The gritty Power/Rangers short film viewed by millions earlier this week is back on YouTube and Vimeo. According to Deadline, the film's creators have struck a deal with Saban, which owns the rights to Power Rangers, and are now free to put their short anywhere online. The YouTube and Vimeo versions now come with extensive disclaimers noting that they present a fan film, were made without any affiliation from Saban, and claim no rights to the characters. YouTube is now hosting a cleaner version of the video, while the original "NSFW" version is being hosted on Vimeo.

Pictured above is the logo for Lionsgate's POWER RANGERS reboot Collider found while lurking around the Licensing Expo in Las Vegas, and there's also a bunch of possible new details on the project from Heroic Hollywood.

Sources tell the site that casting hasn't begun yet for the film, but "it's expected to be all unknown actors for the actual Power Rangers as the studio wants them all to play late teens." HH goes on to say they've heard that Rangers nemesis Rita Repulsa will appear in the reboot, and the site's sources provided a description of the character.

A huntress. A striking, yet subtly alien-looking woman. She carries a metallic staff topped with a distinctive crescent shape. Advances with a soldier’s confidence, guided by some sort of compass... Her staff is actually a device of immense power. She points it at the ground. Heads emerge, built layer upon layer like 3-D printing, made from the earth itself... The staff’s technology grants her the ability to create humanoid figures, soulless and robotic.

Apparently we will be introduced to Rita Repulsa in the prologue of the film, with Rita fighting the cretaceous period's Power Rangers on the last day dinosaurs walked the Earth, and that era's team will be led by Zordon as the Red Ranger. Sources say Zordon may be an alien, but he looks like a man in his 50s, and they also describe him as "Sinewy and strong, as if carved from some root that refused to die."

PROJECT ALMANAC's Dean Israelite will direct POWER RANGERS for Lionsgate, and Israelite gave an update on the project during a recent interview with IGN.

I read the script and was really surprised by it and thought there was a really cool, contemporary, mature but still playful, buoyant and fun take on the material, and was updated in a really interesting way. It had this wonderful character that's essential to going on a fantastic adventure. I was instantly drawn to it. I remember it as a kid. I grew up with it in South Africa. When I opened the script I had no idea how it was going to be updated, and I was really impressed by it. So I put a really big presentation together, because I needed to win the job. There were a lot of guys going out for it and saw the potential in it, so I put a really big presentation together and was lucky enough to get the job. We're in sort of a soft pre-production right now, doing a lot of design work and reimagining the world. It's really cool and exciting.

With Dean Israelite set as its director and the latest script in to execs, Lionsgate has begun the search for who will become the new “Power Rangers.”

Sources tell Variety the studio is about to begin testing young talent, looking at up-and-coming actors and actresses to make up the team. Sources say Daniel Zovatto (“It Follows”), Ross Butler (“Chasing Life”) and Brian “Sene” Marc are among those testing for Zack (aka the Black Ranger), while KJ Apa (“Shortland Street”), Austin Butler (“The Shannara Chronicles”) and Mitchell Hope (“The Descendants”) are testing for Jason (aka the Red Ranger).

Sources also say Naomi Scott (“The Martian”) and newcomer Stephanie Scott are up for the role of Kimberley (aka the Pink Ranger). Insiders say the studio is looking for fresh faces to fill out the team and will probably look for a big name to play the antagonist for the films, though no offers have been made for that part.

Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz are penning the script, with Haim Saban, Brian Casentini and Allison Shearmur producing.

The story reimagines the origins of the “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers,” a group of high school kids who find themselves infused with extraterrestrial powers and unite to save the world, with the aid of giant mechanical vehicles known as Zords.

The 1993 Fox Kids TV series became a pop culture phenomenon and inspired a theatrical film, “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie,” in 1995. The original iteration of the series ran until 1996, when the franchise was renamed simply “Power Rangers,” with different subtitles every season.

In later seasons, the title teens were replaced with new characters and vehicles every year. A second theatrical pic, “Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie,” was released in 1997 and was presented as a link between “Power Rangers” series “Zeo” and “Turbo.” The show was originally adapted from the long-running Japanese “Super Sentai” series, recycling footage from the Japanese version to cut down on production costs.

The pic is expected to go up against Guy Ritchie’s retelling of the “King Arthur” story, which also bows on Jan. 13, 2017.

Lionsgate declined to comment.

October 07, 2015 1:40pm PT by Mia Galuppo
'Power Rangers' Movie Casts Pink Ranger

Naomi Scott will suit up for the new Power Rangers movie.

Scott will take on the role of the Pink Ranger in the action film, which is directed by Project Almanac helmer Dean Israelite.

The announcement was made via the Power Rangers movie official Instagram account.