Over the weekend news has surfaced about a since cancelled open world Power Rangers game from as far back as 2016!. Jason Bischoff who at the time was working with Saban Entertainment has revealed on twitter a collection of concept art that he hoped would be the beginning of a Batman Arkham style open world brawler. He goes on to say “As a video game ex-pat (then at Saban), I had hoped to BusDev an ambitious, open world co-op that captured the energy, teamwork, and history of the franchise through a fresh lens. Basically, ‘Arkham’ Rangers… or Gotham Knights 5yrs before GK’s announcement.”
The unfortunate reality however was that Saban didn’t prioritise manpower or budget for this ambitious project but Jason had what he describes as “an invaluable blessing to explore”. He called up some friends, formed a team of likeminded creators and “Built the pitch we wanted to see”
It’s hard to look at the concept art and not agree that they were indeed onto something compelling as the child in me is screaming at how authentic yet modern these designs are to their respective series - further proving that their initial aim to capture the history was in good hands. Jason says “While early talks with Devs/Publishers were favourable” (As they should be.) time and shifts in the business led to a fizzling out of any further pursuit. “These things totally happen! The industry is built on ‘what could have beens’”
Jason ends the thread by posting a final concept art of Eltar, “under occupation and being freed by a myriad of rangers from across the cosmos” and what I can only assume is the Red Tyrannosaurus Zord as he signs off with the iconic phrase “May the power protect you”
Tapping into that nostalgia and history of the franchise I think is a massive factor for Power Rangers’ success considering the large adult following it has maintained throughout the decades and I for one and truly gutted that this project never came to fruition… maybe one day we’ll get the Power Rangers game fans deserve and hopefully led by someone as passionate, inspired and (what I can only assume) as tuned into the fandom as Jason.