News on the new Power Rangers reboot has been light as of late. Last we heard, Roberto Orci dropped out so that he could focus more on Star Trek 3, and eventually dropped out of that as well. While there is no director currently attached to the Lionsgate film, Joseph Kahn (Torque) sure did give us a reason to believe that he would be the right person to direct the reboot with a new 14-minute short released by Adi Shankar, but that didn’t last too long. Written by Dutch Southern (Bad Turn Worse) and starring James Van Der Beek (Dawson’s Creek) and Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica), the short is a darker and more grittier take on the Power Rangers than we are accustomed to seeing.

Hit the jump for the video and more on why Kahn won’t be directing the reboot.

Following the success of The Expendables 2, producer Adi Shankar and his 1984 Private Defense Contractors production company announced that they would be making an action film comprised of some of the most memorable female action stars. A month after Shankar made the announcement, Haywire star Gina Carano is the first to sign on for the untitled female version of The Expendables. Dutch Southern will write the script.

Variety, which was the first to report on the news, said that talks with other female action stars are ongoing. The report doesn’t mention whom Shankar may have been talking to or who is on his shortlist. Some of the names that have been thrown around are: Linda Hamilton, Sigourney Weaver, Jamie Lee Curtis, Uma Thurman, Milla Jovovich, Kate Beckinsale, Lucy Lawless, Lucy Liu, Maggie Q, and Cynthia Rothrock.

The Expendables 2 proved that women could be just as tough as the guys carrying the big guns. Nan Yu may have been the beauty behind the testosterone group, but the recent success of the film has made a push for a female version of The Expendables to be made. Adi Shankar, producer of films like The Grey and Killing Them Softly, would like to see that happen. The producer has recently hired Dutch Southern to pen a script for the female edition of The Expendables. Variety reports that he would finance the film himself and that he’s in talks with some major female action stars, past and present.

Some of the most prominent members of the female action stars are Linda Hamilton, Siguourney Weaver, and Jamie Lee Curtis. All three were leading ladies in their respective James Cameron films. Then there is Lucy Lawless, who has appeared in Xena: Warrior Princess. Uma Thurman has proven her worth as Kiddo in Kill Bill. Milla Jovovich and Kate Beckinsale are probably the most recognizable female action stars of the newer generation.