After acquiring the Power Rangers and a number of other brands from Saban in a $522 million deal earlier this year, Hasbro announced plans for a sequel to the 2017 Power Rangers film.
The news comes from Inside Licensing who spoke with Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner.
Their report notes, “Hasbro will work with a film studio to develop a new Power Rangers movie as a follow-up to the 2017 release.”
Along with the announcement of the new movie Goldner revealed the Power Rangers brand has a “significant opportunity for growth given where the brand had been most recently.”
The 2017 Power Rangers movie struggled at the box office right out of the gates as it opened at #2, only grossing $40 million. It would go on to gross a total of over $142 million worldwide. However, the film had estimated budget of $100 million.
The film was directed by Dean Israelite and starred Dacre Montgomery as the Red Ranger, Naomi Scott as the Pink Ranger, RJ Cyler as the Blue Ranger, Ludi Lin as the Black Ranger, Becky G as the Yellow Ranger, Elizabeth Banks as Rita Repulsa, and Bryan Cranston as Zordon.
The film saw the Power Rangers discover the power of team work as they fought to defend Earth against the villainous Rita Repulsa and Goldar. A post-credit scene teased the arrival of a new Power Ranger in Tommy Oliver. In the original television series, Tommy Oliver was the Green Ranger and an enemy to the Power Rangers. However, he would eventually become the White Ranger and a love interest to the Pink Ranger.
In the film, Elizabeth Banks’ Rita Repulsa was actually a corrupted Green Ranger. The cast were lobbying for the new Green Ranger to be a girl.
Dacre Montgomery told The Hollywood Reporter, “A lot of the cast and I have discussed that we think it should be a girl. It makes it even: three girls, three boys.”
Power Rangers first appeared on Fox Kids on August 28, 1993. The show was based off of the Japanese tokusatsu Super Sentai. The show has spawned 24 television seasons across 20 different themed series. Along with the 2017 theatrical release there were two other movie releases in 1995 and 1997. The show spawned a lucrative toy business and it had brought in $6 billion in wholesale as of 2001.
Are you excited about a Power Rangers sequel? What are you looking for in the sequel? Do you want to see Lord Zedd as the main villain? Do you want to see Elizabeth Banks’ Rita Repulsa return?