Concept art from the Power Rangers movie reboot reveals some early designs for the film’s villain, Rita Repulsa. Power Rangers has received a fair amount of acclaim for its fun, campy tone and approach to the original franchise, which neither dumbed it down nor tried to make it grittier or darker than was necessary. In fact, many Power Rangers fans seemed to walk away from the film happy with the changes the studio and filmmakers had made, with only a few minor criticisms here and there (most of which revolved around the movie’s surprising lack of martial arts or hand-to-hand combat).
While most of the film’s changes to the Rangers themselves wound up being expectedly minor, the same couldn’t be said for Elizabeth Banks’ Rita Repulsa, the main antagonist in the reboot. Banks brought the same attitude and over-the-top mannerisms that was evident in the Rita from the original Power Rangers TV series, but with a new origin story and look, she ended up being much different than some fans might have hoped or expected her to be.
As it turns out, there were more than a few variations being thrown around when it came to Rita’s design in the film. Concept artist Aaron Sims unveiled the alternative designs on his Instagram page, most of which stuck with the same tattered, reptilian look that she boasted in the final film; with some key design and color changes here and there. Check them out for yourself down below:
Character concept for ‘Rita Repulsa’ from ‘The Power Rangers’ - we call it Nautical-chic#ritarepulsa #asc #powerrangersmovie #villainart #elizabethbanks #characterdesign A post shared by Aaron Sims Creative (@aaronsimscreative) on Apr 21, 2017 at 8:13pm PDT
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Original character concept for ‘Rita Repulsa’ from ‘The Power Rangers’ – See our finished product before it leaves the theaters! #villainart #powerrangers #asc #characterdesign #ritarepulsa A post shared by Aaron Sims Creative (@aaronsimscreative) on Apr 4, 2017 at 2:17pm PDT
It could be argued that Rita’s costume was the biggest change from the original series that this year’s reboot made, shifting out the character’s original boxy clothing design and horns with this torn up, elaborate green suit that Banks wore. Of course, as those who have seen the reboot already know, the color change and overall design for the character tied into Rita’s backstory in the movie in an unexpected way, which at least explains why the filmmakers chose to go with the final design.
Notably, some comparisons have been made between Rita’s costume in the new film to that of Cate Blanchett’s Hela in Thor: Ragnarok, since both villains wear very elaborate, torn, skin-tight costumes in their films. These alternative designs don’t change much necessarily either, since they have the same general design as the one on in the final cut. Still, the first does look remarkably more similar to the Enchantress’ costume in Suicide Squad last year, with the black, almost smoky design.
Banks has previously stated before that she’s game to return for a Power Rangers sequel, so depending on what Saban and Lionsgate wind up doing with the franchise, it’s entirely possible Rita could return sometime down the line and get a costume upgrade somewhere along the way. Only time will tell.
Source: Instagram