Is there nothing Elizabeth Banks can’t do? She’s amply proven her talents both as an understated and purely silly comic actress, taken on dramatic roles that show off her actorly prowess (she was a highlight in last year’s Brian Wilson biopic Love & Mercy), and found blockbuster success in the Pitch Perfect film series. She’s even made waves behind the scenes, working as a producer and earning her first directorial credit with Pitch Perfect 2. But this winningly talented multi-hyphenate still has yet to conquer the final frontier of A-list ubiquity and land a role in a tentpole action franchise, the step that launches the famous into the realm of the super-famous.
With a little bit of luck, that could all change. A new exclusive from the Hollywood Reporter indicates that Banks has signed on to portray the villainous Rita Repulsa in the upcoming reboot of cherished ’90s television program Power Rangers. An alien who is also a witch, Rita was known as well for her villainous ways as her lethally pointy hairdo. Rita was one of the primary antagonists of the Japanese-imported super team, often making use of dark magic to attempt world domination, though in the 2006 series Power Rangers: Mystic Force, Rita turned to the side of the light. The production, scheduled for a release on March 24, 2017, has not yet clarified whether Rita will be joined by her frequent partner-in-crime Ivan Ooze.
With such dramatic versatility, Banks would probably be the perfect choice for any role, but this one feels especially well-suited to her talents. She’s never played outright villainous role before, though her Hunger Games role gives a nice hint as to what that might look like. I see her splitting the difference with her manic portrayal of 30 Rock‘s Avery Jessup. Power Rangers just endeared itself to a whole lot of people who previously couldn’t have cared less.
(Via the Hollywood Reporter)
