Time does indeed fly. You might be one of those people who loved watching Mighty Morphin Power Rangers as a child. Then 2023 arrives, Once & Always is released on Netflix, and you discover it has been 30 years since the Power Rangers made their debut. And you start to wonder if all the performers are still portraying your childhood idols now and how the cast has changed. In this piece, we’ll look at the 2023 movie’s cast and make connections between each leading man and his original performers.
You can watch the official trailer for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always here on Youtube.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: the 2023 cast, the characters and the original actors
Most of the characters of the 2023 movie Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always are returning actors from the original cast. Let’s go through the main characters of the 2023 film and see what happened to each of them.
Zack Taylor / The Black Ranger
The Black Ranger, played by Zach Taylor, is one of the original five youths selected by Zordon to join the Power Rangers and protect the world from evil. Walter Emanuel Jones, who played the Black Rangers in the original cast in the 1990s, is the actor that plays him in the 2023 film. He appeared in popular TV shows like Family Matters, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, CSI, and The Shield in addition to Power Rangers. He is listed here on Wikipedia
Rocky DeSantos / The Red Ranger
Rocky DeSantos made his television debut in the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers season two, which ran from 1994 to 1995. He replaces Jason Lee Scott, who had switched to the Gold Ranger, as the second Red Ranger. He is portrayed by actor Steve Cardenas in the cast, who also played him in the 1990s. Here, you can learn more about him here
Katherine ‘Kat’ Hillard / The Pink Ranger
The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers third season, which ran from 1995 to 1996, featured Katherine “Kat” Hillard’s debut. The woman that plays it in both the 2023 film and the 90s television series is Australian actress Catherine Sutherland, who has been in numerous Power Rangers films. You can find her Wikipedia page here.
Minh Kwan / The Yellow Ranger
Throughout the various Power Rangers shows, a variety of actors and actresses have played the role of the Yellow Ranger. Trini Kwan, the original character, was a nice and intelligent young woman with a passion for martial arts (played by actress Thuy Trang, who passed away in 2001), although she already dies in the episodes shown in 1993. The actress portraying her young daughter, Minh Kwan, in the 2023 film Once and Always is the Vietnamese actress Charlie Kersh, who was born in 2006. You can find her on IMDb.
Billy Cranston / The Blue Ranger
Billy Cranston had already appeared in the 1993–1996 Mighty Morphin Power Rangers television series. He was renowned for his wit and technical prowess and frequently invented tools and gadgets to aid the Rangers in their conflicts with villains. He is portrayed by David Yost, who was also a member of the original Power Rangers cast from the 1990s.
you can discover more about him here on Wikipedia.
The five Power Rangers you see in the 2023 movie Once & Always are mostly returning actors from the original cast. The movie also does an excellent job remembering the characters and the scenes from the original show through flashbacks and memories.