As someone who grew up wishing they were the Red Ranger (always a leader, never a follower), my childhood came whooshing back as soon as the rumors of a ‘Power Rangers’ reboot movie was in the works. The series, which took five ordinary, scrawny high-schoolers and granted them kick-ass karate skills to defend Earth and fight aliens, debuted in 1993, with its 22nd season enthralling innocent tweens at this very moment.
Sure, ‘Turbo’ wasn’t awful, and ‘Lost Galaxy’ got real deep by killing off a goddamn Ranger, but it’s the original ‘Mighty Morphin’ that made me want to name my pet hamster Zordon. So, when I heard the news of the first casting for the Pink Ranger was complete, I crossed my fingers for some positive news. Despite rumors of throwing newcomers into the ring, I wanted to see someone with real experience. Emily Blunt can play 16 if she wants. Hell, what about baby-faced Kate Mara? And since Katee Sackhoff did so well in that YouTube take, she’d definitely crush it.
Photo: Getty Images
But instead, Naomi Scott will represent the color pink in the 2017 movie reboot. While she’s lacking in experience (her credit in The Martian isn’t much to go-on), I’m praying that the casting director saw something in her that made him flash back to the great days of Amy Jo Johnson, pre-Felicity, of course.
Naomi, you’ve got big shoes to fill. Don’t fuck it up.
Photos by Everett Collection