Thanks to Netflix, It’s Morphin Time Again

The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers hit the cultural zeitgeist when I was a junior in high school, which meant I was too cool for the series’ cheesy dialog, hammy acting, and silly Zord fights. At the time, I didn’t know that the series was, in fact, an Americanized version of Japan’s long-running Super Sentai series (and of Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger, to be precise).

Since then, I’ve become a fan of Japanese tokusatsu films, so the series doesn’t look quite as silly as it once did. Which is to say, I’m actually kinda sorta maybe interested in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always, an upcoming Netflix original that marks the original series’ 30th(!) anniversary. This time around, two of the original Rangers — Billy Cranston and Zack Taylor — must spring back into action when the dastardly Rita Repulsa returns with a new scheme to destroy the Rangers and conquer the world.

What’s interesting about the above trailer is that the movie not only leans into the nostalgia but also acknowledges the passage of time. For all of the “morphin” action, the tone almost seems — dare I say it? — bittersweet at times, especially when Trini Kwan, the original Yellow Ranger, is referenced. (Thuy Trang, who played Trini, was killed in a car accident in 2001.) And it’ll be interesting to see if the special mentions the original Green Ranger, Tommy Oliver, given that actor Jason David Frank — who was beloved in Power Rangers fandom — died last year by suicide.

Netflix will begin streaming Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always on April 19. And if that isn’t enough for you, the 30th season of Power Rangers, titled Cosmic Fury, will arrive on Netflix this fall.