After wearing outlandish outfits as Effie Trinket in "The Hunger Games" trilogy, Elizabeth Banks will once again transform herself after signing up for the role of Rita Repulsa in the upcoming "Power Rangers" reboot.
The 41-year-old actress will be breathing life to the main antagonist in the reboot of the film adaptation of the popular 1990s superhero series. The role was previously portrayed by Julia Cortez in "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie," which was released in June 1995. The role was also portrayed by Japanese actress Machiko Soga in the TV series.
Banks, who also directed the hit musical "Pitch Perfect," made the announcement via her Twitter account on Wednesday.
The "Power Rangers" movie reboot will be directed by "Project Almanac" filmmaker Dean Israelite, and will feature several new actors like "Shower" singer Becky G. who will portray the role of the Yellow Ranger Trini Kwan, Ludi Lin as the Black Ranger Zack Taylor, Naomi Scott as the Pink Ranger Kimberly, Australian actor Dacre Montgomery as the Red Ranger Jason Lee Scott, and "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl" star R.J. Cyler as the Blue Ranger Billy Cranston.
"The Twilight Zone," "Andromeda," and "X-Men: First Class" writers Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz wrote the script for the upcoming reboot, which is about a group of teenagers who are out to save the world from the evil invasion of the alien witch Rita Repulsa.
The reboot, which is the third film in the "Power Rangers" franchise, is being filmed in Vancouver, Canada.
Producers Brian Casentini and Allison Shearmur will also work with original creator Haim Saban to come up with a more mature but fun version of the classic 1990s movie.
The "Power Rangers" movie reboot was initially scheduled for release on July 22, 2016 but was later on postponed to Jan. 13, 2017. However, recent developments claimed that the target release date for the film will be pushed back further to March 24, 2017.
