It’s morphin’ time.
According to Deadline, a whole Power Rangers connected universe is in the works at Netflix, and it’s being spearheaded by Entertainment One, which was acquired by Hasbro for $4 billion. The keys to the car have been handed to Jonathan Entwistle, best known for his work on The End of the F***king World, and I Am Not Okay with This.
“Since we set up Power Rangers with Jonathan, we pitched really a whole-world approach,” Michael Lombardo, eOne’s President of Global Television, told Deadline. “It’s not just one show, it is shows followed by films, some kids’ programming. We have found a great writing partner for him, they are off. Knock on wood, Netflix is excited, we’re excited, we hope to have some news soon.”
The beloved franchise was acquired by Hasbro from Saban over a year ago in a half-billion-dollar deal.
Entwistle said it’s “an unbelievable opportunity to deliver new Power Rangers to both new and existing generations of awaiting and adoring fans. We’ll bring the spirit of analog into the future, harnessing the action and storytelling that made this brand a success.”
Lombardo also told Deadline that a Monopoly game show is in early stages of development for CBS.
“We have a Monopoly game show in development at CBS in addition to the feature adaptations in the works. It’s a great fun-time game which felt like it made sense as a game show. It is a moment right now where primetime games work,” the exec shared. “So, we’re continuing full-steam ahead in the Hasbro stuff and at the same time we’re trying to pace it out so we don’t go out all at once with everything. This is a long strategy, but Dungeons I think is the next big thing from that.”
They’re also developing a Magic: The Gathering animated show set for Netflix, a Clue series for Fox, and something larger planned for the Dungeons & Dragons franchise—with a movie currently in post-production.
“I was not a Dungeons & Dragons kid, and maybe I’m too old for it, but the people that played it, they continue to play it, it’s so meaningful,” he said. “They’re so passionate about it, and we have had numerous discussions and a lot of interesting filmmakers, it’s just finding the right team that has legs, that feels fresh in this moment.”
