Max Landis Complains 'Power Rangers' Looks Too Much Like 'Chronicle'

There are few executives around town who have to ask Max Landis for his CV, because all they need to do is look at his Twitter feed. The screenwriter is particularly heart-on-sleeve about his job, and certainly quite willing to discuss the movies he’s landed, and the ones he lost. And this summer, in explaining how the “Ghostbusters” reboot gig slipped through his fingers, he mentioned another franchise that also managed to get away — “Power Rangers.”

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“…I couldn’t believe how close I had felt to such a huge property. It felt like ‘Power Rangers’ all over again; I get a dream job, write my heart out, am summarily replaced for reasons not having to do with me. Which is a huge part of the arbitrary nature of the business; I’m not whining, and it won’t change, but it kind of sucks every time,” he wrote. “Then again, I reasoned, I was lucky to be in the position at all. But my experience with ‘Power Rangers,’ ‘Frankenstein,’ ‘Chronicle 2’ and then ‘Ghostbusters’ had changed my outlook. I wanted out….I didn’t want to feel that way again.”

However, it appears that Landis is getting that familiar feeling once again. Over the weekend, the first trailer for “Power Rangers” arrived and according to the screenwriter, it’s reminiscent of “Chronicle,” his breakout picture. And to his favor, in broad strokes, I’ll grant that “Power Rangers” — in which a bunch of misfit kids encounter something strange and get superpowers — is like “Chronicle.” However, that’s the origin to about a bajillion comic book stories too, so I’m not sure he can claim authorship on that. And for all we know, anything that’s “Chronicle”-esque might just be first act stuff, before the movie pivots to a different vibe entirely.

We’ll find out next spring when “Power Rangers” opens on March 24, 2017. Until then, check out Landis’ comments below, followed by the trailer, and come to your own conclusions in the comment section. [Collider]