Austin St. John, Walter Emanuel Jones, and Thuy Trang leftPower Rangersmidway through season 2, and the franchise would have been drastically different had the original Red, Black, and Yellow Rangers remained on the team. With three cast members set to exit the series after not getting their contracts renewed,Mighty MorphinPower Rangersessentially had two options. Either Jason, Zack, and Trini were going to be recast, or the show would have to introduce three new characters.Power Rangerswent with the latter and introduced Rocky (Steve Cardenas), Aisha (Karan Ashley), andAdam (Johnny Yong Bosch).
ThePower Rangersfranchisewould never be the same again after the exits of the original Red, Yellow, and Black Rangers for several reasons. Firstly, the arrival of three new characters set a precedent for “replacement Rangers,” a tradition that would be carried over through the rest of the show.Power Rangerswould have multiple “power transfers” after the first one and always favored introducing new Rangers over recasting characters. Had Trini, Zack, and Jason remained on the show,not onlyMighty Morphinbut the entire Zordon Era would have been very different from what we got.
Jason Would’ve Remained The Leader Of The Power Rangers
Jason Was Only Demoted Because The Cast Was Changing
One of the first and most impactful consequences of the three original stars leavingMMPRin season 2 was that the Rangers would need a new leader. Without Austin St. John’s Jason, the obvious choice for the job was Jason David Frank’s Tommy, who was already a fan-favorite. The problem is thatTommy’s return as the White Ranger was written and filmed just before it became known that Austin St. John was going to leave the show.As a result,Zordon demoting Jason and promoting Tommy as team leaderwas added later.
From an in-universe perspective,it made little to no sense for Zordon to demote Jason as soon as Tommy became the White Rangerwithout giving the team any sort of explanation. Had the three actors never left the show, Jason would have remained team leader. Tommy would still be a major part of the series, especially with his new Ranger color, but not as a leader. It is interesting to ponder what Tommy’s future would have looked like in this scenario since much of his character afterMMPRseason 2 was defined by being a leader.
Jason, Zack, And Trini Would’ve Been In The Power Rangers Movie
Karen Ashley, Steve Cardenas, and Johnny Yong Bosch were hired forPower Rangersright as filming forMighty MorphinPower Rangers: The Moviewas about to begin. While thefirstPower Rangersfilm aged welland remains incredibly nostalgic, many always wondered what it would have been like with Jason, Trini, and Zack instead of Rocky, Aisha, and Adam. One big difference is thatJason would have been front and center in not only the story but also the promotional material alongside Tommy.The White Ranger was the face of the 1995 movie, with Rocky being just a secondary character.
Steve Cardenas
Rocky De Santos
Even though the story itself would remain the same considering the movie was about to begin production when the cast change happened, certain lines and character moments would have likely been different from what we got. For example, some of Rocky’s jokes in the final battle would not have suited Jason. Likewise,Adam’s insecurities and lack of confidence might not have worked for Zack’s character.Although it was great seeing the new three Rangers in such a fun film,Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Moviemight have been more successful with the full original cast.
The Original Mighty Morphin Team Might Have Been In Zeo
The Transition To Zeo Would’ve Been Significantly Different
Before conjecturing whatPower RangersZeo would have been like in a world where “The Power Transfer” never happened, it must be noted thatAmy Jo Johnson’s Kimberlyalso leftMMPRtoward the end of season 3. In a scenario where the entire original cast remained on the show until the end, Zeo would have felt even more like a sequel toMighty Morphin. The franchise was bound to switchSuper Sentaishows and start a brand-new series eventually, yetBilly and Tommy were the only characters from season 1 still onPower Rangersby that point.
Austin St. John returned toPower RangersduringZeo, with Jason becoming the second Gold Ranger.
If the original Rangers don’t leave,Tommy never becomes leader, meaning that Jason would have been Zeo Ranger V Red.Billy, Trini, and Kimberly could have simply kept theirMMPRcolors inZeo, leaving Tommy and Zack to compete for the “final spot” in the core team. One could argue that Tommy would have been the Zeo Gold Ranger since he was already used to being the sixth Ranger, which would have made Zack Zeo Green. The other option would be to make Tommy the Green Ranger again, with Zack later becoming the Gold Ranger.
Power Rangers Would Be Even More Associated With The Original Team
Power Rangers Is Still Associated With The Original Cast Over 30 Years Later
More than 30 years have passed since “The Power Transfer,” yetJason, Trini, Zack, Billy, Kimberly, and Tommy are still the characters who come to most people’s minds when they think ofPower Rangers.TheimpactMighty Morphinhad in the 1990snot only in the United States but the rest of the world cannot be taken for granted, which is why the franchise never stopped focusing on the original series in terms of toys, comics, and games. Still, had the cast remained the same during all three seasons,Power Rangerswould be even more associated with the original six.
The 10 Best Power Rangers Teams, Ranked
The best Power Rangers teams are not necessarily the strongest or more nostalgic, as it all comes down to the chemistry between the characters.
With the original cast returning for not onlyZeobut potentiallyTurboandIn Space, what we have since defined as the “Zordon Era” might have just been the “Mighty MorphinEra.”IconicMMPRelements such as the juice bar and Bulk and Skull might have been even more important to the show in the long run, as they were intrinsically associated with the original cast. Viewers would have gotten to grow with the original Power Rangers, although it did take untilTurbofor most of the team to graduate high school.
Some Of Power Rangers’ Greatest Characters Would Not Exist
Turbo And In Space Would Have Been Totally Different Shows
Perhaps the only downside of theMighty Morphincast not changing in seasons 2 and 3 is that we would have never gotten some ofPower Rangers’ greatest characters.The Stone Canyon would have never joined the show, meaning that recurrent characters such as Rocky and Adam would not exist. Despite being a “replacement Ranger,” Adam went on to become one of the bestPower Rangerscharacters of all time and appeared in multiple seasons between recurrent roles and cameos. Likewise, Rocky shined inZeoand appeared in theTurbofilm as well as plenty of crossovers.
1993-1995
1995
1996
1997
1998
Denji Sentai Megaranger
Even Aisha, who was not inZeo, recently returned to thePower Rangersuniverse inOnce & Always. Kat, Kimberly’s replacement, went on to be one of the greatest Pink Rangers in the franchise, wearing the same color inZeoandTurbo. That is not to mention the newTurbocast introduced when Jason David Frank and the others left the show, which might have played out differently had the originalMMPRcharacters remained in the series for several years. Fan-favorite Red Ranger Andros and most of what we saw inIn Spacemight not have existed as well.
Power Rangers
Power Rangersis a long-running multimedia franchise that debuted in 1993 with the TV seriesMighty Morphin Power Rangers. Created by Haim Saban and adapted from the JapaneseSuper Sentaiseries,Power Rangersbecame a cultural phenomenon by combining action-packed footage fromSuper Sentaiwith new scenes featuring American actors. The franchise follows teams of young heroes who transform into Power Rangers to battle various villains, using martial arts, special powers, and giant mechas called Zords. Over the decades, the franchise has expanded into multiple TV series, films, comics, video games, and merchandise, becoming one of the most successful children’s franchises in the world.
