Earlier this week, the internet nostalgia machine kicked into high gear when Joseph Kahn’s “bootleg universe” added another entry — the NSFW Power Rangers fan film, Power/Rangers. With James Van Der Beek and Katee Sackhoff leading the pack, Kahn’s reinvention of the beloved ’90s franchise soon attracted the ire of Haim Saban, whose company Saban Brands owns the brand’s copyright.
Sure enough, all official videos were pulled from Vimeo and YouTube within days. Except for the occasional mirror, Power/Rangers was nowhere to be found on the internet. Late Friday night, this changed when Kahn and Saban reached an agreement. Kahn told Deadline:
There are no hard feelings. We signed contracts. We can play it anywhere we want on all platforms. I think they realized that people just want to see it.
The official YouTube upload now features a legal disclaimer and requires age-restricted access. The original bloody and nudity-filled NSFW cut is on Vimeo, but with a much longer preface:
Deboot of the Power Rangers. My take on the FAN FILM. Not a pilot, not a series, not for profit, strictly for exhibition. This is a bootleg experiment not affiliated or endorsed by Saban Entertainment or Lionsgate nor is it selling any product. I claim no rights to any of the characters (don’t send me any money, not kickstarted, this film is free). This is the NSFW version. An alternate safe version is on youtube.
Go, go, co-py-right law!
(Via Deadline)
