Netflix’s Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always, a scripted Mighty Morphin Power Rangers special, sees original Power Rangers cast members reuniting for the franchise’s 30th anniversary. While Power Rangers anniversary specials are nothing new for the saga, a Mighty Morphin Power Rangers reunion focused solely on the original characters is a first. The Power Rangers franchise is ongoing with shows like Power Rangers Cosmic Fury, yet the Once & Always special is a standalone story that will work regardless of how many Power Rangers seasons the viewer has watched since Mighty Morphin. Once & Always released on Netflix on April 19, 2023.Unlike other Power Rangers seasons, the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always special is not based on any Super Sentai show. In other words, all Once & Always scenes are new, original scenes shot for the Netflix show – including the suited-up Power Rangers fights. The Power Rangers 30th Anniversary Special sees six of the original Power Rangers cast members appear as they reunite as adults to fight a familiar villain. The original Power Rangers lineup featured 10 total Rangers over three seasons, and even those unable to return in the special see their characters mentioned.
Walter Emanuel Jones As Zack
Walter Emanuel Jones’ Zack, the original Black Power Ranger, returns for Netflix’s Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always reunion. Zack was one of the five “teenagers with attitude” chosen by Zordon to become a Ranger in Power Rangers’ very first episode and remained part of the team throughout season 1. Walter Emanuel Jones exited the Power Rangers cast in Season 2 along with Thuy Trang and Austin St. John in what became known as Power Rangers’ first Power Transfer. Decades after the original Black, Yellow, and Red Rangers left the show, the Power Rangers comics offered an in-universe reason for their departures – Zack, Trini, and Jason became the Omega Rangers.
That particular storyline, however, only exists in the universe of the comics, not the television shows. In the television series, Zack grew up to become a United States Congressional representative and remained close with his original teammates. Trini’s daughter Minh (Charlie Kersh) even calls him Uncle Zack. He also still works to protect Angel Grove, his hometown, 30 years later, donning a Power Rangers suit again when enemies of the Rangers come to town.
David Yost As Billy
David Yost’s Billy, the original Blue Ranger, also returns for the Power Rangers 30th Anniversary Special. Of the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers pilot episode cast, David Yost was the one to remain in the franchise for the longest without interruption. Billy was in all three Mighty Morphin Power Rangers seasons as the Blue Ranger and later assisted the Zeo Rangers in Power Rangers Zeo. Billy eventually left Earth to gain the help of the Aquitar Rangers when he began rapidly aging, and the character never appeared on-screen again until the 2017 Power Rangers reboot.
In the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always special, Billy is revealed to have returned to Earth at some point, leaving behind his Aquitian love interest Cestria on her home planet. He also started his own company and runs Cranston Tech, where he’s on the cutting edge of technological developments, and has his own version of the Command Center in the building, complete with an Alpha-9. Billy has used some of his considerable resources trying to find original Power Rangers mentor Zordon’s (David Fielding) energy from around the galaxy to attempt to reconstitute him.
Johnny Yong Bosch As Adam
Johnny Yong Bosch’s Adam replaced Walter Emanuel Jones’s Zack as the Black Ranger for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Season 2 and now returns in Netflix’s Power Rangers: Once & Always. Adam has a long history in the Power Rangers universe, having been the Zeo Green Ranger in Power Rangers Zeo and the first Turbo Green Ranger in Power Rangers Turbo. Before that, Adam had been the Black Ranger in the 1995 Power Rangers movie. Johnny Yong Bosch also appeared for a cameo role as Adam in the Power Rangers in Space TV show and the Once A Ranger special.
Adam doesn’t return to the fight on Earth in the 30th-anniversary special. Instead, he’s busy in the far reaches of space protecting the galaxy from extraterrestrial threats and keeping in contact with Earth’s alien allies, like Aquitar. He is a part of the SPA in Power Rangers: Once & Always. He’s not the only Power Ranger to be out in space either.
Karan Ashley As Aisha
Karan Ashley’s Aisha, who replaced Thuy Trang’s Trini as the Mighty Morphin Yellow Ranger, makes her Power Rangers comeback in Netflix’s Once & Always. Like Adam, Aisha was one of the three new Rangers who joined the Mighty Morphin team for Power Rangers Season 2. Aisha was the Yellow Ranger in the 1995 Power Rangers movie and remained on the show until the end of the Mighty Morphin era. While Aisha never returned to a Power Rangers TV show, she appeared in Power Rangers Hyper Force, a Critical Role-like canon Power Rangers roleplaying series.
Like Adam, Aisha doesn’t get to spend much time on Earth in the 30th-anniversary special. Aisha is also part of the SPA, an organization fans surmise is a division of the Power Rangers Space Patrol program. The series Power Rangers SPD focused on the Space Patrol Delta team, which protected Earth from intergalactic threats, and marked one of the first times a Power Rangers team was actually officially sanctioned by law enforcement. Aisha might not participate in the fight, but she approves passing the original Yellow Power Ranger legacy on to Trini’s daughter Minh.
Steve Cardenas As Rocky
Steve Cardenas’ Rocky, who replaced Austin St. John’s Jason as the Red Ranger in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Season 2, returns in the Netflix Power Rangers reunion. Rocky was one of the three new Rangers who joined the team replacing the original Red, Black, and Yellow Rangers after the Power Transfer. Though the Red Ranger is usually the leader, Rocky had just started his journey as a Power Ranger, leaving Tommy (Jason David Frank) to lead the team as the White Ranger. Rocky was also the Red Ranger in the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers movie, the Blue Ranger in Zeo, and appeared in recent Power Rangers shows like Super Mega Force.
When original Power Rangers Jason, Tommy, and Kimberly (Amy Jo Johnson) are captured in the reunion (though they never appear unmasked since their actors didn’t return for the special), Rocky is one of the Power Rangers summoned for help through the Bandora Protocol. Even though Jason has been using the original Red Power Ranger coin and connection to the Morphing Grid, Rocky still decides to suit up. That means he gets to team up with Black Ranger Zack for the first time in Power Rangers history. The two have never been on the show at the same time before.
Catherine Sutherland’s Kat
Catherine Sutherland’s Kat, the second Mighty Morphin Pink Ranger replacing Amy Jo Johnson’s Kimberly, returns for the Power Rangers 30th Anniversary Special. Kat replaced Kimberly as the Pink Ranger ahead of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers season 3 and remained as the Pink Ranger for Power Rangers Zeo. Sutherland reprised her role as Kat in the Power Rangers Turbo movie, with the character becoming the first Pink Turbo Ranger. Kat had recently appeared in Super Ninja Steel.
Like Rocky, Kat is warned about using “too much Pink” power since Kimberly is still actively connected to the Morphing Grid, but she opts to help the team as well. That’s why Kat’s Morpher in the Power Rangers: Once & Always special has the Pterodactyl power coin even though Kat never got to use the original Pterodactyl powers in the television series. Kat has to maintain her composure throughout the effort to save the world because in Power Rangers canon, Tommy Oliver is her husband. She leaves their son at a karate tournament in order to help the team and save her husband’s life.
Who Else Returns For Netflix’s Power Rangers Reunion
In addition to the mentioned Power Rangers actors, the Netflix 2023 special also sees the returns of Barbara Goodson as the voice of Rita Repulsa and Richard Horvitz as the voice of Alpha 5 (via EW). The classic Power Rangers villain Rita Repulsa no longer exists at this point in the Power Rangers timeline, but the dark energy that made her character evil is able to reconstitute itself in the body of a robot and bring back some original Power Rangers series monsters as well. The Netflix Power Rangers reunion also introduces a new character, Charlie Kersh’s Minh, who is Trini’s daughter. She learns the truth about her mother’s life as a Power Ranger over the course of the special and wants to follow in her mother’s footsteps.
While other Power Rangers appear in the special, they do not appear unmasked and the roles are performed by stunt performers. Thuy Trang passed away after the events of a car accident in 2001 and Jason David Frank passed away in 2022 shortly after the special filmed. Austin St. John was unable to travel to New Zealand to reprise his role. Amy Jo Johnson declined to participate in the project. Their characters all appear in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always though, so fans can rest assured that the entire team is reunited in spirit.
