'Power Rangers' release date news: Director Dean Israelite discusses updating the franchise

Power Rangers Lionsgate

The upcoming "Power Rangers" movie is set to be a reboot instead of following the canon of the current television series, which spawns all the way back from the 1990s. With that said, director Dean Israelite has given fans an update in an interview with Empire how the new film will update the franchise for the modern audience.

Israelite confirmed that the film would be updating elements from the original "Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers" show without cutting corners and still respecting the property, taking note that for many the original series is very nostalgic for a lot of audiences.

"I grew up on it and I have all the same questions other people have. How are we going to update this? How will it exist in the contemporary superhero cinema canon? I tried to add naturalism and a grounded nature and make it character-driven," Israelite explained.

The director also stated that when it came to casting and updating the character of Zordon, which will now be played by "Breaking Bad" star Bryan Cranston, Cranston was initially skeptical about it. It is noted that Cranston had played a small role in the original 1990s series as he portrayed one of the monsters that the titular heroes had to fight.

However, Cranston had warmed up to the idea after seeing some footage and then got excited about the potential of the character. Israelite claims that fans will get excited for what the studios are doing with the character of Zordon. It is speculated that Zordon will be portrayed as a former Red Ranger before he became trapped in his dimensional prison.

"Power Rangers" will release in theaters by March 24, 2017 and will star Elizabeth Banks as Rita Repulsa, Bryan Cranston as Zordon and Dacre Montgomery, RJ Cyler, Becky G, Ludi Lin and Naomi Scott as the Power Rangers.

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