The big screen installment of the Power Rangers is creating a buzz amongst fans of the hugely successful 1990s classic franchise. Director Dean Israelite has confirmed that Naomi Scott will play as the Pink Ranger, Dacre Montgomery as the Red Ranger, Ludi Lin as the Black Ranger, and RJ Cyler as the Blue Ranger.
Recent reports have emerged that Lionsgate has named the fifth ranger to complete the five action heroes. Musician and star of the Fox music industry show Empire, actress Becky G. has been named as the fifth range to play as Trini aka the Yellow Ranger.
The 18-year-old Becky G shot to fame after posting songs and raps on her YouTube page, which eventually caught the attention of the music industry and landed her a gig with music mogul Dr. Luke, said Business Standard.
Becky G has a recurring role in Empire playing Valentina Galindo. The English actress and singer, Naomi Scott, who was seen in the Ridley Scott's adaptation of Andy Weir's The Martian where she played the role as Ryoko, will be donning the pink suit as the Pink Ranger, reported SMN Weekly.
During the Power Rangers Super Megaforce POWER UP presentation at the 4th bi-annual fan-run convention, Power Morphicon held in Pasadena, California, it was confirmed that RJ Cyler will be portraying the blue ranger in the movie. This information was confirmed via the film's official Instagram account.
It was learned that the Power Rangers characters will be using different names and will not adapt the color or original dinosaur titles from the original series. Instead, each of the characters will have new names but will have the same Zords as the original Rangers from the series in the upcoming movie version.
It is still unclear as of this time if the Green Ranger will be included in the Power Ranger team in the movie version, although it was speculated that the actor who played the original Green Ranger will have a cameo role in the new movie.
ComingSoon reported that Zack Stentz and Ashley Miller, who also co-wrote X-Men: First Class and Thor, will write the script for the Power Rangers movie. Both Stentz and Miller described the new movie version as a modern reinvention of the long-running franchise. "In it, a group of ordinary high school kids find themselves infused with extraterrestrial powers and must harness those powers as a team to save the world. Original creator Haim Saban is acting as producer along with Brian Casentini and Allison Shearmur."
Haim Saban is the creator and producer of the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers hit series in the 1990s that was launched in 1993. The Power Rangers franchise is one of the most watched television programs in the U.S. during that era and has the distinction as one of the top-rated and longest running boys live-action series in television history. "The series follows the adventures of a group of ordinary teens who "morph" into superheroes and save the world from evil. It is seen in more than 150 markets around the world, translated into numerous languages and is a mainstay in the most prominent international children's programming blocks," the website said.
20th Century Fox previously released two movies about the Power Rangers films, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie in 1995 and Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie in 1997.
Power Rangers reboot is expected to hit the theaters on January 13, 2017.
