Power Rangers fans came out of hiding last week after Lionsgate announced its plans for a reboot of the 90s television show. Though there are only a small handful of them, they are mighty. Back in 1995, billionaire Haim Saban‘s Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie grossed more than $38 million domestically and was considered “a financial success” at the box office. With the 90s nostalgia wave surging through Hollywood at full speed, it was only a matter of time before it landed on the radar for a revival.
But hold on to your belt buckles, Power Rangers fans. It’s not morphin’ time just yet.
The 90s were a different time – a great era, yes. Britney Spears was still pretending to be a virgin, Madonna thought Hinduism was the ultimate fashion statement, and your friends played with Pogs after school instead of sexting. A lot has changed since then and the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers have a few issues to address in its modern day adaptation:
1. Zack Taylor, the Black Ranger. The black guy played the Black Ranger. Coincidence? Maybe.
2. Trini Kwan, the Yellow Ranger. The Asian girl also happened to be the Yellow Ranger, so that’s awkward. It’s not blatantly racist, but was it necessary to color code the non-Caucasian rangers? That’s enough to raise a few eyebrows in 2014.
3. The Gay Ranger. Better known as actor David Yost, or Billy Cranston, the Blue Ranger, walked off the set and quit the show because of constant homophobic abuse from production staff, including producers and directors. The anti-gay controversy continues to throw a homophobic shadow over the franchise. Cranston and real-life buddy Walter Jones (Zack Taylor) both boycotted invitations to a reunion of the original Power Rangers cast last year. Lionsgate will have to figure out how to make it right for a successful reboot. Power Rangers fans won’t want to flashback to an era of homophobia.
4. What happened to the letter G in Morphin? There should at least be an apostrophe in its place. Let’s hope Lionsgate hires a copy editor for the new movie.
5. The theme song. It’s a cheesy, classic 90s TV jingle but holy shit is it awful. The updated version doesn’t have to be written and performed by Coldplay, but it needs a major upgrade.
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