A new international trailer for the upcoming Power Rangers movie is here. Teens get magic powers and punch some living rocks, then drive dinosaur cars around, so that’s cool. But what really jumped out was our most substantial look at Bryan Cranston’s Zordon since the domestic version of the trailer came out with about the same footage.
It all leaves us with one huge question: since when did 3D pin art become shorthand for “alien” and “futuristic”?
The only good part of Man of Steel — it’s absolutely bonkers dragon-riding, sci-fi and sorcery opening — featured this same essential design. Lara Lor-Van and Jor-El’s Kryptonian computers all have little faces and interfaces comprised of flowing, topographic 3D pin art. Just look at these things!
Man of Steel Production Designer Alex McDowell didn’t work on the new Power Rangers, so who knows where they got the idea for pinhead Zordon, but the design influence seems fairly obvious. It’s not a rip-off exactly, more one of those weird, influential choices that quickly becomes synonymous with the future, like laser pistols.
So next time you’re at a children’s science center, sticking your face in the pin impression thingy, remember, this is what your computer will look like when it gets smart enough to talk to you and hand out superpowers.
