It was the weekend of New York Comic Con 2016. The Internet had done what it is best known for, blowing up and over-exaggerating. Now you might ask,  “Why had the Internet gone into a huge state of rage… again?” It was because of a trailer that had dropped on the morning of Saturday October 8th. Which trailer? Was it the Iron Fist trailer? Or the War of the Planet of the Apes trailer? How about The Walking Dead trailer for its seventh season? Nope. Nope. And… nope. The trailer that blew up the Internet was the first trailer for the Power Rangers reboot movie that is set to be released on March 24th, 2017. Now you might be saying, “Of all trailers, Power Rangers?” Yes, Power Rangers. This trailer was trending at #1 on Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook for two days straight. But why was this the trailer the world was talking about for two days? Well, here’s my theory.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers is that 90’s kids show that so many people remember from their childhoods. Many people thought that the show died when they stopped watching it as a kid and lost touch with the franchise. Yes, franchise. Power Rangers has been an ongoing series since 1993, with over 800 episodes and in its 24th season (Ninja Steel, premiering in early 2017). The production company that makes Power Rangers, Saban Brands TM, teamed up with Lionsgate (known for The Hunger Games films, and The Divergent Series films), to make a reboot movie based on the original 90’s show. But, the reboot movie (really can’t stress this enough that it is a reboot movie) will be very loosely based off of the original 90’s version, which is why the Internet blew up for a few days.

If you were to ask anyone who was a 90’s kid, they would tell you that all they remember about Power Rangers was how wacky and zany it was. Or the totally sick giant robot [the Megazord] that used to fight monsters. Or the insanely awesome Tommy as the evil green ranger who then turned good, and then became the pretty sweet white ranger. After seeing the first trailer for this new reboot movie (again, can’t stress this enough that it is a reboot), the audience did not see any wackiness, or craziness, or the Megazord, or the only character people seem to remember, Tommy.  Instead, this reboot movie trailer brought a whole new side of Power Rangers that super fans have been wanting forever, and that people who grew up with the show have never seen.

The Power Rangers haven’t gone completely dark, but they have returned with a bit of an edge. In this new trailer, we see that the rangers themselves actually have attitude to them, and are not focused on helping people, but rather, looking out for themselves. We see in the trailer that our future rangers “are all troubled kids either being bullied by other teens or being bullied by the law” (Entertainment Weekly). We see that the rangers are going through some tough times: Jason, the Red Ranger (Dacre Montgomery), in some sort of car accident, resulting in him wearing an ankle brace, and going to detention every Saturday; Billy, the Blue Ranger (RJ Cyler), being bullied quite often by the school’s bully; Kimberly, the Pink Ranger (Naomi Scott), also being bullied but by the school’s mean girls, and her also attending Saturday detention; Trini, the Yellow Ranger (Becky G.), also being bullied and being made fun of. And then there’s Zack, the Black Ranger (Ludi Lin), who is just staring out into the distance, very dramatically. At first the trailer doesn’t seem like a Power Rangers movie, but rather a modern Breakfast Club reboot. As the trailer moves on, it seems to become another Chronicle movie. No. Just kidding. We watch the rangers find the “Power Coins” and receive their powers and learn that they have superhuman abilities (i.e. super strength and can jump really high). The trailer then presents to its audience the aftermath of them receiving these abilities, as well as learning how to use them. Then, BOOM. What kind of Power Rangers movie would this be without the terrifying Rita Repulsa (Elizabeth Banks), threatening Trini in her bedroom saying “I’ve killed rangers before.” And finally the trailer ends with the rangers, in what seems to be the Command Center, morphing for what seems to be the first time.

After watching the trailer, the Internet exploded for two days, making Power Rangers trend at #1 on social media. The rage was real for a few days. Lots of mixed feelings, from people saying how yet again, their childhood is ruined (because apparently everything nowadays ruins people’s childhood), because a ton of people were expecting the same thing from their childhood with the Green Ranger, or the wackiness. Many people are enraged that the Power Rangers are edgy, lacking the same goofiness it is known for. Then on the other hand, there are so many people who are super excited for this movie because they like the new side of Power Rangers. Then there are also the superfans who understand both sides. Either way, this is a reboot movie, it is taking an old concept and changing things to make it more successful in modern times.

The Internet is going into full rage about this movie. Buy why? Well, this new movie is going in a different direction than Power Rangers fans are used to. We all are used to the show being a typical  90’s kids show with the main characters being role models for other characters and even the audience. This reboot movie shows that the rangers aren’t necessarily role models, but average teens going through high school, trying to survive day-to-day life. The production company wants this to be a success, and making this movie nothing like the original is beneficial because 90’s kids humor will not translate to the big screen, but a modern superhero-like movie will succeed and is something we are all going to want to see.