‘Power Rangers’ Taps Newcomer Dacre Montgomery as Red Ranger

The wheels of showbiz can turn agonizingly slowly, but the time at last has come for the Power Rangers reboot to go-go into preproduction ahead of its January 13, 2017 projected release. Though the Rangers of this reboot will be neither mighty nor morphin’, early reports suggest that they will still be possessing of all the power that endeared them to a generation of kids who sat rapt before glowing TV sets in the ‘90s. To carry over the show’s energetic spirit, lifted straight from the Japanese kaiju films that inspired it, the film adaptation will need a new crew of fresh-faced talent to don the color-coded super-suits and battle the evildoers of the universe. A couple weeks ago, Naomi Scott of The Martian confirmed that she’d assay the role of the Pink Ranger, Kimberly Hart. Now, a new post on Twitter from the film’s official account has named a Red Ranger, with all of the pomp and circumstance of the appointment of a new Pope.

The production has gone with a relative unknown to play the team’s de facto leader, a young thespian by the name of Dacre Montgomery. There’s precious little information about Montgomery floating around on the internet, and his official IMDb page lists only two credits apart from his upcoming Power Rangers gig: an appearance in a pilot that never aired, and a short that I’d estimate approximately twelve people have seen. The Red Ranger, known as Jason in the original series, was to the Rangers what Cyclops was to the X-Men. He was kind of a boy scout, but a dependable leader nonetheless.

It’s a rather refreshing choice to see Power Rangers go with a new face to lead what could potentially spawn a tentpole franchise. Montgomery will appear onscreen with no baggage whatsoever, no associations with previous roles or other films. In a way, he’s the perfect choice to give the franchise the new start that it’s looking for. He’s got an unenviable task ahead of him as a performer, though. Who could hope to hold his own as an actor against the towering screen presence of Alpha 5?