power-rangers-alpha

In the lead up to the 2017 release of ‘Power Rangers‘, much has been made about the designs of both the Rangers’ suits and their zords, This is understandable, given that the original run of ‘Mighty Morphin Power Rangers’ featured some of the most iconic and memorable character designs of the ’90s. However, this focus has caused some to lose sight of some of the redesigns we had yet to see. This was brought into especially sharp relief today when IGN revealed two pieces of concept art that represent our first look at the film’s version of Alpha 5.

Check out the redesign below, presented from both the front and the back:

power-rangers-movie-alpha

This… What is this? This, more so than anything else the film has offered so far, begs the question of just what the producers were thinking. While it retains some of the basic (very basic) elements of the original design, mostly in terms of the color scheme and the overall shape of the head. But with its stubby legs, disproportionately long arms and pot belly, this new design looks less like Alpha and more like the Gorons seen in ‘The Legend of Zelda’. And that’s without even mentioning the eyes, which look like someone bolted a pair of desk lamps to a hubcap.

goron-ocarina-of-timeThis continues a trend of design choices that are typically divisive at best. While the jury is still out on the zords (outside of partial photos on posters and toy prototypes, we don’t have much to go on), the response to things like the power coins or Ranger suits has very much tended to be of the “love it or hate it” variety. Along these lines, the design of Rita Repulsa has likely benefitted from the fact that it is different enough from the original to largely avoid direct comparisons. Hopefully, the reveal of Zordon (which can’t be that far off considering the character images that have already been released) will be better received. After all, it should be pretty hard to screw up a design that is basically just a big floating head. Right?

What do you think of Alpha’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 its release date approaches.

‘Power Rangers’ is set to hit theaters on March 24, 2017. Directed by Dean Israelite, the film stars Ludi Lin, Naomi Scott, RJ Cyler, Becky G, Dacre Montgomery, Elizabeth Banks, Bill Hader, and Bryan Cranston.