The Power Rangers TV series celebrated its 30th Anniversary with a big reunion special for Netflix, and David Yost exclusively opened up to ComicBook.com about his reaction to Billy Cranston’s returning role in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always! One of the biggest aspects of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always was the fact that David Yost would be officially returning to the cast long after he initially left the series. It was a pretty big occasion as fans got to see how Billy’s life changed since his time as a Power Ranger as well, and it’s sparked some theories about Billy’s potential future.
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Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always not only brought David Yost’s Billy back to the Power Rangers franchise after many years of being away, but Billy also had a crucial role in setting the plot in motion. His actions unfortunately led to the death of one of his fellow Rangers, and kicked off Robo Rita’s return in full. As Yost opened up about his feelings on Billy’s role in Once & Always, Yost was nervous to see how fans reacted to Billy’s part in it all.
How David Yost Felt About Billy in MMPR: Once & Always
“I kind of have panic going on right now until this thing airs because it can go a lot of different ways,” Yost began. “I don’t know that I got what I wanted a hundred percent for Billy, because Billy’s put in a position where Trini steps up and saves Billy, basically. She puts her life on the line for Billy. So, obviously that’s difficult as a character to have that grief. And then her daughter, Minh, basically steps up and does the same thing. And so for me as a character, I’m like, ‘What’s going on?’ And it plays with my mind a little bit, character-wise, but hopefully the resolution is there enough.”
Yost then explained what he had hoped to see more of from Billy’s time in Once & Always, “I really would’ve liked a scene, a little bit more of a scene, with Billy and Minh really kind of trying to reconcile a more loving type of relationship. It’s there, but I really wish we could have had more of a conversation about everything that transpired and how the guilt that Billy really does feel and carries with him. It’s there, but it’s not. So, hopefully the fans will be kind.” But those heavier elements were always a part of the conversation.
“We did discuss a lot, ‘What is the tone of this? How do we keep it the nostalgic ’93 Power Rangers, but how do we bring it into an adult version and how do we deal with real emotions and how far do we go with those emotions?’” Yost continued. “There’s a lot of discussion about tone, and hopefully the tone is right. I do think it is right because it touches on the seriousness of it, but it still gives the fans, obviously the Power Rangers love that they’re going to love. Again, it was great as an actor to get to deal with all of those things, and I just hope that the fans really embrace it.”
How did you feel about Billy’s role in setting Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always in motion? Let us know all of your thoughts about it in the comments! You can even reach out to me directly about all things Power Rangers, animation and other cool stuff @Valdezology on Twitter!
