There are a lot of movies to look forward to in 2017, and while it may not be the most anticipated,Power Rangersis certainly on a lot of people’s lists. It is a property that has been ripe for a new take and that time is now. It will be a bit more gritty and grounded than the originalMighty Morphin Power Rangersseries was, but maybe not as gritty as some might have hoped. We now know that the movie has been rated PG-13.
The fan sitePower Rangers NOWhas confirmed that the MPAA has rated Lionsgate’s upcomingPower Rangersreboot at PG-13, which was confirmed at the CES expo in Las Vegas. There was some hope that maybe this new take on thePower Rangerswould push the envelope a bit more and perhaps wind up being R-rated, but Lionsgate is clearly going for something a bit more family friendly. Still, it would probably be a much less cheesy take than the show, but it won’t quite be the very violent, gritty affair that it perhaps could have been.
There hasn’t been a theatrically releasedPower Rangers moviefor nearly two-decades, but the two previousPower Rangersmovies were both rated PG. So, giving the movie a PG-13 rating will give a lot more flexibility in terms of how much more gritty it can be when compared to the 1995Mighty Morphin Power Rangersmovie andTurbo: A Power Rangers Movie. Lionsgate definitely recognized something needed to change in order to make the property work as a movie, sinceTurbomade less than $10 million worldwide. Granted, they now have twenty years worth of nostalgia to work with.
Some may laugh at the idea of an R-ratedPower Rangersmovie, but it isn’t as unthinkable as it may seem.Deadpoolproved last year that a movie that is rated R can truly succeed and crossover to mainstream audiences. The movie wound up grossing $783 million worldwide and encouraged Fox to give the upcomingWolverinemovieLoganan R-rating as well. So, there is definitely a slightly adjacent universe where Lionsgate makes aPower Rangersmovie with an R-rating, but not in this universe. The most substantial evidence for such a version of this movie came in the form of thePower/Rangersshort from directorAdi Shankarthat debuted online a couple of years ago.
The PG-13 rating probably is the safe bet for thePower Rangers rebootand the creative team behind it seems to understand that nostalgia is going to play a big part. Sure, there are updates to the costumes and there is definitely a modern feel to it from what we have seen in the first trailer and the marketing materials so far, but there are going to be plenty of familiar elements for fans ofThe Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. We recently got our first look atBryan Cranstonas thePower Rangersmentor Zordon, which is interesting since he voiced some characters in the original series. In addition to Zordon, this newPower Rangerswill also be bringing backfamiliar elementslike the robot Alpha-5, who is being voiced byBill Hader, as well as Zords.
Outside of the voice work fromBryan CranstonandBill Hader, we know that the villain Rita Repulsa is being played byElizabeth Banks. ThePower Rangersthemselves are being played by promising up-and-comers.Me and Earl and the Dying Girl’sRJ Cyleris playing the Blue Ranger withDarce Montgomeryas the Red Ranger,Naomi Scottas the Pink Ranger,Ludi Linas the Black Ranger andBecky Gas the Yellow Ranger.Power Rangersis being directed byDean Israeliteand we now know it will be rated PG-13. The movie is set for release on July 21, 2025.
