Power Rangers 2 never happened, even though the studio had bold plans for the Power Rangers (2017) sequels. Given how many Power Rangers TV shows there are, it can be surprising to learn that there are only three Power Rangers movies, only one of which is canon to the main continuity. In 1995, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie brought the television sensation to theaters with a film that, while starring the likes of Jason David Frank, Amy Jo Johnson, and David Yost, was not meant to be canon to the series and told a self-contained story.
Two years later, Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie set the stage for the Turbo show with a story that was canon to the TV show and covered the transition from the Zeo powers to the Turbo ones. It was only a decade later, in 2017, that Power Rangers finally got another movie, this time a full reboot of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers with an all-new cast of up-and-coming actors. Despite offering a fresh, promising take on the world of Power Rangers, the 2017 film struggled at the box office and never got a sequel.
Power Rangers’ Box Office Performance Killed The Franchise Before It Started
Power Rangers (2017) Was A Box Office Flop
On a budget of $100 million, Power Rangers (2017) only made $142 million at the worldwide box office. This means that the movie was a massive box office bomb that killed any chances of a sequel. Lionsgate did have plans for multiple Power Rangers sequels, with CEO Jon Feltheimer stating during a conference call (via Variety) that they could make “five, or six, or seven” movies. Lionsgate was confident about the Power Rangers reboot and believed it could be the beginning of a franchise. Unfortunately, everything was scrapped after the 2017 film’s poor box office performance.
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Power Rangers Box Office & Reception |
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|---|---|---|---|
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Budget |
Box Office |
Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score |
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score |
|
$100-105 million |
$142.3 million |
51% |
65% |
Although we don’t know what Power Rangers 2 and other sequels would have been about, it is safe to assume that the next film was going to be an adaptation of the Green With Evil arc. Tommy Oliver was teased at the end of Power Rangers in a post-credits scene where “Tommy Oliver” was missing from detention. With the Power Rangers reboot having already introduced the core Mighty Morphin characters, it would only make sense for the sequel to bring in Tommy. Given how MMPR ran for 145 episodes, the movies would’ve had plenty of stories to pull from.
What Went Wrong With The Power Rangers Movie
Power Rangers (2017) Felt Too Different And Lacked Action
Power Rangers has a 51% critic score and a 65% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, neither of which are ideal numbers for a movie that was meant to be the first entry in a franchise. Bringing Power Rangers back to the big screen would always be a risky endeavor, even more so because this would be the first Power Rangers film not to feature the original actors. The fact that the Power Rangers costumes for the reboot were drastically different from the ones in the original series was also a risky choice that might not have paid off.
While I enjoyed seeing a new interpretation of the classic Zyuranger costumes, using something more similar to the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers suits might have helped the 2017 reboot. Even though Power Rangers has had dozens of other shows after MMPR, most of the general audiences still associate the franchise with the original team and its iconography. Power Rangers also didn’t deliver the action and the sense of scale that a movie based on colorful, Super Sentai-inspired superheroes should have. The Rangers only properly morphed at the very end, with most of the movie serving as one big origin story.
Will There Be Another Power Rangers Movie After The Failed Reboot?
There Are No Power Rangers Movies Or Shows Confirmed Right Now
The Power Rangers franchise has gone through many important behind-the-scenes changes since the 2017 film came out. While a new Power Rangers universe that would include a new feature film by Jonathan Entwistle was announced in 2020, it is unclear whether the project is still happening. In 2024, it was reported that Netflix’s Power Rangers TV show reboot was no longer moving forward. With a more traditional Power Rangers season 31 after Cosmic Fury’s ending also not confirmed, the future of the franchise on both the small and the big screen is currently unknown.
Related
Power Rangers’ Greatest Mystery Has Remained Unsolved For 26 Years And Might Never Be Answered
The most important Power Rangers battle happened 26 years ago, yet the show never explained the Mighty Morphin team mystery that came with it.
Therefore, it might take a while before we get another Power Rangers film. Regardless, whenever Power Rangers does return to the big screen, it will not be a sequel to the 2017 film but rather a new thing entirely. Apart from a comic book set shortly after the events of the film, that iteration of the Power Rangers universe never moved forward. Despite its flaws, the Power Rangers movie could have led to a very interesting franchise. Unfortunately, it did not come close to making enough money for a sequel to move forward.
Source: Variety
Power Rangers
5/10
- Release Date
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March 24, 2017
- Runtime
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124 minutes
- Director
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Dean Israelite
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Elizabeth Banks
Jason Lee Scott / The Red Ranger
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Billy Cranston / The Blue Ranger
