Just one day after Lionsgate’sPower Rangersfound itsRed Rangerin newcomerDacre Montgomery, the studio has announced yet another main character. The officialPower Rangers Instagrampage revealed today thatLudi Linhas signed on as Zack, the Black Ranger.Naomi Scottsigned on earlier this month to play the Pink Ranger.
Just as October was kicking off, a report surfaced that young actors like Daniel Zovatto (It Follows),Ross Butler(Chasing Life) andBrian “Sene” Marchave tried out for the Black Ranger role inPower Rangers, butLudi Lin’s name wasn’t mentioned in that report. It’s worth noting thatDacre Montgomeryalso wasn’t listed as a possible candidate for the Red Ranger, but he ended up beating out candidates such asKJ Apa(Shortland Street),Austin Robert Butler(MTV’sThe Shannara ChroniclesandKevin Smith’sYoga Hosers) and Mitchell Hope (The Descendants).
Another report from August revealed that theBlack Ranger, Zack, is “the life of the party” who has no trouble attracting the opposite sex. Zack is also said to be a great athlete, but he doesn’t play any sports because he doesn’t want to be part of a team. Even though Zack is incredibly popular, he is hiding the fact that he lives with his single mother in a trailer park, which makes him feel inferior to everyone else at his school. Zack and the rest of the Rangers are all said to be 17 years old.
There are still two more Rangers to be cast, identified in the August report as Trini and Billy, but at this rate, the entire team may be filled out within a few days. There have also been a number of rumors about thePower Rangersvillain, with one report claiming that Rita Repulsa from the originalMighty Morphin' Power RangersTV show will be the primary antagonist, while a more recent report claims that thevillainwill be one of Replusa’s underlings, Scorpina. The latest rumor also claims that the story will follow the continuity of the latest TV incarnation,Power Rangers Dino Charge.
Dean Israelite(Project Almanac) is directing from a script byAshley MillerandZack Stentz.Productionis scheduled to begin in January 2016, so we should get confirmation regarding the rest of the cast and the villain soon. LikeDacre Montgomery,Ludi Linonly has a handful of credits to his name, appearing in a number of short films, an episode of Netflix’sMarco Poloand a role as Wind Magician in the upcoming movieMonster Hunt. While we wait for the rest of the cast to be filled out, get your first look as the Black Ranger,Ludi Lum, from thePower RangersofficialInstagramaccount.
