Bryan Cranston joins Power Rangers after retiring from the award-winning Breaking Bad series. The actor will play Zordon, the guardian and mentor of the alien-battling team who exists as a disembodied head in a sort of floaty bubble tube thing.
The Breaking Bad star is no stranger to the franchise. As a jobbing young actor, he voiced several characters on the show, including Twinman and - who can forget? - Snizzard. Such was his influence on the show that the original Blue Ranger was named Billy Cranston in his honor.
Bryan Cranston joins Elizabeth Banks in the Power Rangers cast, who play the villainous Rita Repulsa, plus five relative newcomers (RJ Cyler, Becky G, Ludi Lin, Naomi Scott and Dacre Montgomery) as the eponymous Rangers.
The mighty #Zordon has officially been cast! Please welcome #BryanCranston to the #PowerRangersMovie. pic.twitter.com/MbJDR7PnfI
— Power Rangers (@ThePowerRangers) June 21, 2016
Cranston has been busy on the big screen since the end of “Breaking Bad” in 2013. He starred in 2014’s summer blockbuster, “Godzilla,” and will portray a U.S. Customs agent who helped bust drug lord Pablo Escobar in “The Infiltrator,” which is set to be released next month.
Hitting theaters in March 2017, the film will chronicle the adventures of five high school students who must save the planet, which includes their town of Angel Grove, from alien destruction. Banks plays the alliteratively titled villain, Rita Repulsa, while the young cast includes Becky G as Yellow Ranger Trini, Lin as Black Ranger Zack, Montgomery as Red Ranger Jason, Scott as Pink Ranger Kimberly, and Cyler as Blue Ranger Billy.
Cranston himself seemed especially excited about the news, tweeting out the announcement while displaying an unexpected amount of “Power Rangers” knowledge.
Excited to play #Zordon in the #PowerRangersMovie! T or F: #BlueRanger Billy Cranston was named after what actor? https://t.co/d3ltjpcDKb
— Bryan Cranston (@BryanCranston) June 21, 2016
In May, Bryan Cranston starred as Lyndon B. Johnson in the HBO movie All The Way, an adaptation of the Broadway play, which landed Cranston the Tony for Best Actor in a Play. He also recently turned 60 years old, a milestone he celebrated in grand style on Jimmy Kimmel Live.
