The ***Power Rangers ***movie was supposed to be the beginning of something bigger.
Dacre Montgomery, who starred as Jason Scott in the 2017 theatrical movie, has revealed the series’ scrapped, four-movie plan following the 2017 film’s box office disappointment. The *Power Rangers *movie acted as a reboot of the original Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers TV series, which sees a group of teenagers protecting the world as the titular Power Rangers.
Now, while speaking with MovieWeb, Montgomery revealed that 2017’s *Power Rangers *was supposed to be the beginning of a four-movie series under Lionsgate. According to the actor, the studio was looking to structure it similarly to *The Hunger Games *films series. However, due to the first movie’s underperformance at the box office, the other movies never came to fruition:
It was a four-picture deal with Lionsgate.
It was gonna be a whole big thing. But what can you do, right? We’re talking about money and big business, and it didn’t make enough on the investment that the studio had made to continue making more. But I hear they’re rebooting it again. I think Saban might have sold the IP off, so I’m excited for the future of that. Power Rangers means a great deal to a lot of people. So I know that whoever steps into those shoes will be great. And I had the best time.
Unfortunately, despite being a major franchise with decades of nostalgia behind it, *Power Rangers *2017 wasn’t able to earn enough money at the box office to justify its planned sequels. The movie made $142.5 million against a budget between $100-105 million, causing it to underperform. This also led Saban to sell the rights of the *Power Rangers *to Hasbro.
It’s not surprising the 2017 movie was supposed to be part of a much larger storyline. For one, the movie mostly pulled from the first episode of the show, “The Day of the Dumpster,” with elements from early episodes of season 1 scattered throughout. *Power Rangers *ended by teasing the arrival of Tommy Oliver, who becomes the team’s Green Ranger in the show.
Unfortunately, reviews for *Power Rangers *were mixed, with the movie holding a 51% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes based on 179 reviews. Audiences had more favorable opinions of the film, scoring it a 65% based on over 25,000 ratings. But none of these could help the movie be a big enough financial success to justify its four-movie plan.
Saban Entertainment founder Haim Saban had previously spoken about a potential six movies in the series that would follow the story of the first. At the time, both Tommy and Lord Zedd were being floated for the sequel, which would be the film’s next logical step. However, as Montgomery states, it didn’t pan out despite how big a franchise *Power Rangers *is.
Luckily, the future appears bright for a *Power Rangers *reboot that will take the franchise in a new direction. *Percy Jackson and the Olympians *showrunners Jonathan E. Steinberg and Dan Shotz will be serving as writers, executive producers, and showrunners for a return of the franchise, which is slated for release on Disney+ in the future.
As of writing, it’s unclear if the new show will be a from-scratch reboot or a new story within the established continuity. However, it’s an opportunity for the franchise to continue with a new story, regardless of how its centered. Unfortunately, the long-term plans of the 2017 movie won’t come to fruition, despite how compelling it would have been to see.
Although ***Power Rangers ***wasn’t able to continue with its film plans, movie is still an intriguing look at what a big-budget film in the franchise can look like. Although there wasn’t enough money made for it to continue, the movie remains an intriguing part of the series’ history regardless of its box office and critical reception.
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John Gatins, Matt Sazama, Burk Sharpless, Michele Mulroney, Kieran Mulroney, Haim Saban
Brent O’Connor, Roberto Orci, Wyck Godfrey, Allison Shearmur, Marty Bowen, Brian Casentini
Jason Lee Scott / The Red Ranger
Billy Cranston / The Blue Ranger