Roberto Orci Exits POWER RANGERS And How Lionsgate Can Make This Reboot Badass

I think everyone was a bit shocked when Lionsgate announced they were resurrecting the Power Rangers movie franchise. Even more so, when Roberto Orci got involved as the project's godfather. Orci has been long since hated and championed for his contributions to the world of cinema. He's partly responsible for The Transformers franchise existing, and boils the blood of beloved film blogger Devin of BadAssDigest. Roberto co-wrote Amazing Spider-Man 2, and his promotion to director on Star Trek 3 has driven fans to panic about the direction the franchise is going. That said, Orci's priority with Trek leaves the creative vision open for Power Rangers according to.

A script is in the works from screenwriting duo Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz, best known for helping to pen X-Men Fist Class and Marvel's Thor. It also has a release date set for July 22nd, 2016. At this point the project is without a creative team, a director and actors to make-up the cast. I have some suggestions on how to make this reboot worth making, and how to ensure it's a badass one.

I have my oown theories on how to move forward without Orci, and steps Lionsgate can do to ensure this franchise is worth rebooting.



DIRECTOR



I went to Twitter and suggested a director for Power Rangers, who could actually become the next James Gunn. He's got a super stylized vision, like Gunn and similar dark humor. That would be Nova Scotia's Jason Eisener best known for his Canadian grindhouse homage Hobo With A Shotgun. Originally, he won a contest to have his original fake trailer for Hobo to play in front of Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez's Grindhouse (Planet Terror and Death Proof) in certain markets. There was so much interest in the project afterwards, it actually got made.

He's also been apart of the V/H/S horror franchise and directed a couple music videos. Jason for a time was lobbying to direct a reboot of the kids monster movie The Monster Squad (original had a script written Shane Black), but that doesn't to be happening anytime soon.

Jason doesn't scream PG-13 action franchise, but I think that's kind of the point. We're seeing a very interesting trend lately with James Gunn directing a Marvel movie, and digital effects director Tim Miller (mostly known for making game cinematics/trailers) helming Fox's Deadpool. Odd choices for directors that could really pay-off in the end. The coolest part is that Jason agreed with my original suggestion, and tweeted back "sign me up!".

@_ChristopherM sign me the hell up!
— Jason Eisener (@jasoneisener) September 20, 2014

TONE AND ART DEPARTMENT



The original series is actually an American version of Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger, the 16th installment of the Super Sentai Series (started back in 1975) from Japan. The studio ended-up splicing-in existing footage from the original series, then reshot the rest with Western actors. I'm actually curious if they'll be bringing back villains and characters from the American series or coming-up with all new stuff. I'd love to see those Japanese root explored a bit further, and maybe even it becomes a location in the film.

I grew-up on the show and I felt the look was cheesy and dated, but still the action and design was impressive for what it was. What I'd like to see is a complete overhaul of it's look and tone. Yes, it's for kids but the series originally got into trouble for targeting a younger audience, even though violence is a staple of the show. Maybe, the new film should be pushing the limits of a PG-13 rating. Similar to what Lionsgate has done with their hugely popular Hunger Games franchise.

When it comes to it's look I'd love the world to be a mix of Pacific Rim and Dredd. It seems like the setting of this Power Rangers world would be futuristic. Playing-up on the science-fiction aspect, since they are fighting aliens with karate, laser guns, tech-weapons and giant robots. I think artist Dave Rapoza (his artwork is used at the top) could really help give the franchise a hardened look, similar to what Marvel Studios has been doing with their in-house artists like Andy Park, Ryan Meinerding and Charlie Wen. Rapoza is best known for recreating characters from the 80s and 90s, and shockingly hasn't been snapped-up by Hollywood. Below are some of his redesigns for the Red and Pink rangers. I think if put into this art into a final piece, these could be killer on screen. It should be also noted that Dave's creature design work is fantastic as well, and could make the villains/aliens look a bit more real-world than recent alien designs we've been seeing in movies.

MUSIC

Moving past our visionary, I think we can all agree that music tends to be an important part of a film. Even though Tron Legacy was a hugely visual film (nothing much else was there), the only thing people actually remember and talk about is it's amazing score by Daft Punk. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross' work with David Fincher on The Social Network, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and Gone Girl have made those films even more atmospheric. I'm hoping that we see a similar move when it comes to putting together the music of Power Rangers.



Jason previously worked with Australian electro-thrash duo Power Glove on Hobo, and have come into their own scoring the wildly popular Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon. Playing-up the connection to the 8-bit culture would be nice a way to call-back to the video games the show spawned. I really dug the Dredd soundtrack for this reason, it was hard pumping but recalled the electronic/synth beats that would most likely populate a futuristic landscape.

CASTING

In no particular order I'd love to see these actors considered for the main lineup, who actually have a bit of an action background. They include, Anton Yelchin (Like Crazy, Terminator Salvation, Fright Night, Star Trek 1-3), Michael Angarano (Forbidden Kingdom, Knick, Haywire, Red State, English Teacher) , Justin Chon (Revenge of The Green Dragons, 21 And Over, Twilight), Haliee Steinfeld (True Grit, Ender's Game, Barely Lethal, Pitch Perfect 2), Dayo Okeniyi (Hunger Games, Terminator: Gensys, Runner Runner, Spectacular Now) and Rila Fukushima (Arrow, The Wolverine, Long Goodbye).

So, Lionsgate the ball is in your court and we hope you make the right choices here. They could just slap together a rushed project, or actually spend the effort creatively to give audiences a visually stunning and fun experience.

Lionsgate's POWER RANGERS Movie Lands THOR And X-MEN FIRST CLASS Writers

When it was first announced that a new Power Rangers movie was in the works, it sounded like a big joke. However, it sounds like Lionsgate isn't messing around and are hiring names known for delivering big noisy films. Roberto Orci will produce the film, and will work with writers to develop it's story. This on the heels of Orci exiting the Amazing Spider-Man franchise, and gearing-up to direct Star Trek 3 for Paramount. Lionsgate must want a franchise and not just a one-off to boost the ratings of the series and toy sales.

Orci seems like a decent choice since he's helped turn Transformers into a multi-billion dollar franchise. That piece of history cannot be ignored or left-out, in that arena he is successful. I'm not too sure he's the right voice for the project, but that's speaking as a fan of the original material growing-up.

The writers in question, are the screenwriting duo of Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz. The pair are known for writing credits on Marvel's Thor and Fox's X-Men First Class. They don't enstill too much hope for a great film, since most of their work get's rewritten. But, they ca

Power Rangers creator Haim Saban and Lionsgate's Allison Shearmur will also produce the film. Shearmur helped spearhead the direction of the studio's Hunger Games franchise, and is the most interesting name attached to the project. She could help push this into a more serious direction, than seen previously.

What kind of tone should we be expecting from this reboot? I have no clue, but if the studio puts-in the effort they did with Hunger Games, they could have a massive hit on their hands. Since the awareness for Power Rangers is huge worldwide, and with kaiju fever at it's modern peak (thanks to Godzilla and Pacific Rim). This is a perfect time to dust-off the zords. Not to mention the martial arts angle to likely get a shot-in-the-arm if Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is successful in August.

SOURCE: VARIETY 

Ashley Miller And Zack Stentz In Talks To Write STAR TREK 3 For Paramount

BadassDigest reports that Paramount is currently in early talks with screenwriters Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz to write a draft for Star Trek 3. Apparently, the studio wants production to begin in 2014 and aren't willing to wait for the previous writers who are currently busy with other projects. Miller and Stentz are best known for contributing to Thor and X-Men First Class. Along with writing for J.J. Abrams' Fringe and Fox's Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

Starship Troopers Is Being Remade

Producer Neal H. Moritz is known for taking on rather large projects and reboots. He currently has Total Recall and Bryan Singer's Jack The Giant Killer to be released this summer. Along with a slew of other projects that include 21 Jump Street, R.I.P.D. (Ryan Reynolds, Jeff Bridges), RED 2, Highlander and Escape From New York. Neal is about to develop a remake of yet another film from director Paul Verhoeven this time according to Vulture it will be Starship Troopers. The 90's cult classic was a massive misstep for Sony when the $100 million film didn't make a splash at the box office when it first came out but then later made a killing in the home video market. It spawned two direct-to-DVD sequels which neither had the scale or action of the first film. However, it might be in good hands as Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz will tackle the remake's script. The pair are credited for writing both Thor and X-Men First Class which were some of the biggest success stories of the year.



As a big fan of the original I'm unsure which angle they'll be going for here. I was shocked how much they would exclude in Total Recall from the original film going as far as getting rid of the violence for a PG-13 rating along with Mars. To see a PG-13 Starship Troopers film would be an odd thing considering this a science fiction war film. Films like Saving Private Ryan and Platoon showed the realistic side to war but had to be R for this to happen. Even in science fiction the rules still apply just look at Aliens (which channeled Vietnam) for example if we didn't see the marines taken out so harshly I don't think the film would have had the same impact. Avatar for all it's stunning special effects didn't have the same urgency Aliens had because the realism was lost in it's fantasy world of CGI.

My faith in the project will also come down to casting and the director. I feel like Sony could be working the Hunger Games/Ender's Game angle here and looking to hire very young actors for the leads. Not unlike the original which had a fresh faced group of young actors put into combat. I would hope that the studio went for talent rather flavors of the month. Since I believe this reboot is likely a new franchise in the making. I don't have a lot of directors coming to mind who could do this justice but newcomer Rupert Sanders is among them. Sanders who I hope will make a name for himself with Snow White And The Huntsman also did a great job on the some of the Halo live-action commercials.

Simon Kinberg Writing Sequel To X-Men First Class

It didn't take long for the name of screenwriter of the X-Men First Class sequel to be revealed. Jason Flemyng had just stated 20th Century Fox was developing a script for the sequel. However, there was no official word from the studio or Matthew Vaughn.

SuperHeroHype now reports that Simon Kinberg is currently writing First Class 2. Kinberg's writing credits includes X3, Sherlock Holmes, Mr. And Mrs. Smith, This Means War and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. He's also producing Neill Blomkamp's next science fiction epic Elysium. There is no word if original screenwriters Ashley Edward Miller and Zack Stentz will be contributing. It's assumed if director Matthew Vaughn returns he and writing partner Jane Goldman would do their own re-writes.

Writers Ashley Miller & Zack Stentz Want A Crack At Fantastic Four

Fantastic Four is one of the most popular and recognizable Marvel properties. The comics themselves introduced us to Silver Surfer, Galactius, Rama-Tut (Kang The Conqueror) and Doctor Doom (one of the greatest villains in comics). So it's puzzling how three attempts to make a decent film has ended up in ethier disaster (Roger Corman's version) or average at best. Fox is giving the foursome one more shot before the rights revert back to Marvel/Disney. The relaunch has been stuck in development limbo for years now and it's status has yet to be updated.

Screenwriters Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz (via ComicBookMovie) think they have a way to reinvent the characters while keeping the fantastical aspect of the comics intact. Miller and Stentz are best known for their work on Thor as well as writing credits for X-Men First Class.They believe the Fantastic Four reboot  should be playing up the cosmic aspect of the comics.


"We would absolutely love to reboot the Fantastic Four. There is a franchise that's crying out for it. The Fantastic Four are adventurers, not superheroes, and we have not seen that so far.

"It should all be about venturing into the unknown, space, the Negative Zone, the Microverse. They are explorers. It should be Star Wars meets superheroes."


I have to agree with them as Thor and Green Lantern seem to be proving that science fiction can be included in the superhero genre. Considering they get their powers in space and a majority of their villains are aliens this makes a lot of sense. With Fox's massive success with Avatar they should understand the power of a space adventure spectacle. It would be interesting to see a Fantastic Four film on the edge of Star Trek and Star Wars. The studio doesn't seem to be revamping their recent comic properties without thinking things through. First Class brought the X-Men series back to it's roots while The Wolverine, Daredevil and Deadpool are expected to be on the nose faithful reinventions. Hopefully they will go the same route with Fantastic Four and putting the time into giving fans a solid film.