Disney+ has decided not to continue with the development of its live-action series based on Power Rangers The project, which was written and produced by Jonathan E. Steinberg and Dan Shotz, will not move beyond the initial stage
Steinberg and Shotz are the same executive producers and showrunners behind the series Percy Jackson and the Olympians The announcement confirms that the initiative is discarded after approximately a year and a half of work on the platform
The reboot had been set in motion with 20th Television, Disney's subsidiary studio, as the producer According to information from Deadline, sources close to the project clarify that the decision is not due to creative differences
The main reason is budgetary Internal estimates indicate that the production would require a very high investment, something the company considers unwise at this time
An external intellectual property
Another key factor is that Disney does not own the Power Rangers brand The intellectual property belongs to Hasbro, which has long been seeking to realize an adaptation in live-action series format
Netflix had already attempted to move forward with a similar project several years ago, without success For Disney+, betting heavily on a title it does not fully control is counterproductive compared to other internal options
Recently, the platform had opened its catalog to external intellectual properties Among the most recent development agreements are the series based on Ella Enchanted and Casper
This openness contrasted with the previous strategy, which was almost exclusively focused on exploiting Disney's own titles The halt to Power Rangers marks a clear limit to that expansion when costs and ownership do not align
The context of the decision
The refusal comes at a time when streaming platforms are reviewing each new production more rigorously The high budgets of live-action series, with visual effects and elaborate costumes, increase financial risk
Hasbro continues to seek a partner to bring Power Rangers to the small screen in live-action version Meanwhile, Disney+ prioritizes projects where it can control both the content and the exploitation rights
Steinberg and Shotz are free to focus on other initiatives Their work on Percy Jackson demonstrated the ability to adapt complex universes to a serial format, but in this case, it was not enough to overcome the economic and intellectual property filter
The Power Rangers series, at least in the Disney+ version, will not see the light of day The decision closes a chapter that had generated expectations among fans of the franchise, although a cast or a specific release date was never announced
