It’s not very often that the Power Rangers franchise gets the “watermarked by Entertainment Weekly” image treatment, but here we are: EW has the scoop on Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers: Once & Always, a 30th anniversary special for Netflix that will reunite various old Mighty Morphin’ Rangers. Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers: Once & Always will feature myriad actor reprisals from the original series in its cast, and it has a Netflix release date of April 19, 2023.
The story will see the old Rangers taking on a “familiar threat from the past,” and here’s the rest of the description for the series:
In the midst of a global crisis, [the Power Rangers] are called on once again to be the heroes the world needs. Inspired by the legendary mantra from the franchise ‘Once a Ranger, Always a Ranger,’ Once & Always reminds everyone when you become a Ranger, you are always a part of the Ranger family and always welcome.
Check out the returning cast below, along with one surprising new addition.
Returning (and New) Cast for Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers: Once & Always 30th Anniversary
- Walter Emanuel Jones as original Black Ranger Zack
- David Yost as original Blue Ranger Billy
- Catherine Sutherland as second Pink Ranger Kat
- Steve Cardenas as second Red Ranger Rocky
- Karan Ashley as second Yellow Ranger Aisha
- Johnny Yong Bosch as second Black Ranger Adam
- Barbara Goodson, the voice of Rita Repulsa
- Richard Horvitz, the voice of Alpha 5
- Charlie Kersh joins the cast as Minh, the daughter of original Yellow Ranger Trini.
It’s unexpected and a bit touching to see a new character related to Trini enter the franchise, as Trini actor Thuy Trang died in a tragic car accident at age 27 in 2001. A few people associated with the franchise have sadly passed on over the years, including juice bar owner Ernie actor Richard Genelle, Lord Zedd voice Robert Axelrod, and recently Jason David Frank, who played the iconic Tommy Oliver. It’s unknown if any of these people will be honored in any way, but the “Once a Ranger, Always a Ranger” tagline implies a strong sense of family regardless.
A few living beloved faces are missing from the cast as well, including original Red Ranger Austin St. John and original Pink Ranger Amy Jo Johnson, among others. But they haven’t disappeared off the face of the earth. You can still find them if you look.
Check out first cast photos of the Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers: Once & Always 30th anniversary special below ahead of its Netflix release date this April, including Minh in the final image.
Meanwhile, Power Rangers: Cosmic Fury will premiere on Netflix this fall as the latest entry in the main TV franchise, and somehow, Lord Zedd is the villain. I guess they retconned his happy ending from Power Rangers in Space? If that’s the case, maybe they’re doing the same with Rita for Once & Always.