We all figured there would come a time when the Cinematic Universe model of movie-making would finally go too far. Lionsgate appears to be the one take that step.
Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer spoke recently about the studio’s upcoming “Power Rangers” movie and touted the potential for sequels. MANY sequels.
“We are really, really excited about the ‘Power Rangers’ movie,” Feltheimer said during a conference call Thursday with analysts. “We could see doing five or six or seven.”
The Hunger Games movies squeezed out four movies. Twilight was able to turn four books into five film. But Lionsgate wants to mine the “rich” mythology of the Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers for eight movies?
It’s not a very surprising claim to hear a movie studio CEO make about a big blockbuster property but in all seriousness it’s hard to believe there’s enough “there” there to make that kind of a franchise happen. The Marvel movies draw on decades of storylines and fandom. Star Wars has a vertiable gold mine of untapped mythology to dig into. Hell, even Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles can count on past success in comic book, TV and movie form to drive a fanbase.
Power Rangers has five interchangable teenagers in costumes fighting aliens, winking and punning the whole way along. Aside from the stars aligning in unforseen ways like in the Fast & Furious franchise, it’s unlikely to think Power Rangers has more than a two or three movie lifespan.
But, never count out a Hollywood studio when it comes to getting every last dollar out of a property.
“Power Rangers” hits theaters on March 24, 2017 with a mostly unknown cast and middling expectations. Let’s see if that one makes a profit before we start building the theme park.
[Variety]
