14 DAY TRIAL // Lionsgate is currently working on bringing “Power Rangers” to a theater near you, but if it were looking for ideas for the new film, they might as well start looking for inspiration at the new Bootleg Universe short from producer Adi Shankar.
“Power / Rangers” is a short film written by Shankar himself and “Dawson’s Creek” star James Van Der Beek, who also stars in it, and directed by Joseph Khan, whose most recent directorial credit is the beautiful video for Taylor Swift’s “Blank Space.”
It imagines an alternate universe in which the kids recruited to be Power Rangers and fight an intergalactic war they had nothing to do with have grown up to be messed-up individuals, in a world that no longer resembles ours, because the Machine Empire has taken over.
Katee Sackhoff from “Battlestar Galactica” is Pink Ranger Kimberly Hart, while Van Der Beek plays the former Red Ranger Rocky DeSantos. DeSantos is one of the bad guys now and he’s out to destroy every last one of his former group of buddies / kid soldiers, as Shankar calls them.
By the way, Shankar insists that this isn’t a pitch, but considering the amazing response he’s been getting for it, it might as well be.
This short film is basically 14 minutes of awesomeness, the kind you would expect from a “Power Rangers” film if Michael Bay sat in the director’s chair. Before you proceed to press play, *please be advised that the video includes graphic imagery and language that might offend.
Enjoy!
