Summary
ThePower Rangersmight have failed to join the likes ofOne PieceandStranger Thingson Netflix’s streaming service after the recent disintegration of a deal with the streamer to bring the Rangers back to screens across the world, but there’s still some hope on the horizon.
Despite existing squarely ina genre that Anime decidedly does better than live-action, thePower Rangersfranchise (and its Japanese progenitorSuper Sentai) have been a massive success across the world, taking the niche storytelling style and iconic character designs and building a multimedia empire that’s included all forms of media ranging from shows to movies, video games, and even a wide selection of merch. Over the years, the franchise, which repurposedSuper Sentaifootage to tell stories for a Western Audience, has seen its fair share of changes in ownership and licensing of the IP. This flux has led to the show having as many different approaches to adapting the footage for Western audiences as the originalSuper Sentaishows have differences in their motifs for each series.
While it was announced in 2021 thatthe Power Rangers were getting their own cinematic universe on Netflix, those lofty plans to maximize the IP have more recently been scraped as the collaboration with the streamer seems to have been dampened behind the scenes. However, an even more recent bit of unofficial news seems to suggest that fans have cause to remain hopeful for the franchise’s immediate future. According to trusted sourceDaniel Richtman via his Patreon, despite the Netflix deal going under, fans can still expect a new Power Rangers live-action film to officially enter development soon alongside a separate animated series within the IP. This will be the second relaunch in a while, with the 2017Power Rangersmovie also meant as a similar fresh starting point from the franchise.
ThePower Rangersfranchise is due a resurgence, as most ofthe most highly regardedPower Rangersshows are older entrieswith a ton of nostalgia to keep their relevance firmly in place. A new film that learns from the mistakes and builds on the foundations of the 2017 reboot movie might actually stand a chance at launching a revitalized franchise. The addition of an animated series that could really delve into world-building and establish strong lore for the rebooted American franchise would also be a massive hit. The potential relaunch draws parallels to James Gunn’s current efforts alongside Peter Safran to relaunch the DCU following the failure of the Snyderverse.
WhileSupermanwon’t hit theaters till mid-2025,Creature Commandoshas sent the first shot off for the new era, and it hasn’t been a negative harbinger so far. The Power Rangers franchise doesn’t have nearly the same sort of scope but could be just as important as the DCU, and these first few moves would be an important indicator of future success. While a reboot probably means the end of theSuper Sentai/Power Rangersera for good, the newly acquired freedom to structure the stories exactly as the writers want could be the key to taking the IP to new heights.
This is all pretty good news for fans if things pan out the way Richtman highlights, and the timing seems to be good enough. The franchise’s latest film and video game,Power Rangers: Once and AlwaysSpecial andMighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind,respectively,which are related pieces ofPower Rangersmedia in a few ways, have done fairly well and garnered some goodwill and even support from some longtime fans that had seemingly dropped the IP. If the alleged new film and TV show coming out can build on that favorable atmosphere and deliver something that’s worthy of the sweat and tears that have gone into making the IP so valuable.
ThePower Rangersfranchise is currently largely available to stream on the officialPower RangersYouTube Channel.
