Dean Israelite on remaking Power Rangers with real characters and emotion

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

While I was never a big fan of the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers television series, I am curious to see what Dean Israelite's upcoming big-screen remake of the series will bring us. Over the past few months we've gotten a look at our new young heroes, both in and out of costume, as well as Elizabeth Banks as the villainous Rita Repulsa, but the first trailer for POWER RANGERS finally dropped at New York Comic-Con and it looked quite promising, even if Max Landis does think it looks a little too reminiscent of CHRONICLE. While speaking with THR, director Dean Israelite revealed what he believes will excite fans, both new and old, the most about the upcoming movie.

What I'm proud of, and what's exciting to me, is that it's a real character driven movie. There's real emotion in this film, and I think people will be surprised by it. I don't think this movie is just one thing — I think it doesn't have to be grim, I think it should be fun, and it should be adventurous. I think this movie hits those different notes well, and this property is so ripe to mix all those things together.

On giving Elizabeth Banks' Rita Repulsa a more dangerous edge while still keeping her humour intact:

I think it's a case of taking the characters to places that they had never been before, but had maybe needed to go. With Rita, she still has the madness and humor that made her work so well in the series, but there's something more. Elizabeth Banks is perfect in the role, because she can balance the humor and the drama the character needs in a way that almost no one else could.

On making POWER RANGERS a more grounded experience without losing the spirt of the original series:

I mean, I think the guiding light for me was, how do I take the spirit of what was, for me, a fun and heartfelt show and make the characters come to life in a way that gives nuance and complexity to them, and gives a lot of emotion to them. That was one guiding principle for remaking the show. The other was to make it grounded and real, and make it feel real and relatable even though the adventure was epic. I thought if I could do that, and maintain the fun of the show, I could bring it to life in a whole new way.

At the moment Dean Israelite and company are "deep into the editing and visual effects process," so they've still got quite a lot to do "in order to get everything perfect in time for the release." POWER RANGERS will hit theaters on March 24, 2017.