Summary
- The Power Rangers franchise is getting a new live-action series on Disney+ in collaboration with Hasbro.
- The reboot aims to return to the original tone with the potential to appeal to both old and new fans.
- The upcoming series could be a success on Disney+ thanks to the platform's vast audience and proven IP strategies.
The Power Rangers IP hasn’t had the best time rebooting itself for the modern era, but a recent report suggests that fan concern about the future of the franchise can finally be put to bed in light of a new move by its current caretakers.
Power Rangers has been through a lot recently, thanks to a clear need for a reboot and several failed attempts to do just that. The more prominent issues began with the 2017 reboot film Power Rangers, which took on a darker, grittier tone with less inherently likable protagonists, leading to a serious box office failure. Most fans weren’t even able to give the movie a proper chance to grow on them like a show would have thanks to this lackluster first contact, with the failed theatrical entry only finally hitting streaming a few weeks ago. Fans would have their hopes picked up once more when it was announced that Netflix would be taking on a reboot of the franchise before that project ultimately ended before it could even take off at the streamer.
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Despite that unfortunate sequence of events, it was rumored that the franchise would push forward beyond the Netflix setback with another go at revamping the franchise elsewhere. Thankfully for fans, this rumor has now been fully sustained with the announcement of the franchise’s next major direction. As first exclusively reported by TheWrap, a new live-action Power Rangers project is in development for Disney+ and the Disney-owned 20th Century TV, with Percy Jackson and the Olympians showrunners Jonathan E. Steinberg and Dan Shotz currently in consideration to serve as writers, producers, and showrunners for the new series. The project will be produced in collaboration with Hasbro, which has held the rights to the IP since 2018 following Saban and Lionsgate’s failed film venture. With Hasbro taking the lessons from its failed ventures with Netflix and the company’s recent push to maximize even IP as theatrically unremarkable as Clue and Magic The Gathering, there’s no doubt that this Disney+ collaboration will be able to make it to screens worldwide successfully.
It’s clear that the new Power Rangers project can avoid another disaster by returning to the franchise’s original tone pre-reboot. This was already proven by the warm reception received by the excellent Netflix special Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always from director Charlie Haskell. While it was (predictably) not a critical darling, the project did great across generations of Power Rangers fans, with the cozy 85% audience score and reviews serving as a testament to that strategy. The special stuck to its roots and gave older Power Rangers viewers a nostalgic experience that newer fans could still enjoy without the baggage. With the wide audience that Disney+ has amassed thanks to the appeal of IPs like the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Star Wars, being able to replicate that success would be a triumph beyond anything that the previous ‘reinvention’ could have ever realistically hoped to accomplish.
While there are no details beyond the proposed creative force behind it, the upcoming Disney+ reboot will be a great place for new fans of the franchise to start and a chance to really give the show its own identity in this post-Sentai era. With older fans craving something more after Once and Always and newer fans looking for a way in, there’s a ton of potential for this show to realize the immense potential that has kept the IP changing hands and drawing investment for decades now.
The Power Rangers shows are largely available to stream on the franchise’s official YouTube channel.
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Source: TheWrap