New Power Rangers Movie and '90s TV Show Are Almost Nothing Alike, Zordon Actor Says

The upcoming Power Ranger movie will differ significantly from the '90s TV show--and that may be for the best. That's according to Zordon actor Bryan Cranston, who recently spoke to The Huffington Post about the dramatic differences that exist between the show and the film.

Cranston, who did voicework for the show and is even the inspiration for the Blue Ranger's name, said he was reticent to even look at the role because of the show's "farcical and silly" nature. After he read the script and spoke with the producer and director, however, he decided it was a project he wanted to be involved with because it goes in a different direction.

The Breaking Bad actor specifically cited the differences between the Batman TV series and the Batman movies franchise as an example of the path Power Rangers is going down.

"You can't compare those two, and nor can you compare this movie version of the Power Rangers to that television series. It's unrecognizable for the most part," he explained. "There are tenets of the folklore that you hold onto for sure, but the inspiration is different, and the sensibility of it, and the approach to the film making is completely different."

Cranston specified that he was referring to Christopher Nolan's Batman movie series. He also mentioned that the tone for the new Power Rangers movie is possibly not as dark as the Batman films "because you're dealing with teenagers" in large part as opposed to adults.

Overall, the Power Rangers film will cover things like "real teenage life," including cliques and popularity (and non-popularity), as well as bullies and insecurities that teens have.

"You embrace all of that into a retelling of the Power Rangers. And what you would get is this new version, this new reimagined version," he said.

Power Rangers opens in theaters on March 24, 2017. The cast includes Elizabeth Banks as villain Rita Repulsa, while the Rangers are played by Dacre Montgomery (Red Ranger), RJ Cyler (Blue Ranger), Becky G (Yellow Ranger), Ludi Lin (Black Ranger), and Naomi Scott (Pink Ranger). You can check out the new Power Rangers' costumes here--they kind of look like something out of Halo.

The rebooted Power Rangers movie could be the first of many. In a conference call with analysts, Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer said the production company is "really, really excited about the Power Rangers movie" and "could see doing five or six or seven."