Deadline reports that due to his schedule for the upcoming Star Trek 3, executive producer Roberto Orci has had to drop out of Lionsgate and Saban’s upcoming big screen reboot of the Power Rangers. Orci recently completed the first draft of Star Trek 3 with co-writers Patrick McKay and J.D. Payne which he will also direct. No release date is currently set for that film, but the expectation is that the new film will land in theaters in 2016, just in time for the franchises 50th anniversary.
Screenwriters Zack Stentz and Ashley Miller (X-Men: First Class, Thor) will script the upcoming reboot of Power Rangers, which is described as a modern reinvention of the long-running franchise. In it, a group of ordinary high school kids find themselves infused with extraterrestrial powers and must harness those powers as a team to save the world. It is currently set for release on July 22, 2016.
Saban’s “Power Rangers” franchise is the brainchild of Haim Saban, creator and producer of the original “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” hit series that launched in 1993. Following its introduction, “Power Rangers” quickly became the most-watched children’s television program in the United States and remains one of the top-rated and longest running boys live-action series in television history. The series follows the adventures of a group of ordinary teens who “morph” into superheroes and save the world from evil. It is seen in more than 150 markets around the world, translated into numerous languages and is a mainstay in the most prominent international childrens programming blocks.
20th Century Fox previously released two feature films, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie in 1995 and Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie in 1997.
