Rumours have swirled about plans for a Power Rangers reboot for several years, and after a few stops and starts, things finally seem to be coming together with a new Disney+ series now in active development.
The streamer's partnership with the BBC to launch Doctor Who on the platform ultimately proved a failure for the House of Mouse, but a new Power Rangers series has the potential to be huge. Jonathan E. Steinberg and Dan Shotz, who collaborated on the Percy Jackson and the Olympians TV series, are attached as showrunners.
Now, we may have learned the names of several actors being eyed to play some of the reboot's leads. This comes our way from Jin x Supreme (via SFFGazette.com), an X user who has proven himself a reliable source of Power Rangers news.
Shaun Dixon, Paris Bravo, Judd Goodstein, Momoma Tamada, Christian Alexander Cruz, and Kira McLean are all said to be under consideration for lead roles in the series (you can take a closer look at each of them in the X posts below).
Dixon has worked with Disney before, having played Elijah in Vamperina: Teenage Vampire. Bravo, meanwhile, counts Stay Out and The Cursed Man among her credits, and was part of Venom: The Last Dance's stunt team.
Tamada plays Ty Lee in Avatar: The Last Airbender, and you may remember Goodstein from You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah and The Revenge of La Llorona. Cruz has appeared in Avery and New Girl, while McLean has been in projects like Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus.
Interestingly, Dixon and Bravo appear to have martial arts experience, suggesting Disney is looking for actors who can handle themselves in action scenes. However, while these six may seem like an ideal group of Rangers, the insider cautions that these are just some of the names currently in the mix for this new take.
The Power Rangers franchise began in 1993 with Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, a TV series created by Haim Saban and Shuki Levy. It was adapted from Japan's Super Sentai series, blending footage of Japanese action sequences with newly filmed American scenes. The show became an instant hit, captivating kids with its mix of martial arts, giant robots, and colourful costumes.
Over time, the franchise expanded into films, comic books, toys, and video games, becoming a pop culture phenomenon. As noted, a 2017 effort meant to capitalise on the success of superheroes fell flat, so we're optimistic this next take returns to the series' roots, Zords and all.
Power Rangers fans will be hoping that this iteration fares better than the 2017 movie that attempted to put a superhero spin on the characters. It grossed only $142 million worldwide on a $100 million budget, slamming the door shut on sequel plans.
As always, stay tuned for Power Rangers updates as we have them.