All around the world, '90s kids have been holding out and holding their breath for the big-screen installment of Shuki Levy and Haim Saban's hit TV series "Power Rangers."
Four out of the five lead characters in the upcoming movie have already been released. The new cast features up-and-comers, though their character names were not previously revealed.
As of posting, the film has cast RJ Cyler ("Me and Earl and the Dying Girl") as the Blue Ranger, Ludi Lin ("Monster Hunt," "Holiday Spin," "The Shannon Entropy") as the Black Ranger, Dacre Montgomery ("Family Tree Pilot Trailer," "Bertrand the Terrible") as the Red Ranger and Naomi Scott ("Terra Nova," "Lemonade Mouth," "Life Bites") as the Pink Ranger. Fans have yet to find out who the Yellow Ranger is, played in the original series by the late Thuy Trang, who died in a car accident in 2001.
A report has recently released exclusive details on the upcoming installment, the first of which involves the title. Now "Saban's Power Rangers," the title is the result of an apparent (and successful) attempt of creator Haim Saban to associate his name with the movie, set to debut on Jan. 13, 2017. More than 12 months is a long time to stand by, we know. But then again, what's a year compared to two decades of waiting for another "Power Rangers" movie?
Another scoop draws into the writing of the script, where Saban is also hands-on. Whether or not screenwriters Zack Stentz and Ashley Miller and creator Levy are still involved is uncertain, but a report has released updated character names for the heroes.
The Red Ranger or Tyrannosaurus is Callum Oliver, the Pink Ranger or Pterodactyl is Priya Patel, the Blue Ranger or Triceratops is Brian Olson, the Black Ranger or Mastodon is Oscar Fernandez and the Yellow Ranger or Sabre-tooth Tiger is Teyana Jones.
Though the names for the coming film have deviated from the original, the characters are matched up with the Zords from the original series, hinting that the classic Zords may be receive a reboot for the new batch of heroes.
The last detail, but most definitely not the least, involves the movie's budget. We saved the best for last, to tell you that the reported budget for the film is believed to be in the $35 million range. Interesting amount for a film that has relatively up-and-coming actors. Then again, the 2014 box office hit "The Maze Runner" was in the same budget range and garnered $340 million net.
A lot of tweaks are still being made as production progresses, so changes are sure to be anticipated between now and the 2017 release, but expect to be updated with the development of this much-awaited reboot.
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