When the first image of thePower Rangersreboot costumesdebuted, a lot of colorful comments were made, with many comparing the suits to one of Tony Stark’s suits fromIron Man. The exoskeletons were very different from the traditional armor worn on the long-running TV series.
We knew this would happen with the hardcore fan base. Theywillhave strong opinions. Exhibit B would point toElizabeth Banks’Poison Ivy-lookin’ villain Rita Repulsa. Her reveal added some comments to the zeitgeist, and love the look or not, the movie is coming and producers are hoping it will be a big success.
So cue the sequel talk! Too soon to talk about sequels? Not according to Lionsgate CEOJon Feltheimerwho is already broaching the subject. And not just one sequel - seven sequels!
As reported byVariety, this is what Feltheimer said during a conference call with analysts:
“We are really, really excited about the ‘Power Rangers’ movie. We could see doing five or six or seven.”
Even though there were the mixed reactions to the costumes and Rita Repulsa, Feltheimer cited positive responses to the newPower Rangersuits when discussing the interest in making so many more films.
It’s still pretty early and we’ve only seen two official images - so for all we know, theDean Israelite-directed film will wind up being a smash hit and justifying sequels. But seven films? That’s a big number to throw out there.
During the call, Feltheimer also name-dropped some other projects. He said thatNow You See Me 2is tracking ahead of the first film. He highlighted that Lionsgate opted to moveNerve, starringEmma RobertsandDave Franco, to a summer slot because test screening reactions were “through the roof.” He also acknowledged that the studio may have rushedAllegiantin order to have it ready for its March 2016 opening.
As for thePower Rangersfranchise and Lionsgate’s hope in launching seven more films in the future… we’ll have to wait and see if the first one is actually good or not, and if audiences turn out to see it.
