The "Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers" fan film that went viral this week is a much darker take on the Saturday morning children's staple of the '90s that centered on sunny skies and colorful suits.
But then "Power/Rangers" is no ordinary fan film. Created by Adi Shanker, executive producer of "Lone Survivor," and directed by Joseph Kahn, the film stars "Battlestar Galactica's" Katee Sackhoff and James Van Der Beek of "Dawson's Creek" fame as the Pink and
Red Rangers, respectively, according to Variety.
It appears that the Power Rangers have turned on each other in the 14-minute revisionist clip that has generated more than 11.5 million hits on YouTube since it was posted Monday.
"In the short, Rocky (Red Ranger) has captured Kimberly (Pink Ranger), and is interrogating her, trying to figure out the location of Green Ranger Tommy who is apparently the only other Ranger still alive," Variety reported. "The film features blood, bad language, and a killer twist."
Though this fan film has captured the attention of the Internet, Lionsgate is in the middle of working on an official reboot of the "Power Rangers" movie, scheduled for a July 2016 release.
Jason David Frank, who played Green Ranger Tommy on the 1990s Saturday morning "Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers,"
told The Hollywood Reporter he was initially approached to participate in the fan film but turned it down.
"I know there's a lot of fans out there that love it and all that stuff, but I'm just a PG-13 guy," Frank said. "The cuss words, the drugs, all this other stuff — it doesn't fly with me."
Frank, who said he hopes to appear in the Lionsgate reboot, told the celebrity publication that he feels the new short was too adult for children to enjoy.
"The problem is that ('Power Rangers) still connected with adult and kids," Frank told The Hollywood Reporter. "You can't take a brand like this and reboot it so dark and gritty."
Vimeo reportedly pulled "Power/Rangers" after Saban Brands, owner of the "Power Rangers" franchise, filed a copyright complaint.
Warning: The video below contains strong language.