Bryan Cranston joins Power Rangers movie as Zordon

LOS ANGELES — Bryan Cranston has joined Lionsgate’s Power Rangers movie as Zordon, who serves as the young group’s mentor.

The studio has tapped Dean Israelite to direct and has cast five young actors to star — Becky G as the Yellow Ranger, Ludi Lin as the Black Ranger, Naomi Scott as the Pink Ranger, Dacre Montgomery as the Red Ranger and RJ Cyler as the Blue Ranger. Elizabeth Banks came on board in February to play the evil witch Rita Repulsa.

Power Rangers will hit theatres on March 24, 2017.

Producers are Saban Films’ Haim Saban and Brian Casentini, along with Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey. Allison Shearmur is an exec producer. Burk Sharpless and Matt Sazama wrote the script.

The story reimagines the origins of the Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers, a group of high school kids given extraterrestrial powers who unite to save the world.

The 1993 Fox Kids TV series became a pop culture phenomenon and inspired a big-screen adaptation, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie, in 1995.

Lionsgate and Saban Brands announced plans in 2014 to develop and produce a live-action movie based on Saban’s Power Rangers property as the first film in a franchise. Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer recently said that the studio could make as many as seven Power Rangers movies.

Cranston will be seen next in Broad Green’s thriller The Infiltrator.

Lionsgate unveiled Cranston’s casting on Twitter. Cranston also tweeted about the news. VARIETY.COM/REUTERS