The Power Rangers Reboot Has Been Saved?
Hasbro has confirmed that the Power Rangers reboot is still actively in production.
Those fearful that the long-expected Power Rangers reboot would never see the light of day can breathe a sigh of relief. The Illuminerdi reports that, during a Hasbro Earnings Call, production on the upcoming series has been confirmed. Hasbro Executive Deb Thomas mentioned that the company still views the beloved franchise as a major asset and that the reboot series, created by Jenny Klein and Jonathan Entwistle, is still under production.
In fact, more than just the Power Rangers reboot series was confirmed. The upcoming 30th anniversary Power Rangers special Power Rangers: Once and Always is still on track to appear on Netflix. Thomas also confirmed that the most recent Power Rangers TV series, Power Rangers Dino Fury, will receive a third season (though it will be called Power Rangers Cosmic Fury).
For those who weren’t kids in the 1990s, it’s hard to describe just how huge of a deal the Power Rangers were upon their initial release — which will go a long way to explain the excitement for the reboot. When Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers first appeared on TV in 1993, the action-heavy series was like nothing American kids had ever seen before. It featured martial-arts-heavy fights and giant robots fighting massive, skyscraper-dwarfing monsters, causing parents’ groups to throw a conniption while the kids themselves lapped it up.
Unknown to kids at the time (who are now adults eagerly awaiting the Power Rangers reboot) was the fact that Power Rangers was an adaptation of the Japanese series Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger. In fact, most of the action scenes and robots were just the same Japanese footage re-used in a different context. The costumed heroes were rarely portrayed by the actual American actors — it was almost always Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger footage spliced between the plot-heavy American footage.
Before the Power Rangers reboot is released, the same format was reused throughout the Power Rangers’ 30-year history, adapting the Japanese series to American screens. Power Rangers Zeo used Chouriki Sentai Ohranger, Power Rangers Turbo used Gekisou Sentai Carranger, and Power Rangers Lost Galaxy used Seijuu Sentai Gingaman. Even Power Rangers Dino Fury sticks to this trend, using footage from Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger for its action scenes.
In contrast, the 2017 Power Rangers film (which was itself a bit of a reboot) did not use any Japanese footage — everything on-screen was entirely original to the film. All the original characters appeared (though played by different actors). The reboot series will reportedly use a similar format but will have a more-serialized approach to the series rather than having stand-alone episodic content.
While producer Jonathan Entwistle might not have a lot of geek-centric content under his belt (last producing Netflix’s The End of the F***ing World), Jenny Klein will probably be right at home with the upcoming Power Rangers reboot. Klein has produced and written episodes for the Marvel TV series Jessica Jones and is co-executive producer of The Witcher. She also wrote 52 episodes of the long-running series Supernatural.
There’s no firm release date for the Power Rangers reboot, though previous reports say that we’ll have to wait until Power Rangers Cosmic Fury finishes since the studio can’t afford to make both series at once. Either way, it seems like any recent worries about the future of the franchise can be set at ease for now.
