Go, Go – Mother Fucking Power Rangers!
The original Power Rangers and their respective actors are returning for a huge movie 30 years in the making. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once and Always is scheduled to debut on Netflix on April 19, 2023.
Google reports that 6,000,000 viewers tuned in for the first incarnation of the Power Rangers when it aired between 1993 and 1995. Austin St. John (red), Walter Emanuel Jones (black), David Yost (blue), Thuy Trang (yellow), Amy Jo Johnson (pink) and Jason David Frank (green) became household names when they were recruited as teenagers with attitude to battle space invaders while wearing spandex costumes and commanding gigantic robot dinosaurs.
The Power Rangers franchise has since become a billion-dollar titan, spawning three movies, a new generation of heroes every two years and a merchandise line that is seemingly never-ending. And now, that nostalgia that we’ve held on to for 30 years is being reciprocated thanks to efforts of David Yost and Hasboro.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once and Always reunites most of the original cast and their successors – Steve Cardenas (second red), Karan Ashley (second yellow), Johnny Yong Bosch (second black) and Catherine Sutherland (second pink) – as adults trying to live normal lives and tackle parenthood until a reborn, robot Rita Repulsa attacks them in Angel Grove with a time traveling device. Her plan? Return to the 1990’s to kill the Power Rangers before they can be recruited to end her reign of terror.
If you’ve followed the series over the years, then I’m sure you’re surprised to see that David Yost is returning for the new movie. Not only that, but he was a pivotal part of its creation since trying to launch it in 2018.
In a bombshell 2010 interview, Yost admitted the real reason he left Mighty Morphin Power Rangers in 1996 was not due to a payment dispute. In reality, he was the recipient of frequent attacks on his sexual identity after it surfaced that he was a gay man. Yost explained that he was constantly harassed behind-the-scenes and was frequently called a “faggot” by the crew. The effects of the homophobic bullying led Yost to suicidal thoughts and an attempt at conversion therapy.
Part of his return to the Power Rangers Universe could be that hands have changed over the years. It stands to reason that the same showrunners and producers are not a part of the series 30 years later. And in recent years, the series has become LGBT friendly. The failed Power Rangers reboot in 2018 featured an out lesbian Yellow Ranger and the latest incarnation, Power Rangers: Dino Fury, which concluded in September 2022 had another out lesbian as the Green Ranger.
Still no inclusion of a gay male Power Ranger, but maybe that will be addressed in the new movie coming to Netflix in April?
A request for comment was not returned by David Yost or his representative.
Noticeable absentees from Once and Always include Thuy Trang, Jason David Frank and Amy Jo Johnson. Trang passed away from injuries sustained in a car crash in 2001 and Frank tragically took his own life in November 2022. Johnson declined to take part in Once and Always because she didn’t feel like reprising the role in her 50’s.
My friends and I will absolutely be signing into Netflix on April 19, 2023 for the new Power Rangers movie. How about you?
Bringing back childhood. Wonder if the blue ranger will be able to be gay in the new series.