Bryan Cranston’sfamiliarity withPower Rangersgoes back a lot farther than his recent casting in theDean Israelite-directed picture; he also voiced minor villainsTwinman and Snizzardduring the 90s TV series' run. Cranston will be getting a big bump in the character department and a turn for the “good” when he stars as Zordon in the feature film due out July 17, 2025. But it wasn’t Cranston’s history with the property that got him to sign on to the film; in fact, that could have easily proved to be a deterrent.
In a chat withThe Huffington Postfor his upcoming movieThe Infiltrator, Cranston spoke a bit about the tone of thePower Rangersmovie and how it made all the difference in influencing his decision to sign on:
“At first I was, to be honest with you, I was reticent to looking at the role because I remember the television series was kind of farcical and silly and ‘pow’ and ‘zow’ — weird movements and things like that. I was like, ‘Oh, OK."
But like most reboots and other adaptations these days, the new take tends toward darker, grittier material. Part of that trend might be due to the critical and box office success ofChristopher Nolan’sThe Dark Knighttrilogy, which Cranston references with regard toPower Rangers:
“I wasn’t really high on it until I talked to the producer and read the script and talked to the director. After that I went, ‘This is different.’ This is as different a reimagining as the ‘Batman’ television series as it became the ‘Batman’ movie series. You can’t compare those two, and nor can you compare this movie version of the ‘Power Rangers’ to that television series. It’s unrecognizable for the most part. There are tenets of the folklore that you hold onto for sure, but the inspiration is different, and the sensibility of it, and the approach to the film making is completely different.”
Just to clarify, Cranston is comparing the 90sPower Rangersseries to the 60sBatmanseries, and then further comparing the tonal shifts of those movies into their modern feature film versions … with one slight difference:
“I don’t know if the tone is as dark as that because you’re dealing with teenagers. So the appropriateness of that, and real teenage life, and going through high school and the cliques and the popularity or lack thereof, and the bullies and all the different sections and sub-sections of high school life, and the insecurities of these kids and things like that — hopes and dreams — and you embrace all of that into a retelling of the ‘Power Rangers.’ And what you would get is this new version, this new reimagined version.”
However the film is ultimately received,Power Rangersdid quite well for themselves by landing both Cranston andElizabeth Banksin major roles within the mythos. The veteran actors will anchor the cast which is comprised of relative newcomers in the title roles:Ludi Linas the Black Ranger, Zack;Naomi Scottas the Pink Ranger, Kimberly;RJ Cyleras the Blue Ranger, Billy;Becky Gas the Yellow Ranger, Trini; andDacre Montgomeryas the Red Ranger, Jason.
In addition to Cranston, stars Montgomery and Lin took to social media recently to share their enthusiasm for the upcomingPower Rangersmovie as well:
For more of ourPower Rangerscoverage, take a look at some of our recent write-ups below:
