11 Years Ago, The Most Adult Power Rangers Reboot Ever Debuted

The Power Rangers franchise is on the verge of a renaissance with several projects on the way or in active development. From the new live-action Power Rangers series coming to Disney+ to the new collection of Power Rangers series hitting stores from BOOM! Studios later this year, there’s a lot to get excited about, and that’s without even factoring in the rumored Power Rangers movie being developed over at Paramount. That’s why it’s a perfect time to look back at another inflection point for the franchise, and one key point in time happened 11 years ago when the franchise received its most adult reboot ever.

In 2015, the Power Rangers franchise was in the midst of the Neo-Saban era, and the current season on television was Dino Charge, which is a favorite amongst fans of the franchise. That wasn’t the only Power Rangers project to make a splash though, as on February 23rd of 2015, fans were introduced to the Power/Rangers Bootleg Universe short film by Joseph Kahn, which was produced by Adi Shankar and Jil Hardin. The film had a top-tier cast as well and was easily the most adult Power Rangers project to date, which did cause some division amongst the fanbase. You can watch it in full in the video right here.

The Power/Rangers Film Delivered The Most Gritty and Adult Version of the Franchise Ever

Shankar and Hardin’s Power/Rangers short film landed with major impact when it hit, and that was partly due to its much grittier take on the franchise as well as a stacked cast. The film starred the late James Van Der Beek as Rocky, and Van Der Beek actually co-wrote the film with Kahn and Dutch Southern. The cast also featured Katee Sackhoff (Kimberly), Russ Bain (Tommy), Gichi Gamba (Zack), Yves Bright (Billy, Camilla Lim (Trini), and Stevin Knight (Jason).

In this version of the franchise, the Machine Empire defeated the Power Rangers in a brutal battle that had the Rangers fighting back with not only their powers but also heavy weaponry. That battle ended when the Megazord was defeated, and after a treaty was reached between Earth and the Machine Empire, the Power Rangers were disbanded.

In the present, the story is told through flashbacks in a conversation between Rocky (who is now aligned with the Machine Empire) and Kimberly (the former Pink Ranger), who has been captured and is being interrogated regarding Tommy’s whereabouts. This is where we see how each of the Rangers died, and Rocky assumes it’s Tommy killing them. We see Jason brutally gunned down just 8 hours after marrying Kimberly, and it was Bulk and Skull who sold them out to get their hands on better drugs.

If you haven’t watched the film, it is definitely worth a rewatch, as there’s a great twist towards the end that I won’t spoil here, but I will say it recontextualizes everything that came before. When the film debuted, a number of Power Rangers stars celebrated the film for its more adult themes and tone, which is something many have wanted to see in the Power Rangers franchise for quite some time.

There were other stars that weren’t so keen on the violence and the overall approach though, and the same was true of the general Power Rangers fandom, which was also pretty split. Some feel like this harsher edge doesn’t fit within what Power Rangers is, while others feel like this is what the franchise needs.

Since this release, we’ve also had books like Shattered Grid and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Return, and even Darkest Hour, which all brought a more adult sensibility and heavier themes than past stories, though none of them go as far as this version. It will be interesting to see what the next era of Power Rangers holds, and if the franchise ever gets near this more adult take down the line.

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