With Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 2 now streaming on Disney+ and season 3 reportedly nearing the end of production, are things starting to heat up on the streamer's upcoming Power Rangers reboot?
The series is being developed by Percy Jackson showrunners Jonathan E. Steinberg and Dan Shotz, and the prevailing assumption is that once season 3 is officially wrapped, the duo will move straight into pre-production on Power Rangers.
If you subscribe to the notion that where there's smoke, there's fire- the growing wave of rumors surrounding the project’s potential cast and story direction, suggests the reboot might be gearing up behind the scenes.
Just recently, fresh intel from DisInsider has emerged, confirming an earlier rumor that Shaun Dixon (Vampirina: Teenage Vampire), Paris Bravo (Bad Therapy), Judd Goodstein (You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah), Momoma Tamada (Avatar: The Last Airbender), Christian Alexander Cruz (New Girl), and Kira McLean (Permanent) are being considered or have already tested.
More interestingly, the report claims actress Peyton Elizabeth Lee (Andi Mack, Doogie Kameāloha, M.D.) is all but guaranteed to join the series, with Mason Thames (The Black Phone, How To Train Your Dragon) also said to be in the mix. The site adds that Lee will be one of the main leads.
On top of that, the site notes that Disney is actively courting Priyanka Chopra (Quantico, Heads of State) for the franchise’s signature villain, Rita Repulsa.
Stay tuned for future updates as Percy Jackson season 3 is slated to wrap filming in March, and depending on how long (or if) Steinberg and Shotz plan to rest before jumping into Power Rangers, we could have official news released very soon.
When questioned at the Percy Jackson season 2 premiere back in December about their attachment to Power Rangers, Shotz told a reporter, "(Laughs) You are asking questions that you know I can't answer. Let's just say we very much hope to bring that story to life, so that's all I can say at this point."
Steinberg was then questioned as to whether their reboot would start off with the classic Power Rangers lineup of Jason, Zack, Kimberley, Trini, and Billy but the showrunner sidestepped the specifics of that inquiry, simply answering, "The rumor is true. I can not tell you [about the initial character lineup], but I am very, very excited for that story."
The upcoming Disney+ show is expected to be the first incarnation of the show not to use any footage from pre-existing Japanese Super Sentai shows.
For more than three decades, the franchise has relied on a familiar formula: shooting new English-language “civilian” scenes and blending them with action, costume, and giant robot (Zord) footage sourced from Japan’s Super Sentai.
With Toei not involved in the Disney+ series, that long-standing approach is expected to be left behind.
Over the years, Power Rangers have called several places home, including Disney, once already. For informational purposes, below is a quick timeline of the franchise's television history.
1993-2001: Power Rangers was owned by Saban Entertainment.
2001-2010: The Walt Disney Company acquired the Power Rangers franchise.
2010: Disney sold the franchise back to Saban.
2018: Saban sold Power Rangers to Hasbro for $522 million.
2021: Hasbro and Netflix announce plans to build a Power Rangers cinematic universe that spans across television and animation, with Jonathan Entwistle leading development
2024: Reports emerge, revealing that development had stalled and the project was no longer moving forward at Netflix
2025: Disney+ steps in and reveals they'll be collaborating with Hasbro on a similar concept as what was planned at Netflix, with the Percy Jackson creative team leading development
Of particular interest is the near reboot at Netflix, which was set to be spearheaded by filmmaker Jonathan Entwistle. best known for The End of the F**ing World*, who previously disclosed,"Tommy Oliver was the center of the world, all the mythology was surrounding him being one of the most important people in the universe... because we all know what he would become."
"So it was basically a time-bending HUGE story about stopping Drakkon from taking power over everything. The TV series had a kind of really cool King Arthur-vibe, that was the angle, more mystical, magical to start us off."
"Jenny Klein who was writing that show also came up with a very very cool idea for sentient colors... but alas, it never went anywhere. Which sucks, I would've LOVED to have made that universe a reality!"
Of course, Entwistle's vision never got off the ground, and the Power Rangers rights at Netflix eventually lapsed and ended up at 20th Century Studios/Disney+.