Power Rangers: Here's How Once & Always Included Other Original Rangers
The Power Rangers have returned for a special reunion now streaming with Netflix celebrating the 30th Anniversary for the Power Rangers franchise, and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always found a creative way to include some of the original Power Rangers who were not involved with the new special! While Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always made sure to pay tribute to the tragic losses of original cast members Thuy Trang and Jason David Frank, there were also a few members of the cast who had originally turned down a potential return to the franchise during the production of the new special.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always notably does not include Jason David Frank, Austin St. John, or Amy Jo Johnson, who had each turned down returning for their own reasons, but the 30th Anniversary special still finds a way to involve Tommy, Jason, and Kimberly. Much like how the other characters were teased to still be active Power Rangers long after we last saw them in action, this trio still fights the good fight. But they were taken out of the action early on into Once & Always.
How MMPR: Once & Always Includes More Original Ranger Characters
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always begins with the tease that each member of the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers crew has been active nearly 30 years later. This includes the unseen out of their suits, Tommy, Jason, and Kimberly. After Trini is killed and Once & Always jumps ahead to a year later, the events of the episode see Tommy, Jason, and Kimberly quickly captured by Robo Rita and held hostage for the rest of the special. Which means other Red and Pink Rangers, Steve Cardenas' Rocky and Catherine Sutherland's Kat, are called in as much needed reinforcements.
What has yet to be confirmed, however, is each of the characters' voices. During Once & Always, fans can hear Tommy, Jason, and Kimberly's morphing calls, and can even hear their fighting in action. It's not revealed as to whether the original cast's voices were used to reprise their characters at the time of this writing, but seeing each of their characters still involved with the milestone 30th Anniversary special celebration is still a pretty big deal.
How did you feel about Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always overall? Let us know all of your thoughts about it in the comments! You can even reach out to me directly about all things animation and other cool stuff @Valdezology on Twitter!