With the brand-new Power Rangers movie looming just over the horizon, it's time to start getting an idea of what it's going to look like. Only a few weeks ago we got our first look at Elizabeth Banks as Rita Repulsa, the moon witch with designs on world conquest that somehow focuses exclusively on suburban California. But that only raised the question of when we'd see the actual Rangers.

Now, the wait is over. Thanks to Entertainment Weekly, we have our first glimpse of the movie's Power Ranger costumes, and they are definitely a departure from the television show.

Interestingly enough, the more heavily armored look feel s like a natural progression from the way the Rangers' costumes were "updated" for the first American Power Rangers movie back in 1995:

 

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie
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It's worth noting that over the course of the Super Sentai/Power Rangers franchise, we've seen a lot of variations in the suits, from the baseline that was established with Mighty Morphin to the streamlined jumpsuits of Jungle Fury and the more "tactical" look of Go-Busters, so there's certainly a lot of room for interpretation. As for the new movie suits, they were designed by Andrew Menzies, who also offered some information on how they're meant to work in the new Power Rangers universe:

“It’s tricky finding a new language for a superhero costume,” production designer Andrew Menzies (G.I. Joe: Retaliation) admits. “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.”

Personally, I would question the necessity for finding a "new language for a superhero costume," especially when you're dealing with source material that has been designing new costumes every year for 40 years, but I can understand wanting to set this particular group apart from both the Japanese Super Sentai series and the current wave of American superhero movies as more of its own thing.

I will say that as CA's resident Power Rangers "expert," I'm not really a fan of the new look, but I want to make sure I'll add a couple of caveats to that. First, I also thought that the first picture of Heath Ledger as the Joker in The Dark Knight looked terrible, so I should probably go ahead and reserve judgment until we see these costumes in a format that involves a little more than standing around on wooden blocks. Second, at 33 years old, I'm about 20 years outside of the movie's target market. Much as I like the Power Rangers, my opinion's going to be inherently less relevant than pretty much any kid's. Here's hoping that we get to see a little more before it's all said and done.

 

 

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