The toy lines have always been part and parcel of the ‘Power Rangers’ experience, as generations of fans can attest. Given that, it’s only right that so far we’ve arguably gotten a more complete sense of the upcoming reboot (visually, at least) from merchandise previews than from any source directly connected to the film. The latest character design to be unveiled in this manner is the new look for the iconic supporting villain Goldar. The design was revealed in a toy commercial exclusively released via the Neo-Saban Power Rangers YouTube channel. While the ad is primarily for the Interactive Megazord figure, if you’re going to advertise a Megazord toy, you have to give it something to fight. And in true ‘Power Rangers’ fashion, they chose Rita Repulsa’s loyal minion Goldar.
You can see the full commercial here:
Well, here we go again. Is it me, or does he look a bit… melty?
In all fairness, the toys are might not be the best basis on which to judge some of these designs, as the toyline doesn’t quite seem to be capturing the nuances of the movie designs quite as well as the toys based on the TV series tend to. Just compare the figures of the Rangers to the screenshots and production art of that we’ve seen of the suits, if you want a sense of what I’m talking about. But acknowledging that still doesn’t change the fact that in many cases, the toys are all we have to go on.
As bizarre as some of this movie’s design choices may have been, you can hardly accuse them of lacking creativity. Or rather you couldn’t. As (essentially) and armored monkey with wings, Goldar arguably represents one of the most memorable designs that ‘Mighty Morphin Power Rangers’ had to offer, and he was certainly one of the most memorable characters. And to be fair, one of the main goals of the film is to put a new spin on the ‘Power Rangers’ iconography. But this? While the broad strokes are there (humanoid, gold, has wings), the overall design just seems lazy, half baked. Maybe it’s a look that will be better conveyed in the film itself, or perhaps in production art. We can only hope.
What do you think of Goldar’s new design? Let us know in the comments and be sure to check back with ScienceFiction.com for more news on ‘Power Rangers’ as the movie’s release date approaches.
Helmed by ‘Project Almanac’ director Dean Israelite, ‘Power Rangers’ stars Ludi Lin, Naomi Scott, RJ Cyler, Becky G, Dacre Montgomery, Elizabeth Banks, Bill Hader, and Bryan Cranston. The film is set to hit theaters on March 24, 2017
