There’s a brand new reboot of Power Rangers now in the works for Disney+, and it absolutely needs to start out with the Evil Green Ranger if it wants any chance of being a hit. The Power Rangers franchise is over 30 years old at this point, and both it and the original Super Sentai source material behind it all are now lying dormant as they get ready for whatever could be coming next. With this new foray into the future for Power Rangers, it needs to be inspired by some of the strongest elements from the past.
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When looking at a reboot of Power Rangers, it’s a daunting task as there are literally hundreds of potential episodes, series, and iterations to draw inspiration from. Narrowing it down even further, the best way to do it would not be to start with something brand new, but to use a familiar idea as a springboard to launch the familiar into a new era. That’s why the reboot should start by taking the most famous story from Power Rangers history to get the most attention right out of the gate. Start with the iconic Green With Evil saga.
The Green Ranger Is Power Rangers’ Biggest Icon
Although this might be a bummer to some of the older fans who could be “sick” of the attention it gets compared to newer entries, but Mighty Morphin Power Rangers should serve as the foundation for this new reboot. The best way to move forward is to take the familiar suits, characters and ideas from that first few seasons and craft them in a new but familiar enough way. The reason Power Rangers (2017) didn’t quite hit the mark despite doing that was that it ventured too far away from the familiar for its more alien and darker take on the material.
A darker take on the material is not a bad initiative to follow, but you need that sense of familiarity to appeal to the nostalgic of the older crowd that the reboot will be aiming at. The new Disney+ reboot is going to be built with a young adult, 10-13 crowd (especially when looking at some of the rumored cast members being scouted so far), but it’s going to take those nostalgic parents to tune into it in the first place. For as much as they might be overplayed to some, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers still has the most brand recognition and easily identifiable characters after all these years. None more so than the Green Ranger.
Tommy Oliver (portrayed by the late Jason David Frank) is undoubtedly the biggest standout from Power Rangers‘ very long history. It’s hard to really explain just how big Power Rangers was as a franchise during its peak if you weren’t there, but suffice to say that it was everywhere. But what really helped it hit a new realm was the introduction of the Green Ranger. Given how many episodes of that first season there were, you might also forget that Tommy was introduced fairly early on too.
The “Green With Evil” saga lasted for five episodes in that first season, from Episodes 17 through to 21. This saga introduced fans to an evil Power Ranger who was immediately stronger and cooler than the other Rangers we’ve seen to that point. He busted down Megazords, he destroyed the Command Center, and was the best martial artist with the coolest weapon and zord. He just oozed charisma, and it’s why fans still remember the Green Ranger more than the Power Rangers themselves after all this time.
Power Rangers’ Reboot Needs to Start Strong
But the difference between Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and the new Disney+ reboot is the fact that this new iteration will not have that same luxury of time. That original series was able to run for 16 weeks before slowly introducing Tommy to the series and showing off his power, but a new eight to ten episode version will not be able to slow down. This new Disney+ reboot needs to get as much attention as it can from the jump, and that especially includes the Green Ranger in promotional materials (which would be easily shared by nostalgic fans on social media platforms).
There can be variety in how he’s used through the series, but it’s hard to imagine that an entire season of a reboot essentially being focused on the Green With Evil saga would not be a hit. The reboot can tell its darker stories with an Evil Ranger constantly at their heels, and would develop this new team as they try and counter this evil. The reboot could have an episode or two with just the original five, but it needs to introduce the franchise’s biggest icon as soon as possible. The attention spans just aren’t there anymore.
It’s a far more competitive TV landscape than there ever has been, and Tommy is the best foot forward for a new take on Power Rangers. It’s a lesson that the older iterations of the franchise learned in retrospect as Tommy and his role in it all continued for much longer than the Green Ranger actually lasted in the Super Sentai counterpart, Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger. Tommy would be multiple rangers across multiple years, and become the singular biggest star in the franchise for decades to come.
It might be bittersweet to fully dive into Tommy Oliver without Jason David Frank around in any capacity, but it’s a legacy that the new Power Rangers reboot needs to utilize to have the best chance at success. It can’t just be the original five with a tease of Tommy for Season 2 because a second season isn’t guaranteed. It needs to start with the Green Ranger involved from the jump, and make sure to lead with the most impact.
Imagine where it could go from there? A second season could bring him back as the White Ranger, a third could give them ninja powers or Zeo powers, etc. It just needs to hit hard and fast right out of the gate if it wants any kind of chance with Disney+. What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
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