‘Power Rangers’: ‘Me and Earl and the Dying Girl’s’ R.J. Cyler to Play Blue Ranger
(Photo: courtesy of Viacom)
Lionsgate has tapped Me and Earl and the Dying Girl actor R.J. Cyler as the Blue Ranger for its upcoming Power Rangers movie.
The studio made the announcement Friday on Twitter and Instagram.
Ranger Nation! Welcome @RJ_Cyler to the #PowerRangers Movie team as the Blue Ranger! More: https://t.co/yFLUn9ORhN pic.twitter.com/KZOlHx4zEI
— Power Rangers (@PowerRangers)
He’s the fourth actor cast for the movie, following Naomi Scott as the Pink Ranger, Dacre Montgomery as the Red Ranger, and Ludi Lin as the Black Ranger. Cyler played the titular Earl in Me and Earl and the Dying Girl opposite Thomas Mann and Olivia Cooke.
Dean Israelite is directing the movie from a script by Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz. Haim Saban, Brian Casentini and Allison Shearmur are producing.
The story reimagines the origins of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, a group of high school kids given extraterrestrial powers who unite to save the world.
The 1993 Fox Kids TV series became a pop culture phenomenon and inspired a big-screen adaptation, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie, in 1995.
Lionsgate and Saban Brands announced plans last year to develop and produce a live-action movie based on Saban’s Power Rangers property as the first film in a franchise.
Power Rangers hits theaters on Jan. 13, 2017.
