Power Rangers: Karan Ashley Was Nervous Fans Wouldn’t Accept Her As the Yellow Ranger

Karan Ashley, whose first acting role was as Aisha Campbell aka the Yellow Ranger in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, reveals in a new interview that she was worried fans wouldn’t accept her as a replacement for Thuy Trang, the original Yellow Ranger.

“I was very nervous at first,” Ashley told Adventures in Poor Taste. “The original three that had left the show were extremely popular and there were huge shoes to fill stepping into their roles. Once I stepped on set, the excitement of being a working actress took over and any nervousness left. We also had an entire team of people who were super supportive.”

Ashley, who starred on TV’s Mighty Morphin Power Rangers for two years between 1994 and 1996, also starred in the big screen Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie. Thuy Trang, who played original Yellow Ranger Trini Kwan for 88 episodes between 1993 and 1994, left the show alongside co-stars Austin St. John (Jason, the original Red Ranger) and Walter Emanuel Jones (Zack, the original Black Ranger) over contract disputes. Ashley’s Aisha came in alongside Steve Cardenas (Rocky, the second Red Ranger) and Johnny Yong Bosch (Adam, the second Black Ranger).

Ashley added that despite the initial belief that fans might not accept her or Aisha, the show’s supporters are what she loves most about her time with the long running franchise. “I love two things about being apart of this franchise. First, it’s the fans,” Ashley said. “They are the most loyal group. When we were on the show, we were living out our dreams of becoming actors but we had no clue how the show was resonating with the fans.”

“We had no clue that almost 25 years later we would be traveling the world and meeting all of our fans as adults. We had no idea the show and the characters we created had touched so many lives,” she added. “It’s remarkable the impact it has made and now our fans are parents and their kids are watching too.”

Ashley also pointed to the friendships she made in her time with the series. “When I see or meet any of the other cast members, we are instantly making plans to hang out,” she shared. “We are instantly family. Some of these people are my closest friends. It’s a huge blessing.”

Ashley reunited with her Mighty Morphin Power Rangers co-stars Johnny Young Bosch, Steve Cardenas, and David Yost for The Order, a film which brought together various former Power Rangers actors as a group of assassins and killers tasked with restoring order in the world.