I stood under the theater lights when Dacre Montgomery casually mentioned the cast had been offered a four-movie deal. You could feel the air change—what seemed like a small line revealed a much larger plan. The moment made the 2017 reboot feel like a near-miss.
At studio screenings, executives trade whispers about future profits before the lights go down.
I’ve sat through those whispers. Lionsgate saw Power Rangers as more than a standalone movie; they wanted a dependable franchise, their own Hunger Games-style tentpole. Before release, the company sketched out as many as seven films, and the cast reportedly had a four-picture offer on the table. That kind of planning signals confidence—and a budget spreadsheet built around recurring returns.
At meet-and-greets, actors keep stories short; the truth often slips out between autographs.
When Dacre Montgomery spoke to Movieweb at the Faces of Death premiere, he didn’t just reminisce—he mapped how the studio’s optimism unraveled. Merchandising and home releases performed solidly, but theatrical returns fell short of the investment required to justify sequels. Montgomery’s account echoed reporting from The Hollywood Reporter: the math didn’t line up, and the studio pulled back.
Why did the 2017 Power Rangers reboot underperform?
The answer sits in timing and trade-offs. The film tried to square a darker, grounded tone with a nostalgic brand built on bright colors and broad appeals. Fans praised the cast’s authenticity, but broader audiences didn’t convert at the box office in the numbers Lionsgate needed. The result? Promises of a long-running franchise stalled because the theatrical receipts weren’t there.
At premiers you can watch a post-credits scene and feel the gears of a franchise begin to click.
The 2017 film even teased Tommy Oliver in a post-credits beat, which reads now like an intentional handshake to future installments. That tease was a clear signal: the creative team had plans to expand. If the film had landed harder with mainstream viewers, those cameos and cliffhangers would’ve been the first steps toward a multi-film arc. Instead the sequel talk faded and a different direction emerged.
Was a sequel or franchise ever planned?
Yes. Studios don’t offer multi-picture contracts on hunch alone—Lionsgate sketched out a multi-film strategy, and early planning reportedly included as many as seven entries. The four-movie deal for the cast shows the studio had concrete intentions. What sunk the plan wasn’t creative will; it was the economics of theatrical performance.
On industry timelines, reboots get repurposed when ownership or platforms shift.
Fast-forward and Disney+ now carries the torch for another reboot. Streaming platforms change the calculus: Disney+ can afford to incubate brand loyalty differently than a theatrical studio chasing box office peaks. Montgomery has said he’s excited for whoever steps into the roles, and he’s candid about having “the best time” on set. The story didn’t end; it just took a different shelf.
Is the Disney+ reboot replacing the 2017 cast?
From what we know, the new direction won’t bring back the original reboot cast. Montgomery himself revealed plans for a separate reboot in 2019, and Disney’s later development suggests a clean slate. Studios often reset casts when switching platforms to reset tone and target demographics—think of it as reformatting rather than continuing.
There’s an odd beauty to what almost was: a mainstream studio teetering between franchise ambition and the cold math of movie receipts. The 2017 Power Rangers was part coming-of-age drama, part fan-service—and, for many, an underappreciated attempt to update a childhood property.
I’ll say this plainly: the cast made the material feel lived-in, and Lionsgate nearly had the machinery to keep going—before the machine stalled like a stop-start engine. Fans remained drawn to the reboot, often defending it online like a moth to a flame; that devotion kept the conversation alive and paved the way for new studio strategies.
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I’m curious—do you want the cinematic saga that could have been, or would you prefer a fresh reboot on streaming that rewrites the rules?