‘Power Rangers’ Movie Casts its Red Ranger

Newcomer Dacre Montgomery has been cast as the Red Ranger in Lionsgate’s upcoming “Power Rangers” reboot.

The studio made the announcement via Twitter. The cast also includes Naomi Scott, who is playing the Pink Ranger.

Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz are penning the script, with Haim Saban, Brian Casentini and Allison Shearmur producing.

The story reimagines the origins of the “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers,” a group of high school kids who find themselves infused with extraterrestrial powers and unite to save the world with the aid of giant mechanical vehicles known as Zords.

The 1993 Fox Kids TV series became a pop culture phenomenon and inspired a theatrical film, “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie,” in 1995. The original iteration of the series ran until 1996, when the franchise was renamed simply “Power Rangers,” with different subtitles every season.

In later seasons, the title teens were replaced with new characters and vehicles every year. A second theatrical pic, “Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie,” was released in 1997 and was presented as a link between “Power Rangers” series “Zeo” and “Turbo.” The show was originally adapted from the long-running Japanese “Super Sentai” series, recycling footage from the Japanese version to cut down on production costs.

Variety recently reported that the studio was looking at discoveries for the new team and had begun testing actors earlier this month.

The role marks Montgomery’s first major role in a studio film.

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