(AfroGamers.com) Earlier this month, it was announced that eOne would be working with Netflix to deliver a cinematic universe on the Power Rangers franchise. I have to say that this is long overdue.
Power Rangers Always Had Potential as a Universe
The way that the Power Rangers franchise is done now is that the show runs in Japan and are later cut up in the West to where the action scenes remain but relevant out-of-Ranger mode, outside of monster battle scenes are filmed and added to make a new show.
If you watch any tokusatsu with subtitles, you’ll notice it’s an entirely difficult show from what we get in the West. Actually, some such as the Kamen Rider franchise are a little more violent and intense that the few series we got during the 90s and 00s.
Then again, Power Rangers was always geared towards kids. It’s colorful, there’s fighting, monsters, and explosions—it’s a live action shonen-oriented anime, basically. It’s also one that should’ve been moved towards being a universe series earlier.
In its current form, PR tends to run for a few seasons before moving on to a new generation of Rangers. Sometimes older Rangers will return as part of a new series or there will be reunion shows where the OGs fight alongside the new generation Rangers.
However, there aren’t several series running at one time with crossovers. That’s why eOne’s approach of a cinematic universe of television shows and films is so intriguing.
Making a Cinematic Universe on Netflix
The franchise as well as eOne—Entertainment One—are owned by Hasbro which also has Transformers, Dungeons & Dragons, and Magic: The Gathering in its war chest. With Disney+, HBO, Paramount, and other networks and companies with a streaming wing having the means to create cinematic universes from many franchises.
Right now, doing that with anything that is a superhero franchise—which the Power Rangers are—or superhero-adjacent is the way to go. Disney+ manages to do this not only with its Marvel holdings but also Star Wars.
Netflix has series that should finish out or get to a possible third season before jumping at that idea but Power Rangers give them greenlight off the bat. It’s a familiar franchise known the world over and it has been that way for almost 30 years in the west. People know PR and there’s never been a generation of viewers where the franchise hasn’t been on the air.
It’ll be interesting how eOne goes about it because looking at the early series, some of it happened around the same time as Might Morphin’ Power Rangers chronologically. Also, even though one villain is defeated doesn’t mean that a hero’s work is done.
Actual Storyline Build Is Here!
Actually, the Angel Grove crew of Rangers should’ve always been on guard before passing the torch to a new generation. Instead—as a kid in the 90s—we just got new Rangers shows such as Zeo and Turbo. Both were cool series but they just kind of appeared with the other Rangers simply moving on besides Tommy Oliver—the original Green Ranger and White Ranger.
In a cinematic universe, we won’t have that “here are some new Rangers” approach. There would be a build to a new generation and the current generation would work alongside another group of Rangers elsewhere.
Hell, we might even have the Angel Grove Rangers show along with Rangers on another planet or in another time. It’s all very exciting. I’m hoping we get a show about the origin of the first Power Rangers because to be honest, Zordon and Alpha were just in Angel Grove for what seems to be years and bestowed the power of the Rangers on five teenagers who showed no prior qualification to be Rangers.
Not only that but they just took to the role. It wasn’t until late in the first season and early in the second season that the Rangers started to have issues being Rangers and even then, it was a monster-of-the-week issue.
While we see monster-of-the-week on The CW DC shows with each different villains harassing one city, those heroes have issues outside of being superheroes and those villains return often. There’s no way we’re going to see Power Rangers on Netflix in the 2020s running a monster-of-the-week approach without any return or whatever. That’s just lazy and tacky.
Bringing In Other Heroes from Saban Series
What I’m hoping for is that we see other Saban heroes and teams. Masked Rider was my favorite of all of them even though the show flopped in the U.S. Servo from Superhuman Samurai Syber-Squad would be cool to see as well. The series wasn’t Saban but no one’s claiming the Samurai Syber-Squad.
I wouldn’t even mind seeing the Big Bad Beetleborgs make appearances. When you have a superhero show any time after the 2009 and another hero makes an appearance, they’re likely to get a show. It would just be cool for both older fans and a new generation of fans to see a new spin on all the cool stuff Saban gave my generation during the 1990s and Netflix and eOne might just be able to pull it off well.
Discuss it! What would you like to see this tag team do with Power Rangers? Keep it focused purely on the Rangers or expand it? More films than shows? A more mature approach? A nice mix for everyone? Let us know!
Staff Writer; M. Swift
This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.