Two years ago, director Joseph Khan and producer Adi Shankar presented POWER/RANGERS, a short fan film based on Saban's colorful heroes of the same name. The film, which starred Katee Sackhoff and James Van Der Beek, was an R-rated take on the kid-friendly Power Rangers mythos, with plenty of violent action and mature themes. Saban wasn't exactly thrilled with the film, as they were working on their own reboot that is now due for release in a few months.
Shankar initially said the film was meant as a standalone, mature analysis of the Power Rangers concept, but it seems that he now has something a little more ambitious in mind. In an interview with Polygon, Shankar confirmed that he is working on an R-rated Power Rangers animated series that would adapt the first three seasons of the original TV show. “It’s a complete retelling of the first three seasons,” Shankar said. “And it’s going to be really f*cking dark. Darker than any other Power Rangers series.”
Shankar confirmed that he is currently writing the scripts for the first season and wants to have the series ready on a network within 18 months. Shankar said he had spoken to a few networks, but he was most interested in bringing the show to Netflix, where he is currently serving as showrunner for Castlevania. Shankar explained that he believes Netflix has the best format for television in the modern age. "If you look at what shows are like today, they’re long movies,” Shankar said. “It’s a format paradigm and I want to explore creating these types of new shows with Power Rangers. We’re going to focus on the beats of what made each show great and turn that into one, entirely new Power Rangers series."
Of course, there would still be other hurdles to get around, and Saban may not be so willing to let their property get steered away from the family-friendly image it has maintained for over 20 years. Do you want to see this series get made? Let us know in the comments below!
About The Author:
Matt is a graduate of the Ryerson University School of Journalism, and has been a fan of superheroes since he picked up his first comic book issue as a child. While he works as a professional musician, Matt has a massive passion for comic books, films and heroes, along with participating in discussion and debate with the CBM community.