Power Rangers First Look: Elizabeth Banks is Rita Repulsa

The Power Rangers will return to the big screen in 2017 withSaban ’s Power Rangers , a movie that will reboot the originalMighty Morphin Power Rangers ; itself , a property that debut as a lively - action television serial on Fox Kids in 1993 ( using parentage footage from the Nipponese TV seriesKyōryū Sentai Zyuranger ) that in turn pay ascent to multiple differentPower Rangers goggle box shows , as well as two feature - duration films and installment spanning several other program ( video games , comic books ) , over the two decennary that have followed .

Saban ’s Power Rangers , which is being disperse by Lionsgate / Summit , feature a chief hurl compose principally of unseasoned lesser - known talent , withpop music star Becky Gomezbeing the biggest name among them . However , the film does include one proper A - middlebreaker among its acting ranks : Elizabeth Banks , the actor / filmmaker whose CV includes roles in theHunger GamesandPitch Perfectfilm franchises - and who , inPower Rangers , will play the Rangers ' most famous resister : the alien sorceress Rita Repulsa , a fibre hell - bent on conquering Earth ( with only the Rangers standing in her way ) .

Peoplehas now exclusively break Banks ' look as Rita Repulsa in thePower Rangersmovie reboot , with Banks herself noting that"It ’s definitely a New and high-strung re - imagining of the original Rita Repulsa . We wanted to give her a backstory that connects her to the novel Rangers . “you may turn back out the first pic of Banks as Rita Repulsa below .

The Green Ranger in fight stance in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers

Banks ' comment that her version of Rita has"a backstory that link her to the new Rangers"in the upcomingPower Rangersmovie is worth noting , since the character has traditionally shared a account with Zordon - the astronomical sage who , in theMighty Morphin Power RangersTV series , provided the Rangers with the tech that pass on them their " morphin " capability - though not with the factual ranger themselves . A former report on this matterindicated that thePower Rangersmovie reboot will open with a prologue which explores the story between Zordon and Rita . That same report also referred to Banks ' Rita as"A huntress . A dramatic , yet subtly alien - count woman”- a description that , all things considered , is n’t that far off from Bank ’s literal appearing as the character . As such , that write up might not only be accurate , it might also signal that the moving picture ’s prologue will unveil a more direct association between Rita Repulsa and the Rangers ' hometown of Angel Grove ( and/or the Rangers themselves ) .

ThePower Rangersscript is credit to several different writers - Max Landis ( Chronicle ) , John Gatins ( Real Steel ) , Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless ( Gods of Egypt ) , and Zack Stentz and Ashley Miller ( Thor ) among them - though it remains to be visualise if they and director Dean Israelite ( Project Almanac ) have supervise to put together a satisfying backstory for Rita Repulsa in the cinema . As for the Power Rangers themselves : proportional newcomer Dacre Montgomery is act Jason the Red Ranger ; Naomi Scott ( The Martian ) is Kimberly the Pink Ranger ; RJ Cyler ( Me and Earl and the Dying Girl ) is Billy the Blue Ranger ; Ludi Lin ( Monster Hunt ) is Zack the Black Ranger ; and Gomez rounds out the main crew as Trini the Yellow Ranger . The character of Zordon , assuming that heisin the movie , has yet to be officially retch .