First Look at Ranger Suits in the 'Power Rangers' Reboot

With filming underway for the reboot of Power Rangers, fans have been waiting for their first look at what the Power Rangers will look like in the modern adaptation of the classic '90s children's program, "Might Morphin Power Rangers." Now thanks to Entertainment Weekly, we have our first look at what the new age Power Ranger suits will look like in Power Rangers (2017).

Breakdown of First Image of the Power Rangers

The futuristic appearance of the new Power Rangers is amazing. A perfect mash-up of some of the tones from the original '90s program, melded with a futuristic design. The suits appear to be a mixture of an 'Iron Man' armor and the robotic look of Robocop from the reboot, Robocop (2014). Aside from this new image, it's good to see that the classic tones based around the helmet design of the Power Rangers hasn't changed much. Many fans were expecting the new look of the Power Rangers to either turn out as a completely campy look for a modern-age film, or so heavy in CG-effects that we're taken back to the mistake of Ryan Reynolds' costume in Green Lantern (2011). But the new looks appear promising for the reboot, Power Rangers (2017). Director Dean Israelite (Project Almanac) of the film commented to Entertainment Weekly on the new look for the Power Rangers. Here's what he had to say.

The show was about kids coming of age, about metamorphosis. These suits needed to feel like they were catalyzed by these kids and their energy, their spirit.”

The implication of Israelite's words means that the Power Rangers' suits will be symbiotically attached to the teenagers wearing them. The suits will be alien in nature, and when the Power Rangers decide to use the alien technology, their bodies will be consumed by the alien-mass, granting them extraterrestrial abilities. Now consumed is a loaded term, but the concept behind an alien organism wrapping itself around a teenager calls for the use of a term like "consumed". Production designer, Andrew Menzies also commented on the origin of the Power Rangers' suits.

“Ours is an alien costume that grows on them, that’s not man-made. You can’t win everyone over, but we are trying to appeal to a more mature audience and gain new fans.

Menzies is adding more to the potential background of the Rangers' suits. The suits may originate from an alien planet, and wind up on Earth, but who's to say there aren't more alien-suits out in the universe who've already found hosts? To which, more malevolent beings may be in possession of 'Power Suits.' That's all hypothetical for the moment. But we can make the assumption that the alien element in the film will definitely be a defining characteristic of the 'Power Rangers' and their origins. Apart from the newly confirmed image of the Power Rangers' suits, another image has leaked from the set of Power Rangers, giving us a look at some of the suspected weaponry used by the Power Rangers in the film.

Leaked image from the set of Power Rangers (2017).

From what we can see, there's an individual weapon, color-coordinated to each of the five Power Rangers. But wait, there are six colored weapons in the image. Where's the other Power Ranger, attached to that silver/white weaponry? We only have a picture of five Power Rangers in the confirmed image from Entertainment Weekly (image embedded above)? We'll get back to that question later. For now, we need to dissect this image of the Power Rangers' weaponry spotted on-set. When the image first leaked, fans were speculating that these set pieces were going to be fenders on the Power Rangers' motorcycles. That theory has some credibility to it, as the appliances do have the appearance of fenders, but there may be a more clever explanation for these pieces of Power Rangers apparel.

Going back to the confirmed image provided by EW, the new futuristic look of the Power Rangers has both tones from the classic '90s program and new-age technology. Along with that, we get to see the iconic Morphers used by the teenagers to transform into their Power Ranger alter-egos within the belt-line of their suits. Here's where those pieces of weaponry come into play.

What the leaked image could be of.

In the '90s program of "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers", the Power Rangers would use their Morphers to turn into their superhero alter-egos. Within the scenes, the actors would go through an instantaneous change into their costumes. But we never got a clear picture of the transformation. However, with the new reboot likely showing the teenagers going through full transformation into Power Rangers, there's likely going to be a functional manner for their transformation to take place, which is how that weaponry in the image above plays into the film.

The simple trinkets of the Morphers won't be able to embody the volume of each Power Ranger's suit which means they'll need a compact manner to carry their suits. It wouldn't be ideal to have them carry the suits in a backpack or briefcase as it would relate too closely to Iron Man from the Avengers. But a compact storage device used to store the Power Rangers' suits is going to be necessary. It's not clear how the functionality of the suits will play out, but it's bound to be an interesting sight upon completion of the film. The new piece of information that gives the indication of the suits being alien creations, makes it possible for the suits to be stored in a fluid form, possibly in those fender looking pieces of weaponry, spotted on the set of Power Rangers.

Apart from the reveal of the Power Rangers' suits, it also brings up the possibility for the reboot of the "Power Rangers" franchise to evolve into a grittier, action based trilogy. Fans weren't keen on the idea of comic-book movies being adapted into gritty, action films but look at Captain America: Winter Soldier (2013) and how that film turned out to be one of Marvel's most successful films to date. There's plenty of room for the reboot of Power Rangers to begin as a single film feature, but build up into a multi-chapter series of films, still relying on the original concept of Haim Saban's "Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers." With the likeliness of the film drawing in a more mature demographic, fans who are looking for a new sci-fi franchise to find interest in could see Power Rangers as new territory to explore within that genre. Success of the film could lead to a whole batch of action sci-fi, thrillers based on the once-hit children's television program "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers".

Questions from fans, still to be answered during production.

There are still a few questions peeking on the minds of fans for the "Power Rangers" franchise .

• Where are Bulk and Skull, will they make an appearance?
• Where's the Sixth Power Ranger?
• Is David Denman's role as Sam Scott, the father to Jason Lee Scott (Dacre Montgomery) Possibly a veteran 'Power Ranger'?
• When are we going to see some concept art of Alpha and Zordon? The alien technology of the Power Rangers' suits has to come from somewhere.
• Could Alpha and Zordon be cut from the film to give the teenagers becoming the Power Rangers more independence as superheroes?
• Is Elizabeth Banks' green costume of Rita Repulsa made from the same alien technology that created the Power Rangers' suits?
• Could Rita Repulsa be in possession of the Sixth Power Ranger gem?

Are the origins of the Power Rangers being changed in the reboot? Is Rita Repulsa (Elizabeth Banks) a fallen, Green Ranger?

The image of Rita Repulsa (Elizabeth Banks) which is embedded above, has her character in the film causing some destruction. The image also shows Elizabeth Banks in her green, alien costume. The green costume differs substantially from the other costume Elizabeth Banks has been seen on set in.

There's nothing too discernible about the difference in costumes, but there may be more significance to the costume change. The image of Elizabeth Banks in her green costume shares similarities to the newly released image of the Power Rangers in uniform. The Power Rangers' extraterrestrial suits appear to stretch around the lining of their suits, similar to the green costume that Elizabeth Banks has been seen wearing. Some of the armor plating on the suits differs in color and consistency. It appears as though the alien element within the suits will cover the mass of the individual wearing it, giving them a unique appearance based on their physiology (i.e. thicker breast plates). The difference is noticeable in the image embedded below. The Black Ranger suit appears slightly thicker than the Red Ranger's suit in the breast plates, as well as the Pink Ranger suit having a bustier chest plate to account for her anatomy.

Accounting for the spaces in the armor on Elizabeth Banks' green costume, the costume shares striking similarities to the newly introduced Power Rangers' suits. Now, she may not be a Power Ranger, but it looks as though Rita Repulsa's (Elizabeth Banks) green costume comes from the same alien technologies that developed the Power Rangers' costumes. The lining of the Rangers' suits also stretches along their bodies, forming around them, similar to the way Elizabeth Banks' costume hugs her body.

Accounting for the spaces in the armor on Elizabeth Banks' green costume, the costume shares striking similarities to the newly introduced Power Rangers' suits. Now, she may not be a Power Ranger, but it looks as though Rita Repulsa's (Elizabeth Banks) green costume comes from the same alien technologies that developed the Power Rangers' costumes. The lining of the Rangers' suits also stretches along their bodies, forming around them, similar to the way Elizabeth Banks' costume hugs her body.