Lionsgate and Saban have finally found a director for its Power Rangers reboot. The studios have picked Dean Israelite, the director of Project Almanac, to helm the new movie.
Israelite’s hiring was first reported by TheWrap, which notes that he is a big fan of the franchise. Entertainment Weekly also confirmed the news.
Despite Project Almanac’s lack of success when the film was finally dumped in theaters in January, studios have been interested in Israelite for other tentpoles. But he turned other offers down before eventually settling on Power Rangers.
Saban and Lionsgate announced the reboot in May 2014 and then scheduled the film for July 2016. The script is being written by X-Men: First Class writers Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz. Roberto Orci was originally going to be one of the executive producers, but he later left the project.
Israelite is also attached to a remake of the 1983 hit WarGames.
The Power Rangers franchise launched in 1993 and is about high school kids with superpowers and martial arts skills. A film was released in 1995, followed by the less-successful 1997 film. Still, the franchise continues to survive on television.