KUALA LUMPUR: Hot on heels of the hoopla over the “exclusively gay moment” scenes in the movie ‘Beauty And The Beast’ here in Malaysia, the re-boot of Power Rangers, slated to open Thursday, apparently has a character that is coming to terms with her own sexuality.
While LeFou’s character in Beauty And The Beast is a mere supporting cast, reports have emerged that one of the five Rangers, is a supposedly a gay character. And she is one of the heroes of the film, no less.
In Yellow Ranger Trini’s (played by 20-year-old actress Becky G.) case, she is supposed to be dealing with her sexuality.
According to a Hollywood Reporter article, the revealing scene involves “one character assuming she’s [Trini] having ‘boyfriend problems,’ and soon realising that perhaps she’s actually having ‘girlfriend problems.'”
In the article, director Dean Israelite was quoted as elaborating about the brief but “pivotal” moment: “For Trini, really she’s questioning a lot about who she is. She hasn’t fully figured it out yet. I think what’s great about that scene and what that scene propels for the rest of the movie is, ‘That’s OK.’ The film is saying, ‘That’s OK,’ and all of the kids have to own who they are and find their tribe.”
It seems that the times have certainly changed since the original 1990s run of the Power Rangers TV series. The Yellow Ranger, then played by Thuy Trang, was written as a straight character. The Blue Ranger, played by openly gay actor David Yost, felt compelled to leave the show after facing harassment over his sexual orientation.
The American superhero film is directed by Israelite with a screenplay by John Gatins and a story by Matt Sazama, Burk Sharpless, Michele Mulroney and Kieran Mulroney.
Based on the franchise of the same name, the film is also staring Dacre Montgomery, Naomi Scott, RJ Cyler, Ludi Lin, Bill Hader, Bryan Cranston and Elizabeth Banks.
The third film based on the Power Rangers property, this one serves as a reboot and re-imagining of the franchise. The film features most of the main characters of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers portrayed by a new cast, and is supposedly the first blockbuster film to feature a major LGBT superhero.
Franchise creator Haim Saban returned to produce the film under his investment firm. The film will premiere at Regency Village Theater in Los Angeles tomorrow and released State-wide Friday.
TGV Cinemas has halted its advance ticket sales for the film.
“To avoid any issues that may arise, we pulled out (the movie) from the cinema listing at the moment, as the film is still undergoing the Malaysian Censorship Board’s (LPF) review,” said TGV Pictures marketing manager Grace Tan.
A check on the board’s website found that the film has been approved today with a PG13 rating, but Tan added that TGV will not make an assumption until an official confirmation from LPF received.
Tan also could not confirm on the speculations that the issue had risen due to the Yellow Ranger’s sexual orientation.
Meanwhile, NST has yet to obtain comments from the Malaysian Censorship Board as to whether the film will also go through some editing, just like how Beauty And The Beast had gone through under its watchful eye here.