The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers are returning in a new television special. Netflix has released a new trailer for the upcoming special Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always, which celebrates the franchise’s 30th anniversary. The special will premiere on Netflix on April 19.
The trailer features the return of the villain Rita Repulsa (voiced by Barbara Goodson), who now has a new body. Rita plans to go back in time and kill the Power Rangers before they were recruited by their mentor Zordon (originally played by David Fielding and later Robert L. Manahan).
Another familiar character featured in the trailer is Alpha 5 (voiced by Richard Horvitz). Alpha was Zordon’s robot assistant in the series. The Rangers’ Zords and the Megazord are also featured.
The trailer also introduced Minh (Charlie Kersh), the daughter of Trini Kwan/the first Yellow Ranger (Thuy Trang). It was also revealed that Trini was killed by Rita.
The Power Rangers lineup for the special includes Billy Cranston/the first Blue Ranger (David Yost), Zack Taylor/the first Black Ranger (Walter Emanuel Jones), Rocky DeSantos/the second Red Ranger (Steve Cardenas), and Kat Hillard/the second Pink Ranger (Catherine Sutherland). Adam Park (Johnny Yong Bosch) and Aisha Campbell (Karan Ashley) will also appear in the special. Adam was the second Black Ranger and Aisha was the second Yellow Ranger.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers premiered on Fox Kids in 1993. Along with Billy, Zack, and Trini, the original Power Rangers lineup included Jason Lee Scott/the first Red Ranger (Austin St. John) and Kimberly Hart/the first Pink Ranger (Amy Jo Johnson). Tommy Oliver (Jason David Frank) later joined the team as the Green Ranger, and later the White Ranger. Tommy later went on to become the leader of the Power Rangers. A film adaptation, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie, was released in 1995.
After its third season, the series was rebranded as Power Rangers Zeo. Sutherland, Bosch, and Cardenas also reprised their roles in the 1997 film Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie. The 1998 season, Power Rangers in Space, concluded the storylines introduced in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. However, the franchise has continued with multiple new teams of Power Rangers taking over. The next season, Power Rangers: Cosmic Fury, is scheduled to premiere on Netflix this fall.
A film reboot titled Power Rangers was released in 2017. The film was directed by Dean Israelite, and featured Bill Hader as Alpha, Bryan Cranston as Zordon, and Elizabeth Banks as Rita.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always will premiere on Netflix on April 19. The trailer for the special can be watched below:
