Power Rangers’
‘ cast lobbying for female green ranger in sequel
WANT to know if a film might be having a sequel? Then stay seated! Just because the movie’s over and your popcorn is finished doesn’t mean that’s all that’s in store for you.
“Power Rangers,” which hit theaters Friday, is following the Marvel Studios trend by featuring a little something extra.
“There’s a post-credits scene, so people should stay,” the film’s director Dean Israelite tells said, adding, “It teased up the direction of what the next movie could be for people that know the brand it’s super exciting. There are so many ideas we’re kicking around in the direction of where the film leads you.”
And it looks like the film is hoping to morph towards a sequel by introducing a key character in the story about the Rangers. In the post- credits scene, the teacher in detention does roll call. And there’s one person he can’t find on the list: Tommy Oliver. The teacher repeatedly announces the name, Tommy Oliver, and the camera cuts to a green coat sitting on an empty chair in detention.
Oliver is no stranger to “Power Rangers” fanatics. In the original Mighty Morphin Rangers TV series, the character was introduced as the Green Ranger, who is actually at first an enemy to the other Rangers while being a new student to Angel Grove High School. In the franchise, the character has also had a varied amount of story development, including being elevated to being the White Ranger and becoming a love interest for the Pink Ranger. In fact, in the new film, the actor Jason David Frank ( who played Oliver) appeared alongside original Pink Ranger actress Amy Jo Johnson in a cameo during the final battle.
As for the new Tommy, with the green coat in the scene, he will likely be the Green Ranger to start. But wait a minute, the character doesn’t necessarily need to be a he. And according to Dacre Montgomery AKA the new Red Ranger, the cast is campaigning for Oliver to be female.
Montgomery said, “A lot of the cast and I have discussed that we think it should be a girl. It makes it even three girls, three boys.”
He adds t hat t he scene i s ambiguous and actually leads the opportunity for this to happen.
“It’s left blank. It’s a cliffhanger. Whoever you’re going to drop into that position — whether it ’ s a girl, i t’s i nevitably going to create drama. It’ll be interesting to drop that drama into it and see how we all relate to it and work with i t ,” says t he star. ( hollywoodreporter. com)