Did anything about the ‘Power Rangers’ trailer feel a bit… familiar to you? In conversation with my editor, I described the trailer as feeling like Josh Trank made ‘The Breakfast Club’ but with superpowers. And it seems I’m not the only who noticed this.
None other than ‘Chronicle’ writer Max Landis noticed the similarity as well. In addition to his work on ‘Chronicle’ and ‘American Ultra’, Landis also contributed a screenplay draft to ‘Power Rangers’, though that draft was ultimately not used. Following the release of the trailer, Landis (who has a reputation for making controversial remarks online), took to Twitter to offer his thoughts on the trailer.
Yeah, it appears they hired the writer of Chronicle and he wrote a Power Rangers movie, so they fired him and made Chronicle instead. https://t.co/F8lVEJqoU5
— Max Landis (@Uptomyknees) October 9, 2016
Landis followed this with another tweet in which he elaborated on his comments, specifically remarking on his own involvement with the project.
I wrote a silly, fun, goofy retro teen action adventure movie.
They fired me, and five or so writers later, it appears they made Chronicle.
— Max Landis (@Uptomyknees) October 9, 2016
While director Dean Israelite was obviously going for what might be described as a ‘Chronicle’-esque aesthetic, that style was itself hardly unique to ‘Chronicle’, having surfaced in countless films aimed at the teen and young adult demographics over the last several years. Even the first ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ film had shades of this style. This was primarily the case in the first act of the film, but that aesthetic was also baked into the film’s marketing. If there is a problem with this tonal or stylistic similarity, it’s not the resemblance to ‘Chronicle’ per se, but rather that the style in question is in danger of growing generic.
You can check out the trailer here and judge the comparison for yourself.
‘Power Rangers’ is set to hit theaters on March 24, 2017. The film stars Ludi Lin, Naomi Scott, RJ Cyler, Becky G, Dacre Montgomery, Elizabeth Banks, Bill Hader, and Bryan Cranston.
What did you think of the trailer? Let us know in the comments, and be sure to check back with ScienceFiction.com for more on ‘Power Rangers’ as the film’s release approaches.
