Power Rangers Movie Series Could Span 7 Films or More

Next year's Power Rangers movie might be just the beginning for what production company Lionsgate has in store for the franchise. CEO Jon Feltheimer said today that the company could possibly make as many as seven more installments in the series.

"We are really, really excited about the Power Rangers movie," he said on a conference call with analysts attended by Variety. "We could see doing five or six or seven."

Feltheimer said the positive response to the Power Rangers suit reveal earlier this month has buoyed his optimism for the film and the franchise overall. The suit design (above) is pretty striking, bearing a resemblance to what Halo's Spartans look like.

The new Power Rangers movie is set for a March 24, 2017 release. In February it was announced that Hunger Games star Elizabeth Banks would star as Rita Repulsa, the evil sorceress intent on invading Earth. The film will be directed by Dean Israelite.

Speaking to EW, production designer Andrew Menzies explained the approach he had taken to updating the colouful spandex of the classic TV show. "It's tricky finding a new language for a superhero costume," he said. "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."

The Power Rangers first appeared on screens in 1993's Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers. The show mixed new American scenes with footage taken from the Japanese show Super Sentai. To date, there has been a TV series, two earlier movies, plus a number of video games.