Warning: Spoilers for the upcoming 30th anniversary special below
Mighty Morphin’:
Fans minds were blown today about an hour before Hasbro’s Power Rangers fan stream was to start at 11:00am ET when Entertainment Weekly dropped the first look images at the Power Rangers 30th Anniversary special. As first reported here at The Power Scoop, the special is officially announced to be called:Mighty Morphin’ Power Power Rangers: Once a Ranger.
The anniversary special is set to premiere and stream globally on Netflix April 19th, 2023. The run time for this special has not been announced, though word is going around that it will run 40 minutes long. During Hasbro’s live stream, fans were given tidbits into what we can expect from this anniversary and just how much thought has gone into bringing this reunion to the fans.
Via bigsmile from Rangerboard:
The writing:
The special has no Sentai footage. It gives more freedom for writing.
The tone tries to find a balance between 90s nostalgia and the TV of today.
They want to explore what the characters have been doing with their lives now that they are adults.
They want the special to satisfy casual fans and PR experts.
They had lots of ideas. At one point, the draft was the length of a movie and had to be trimmed down.
It’s jam-packed with action and exciting stuff.
It has lots of classic moments.The logo:
It takes the classic logo and makes it contemporary.
It makes them feel nostalgic for their childhoods.The title:
David Yost challenged them to include the Once a Ranger, Always a Ranger phrase.
There are other classic ranger phrases in the special.Past actors & characters
The past actors were involved in the story writing, giving ideas of where the characters would be now.
Not all the new characters are human.
There’s a new incarnation of Alpha 5. Can you guess which number the new Alpha has?
Rita has had a nasty robotic makeover.
You can check out today’s whole livestream on YouTube
Mighty Morpin’ Power Ranges: Once a Ranger was filmed in New Zealand until around September 2023. We do not know when filming for the special had started, but if fans go off of the initial casting sides for Charlie Kersh’s character of “Minh Kwan” – known as “Yen” at the time – one can deduce with a six week filming schedule, that it started around late June.
This special was directed by Charlie Haskell, who is no stranger to the Power Rangers franchise in New Zealand. He first started directing episodes of Power Rangers with another dinosaur themed season, Power Rangers Dino Thunder. Most recently, he directed Power Rangers Dino Fury’s episode “Bad Vibes.” He will also return to direct a few episodes of Power Rangers Cosmic Fury.
Alwyn Dale and Becca Barnes both wrote the special, and show runner Simon Bennett also executive produced the special as well. Akihiro Noguchi also continued his work as the second unit director (the unit that films all of the fight scenes) for the anniversary special as well. In addition to that, they also will continue their work with Power Rangers Cosmic Fury which is set to stream globally on Netflix fall of 2023.
With the close window between when “Once and Always” finished filming and Power Rangers Cosmic Fury started, there may be a possibility that we could see cameos from the Mighty Morphin’ cast in the new season; Power Rangers Dino Fury has already captured fans’ attention with the Easter eggs, references, and expansion on past characters that have expanded the world of Power Rangers all together and hope to see more in the future.
30 years after the wise & powerful Zordon formed the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, the team comes face to face with a familiar threat from the past. In the midst of a global crisis, they are called on once again to be the heroes that the world needs.
Summary of the 30th Anniversary Special
There are fan speculation that David Yost, at least, could make an appearance somewhere in Power Rangers Cosmic Fury as the cast for the 30th season had filmed, also in New Zealand, between October 6th and December 10th, 2022. While cast members from the 30th anniversary special had tweeted when they landed back home in the United States, Yost was quiet around that same time.
Check out this behind the scenes look at the special below:
If you look closely in that video you can see that not only are the Putties back to face off against the Power Rangers, but Rita Repulsa also makes a quick appearance in the video. Fans were excited to find out that not only has the voice actress Barbara Goodson returning to reprise the role of the voice of the iconic character, but so is Richard Horvitz, who voiced Alpha 5 in the original series – the character that appeared in one of the first promotional pictures of the anniversary special – is also returning to provide the voice of Alpha.
It is not known which number of Alpha this will be, however fans had first wondered whether Campbell Cooley (who has voiced a multitude of characters in the Power Rangers franchise) wondered if we would be the one to voice the character as he not only portrayed Alpha 6, but voice actors in New Zealand voiced over archived footage in Power Rangers Dino Fury of previous characters across the franchise.
Cosmic Fury:
Power Rangers Cosmic Fury was also discussed on where it was also revealed on the live stream – as 2023 is not only the 30th anniversary of Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers, but Cosmic Fury is the 30th season of the franchise – where it has been announced another history making moment will be coming in the new season: Hunter Deno’s character of “Amelia Jones” will be the first full-series female Red Ranger!
Many fans know that Power Rangers SPD and Power Rangers Samurai both had female Red Rangers in their respective seasons with SPD A-Squad “Charlie” and “Lauren Shiba.” However, Amelia is the first female Red Ranger that will have this role throughout the whole run of Power Rangers Cosmic Fury.
Also new to the 10-episode season is that Russel Curry’s character, “Zayto” – the previous Red Ranger – is now the new “Zenith Ranger.” “Beige” and “Champagne” has been the two colors used to describe the color of the suit, Power Rangers Cosmic Fury will take some Sentai footage, and zord footage from Uchū Sentai Kyuranger, but will wear original suits pictured above.
Fans were chomping at the bit to see what the suits looked like in person and shortly after the stream, the official Twitter account for Power Rangers shared a video of the cast in the suits:
You can read Hasbro’s official press release about Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers and Power Rangers Cosmic Fury below, thanks to Rangerboard:
Power Rangers Celebrates its 30th Anniversary with Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers: Once & Always and Power Rangers: Cosmic Fury
Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers: Once & Always and Power Rangers: Cosmic Fury will be released exclusively on Netflix globally
NEW YORK, NY (January 17, 2023) – It’s Morphin Time! Hasbro’s entertainment studio, eOne, announces the upcoming celebration of the 30th Anniversary of Power Rangers, with Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always and Power Rangers: Cosmic Fury. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always, a scripted stand-alone anniversary special, will premiere exclusively on Netflix globally on April 19, featuring some of the franchise’s most beloved Rangers, including David Yost and Walter E. Jones from the series’ original cast, who are returning for the first time. Power Rangers: Cosmic Fury will continue the story of Power Rangers: Dino Fury, premiering exclusively on Netflix globally in Fall 2023.
In Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always, thirty years after the wise and powerful Zordon formed the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, the team comes face to face with a familiar threat from the past. In the midst of a global crisis, they are called on once again to be the heroes the world needs. Inspired by the legendary mantra from the franchise “Once a Ranger, Always a Ranger,” Once & Always reminds everyone when you become a Ranger, you are always a part of the Ranger family and always welcome.
To celebrate 30 years of Power Rangers, original, returning and new cast members will join together in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always.
-David Yost as Blue Ranger / Billy Cranston (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, 1993-1996)
-Walter E. Jones as Black Ranger / Zack Taylor (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, 1993-1994)
-Steve Cardenas as Red Ranger / Rocky DeSantos (Mighty Morphin Powers Rangers 1994-1996; Power Rangers Zeo 1996; Power Rangers Turbo 1997)
-Catherine Sutherland as Pink Ranger / Kat Hillard (Mighty Morphin Powers Rangers 1995-1996; Power Rangers Zeo 1996; Power Rangers Turbo 1997)
-Karan Ashley as Yellow Ranger / Aisha Campbell (Mighty Morphin Powers Rangers 1994-1995)
-Johnny Yong Bosch as Black Ranger / Adam Park (Mighty Morphin Powers Rangers 1994-1996, Power Rangers Zeo 1996; Power Rangers Turbo 1997, Power Rangers in Space 1998)
-Barbara Goodson as the voice of Rita Repulsa (Mighty Morphin Powers Rangers 1993-1996, Power Rangers Zeo 1996; Power Rangers Turbo 1997, Power Rangers in Space 1998)
-Richard Horvitz as the voice of Alpha (Mighty Morphin Powers Rangers 1993-1996, Power Rangers Zeo 1996; Power Rangers Turbo 1997, Power Rangers Wild Force 2002)
-Charlie Kersh as Minh, daughter of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Yellow Ranger Trini Kwan
“It was great to work with Walter Jones again. We went through the audition process together and launched the Power Rangers franchise 30 years ago. I am so grateful to the fans of Power Rangers for their undying commitment to the original cast.” – David Yost
“It was such a surreal experience to be on the set of Power Rangers again after 28 years!! I was so at home. Can’t wait for the fans to see what they have waited so long for. The ZackMan is back and ready to rock!! Working with David Yost as a Ranger again was amazing! Our Ranger family runs deep!!” – Walter Jones
Power Rangers: Cosmic Fury is the first time since the TV series launched in 1993 that the entire Ranger team will return for a third season. Power Rangers: Cosmic Fury continues the adventures of Power Rangers: Dino Fury, with the team embarking on a journey through outer space as they unlock new Cosmic powers and defend the universe against the returning infamous villain Lord Zedd.
In the history-making season, Amelia the Dino Fury Pink Ranger will trade her suit for the Cosmic Fury Red Ranger suit, evolving into the first full-time female Red Ranger in the series. In a first for the Hasbro / eOne production, Power Rangers: Cosmic Fury will feature newly designed costumes for all the core cast Ranger team, with costumes designed by Sarah Voon and all new morphers and weapons designed by Tracey Collins. Look out for exciting previews of the epic season, with Hasbro celebrating the 30th Anniversary all year long.
Simon Bennett returns as Executive Producer on both productions, with Co-Producers and Head Writers Becca Barnes and Alwyn Dale.
Hasbro, eOne and Power Rangers are honored to dedicate Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always to late Mighty Morphin cast members Thuy Trang and Jason David Frank.
For Power Rangers brand updates throughout this milestone year, follow @PowerRangers on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook and @powerrangersofficial on YouTube.
About POWER RANGERS
Power Rangers is celebrating 30 continuous years on the air, making it one of the longest-running kids’ live-action series in television history, with more than 900 episodes aired to date. Created by Haim Saban and launched in 1993 with Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, the series celebrates its 30th year with Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always, an anniversary special coming exclusively to Netflix on April 19, 2023. The 30th overall season of Power Rangers, “Power Rangers: Cosmic Fury,” premieres Fall 2023 exclusively on Netflix in the U.S.
About eOne
Entertainment One Ltd. (eOne) is a talent-driven independent studio that specializes in the development, acquisition, production, financing, distribution and sales of entertainment content. As part of global play and entertainment company Hasbro (NASDAQ: HAS), eOne’s expertise spans across film and television production and sales; production, distribution and brand management of kids and family properties; digital content; and immersive and live entertainment. Through its extensive reach and scale, and a deep commitment to high-quality entertainment, eOne unlocks the power and value of creativity.
eOne brings to market both original and existing content, sourcing IP from Hasbro’s portfolio of 1500+ brands, and through a diversified network of creative partners and eOne companies.
About Hasbro
Hasbro is a global branded entertainment leader whose mission is to entertain and connect generations of fans through the wonder of storytelling and exhilaration of play. Hasbro delivers engaging brand experiences for global audiences through gaming, consumer products and entertainment, with a portfolio of iconic brands including MAGIC: THE GATHERING, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, Hasbro Gaming, NERF, TRANSFORMERS, PLAY-DOH and PEPPA PIG, as well as premier partner brands.
Hasbro is guided by our Purpose to create joy and community for all people around the world, one game, one toy, one story at a time. For more than a decade, Hasbro has been consistently recognized for its corporate citizenship, including being named one of the 100 Best Corporate Citizens by 3BL Media, one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies by Ethisphere Institute and one of the 50 Most Community-Minded Companies in the U.S. by the Civic 50. For more information, visit corporate.hasbro.com.
Stay with The Power Scoop for all your behind the scenes, and production news for Power Rangers, Dino Fury, Cosmic Fury and more – follow The Power Scoop on Twitter and Instagram.
The Power Scoop 