A new, interconnectedPower Rangerscinematic and television universe is coming our way. This week, we learned thatJonathan Entwistle(of Netflix’sI Am Not Okay With ThisandThe End of the F***ing Worldfame) will spearhead aPower Rangersfranchise reboot initiative which will result in multiple new movie and television show adaptations for the Hasbro property. The world was gifted aPower Rangersmovie back in 2017 (the one which notably launched the careers ofDacre MontgomeryandNaomi Scott). As such, it’s surprising to see that thePower Rangerscinematic universe is once again starting over and building something new.
The official news from Entertainment One (eOne), Hasbro’s entertainment studio, has hired Entwistle to work on new movie and TV show adaptations of thePower Rangersworld and characters. Additionally, Entwistle will direct all projects with eOne both developing and producing. It’s unclear at time of reporting what Entwistle’s vision is for rebooting thePower Rangersfranchise as it exists in movies and TV. Similarly unclear is whether or not any of the cast members from the 2017 live-actionPower Rangersmovie will return for projects in either format.
What wedoknow is that eOne is very excited to bring Entwistle aboard to breathe even newer life into the long-runningPower Rangersfranchise. Entertainment One Film PresidentNick Meyerand President of Global ProgrammingMichaelLombardosaid in a shared statement, “Jonathan has an incredible creative vision for this iconic and hugely successful franchise and is hands down the right architect to join us as we reimagine the television and film worlds of this property. Across our slate, we are looking forward to working with the most talented storytellers as we take on Hasbro’s rich fan-favorite brands and build entertainment universes around them.
To this, Entwistle said in a separate statement, “This is an unbelievable opportunity to deliver newPower Rangersto both new and existing generations of awaiting and adoring fans. We’ll bring the spirit of analog into the future, harnessing the action and storytelling that made this brand a success. I’m looking forward to working with the teams at eOne and Hasbro. Together, we can’t wait to share morePower Rangerswith the world very soon.”
The news seems to imply that Entwistle’s involvement in thePower Rangers-verse has expanded since last year. Back in December 2019, we reportedEntwistle had signed on to directjust onePower Rangersmovie. At the time, we learnedPeter Rabbit 2scribePatrick Burleighhad also signed on with a script in which the Power Rangers travel back through time to the 1990s and then try to return to their own time. Today’s news of Entwistle’s expanded involvement as the great franchise rebooter does not include any information about this time-travelingPower Rangersmovie; whether that is a good or bad thing remains to be seen.
We’ll keep you posted as Jonathan Entwistle’s newPower Rangerscinematic universe develops. In the meantime, check out our updated2020and2021 movie release calendars.
Allie Gemmill is the Weekend Contributing Editor for Collider. You can follow them on Twitter@_matineeidle.
