As much as I'm looking forward to seeing it on the big screen, I'll admit that I've been more than a little apprehensive about the upcoming Power Rangers movie. A lot of that has just been me being a grumpy fan who fears change, but without a whole lot of details on what to expect, the mind starts wandering to the horrifying possibility of a gritty reboot.

Now, though, we've finally gotten some details, and as someone who spends a whole lot of time thinking about the Power Rangers, I have to confess that it sounds pretty awesome. According to an article at Collider, the new movie might not be as much of a reboot as we thought, but rather a big-screen continuation of the franchise set after the events of the current series, Power Rangers Dino Charge. And what's more, it's going to involve the return of a pretty unexpected villain. If you don't mind spoilers, read on!

 

Scorpina, Power Rangers Dino Charge
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It seems that the opening sequence of the upcoming film will feature the return of Scorpina, which is quite possibly the most fan-servicey thing they could do, and a choice that actually makes a whole lot of sense. In Japan's Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger, she's known as Secret Scorpion Agent Lamy (played by Ami Kawai), and ended up getting married to and having a child with Grifforzar, but in America, she's one of the least developed characters on the original Power Rangers show. There's no real explanation for who she is or how she got there, she just sort of shows up a few times before vanishing into the ether.

But that also gives her the perfect chance to come back. I'm sure we'll cover this in CA's Ranger Station column in about six years or so, but at the end of the continuity that started with Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Zordon sacrifices himself to spread "Good Energy" throughout the world, turning all the notable villains like Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd into nice, cardigan-wearing humans. Scorpina, however, is noticeably absent from that scene, and is therefore the only remaining villain from the early days of the series that can come back.

As I've mentioned before, Dino Charge makes a pretty good springboard for a movie, as its dinosaur-themed action makes it easy to tie it back into Mighty Morphin --- something that the Japanese shows worked with in the annual Super Sentai movie, where the Kyoryugers were teamed up with the Zyurangers and the Abarangers, the team that provided the source material for Power Rangers Dino Thunder. Whether the new movie follows the same pattern remains to be seen.

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