Last week it was revealed that Star Trek and The Amazing Spider-Man screenwriter Roberto Orci was stepping onboard Lionsgate’s big screen reboot of Saban’s Power Rangers. He will develop the plot for the film along with X-Men: First Class screenwriters Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz. IGN caught up with Orci to talk about the project and he revealed some interesting behind-the-scenes bits about working with Saban.
“One of the first things we did was learn and read…They have 600 pages of research that they have on their stuff. We read through the synopsis of everything they did and we are actually taking into account quite a bit of the canon in a real way. We’re not just a leave it behind reboot. [Haim] Saban cares very much about that. This is something that he created. I had to go to his house, personally, to tell him, “Listen, I’m your man. Miller and Stenz, these are your guys. I promise you I won’t ruin your franchise.” And he said, “It’s very important to me, because kids around the world know what the Power Rangers are. So you can’t just come in here and walk all over it. It better be consistent with what I’ve been doing.” And I said, “Yes sir!”
Orci went on to add that the upcoming reboot will have some form of continuity with the original series, but in what capacity he wouldn’t say.
“It’s got a continuity within the world. I can’t tell you what, but it does have a continuity.”
Saban launched “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” as a live-action TV series more than 20 years ago, and the series has been in continuous production ever since. It has subsequently grown into one of the world’s most popular and recognizable brands, with toys, apparel, costumes, video games, DVD’s, comic books and other merchandise.
20th Century Fox previously released two feature films, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie in 1995 and Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie in 1997.
