Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie’. It featured the regular cast members from the television series of the same name including Amy Jo Johnson, Karan Ashley, and Johnny Yong Bosch. Although it received generally negative reviews, it managed to earn $66.43 million worldwide on a production budget of $15 million.

During a previous interview with Empire, Israelite admitted that he hoped to create a more grounded storyline for the upcoming live-action adaptation. 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 added that he aimed for more naturalism as well as a more “grounded nature” to his storytelling strategy while creating a film that is more character-driven.

According to Polygon, Israelite reiterated his intentions during a talk at the Madison Square Gardens during the New York Comic Con. The director said, “I grew up on Power Rangers in South Africa and what was important to me from the beginning was making a movie about growing up.”

He continued, “I wanted to make this a grounded, character driven origin story that was always set to the backdrop of this adventure. Always at the center was making these characters real with real problems that people can find relatable… I wanted to remain true to the spirit of the franchise that I grew up on and loved. And I wanted really hard to reimagine it and reinvent it for a 2017 audience.”

Lin, who plays the Black Ranger, admitted that shooting some of the scenes were physically exhausting. He said, “Everything that happened with the Zords, we felt the physicality… I think that's how controlling a big machine like that for the first time should feel. I was exhausted, I was tired, and the last shot we had was the hardest to accomplish.”

‘Power Rangers’ is an upcoming action-adventure and fantasy film intended as a reboot of the original television series from the 1990s. It is directed by Dean Israelite and written for the big screen by John Gatins. It is produced by Lionsgate, Saban Brands, and Saban Entertainment.

The reboot is scheduled to premiere in U.S. theaters on March 24, 2017.