Slowly but surely, more details and glimpses at the Power Rangers reboot have been hitting the Web. The first major announcement came recently with the reveal of villain Rita Repulsa's new look.
Many longtime fans weren't impressed with the character's new design. Now we have our first look at the new suits for the Power Rangers themselves, via Entertainment Weekly. In many ways the suits are a throwback to the original design, though with a number of notable differences.
In the original series, each suit had specific elements that took inspiration from that ranger's dinosaur-themed zord. The Red Ranger's helmet features subtle eyes and teeth drawn from the Tyrannosaurus rex. The Blue Ranger's helmet features horns, taken from the Triceratops. The Black Ranger's helmet has tusks, a nod to his Mastodon zord.
From the image we have right now, it's hard to say if this design philosophy has carried over to the reboot. The helmets for the new ranger suits are different in a few small ways, but it's difficult to tell why exactly. We'll need a more detailed image to be able to see if the reboot is staying true to the franchise's roots. It's also worth noting that the female rangers are sporting heels in the image, something that is likely to invoke a facepalm from more than a few fans.
As for how the suits factor into the film's new plot, production designer Andrew Menzies tells EW that it was tricky coming up with a new language for a superhero costume.
"Ours is an alien costume that grows on them, that's not man-made," Menzies says. "You can't win everyone over, but we are trying to appeal to a more mature audience and gain new fans."
Director Dean Israelite expands upon the idea behind the new designs.
"The show was about kids coming of age, about metamorphosis," Israelite says. "These suits needed to feel like they were catalyzed by these kids and their energy, their spirit."
Rita Repulsa actress Elizabeth Banks has previously said that her character's new origin is connected to the Rangers, which might explain some of the design similarities between the two costumes. It's certainly an interesting time to be a Power Rangers fan. Now all that's left to do is for the filmmakers to unveil the Zords.
