Dark and gritty ‘Power Rangers’ bootleg fan film debuts
LOS ANGELES — The Power Rangers are all grown up and the future looks…dark.
LOS ANGELES — The Power Rangers are all grown up and the future looks…dark.
Film producer Adi Shankar and director Joseph Kahn teamed up to created a bootlegged, revisionist future version of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers in 14 minute short film called Power/Rangers. The fan film imagines that the Rangers have matured past their teenage years, and now live in a much bleaker world.
The video stars Battlestar Galactica actress Katee Sackhoff as Pink Ranger Kimberly (a role originated by Amy Jo Johnson in the TV series), and Dawson’s Creek headliner James Van Der Beek as disgruntled former Red Ranger Rocky (played by Steve Cardenas on the show).
In the short, Rocky has captured Kimberly, and is interrogating her, trying to figure out the location of Green Ranger Tommy who is apparently the only other Ranger still alive. The film features blood, bad language and a killer twist.
This unauthorised version is not the only iteration of the Power Rangers in the minds of longtime fans. Last summer, Lionsgate announced a July 2016 release date for an official Power Rangers movie reboot. Among the producers on the film is Star Trek executive producer Roberto Orci, with X-Men: First Class writers Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz penning the script.
The Power Rangers franchise began Stateside as a kids TV show in 1993, and the series has been in near continuous production through various iterations since MMPR debuted. VARIETY.COM/REUTERS