In the 1990s there were the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles — and they battled for the hearts and minds of the millennials day in and day out on TV. Both shows got movies (Power Rangers in 1995) and both seemed ripe for revival, given the built-in nostalgia demographic and improvements in CGI that work so well for the material. Last weekend the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles proved their old school viability, taking what critics generally agreed was a mediocre movie at best, and ruling the box office with it. The Teenage Turtles, it turns out, aged quite gracefully and knocked Guardians of the Galaxy out of the top box office spot, earning $65.5 million in its opening weekend.
Cowabunga! say the Power Rangers people. If there’s room for the Turtles there’s room for us. Lionsgate and Saban Brands (owned by Haim Saban, the Power Rangers creator) just announced that a new Power Rangers movie will premiere in summer 2016. The Power Rangers get to do what they do best–they’ll morph from 90s heroes into 21st century heroes. They’re ordinary high school kids who get the power–a story with timeless appeal. The new movie will be “based on a story by executive producer Roberto Orci and screenwriters Zack Stentz and Ashley Miller (X-Men: First Class, Thor)” according to Latino Review.
