‘Power Rangers’ Delayed to 2017
Ouch.
With the original theatrical release of July 22, 2016 fast approaching without so much of a confirmed director or cast, it seems Saban realized how much work it actually takes to make a successful Power Rangers movie franchise. Like a slacker student going to college on his rich daddy’s money, he’s asked the professor for an extension. To January 13, 2017.
From The Hollywood Reporter writer and head of nerd blog Heat Vision Borys Kit:
POWER RANGERS pushed back from July 22, 2016 to January 13, 2017.
— Borys Kit (@Borys_Kit) April 30, 2015
Instead of gunning for the summer release, it seems they’re trying for Martin Luther King Jr. weekend moviegoers. But has that ever worked before? No, and I don’t see Power Rangers being any different.
Expectations for this film are low, especially with Joseph Kahn and his POWER/RANGERS showing off a product that (arguably) the majority publicly have expressed actually wanting to see. While personally I didn’t like Kahn’s vision of the Power Rangers (I enjoyed the film just fine), I’m not exactly ecstatic over what we’ve heard about 2016/now 2017’s Power Rangers either — which is to say, we haven’t heard jack.
With no sources to back me up, I’m going to go on a hunch and predict Saban actually aiming for the summer 2017 release in the end. January just isn’t a good month for movies, and Power Rangers is Saban’s only viable franchise. It’s their baby, which is an honest-to-goodness accurate metaphor because they haven’t allowed their baby to grow for two decades. January is when studios take their ill-bred to shoot behind the barn, which Saban just wouldn’t allow. After Power Rangers, the next big movie is The Lego Batman Movie, which would be embarrassing if it actually beats Power Rangers.
As of now, 2017 is loaded with Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Planet of the Apes, Star Wars VIII, Furious 8 (expect this to change, there’s not even a script yet), Marvel’s Spider-Man, Toy Story 4, Despicable Me 3, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Wonder Woman, and Pacific Rim 2 as the lone wolf in August.
Maybe Saban should bet their kaiju vs. robots movie against the other one?
