Disney+ No Longer Developing New “Power Rangers” Series
Early last year, it was revealed that 20th Television was developing a brand new series for Disney+ based on the iconic Power Rangers franchise.
However, just ahead of the D23 event this weekend, Deadline has revealed that the new Power Rangers series is no longer moving forward.
The reboot was being created, written and executive produced by Percy Jackson and the Olympians executive producers/showrunners Jonathan E. Steinberg and Dan Shotz.
Unlike most projects that don’t move forward, it seems like this show wasn’t cancelled due to creative issues, but was related to the budget, since this was going to be an expensive show to create.
This was especially an issue for Disney, since it doesn’t own the franchise rights to the Power Rangers, so unlike shows like Marvel or Star Wars, it can’t benefit from the sale of merchandise or video games, which is a major reason why these types of shows usually get funded, especially back in the early days of the franchise.
“The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” series originally debuted back in the early 1990s and was based on a Japanese show, “Super Sentai”, as well as “Gosei Sentai Dairanger” and “Ninja Sentai Kakuranger.” Since then, there have been many spinoff shows and movies.
Hasbro, which owns the franchise, has been trying to get a reboot of the Power Rangers going for a while, but it seems Disney+ isn’t going to be home for this show.
As for the creators of the show, no doubt they are going to be busy, hopefully, making more seasons of “Percy Jackson” for Disney+.
Roger’s Take: It’s a shame that this project isn’t going forward at Disney+, since it seemed like a natural fit for a new generation of fans, but realistically, this is a franchise that has been rebooted so many times and failed to capture the magic of the original 90s show. From a business perspective, Disney is only going to want to invest in expensive original productions if there is a way to generate additional revenue from it.
What do you think of Disney+ pulling the plug on the Power Rangers? Let me know on social media!
