'Power Rangers' Movie Update: Upcoming Movie May Receive R Rating for Violence
With the "Power Rangers" movie approaching its release date a little more than a year away, speculations are rife the new film will be violence-filled enough to get an R-rating.
Ever since the news the popular live action television show, "Power Rangers," would be getting a movie reboot, questions about it being too violent for children have been cropping up.
Several rumors have circulated that the movie version may be much darker than the stylized and campy children's TV show and will be grittier by far, perhaps even earning a restricted viewership stamp from the ratings board.
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These rumors followed a fan film created by producer Adi Shankar which appeared online earlier in February, featuring a much more violent interpretation of the "Power Rangers," starring James Van Der Beek and Katee Sackhoff. Despite going viral, the 14-minute clip was classified as R-rated with its drug use and violence, and was eventually pulled from YouTube.
According to Saban Brands and Lionsgate, the upcoming "Power Rangers" movie will be "mature," but still hold the same playful tone as the original television show, and will stay true to the series.
The reboot, to be directed by "Project Almanac" helmsman, Dean Israelite, will reportedly hover around the PG-13 mark and is not likely to re-imagine the colorfully dressed superheroes as dark, embittered adults prone to violence.
The script will be written by Zack Stentz and Ashley Miller, a team whose credits include "X-Men: First Class" and "Thor."
So far, the cast has been revealed to consist of Becky Gomez as the Yellow Ranger, RJ Cyler as the Blue Ranger, Ludi Lin as the Black Ranger, Dacre Montgomery as the Red Ranger, and Naomi Scott as the Pink Ranger.
There have been rumors Chloe Grace Moretz and Liam Neeson will have roles in the film, but the speculations have yet to be confirmed.
"Power Rangers" is expected to premiere in theaters by January 13, 2017
