The Power Rangers have never fully left the pop culture zeitgeist, given the franchise has been running on television almost nonstop for multiple decades. However, the last film adaptation wasn’t the box office hit its owners were hoping for, but Hasbro is ready to try it again by creating a brand new Power Rangers universe involving a new movie and TV series, according to THR. Jonathan Entwistle, who created the Netflix series It’s the End of the F—ing World, has been tapped by eOne (owned by Hasbro) to both produce and direct new Power Rangers films and TV shows.
Entwistle was already working on Paramount’s version of the franchise, but the property has now been moved over to eOne with Entwistle in tow with his role branching out to create an interconnected Power Rangers universe that spans multiple platforms. This all comes after Hasbro reportedly canceled the Power Rangers contract with Toei, which provided the Japanese Super Sentai footage that was used for fight sequences. If accurate, this would suggest that Hasbro/eOne will be producing the entire show in house and that they’re going to go big with it.
“This is an unbelievable opportunity to deliver new Power Rangers to both new and existing generations of awaiting and adoring fans,” said Entwistle. “We’ll bring the spirit of analog into the future, harnessing the action and storytelling that made this brand a success.”
It’s unclear just how they’ll capture the incredibly unique feeling of Power Rangers and the wonderful camp the show often plays into. The gritty 2017 film that Lionsgate release tried to move the Rangers into a more YA-style adventure, but audiences didn’t react well enough to support a sequel. Now Hasbro, which is producing a host of movies based on its toy franchises, is looking to turn Power Rangers into something even bigger. There’s no word on where the TV show will reside, but there are sure to be some streaming platforms out there who would love the content.
