Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Adds Roberto Orci And X-Men: First Class Writers
If, like me, you’re already dreading the impending onslaught of all things Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and are waiting for that one silver lining to appear that could make Lionsgate’s upcoming feature a non-disaster. That silver lining may have arrived in the form of a new creative team, but I don’t think a lot of people are going to be happy about it. Roberto Orci, of Star Trek and Transformers fame, has been brought in as an executive producer who will oversee the story development with X-Men: First Class screenwriters Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz.
Let’s start with the brighter side here. Though X-Men: First Class is arguably the most popular and most enjoyable of their works together, screenwriters Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz were also writers and producers on Fringe and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. On the feature side, they were also part of the Thor writer squad, and were tapped at one point to write the script for Top Gun 2. All of these examples, especially that last one, convey that these writers have a pretty solid grasp on how to tell stories outside of reality’s grip, so writing about the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers is seemingly right up their alley. (I can’t tell if that’s an insult or not.)
And then there’s Orci, who is currently in the throes of internet rumordom over his role in Star Trek 3. The optimist would say he’s behind some of the most successful franchises out there, while the pessimist would point out that those franchises almost always tell the most insipid stories. Star Trek Into Darkness, Amazing Spider-Man 2, and the franchise-free Cowboys & Aliens should have all been pretty fantastic movies, but they were merely memorable for their visual spectacle. But hey, maybe Orci is better at outlines than actual screentwriting, leaving Miller and Stentz to deliver something out of this world. Yes, I’m smirking as I type that.
At this point, all that’s known about Mighty Morphin Power Rangers is that it’s completely overhauling the original series, while sticking to the same basics. A group of teenage high schoolers who are granted amazing superpowers that work a lot better when they’re combined and everyone is wearing colorful suits. It’s unlikely that they’ll leave the giant Zord bots out of it, especially now that the giant bot-friendly Orci is onboard.
Orci will be executive producing through his Sneaky Shark shingle (which he started up after ending his partnership with Alex Kurtzman) alongside franchise creator and all-around bazillionaire Haim Saban’s Saban Brands and former Lionsgate president of production Allison Shearmur (The Hunger Games). There’s no word on what kind of a production schedule this film will have, but you can bet the announcement for a Mighty Morphins Power Rangers 2016 release date is right around the corner.
Are you guys excited about this creative team or are you even more (Rita) repulsed by it?
