Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Cast Then and Now

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Cast Then and Now (1993 vs 2022)

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (MMPR) is an American superhero television series that premiered on August 28, 1993, on the Fox Kids programming block. It is the first entry of the Power Rangers franchise, and became a 1990s pop culture phenomenon along with a large line of toys, action figures, and other merchandise. The show adapted stock footage from the Japanese TV series Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger (1992–1993), which was the 16th installment of Toei's Super Sentai franchise. The second and third seasons of the show drew elements and stock footage from Gosei Sentai Dairanger and Ninja Sentai Kakuranger, respectively, though the Zyuranger costumes were still used for the lead cast in these two seasons. Only the mecha and the Kiba Ranger (White Ranger) costume from Dairanger were featured in the second season while only the Kakuranger mecha was featured in the third season, though the Kakuranger costumes were later used for the mini-series Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers. The series was produced by MMPR Productions and distributed by Saban Entertainment, while the show's merchandise was produced and distributed by Bandai Entertainment. The series was well known for its campy tone.

While a global storyline would continue in Power Rangers Zeo, Power Rangers Turbo, Power Rangers in Space, and Power Rangers Lost Galaxy (which could be considered respectively and unofficially as the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh seasons of the original series), the subsequent series would not be sequels or spin-offs in the traditional sense, having self-contained plots with no strong connection with the original series (except taking place in the same universe, not being reboots). The exceptions would be Power Rangers Dino Thunder, which could be considered as a continuation of the original classic series by having the presence of the character Tommy Oliver (the Green Ranger and later White Ranger, portrayed by Jason David Frank) as part of the regular team of Rangers of the generation of that series (in some of the other series the character only made special participations). Power Rangers SPD would also be another exception, as in this series' plot, this generation's Green Ranger, J.J Oliver, is the son of Tommy, the original Green Ranger. Another series connected to the original classic series would be Power Rangers Operation Overdrive, as one of the main villains of this series, Thrax, is the son of Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd, main villains of the classic series.

In 2010, a remake of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, with a revised new look of the original 1993 logo, comic book-referenced graphics, and extra alternative visual effects, was broadcast on ABC Kids, and Bandai produced brand new toys to coincide with the series. Only the first 32 of season one's 60 episodes were remade. It was the final Power Rangers season to air on ABC Kids as Haim Saban re-acquired the franchise from Disney, who took over the rights in 2002. With the beginning of Power Rangers Samurai in 2011, the franchise had moved to Nickelodeon.

The original series also spawned the feature film Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie, released by 20th Century Fox on June 30, 1995. Despite mixed reviews, it was a modest financial success, and earned a cult following. In 1997, a second film titled Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie was released as a bridge between the series Power Rangers Zeo and Power Rangers Turbo. In 2017, a reboot film based on the original series was distributed by Lionsgate, simply titled Power Rangers. Due to both the film's financial failure and Hasbro's acquisition of the franchise in 2018, another reboot is in development.