UPDATE: A marketing account supervisor for Saban and thePower Rangersbrand issued a statement that says, “This report is highly inaccurate…Power Rangers continues to own and renew hundreds of trademark registrations worldwide, including for the 2017 movie logo. The trademark registration process is very nuanced; and the status of the single application has no bearing on our ownership of or the future plans forPower Rangers, as the story inaccurately reported. The franchise remains as strong and enthusiastic about its future as ever.”
Original Story: It looks likePower Rangers 2may be dead in the water. Neither Lionsgate nor Saban have indicated that sequel plans are moving forward but fans, and director Dean Israelite, hoped thata sequel may still happen, despite the fact thatPower Rangersdidn’t live up to expectations. However, it looks like a possible, final nail in the coffin has emerged, as Saban has decided not to renew the trademark for thePower Rangersmovie logo.
Saban owns thePower Rangersbrand and they produced this year’s live-action movie with Lionsgate. So the fact that they’ve opted not to renew the trademark for the logo they used for the movie, which also extends to games, TV and multimedia content, isn’t overly encouraging for those who want to seePower Rangers 2happen. Just to give an idea of how much this particular trademark covered, here’s the official text in regards to the trademark, explaining everything that it entails.
“The description provided to the USPTO for Saban’s Power Rangers is Entertainment in the nature of online games; entertainment services in the nature of creation, development, distribution and production of motion pictures, multimedia entertainment content and television shows; entertainment services, namely, personal appearances by characters and individuals associated with motion pictures and television series and other entertainment programs; fan clubs; presentation of live show performances; providing a website featuring entertainment information, interviews, movie clips and trailers, online games, television clips and trailers and short-form entertainment content delivered by internet, mobile and wireless networks; providing a website featuring non-downloadable videos and images in the fields of action, adventure and science fiction delivered by internet, mobile and wireless networks.”
Even though the logo was primarily used for thePower Rangers movie, it was created by Saban’s Entertainment division and covered a lot of ground. Now, there are a few reasons that Saban could have let the trademark expire, but even if they plan on making a new logo for aPower Rangerssequel, this seems like a strange thing to let go. Assuming they haveplans on making a sequel. If they’ve abandoned the idea completely, then it makes total sense. Over the summer, director Dean Israelite expressed his desire to doPower Rangers 2and said that discussions were happening, but that’s the last we heard officially.
“I hope so. It’s obviously not up to me, but I know the studio (Lionsgate) and Saban are talking in earnest about it, and are trying to push forward. They’re having a discussion.”
Even though there’s an argument to be made forPower Rangers being a brand, and the movie possibly helping that brand,2017’s live-action Power Rangers moviewasn’t a success.Power Rangersmade just $142 million worldwide on a $100 million budget. No matter how you sliced it, Saban and Lionsgate lost some money on the deal. So, even though they set upPower Rangers 2and hoped to bring the Green Ranger into the fold, this new info fromTrademarkiadoesn’t inspire a lot of confidence. Sorry,Power Rangersfans, but you might have to wait for a reboot in a few years.
