Elizabeth Banks, who formerly played an insufferable media personality in a dystopian movie franchise about children murdering each other, has now been cast in an equally dislikable (but kind of awesome) role: the witch Rita Repulsa in the upcoming Power Rangers flick. For those who were robbed of a childhood and somehow missed Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Rita Repulsa is the series' OG villain and yields a lit staff with which she casts all types of insane spells on monsters.
Anticipation for the film has been building for a minute now, ever since rumors began surfacing that Lionsgate would reboot the Saban Entertainment classic sometime in 2017. Dean Israelite, who made his directorial debut last year with sci-fi film Project Almanac, will helm the film. We also know that writers Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz, who wrote Thor and X-Men: First Class, are producing the script, which is promising. The plot hasn't yet been revealed, but we're hopeful that it will pack in at least a couple nods to the original series. Banks' casting as Rita's character is a good start. According to THR, newcomers RJ Cyler, Becky G, Ludi Lin, Naomi Scott, and Dacre Montgomery will be playing each of the Rangers.
To reacquaint yourself with Rita Repulsa, here's a video compilation of her casting spells and raising hell—all in a regular day's work for a vengeful witch.
Can't wait.
