The originalPower Rangersuniverse that began in 1993 withMighty Morphin Power Rangersis all but dead now that the franchise is heading into a new, bold direction. AlmosteveryPower Rangerspropertyhas taken place in the same continuity as the original show, with some notable exceptions including the 1995Mighty Morphinmovie and the 2017 reboot. WhilePower Rangersfans have had to deal with countless plotholes and retcons over the past 32 years, the franchise managed to keep a somewhat cohesive universe where most characters and storylines intersect in some way.
EvenPower Rangersseasons that have taken place in alternate universes, namelyR.P.M.andDino Charge, are still part of a larger unified continuity that was first established in 1993.The 2017Power Rangersmovie had so far been the only time the franchise rebooted things, and even then, the show continued normally. Likewise, while the BOOM! StudiosPower Rangerscomics are set in their own multiverse, they never directly affected what the show was doing. However, the franchise is now about to change forever as a brand-newPower Rangersshow is reportedly in development for Disney+.
Disney+’s New Power Rangers Show Means The Original Continuity Is Dead
The Disney+ Show Will Most Likely Be A Fresh Start For Power Rangers
According toThe Wrap,Percy Jackson and the Olympiansshowrunners Jonathan E. Steinberg and Dan Shotz are being eyed to develop and produce a newPower Rangersshow alongside Hasbro Entertainment for Disney+ and 20th Century TV.The show is being described as a reinvention ofPower Rangersthat will target both long-time fans of the 32-year-old franchise and new viewers. As of the writing of this article, it is unclear whether this will be aMighty Morphin Power Rangersreboot, or if it will introduce an all-new set of characters.
Disney ownedPower Rangersbetween 2001 and 2010 after acquiring Fox Family Worldwide. This is a different situation, as the franchise still belongs to Hasbro.
Either way, it is safe to say that Disney+’sPower Rangersshow will be a reboot and will not take place in the same continuity as all the otherPower Rangersseasons. Considering thatthe classicPower Rangersshow is primarily aimed at young children and follows a very specific formulathat works well for the 20-minute-long format, it would be arguably impossible for a new show designed for a streaming platform to match the tone of the previous series. For example,Percy Jackson and the Olympiansis rated TV-PG, whereas mostPower Rangersseasons are rated TV-Y7.
10 Best Power Rangers Series That Still Hold Up Today
The most famous Power Rangers seasons were released in the 1990s and early 2000s, but some of these series have aged much better than others.
Additionally, there is just so much lore in the current continuity that it would be difficult for new stories to be told in that sandbox. Ever since talks about a potential newPower Rangersshow aimed at young adult audiences began, it became clear that a reboot would be the only way to do it. WhilePower Rangers: Once & AlwaysandPower Rangers Cosmic Fury,both of which were Netflix originals, were darker than other entries, their tones were still much closer to that of the previous seasons than to something likeStranger Things.
I Love Power Rangers, But The Show Needed A Reboot After Cosmic Fury
The Classic Power Rangers Formula Wasn’t Working Anymore
I loved theDino Furyera ofPower Rangers, but the reception ofPower RangersCosmic Furymade it clear that it was time for the show to do something different. To be fair,Cosmic Furydid do a lot of new things, including but not limited to using original costumes created for the American show instead ofSuper Sentaiones. As a result,Cosmic Furyonly usedSuper Sentaiscenes for the zord and Megazord battles, which proved to be very divisive among fans after 29 seasons based on the Japanese series.
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Cosmic Fury
On the one hand,not relying onSentaicould givePower Rangersa lot more freedom.On the other hand,Cosmic Furydidn’t quite capture the magic ofSuper Sentai, especially when it came to the costumes. This is why I believePower Rangersneeds to start fresh in a new continuity where it can explore new ideas and formats without having to live up to 30 other seasons that came before it.Power Rangerscan work withoutSuper Sentai, but not with half-measure decisions like the ones made forCosmic Fury.
Cosmic Fury Was The Perfect Conclusion For The Original Power Rangers Continuity
Cosmic Fury’s Final Episodes Were A Celebration Of Power Rangers’ Legacy
Power Rangers Cosmic Fury’s endingis a lot more important now that the franchise is about to be rebooted. With Disney+’sPower Rangersseries most likely being the start of a new continuity,the final episode ofCosmic Furywill also be the final episode of the original show as a whole.It is a good thing thatCosmic Fury’s finale was not only titled “The End” but also thematically worked as the final chapter in the classic franchise. The episode even had its ownAvengers: Endgamemoment where old Megazords from previous seasons showed up to the rescue.
Between Billy finding out that Zordon was not gone forever and Lord Zedd being defeated once and for all, I believeCosmic Fury’s “The End” was a good enough final episode for the original version of the show.If the Cosmic Fury Rangers singing a song based on Zordon’s“May the power protect you”line as the Morphin Masters watch them is the last thing we ever see of the originalPower Rangersuniverse, I’m fine with it. As someone who has watched all 30 seasons ofPower Rangersover and over, I can’t wait for a different take on the franchise.
The Original Power Rangers Universe Can Still Live On In Other Media
Power Rangers Is More Than Just The Live-Action TV Shows
Even if Disney+’sPower Rangersreboot takes the franchise in a completely different direction and becomes the first entry in a larger universe of sequels and spinoffs, there is still room for the original universe to live on. While the comic books don’t technically take the same place in the same universe as the TV shows – there have been too many deviations and multiverse shenanigans already for that to work – they are still based onMighty Morphin Power Rangersand its sequels. Even with all the new additional lore,the comics will still be a window into classicPower Rangers.
Some of the bestPower Rangersstories of recent years have been from other media and not the TV show.
That is not to mention all the games and novels that could come out in the future. For example,Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewindoffered a nostalgic trip throughPower Rangershistory combining elements of the show and the comics in a very fun video game. Some of the bestPower Rangersstories of recent years have been from other media and not the TV show anyway, so I wouldn’t have a problem with the original universe continuing in other ways while the Disney+ show reinvents the live-action side of the franchise.
