Power Rangers Revival Bites The Dust

[00:00:04] This is RangerCast episode 39, another Power Rangers Revival Bites The Dust, recorded on Monday, August 31st, 2026. Also in this episode, a Dragonzord toy hits Kickstarter, big streaming changes for Kamen Rider, and the end of an era at Shout Factory.

[00:00:41] Alright, this is RangerCast, as always I'm Tyler and I got Josh with me. Hey everybody, I hope everybody's doing well this week. So Power Rangers is over, at least for now, for maybe the next five, ten, fifteen, twenty years. We'll see.

[00:01:00] Disney Plus has pulled the plug on their in-development series of Power Rangers, which is going to be set up at 20th Television and Hasbro Entertainment, which would have been helmed by Jonathan E. Steinberg and Dan Schatz of the Percy Jackson series. We are going to get into that later, what it means and how fans are reacting later in the show.

[00:01:26] So first, we have some news. While the show is probably dead, we do have some new live-action Ranger content. The Ninja Kid series, which was announced and then scuttled because of that then existing deal with Disney Plus,

[00:01:43] is now out of the vault and being released and it's kind of a mess. It uses AI, it features Goldar and Zed, and it uses stolen fan art actually as the power coins. It's, um, it's not for me. It's for somebody, but it's not for me. How about you, Josh? Have you seen it?

[00:02:13] Yes. And I'm going to give you my analogy because I think my opinion of it's very similar. Tyler, do you smell that? I don't know if that's the burning from either the dumpster fire that is The Legend of the White Dragon or the Ninja Kid series. At this point, they're both shaking hands of we're both garbage. And I agree with you.

[00:02:38] At least the Ninja Kid's one has a higher production than Legend of the White Dragon, but regardless, it's for someone. It's certainly not for me. I don't know who that someone is either. I don't know what to make of it. Like, there's a story there, but it seems really dumbed down and almost talking down to its audience.

[00:03:02] I would say, kind of in another episode where you have said, like, certain projects are vanity projects, I'm kind of more feeling like this is a vanity project versus a love letter. In the same respects, it seems like we keep getting more excuses from Ninja Kid. Like, oh, we, like, versus what they had before, it seems more we're getting, oh, we were limited by this. Hasbro went against this.

[00:03:25] It seems very much like trying to deflect the blame from them when at some point they just got to eat that, uh, uh, eat that reasoning. My biggest one is many months ago when the AI stuff was going on. Well, we didn't have a lot of post-production, but now they're saying they had no control of that.

[00:03:44] Like, somebody is, somebody is lying somewhere, guys. And I think it's a, I think it's a little bit of everybody in that they just don't want to catch the flack that's coming their direction for it because it will affect their brand. The circle back to what you asked, though, it's not for me. It is what it is. I do give it credit, AI aside stuff. I'm glad that the costumes, I like the costumes.

[00:04:08] I like the Goldar, um, costume. I like the, uh, putties. Like, for a fan film of this budget stuff, it is, I am happy with it in that respect that it's not cutting corners too much, if that makes sense. Like, it's respecting the franchise, at least in the costume department. So, speaking of Playmates, at San Diego Comic-Con, they unveiled the next parts of their Power Rangers Unlimited line.

[00:04:38] They're going to release full teams for Power Rangers Zeo, Power Rangers Dino Thunder, and Power Rangers Wild Force, which, if memory serves, were not completed under the Lightning Collection. It's good to know that they aren't just going to be putting out MMPR. The figures will be 1-12th scale, with 22 points of articulation, with detailed Teen and Ranger heads, multiple accessories, and a logo display stand.

[00:05:07] The images of the Zeo team are out. Uh, they're also rolling out the MMPR Season 2 line, including the Thunder Zords. The Tiger Zord is, uh, it's set, but not yet ready to buy. Um, according to a recent earnings call, Playmates says they're continuing to expand distribution in their Power Rangers product line, and they will continue to provide, uh, support, uh, to those lines going forward.

[00:05:36] They say that stabilization in global trade dynamics so far in 2026 has also been a welcome reprieve, although they expect U.S. import tariffs to continue under different forms and put negative pressure on profitability. Uh, they've also received some tariff-related refunds from the governments of the United States and Hong Kong, though I'm not sure if that really has any relevance to Power Rangers.

[00:06:02] Uh, they say that worldwide turnover at Playmates was flat compared to the first half of 2025. They say that declines in sales of Miraculous Tales, Ladybug, and Cat Noir, Monster Versa, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles toys shipments were offset by the expanded distribution of the Power Rangers product line, and, uh, they have a gross profit ratio up at 58%.

[00:06:29] That's up from 43% first half of the previous year, uh, though operating expenses are up by 15% compared to the prior year. Um, so all that is to say is that, uh, they're not just sticking to Season 1. Uh, the Tiger Zord is coming, and they've got another similar product in the line as well. Um, do you have any comments before we get there?

[00:06:55] The only thing I'd have to say is I am, I am very shocked that they're doing something not MMPR-related this early. I am very actually happy, and some of it's probably due to the anniversary, that we are getting Wild Force. Like, that one's kind of had the stigma because of, uh, you have to acknowledge it, because of the Red Rangers, like, outside of the set activities. Nobody cares. Well, they did because the comics didn't want Wild Force for that reason.

[00:07:25] Uh, Heroes of the Grid did not want Wild Force for that reason. It's nice to see at least, like, look, this happened. It's still part of the series. We can acknowledge, like, Wild Force is still part of it. That said, it is funny you mentioned that. It's not Mighty Morphin. Well, Zeo is just the Mighty Morphin cast. The Dino Thunder has Tommy, and Wild Force has Forever Red. So, in a sense, it is, like, Mighty Morphin adjacent in some capacity.

[00:07:55] It is, it's just funny that you say that, because I laughed when I was like, there is still, it's not, there is no way you can isolate it on its own season, say there is nothing tied to it. Even, like, if I said Time Force, you could say Forever Red, but it does not, if that episode never aired, it could still stand on its own type of deal. You know what I mean? Mm-hmm. So, moving on from that is the, well, actually, you know, something they actually talked about

[00:08:21] at San Diego Comic-Con was Playmates is making its first foray into Kickstarter. They launched a Kickstarter for a Dragonzord toy, which will be combinable with the existing Season 1 toys. They had a goal that since been reached of $400,000. They're now at $500,000, and they're talking about stretch goals. To date, some 5,000 fans have backed it.

[00:08:49] The Kickstarter project ends on September 18th. At this time, this is the only way you'll be able to get it, perhaps the only way you'll ever be able to get it. But the original concept art, the original render, drew some controversy because there were moments of it that didn't seem accurate.

[00:09:12] For example, the way that the lower jaw comes down to form the phase for battle mode, that visor was not present. And that's one of the things they've been changing. But there are other things about the toy that don't seem quite accurate. Now, for backstory, speaking to ComicBook.com, Jeff Trojan, Playmates Vice President of Marketing,

[00:09:37] suggested in the Q&A that Dragonzord was going to be inclusive at Walmart. He didn't explicitly say it, but there was a window for Green Ranger product, but the opportunity might not have been attractive enough to justify the tooling. He suggested that it might have been an online-only placement as opposed to on the shelf. So they looked around and decided that Kickstarter was the best fit because it lowers the risk to them.

[00:10:05] He suggested Tiger Zord would be a Walmart exclusive, but their site doesn't, the Playmates site doesn't say explicitly. You know, right now there are grayed out buttons for, you know, Walmart, Target, Amazon. So we don't really know what the deal is. Um, the faceplate issue, the reason why the looks of the whole thing and the mechanisms aren't totally the same might be a patent issue or copyright issue or something with Bantai.

[00:10:32] You know, the same reason why the automorphins mechanically are not the same as they were back in the day. Um, so I think I already have bought the Dragon Zord several times now. I haven't really bought anything in the new Hasbro Reignition or anything line to date.

[00:10:57] I think I might get the Thunders, but I don't know if I'm gonna get this, to be honest with you. I'm not probably going to get it either, Tyler. Um, one reason for me is like, if you, anybody who ever gets to know me, I'm very much a person who is like against waste. So in one half, I am in favor of the Kickstarter of, Hey, we're only going to make X amount for this.

[00:11:26] On the other hand, I don't like that companies are using this. Like Kickstarter is not meant for a company. I'm sorry. It's not meant for you playmates. It's meant for like independent artists. My opinions aside on it, I understand what this toy is and I know who its target demographic is, but in another lifetime, as you will eventually hear, to me, the people who back this knowing

[00:11:52] that there was not going to be the faceplate in the beginning or like Mega Dragon Zord where instead the finger is supposed to go into it, like the shoulder pads of the, uh, um, Megazord essentially, and they became projectiles. This is enabling slop later on. And it is, it's, I mean, they were responsive enough saying that they were going to go back

[00:12:17] to the, to the people who were designing this thing and say, Hey, this has to change. I think that I, I think you gotta like give, like, like, like, I don't give credit though. I don't give credit though, Tyler, because this isn't something like. Hey, we're cutting corners in the sense of where bare boning is making saying the triceratops. It's not going to have all the decals. It's just going to, it may have the mold on it, but we're not going to paint it. It's not something like that.

[00:12:47] This is as egregious as leaving the claws off of Wolverine. Who in their right mind would see the dragonzord, have the blueprints, something that's been around for 30 years. And they can't use it. They can't use it. They can use the math, the, uh, the battlezord math. They don't have the copyright for that. That's like saying, we can't, you put the morphers on the power rate. No, they have the IP. Hasbro owns it. They don't own the mechanic. I understand the fold down.

[00:13:17] I get that. But to say they don't, can't do the face. No, that's lazy. They were cutting corners and they were saving face for it. And they would have proceeded forward with it if people did not lose their shit. And they had a projection probably internally going, uh, no, we need to do this or it's not getting funded. I don't think, I don't think you know that. I think they're just people who like, you know, half a row away who screwed up.

[00:13:43] We do know that though, because they send the Q and a until like the next day. When more people piled on them, that they had no plans to do that. We know that it's on the Kickstarter that they had no plans to add the face. Now, again, if you want to say they saved face and like, we figured it out. Cool. Like maybe I can believe like, okay, fine. At worst, they were not going to include it. And that, that they were this stupid on a 30 year old toy to forget it. We could also say at best that fine.

[00:14:12] Then they're incompetent that they forgot this. That's the thing that they had literally on the video of the Kickstarter shows the mega dragon sword face on that. That is still enabling poor designs later on. Like playmates, get your shit together. You're either incompetent or y'all are idiots. One of the two. There is no middle ground. Look, I think you're going back to, you know, six year old, seven year old Tyler getting

[00:14:40] Bandai and Megazords in the nine days. Do you remember how, how you had to put the decals on yourselves? Yes. I do. Remember the quality of those toys? You know, this looks miles ahead of that. And that's like, this is not a collector's toy. This is a toy toy. No, I disagree with that. I outright disagree with that. And the reason why a first off, the old toys are better quality than these.

[00:15:09] Like even I can outright say they hide dad cast. They had that, the stickers Americanizing it aside. They were better. No, I'm talking like in the comparison with it. Like I, that's where I acknowledge the thing with playmates. That's not their fault is the molds. I get that. I'm not going to judge them for that. I understand that, but this is not a kid's toy. This is for the completionist. It's $50 man. And it's through a Kickstarter.

[00:15:38] Kids are not going to the Kickstarter at some point. It is on playmates to accept the accountability. Again, if we want to say that they were going to proceed forward without this, anybody who backed this at that point is enabling slop. That is, there is no bottom. There is no middle ground to that because then that says they can get away with it. If this is a, oh, like we just didn't realize it. Then that means they haven't watched an episode of Power Rangers or even looked at their stuff and someone just blanket approved this.

[00:16:07] There is no way this went through any type of quality and like control, quality insurance, whatever, whatever the term is for the toys for it. There is absolutely no way this made it through at that point. No, they wanted to cut corners and they would have gotten away with it too. If it wasn't for those meddling collectors, this is not a collector or a regular toy. This is for completionists. If that was the case, they would have made the deal with Walmart, whoever, and it would be on store shelves. That's where I disagree with that entirely for that.

[00:16:37] Also, it has the electronic like spinning tail. I don't think any of the other ones have electronics, but I don't own those. Well, time's a factor right now, so we got to get... Sure, sure. As I say, Tyler, we will agree to disagree, but it is one of those. It was very concerning that there was a concern that it was not going to go forward. And regardless if you're a fan or not, that would have been a disservice to the people buying this.

[00:17:05] And the kids to not have the face, even if it's a clip-on face. So, moving on. In other news, Cosmic Fury and Once and Always are now on Prime Video. They are still on Netflix. The difference is on Prime Video, you have to pay extra to watch them. But if you haven't seen... I think everybody in the audience has seen both of those things. Now you can watch them a different way if you want. Okay, meanwhile, staying internationally in a sense, I suppose.

[00:17:34] Over in the region of Zhongshan, China, Hasbro Dreamland, their theme park in China, has now opened with a dedicated Power Rangers area, including a setting inspired by the command center from Power Rangers, Dino, and Cosmic Fury. This is the first time since the Disney era that Power Rangers has had any significant amusement park representation.

[00:18:01] During the Saban Brands era, there was some talk of Power Rangers having some kind of representation at a theme park in the Middle East. This did not come to fruition. But this is a deal that Hasbro reached last year. They talked about the Lightsene Expo. Dreamland is a new multi-brand family entertainment destination set to launch in Bayfront, Zhongshan, China.

[00:18:30] It will include a range of family-friendly activities spanning a range of Hasbro brands, as well including Transformers, Peppa Pig, and My Little Pony. I'm really not sure what something Power Rangers would be doing firmly in Toy territory, but that's up to them. It reminds me of the Nickelodeon and the Cartoon Network hotels.

[00:18:56] But while all of y'all will be at the command center, I will be on the Friendship Express in the My Little Pony area. Y'all can go fight with Power Rangers. I will have Friendship is Magic on the opposite side of the hotel. Continue, though. And in Tokusatsu news, there's been a Shoutpocalypse. All of Shout's toy licenses are out of print. My friend Mike Dent, who has worked with them on essays and other stuff related to their releases,

[00:19:26] says that Kamen Rider Zets will be his last quality control work with Shout Factory, now Radial. And he doesn't know anything about what's next for them. But he does credit them with helping him become a better editor, producer, or even directed a few official Ultraman specials. He says he's so full of pride in the long run, quote,

[00:19:55] Literally all of the work for Tokusatsu promos, projects, and beyond help pave the way for international expansion with Ultraman and Kamen Rider. And on top of all that, walking away with bragging rights like getting to direct Jason David Frank, cutting a theatrical John Woo retrospective spot, and the chance to be a Kamen Rider for an official promo, is a smorgasbord of achievements that I'll always treasure. So he says,

[00:20:24] He says, So, Even though everything is out of print, you can still, for the moment, as we sit here, see a lot of that stuff on Tokusatsu, though we don't know when that is going to change.

[00:20:53] What is going to change is where you can catch Kamen Rider going forward. Earlier this month, Toei released a teaser for the new Kamen Rider series, Kamen Rider Myth. Myth will tell the story of the Jiyunusei Domei, the 12 Zodiac Alliance who fought hideous creatures known as Fukushigi a century ago. This is the Toku nation. But now both have awakened in the modern era. Central their powers are strange devices known as Rider eggs.

[00:21:22] The show stars Sora Otosumi, the servant of the wealthy Mizuki family, who is a veteran fighter, cleaner student, and chef with a weakness for cheese. You know, get in line on that one. Yuna Mizuki is Sora's charge, a high school student who forms a mysterious case study group to investigate the monsters and riders.

[00:21:42] The head of the Jiyunusei Domei is Kamen Rider Minataka, who has the power to transform into Kamen Rider Mao, the cat-based rider, Stronger Island Zodiac. A number of Jiyunusei Domeiiders are revealed in the teaser, including Kamen Rider Tigre, Kamen Rider Dat, Kamen Rider Mutton, Kamen Rider Kei, and Kamen Rider Ranken.

[00:22:04] The show's head writer will be Naruhisa Arakawa, who has written as head writer on a number of shows, including Kamen Rider Kuga, as well as Aba-Renja, Deckard-Renja, Gokaiger, Akiba-Renja, Super Sentai Strongest Battle, Kira Major, and a number of anime. Now, as for how to watch it, starting September 7th, when it premieres and continuing every Monday at 6 Pacific,

[00:22:31] Myth will be available on the Toy Toksansu World YouTube page with English subs in U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, as well as various European and African nations. But every episode will be available for just four weeks. I can hear that monkey paw curling as we speak.

[00:22:52] It will be available via local partners in places I did not just mention, including Hong Kong, the Republic of China, Latin America, etc. Toy is also working on a streaming platform of its own for Anglophone countries. Zets is also currently in Toksatsu the day it comes out. And again, I'm really not sure what will happen after September 7th, but we will see. Are you going to be watching?

[00:23:22] Nope. Nope. Because actually, fun fact, I have never seen an episode of Kamen Rider. I know. I'm not judging you, except I am judging you. That's fair. A lot of it is I just... It was never in my early wheelhouse for shows I would rotate through. For every Kamen Rider I haven't watched, I would say I watch Godzilla, for example. Like, it's kind of like that.

[00:23:47] Or like, I didn't have access to, like, Sentai for the longest time. So when other people watched it, I just didn't have it. And then the interest was not there at a time for when others have watched it. So, no, I do not plan to watch it. I may be, like, coaxed into, like, or convinced to. But with everything else on my projects and other things going on that are taking priority, such as football, it would be a next year type of thing to pick up.

[00:24:18] So, Heroclix is putting out a set of Hasbro-licensed toys featuring all six Rangers from Season 1 as well as Rita Repulsa. I'm not sure when they're going to be out. But you can go to the WizKids site and order yours today. I've not bought a Heroclix before, but they look tiny and collectible. And they look neat. You need to maybe have it on your desk. I don't know. We're on your shelf.

[00:24:49] They are high-quality miniatures that honor the iconic costumes of the beloved television series. They add new gameplay elements tailored to each Power Ranger. Each of them brings a special power that highlights a unique weapon. And they've got a book-style window box perfect for collectors. Or you can just, you know, stick them right on your shelf. Whatever you want to do. Fun fact, Tyler. I asked for a brief, I'll give two minutes because I do know we are stressed on time. Fun fact.

[00:25:16] I do know about Heroclix because I used to play Heroclix competitively for a time. I used to collect them before, like, the first crash happened around 2020 and they had to reboot it. I'm looking forward to this. For those of you who don't know what Heroclix are, very briefly, they are heroes from any universe you could think of. Marvel, DC mostly.

[00:25:39] And they put them on 12-click dials that you basically face each other in a Slayer type of or deathmatch type of scenario. Where they give you X amount of points so you build your team based on those points. And you face each other off. In this set, it's obviously the Power Rangers, the Green Ranger, and Rita Repulsa.

[00:26:00] What makes this fun is the Power Rangers, each one kind of has, like, depending on what sets you're playing, you'll get a mechanic that kind of is, like, in line with, like, that hero. For, like, example, Superman has something that makes him dash really fast or hit you really far away. For Batman, it's stealth. For the Power Rangers, for very power, basically the 12 clicks of life you have, it does vary on, like, different heroes and villains.

[00:26:28] But what makes the Power Rangers cool for the core five is not only can they all fit on a 300-point team, which is roughly the standard competitive matchup. They all synergize with each other very well. They also have about five clicks of life each, five to six. But when they die, their mechanic is you can bring them back for three more as Zords. So each one gets their own Zord mechanic at this point. We'll see what happens if they ever bring a Megazord in for it.

[00:26:58] But they're all able to do, like, Zord-type battles. The Green Ranger is cool because he has the longest life because he has 11 clicks of life, which is incredibly long. But the reason why is he does not go into his Zord. Just like the show, he gets to summon from turn one a movable Dragon Zord. So when he gets damaged or the Dragon Zord gets damaged, he can click his life instead of the Dragon Zord being eliminated. Now, the flip side of it, mechanically, is Rita.

[00:27:28] They themed really well as well. There's like 20,000 plus figures. But each one, what makes Hero Clicks unique, they also have keywords. Rita's ability is in any Hero Clicks set you have, as long as it's 60 points and under, you can summon it as a monster for this game. That is not a part of your starting force like the 300 points I mentioned.

[00:27:51] What's funny is there are several creatures or characters under or 60 points and under you can summon. Namely, King Kong, Bigfoot, the Beholder Beast from D&D, and literally the Joker from one of the times he was being revived as monsters to face. In addition, the Green Ranger has a preset where he can be a monster as well. So you can have the Dragon Zord.

[00:28:21] Additionally, depending on the mechanics, depending on how stuff goes on rolls, she can summon Putties as well. So it becomes a battle of attrition in addition to fighting Rita. So it is actually, fun fact, Tyler, it is out now. The problem is it's finding it. So you are very much right. If y'all are really, really wanting it, guys, go to the WizKids site and get it. It takes about a week to come in.

[00:28:44] I am still waiting on mine because I pre-ordered and they sent the shipments first to the stores that actually did order it for their own stock for it. But hopefully here in the future, I could, once everything's back up, I can tell y'all what map it comes with, what the figures, like the paint jobs, and give kind of like a battle report for it. I know I'm going to be demoing it with the Power Rangers, but it'll be fun.

[00:29:10] I think it's going to be very creative and it's a nice little thing, throwback, and who knows? Maybe I'll use the Power Rangers in a competitive game against Apocalypse or the Dark Phoenix or maybe against the Avengers. See who the real superhero is. Also, Renegade is putting out another Power Rangers game in 2027. They made the announcement at RenegadeCon back in June.

[00:29:37] We don't really know anything about it besides it's a card game titled Power Rangers Impossible Odds. You know, I actually played their Heroes of the Grid. I played a round of it, well, maybe like a couple turns of it, at Ranger Boom Baltimore. It took longer than... You finally got to play it? I'm so proud! It took longer than I thought it would. If I knew it would take that long, I probably wouldn't have done it. But I'm also glad that I did it. It was neat.

[00:30:05] So, moving on. 3-0 announced their Gold Ranger Chrome Edition. The 1-6 scale toy is being released in Chrome. It will be considered an event exclusive, only made available to pre-order at various conventions where 3-0 is attending. If you were at Power Morphicon this past weekend, as we recorded this, you would have been able to see the figure for yourself and place a pre-order for it.

[00:30:35] As an extra incentive, it will come with the 5 Zeocrystals, as well as their base to plug them into, allowing you to recreate the Zeocrystal in all its glory. This is according to Toku Nation, where you can also find images of the new Chrome figure. Also in toy news, there is a new Flame Toys Thunder Megazord set for release in January of 2027. It's available on Toku Collectibles.

[00:31:05] We don't make anything for telling you that. The third release in the Go-Kata Kuti Combine line includes all 5 Thunder Zords, which are combinable or uncombinable. You can also take the Red Dragon Thunder Zord and turn into a dragon or the humanoid, whatever you want to do. All 5 come together to form a 10.8-inch tall Thunder Megazord.

[00:31:32] The Thunder Saber and Thunder Javelin can also combine themselves to form the Thunder Saber Hurricane Waves. You can either buy it for $400 straight up or for 4 easy payments of $100. God, I sound like an infomercial. Like I'm about to sell you a Showtime rotisserie grill.

[00:31:55] In other release news, discotheque over the last couple months, including Oticon, announced Kamen Rider Super 1 for Blu-ray, Sky Rider for Blu-ray,

[00:32:05] as well as some Saban-adjacent material, Samurai Pizza Cats in HD, much the way they did Digimon by basically tracking down the original materials and hacking and gluing and improvising to make it look, you know, recreate basically everything that Saban did back in the 90s, which has to have been incredibly hard.

[00:32:33] They're also going to be doing a version with the original Japanese version of Samurai Pizza Cats, the ones where they actually did have the script. No word if the release of Kato Ninden Teyande is going to have better subs than their previous release. And they're also going to be releasing more Digimon. They're going to be getting into Tamers, which is really cool.

[00:33:03] And I'm excited for that. And again, they're going to be doing that in both flavors. And Toy announced the next Project Red series. They're already getting off with Gavan and moving on to Kakusei Hunter Omega Horn, which features a new hero known as a Flame Shout, a treasure hunter well-versed in ancient scripts and artifacts. Again, citing Toku Nation. He will explore the ancient secrets of the horned beasts who once ruled Earth.

[00:33:32] The new series is actually already out as we record this. It started airing in July. And sad news to share Hikaru Kurosaki, who played the titular Just Beyond in Inventor Investigator Just Beyond. He, uh, excuse me. Some sad news to report.

[00:33:57] Hikaru Kurosaki, who played Just Beyond in Kyojuu Tokusou Just Beyond. He, uh, recently passed away. He died July 2nd at the age of 64. Uh, he'd been retired from the screen for years and years. He actually, uh, uh, had a dive shop. He'd been suffering from an illness. Uh, before Just Beyond, he actually cut his teeth playing mooks on the show Spider-Man and other early Tokusatsu.

[00:34:27] Uh, he, uh, also appeared in Bioman. And he last appeared on TV in 1993. And he, uh, left acting to become a diving instructor. Though he still was known to do the occasional convention. Um, and, uh, coming to Anime NJ in December, excuse me, November, is Jun Watanabe. He directed on a bunch of Kamen Rider shows.

[00:34:54] He's currently the acting director on Kamen Rider Zets. Uh, he's also been an action director on Zero One, Saber, Revise, King Ogier, Boom Bonger. Uh, he's, uh, directed episodes of Boom Bonger and Zets. Uh, he will be at, uh, and he did work at Power Ranger as well. He was a second unit director on Cosmic Fury.

[00:35:15] Um, and he is going to be at the convention at the Hilton Hasbrook Heights, November 13th through 15th in Hasbrook Heights, New Jersey. The other guests include animator Cindy Yamauchi, uh, who's sometimes credited as Cindy H. Yamauchi in various anime. Uh, she's worked on, uh, Gun Grave, Tojima, Tanzu-O wants to be a Kamen Rider, um, and a bunch of shows.

[00:35:44] Um, and now she's, uh, you know, hmm. Actually, no, let me skip that. Uh, also they will have a, uh, performance from Aoye Matsuyama, a Japanese singer-songwriter. Uh, it's great to watch Anime NJ grow. I was at their first convention. It was small but mighty. That's where we met Koichi Sakamoto, who's a great hang. He was at Power Morphicon along with his wife. And I hope that everybody had a great time hearing from him.

[00:36:17] Also, boy, we're jumping around here. Uh, streaming news. Madan Senki Ryukendo is coming to Prime Video. It's, it should be actually maybe even on Prime Video right now as part of its 20th anniversary celebration. It'll be, it's going to be streamed globally. Uh, we don't really know exactly which countries it'll be available in overall, but it's just that it's going to be available. It takes place in Akibono City, which the organization known as Shot,

[00:36:47] as the last line of defense against the Jomanga naval demon army led by Dr. Wyrm. Uh, Shot combats the enemy forces by deploying the modern warriors to battle against them. So, we're going to take a break. And, uh, we'll be right back as we talk about the major news of the day. Power Rangers is over. Back soon. The year is 2001. The iPod was an infant. The World Wide Web was an adolescent.

[00:37:16] And Hollywood was... almost a centenarian. Once a week throughout 2026, we're taking you back to a year that changed movies and the world forever. So help me God. Welcome to Not Another 2001 Movie Podcast, a show exploring films released in the first year of a chaotic century. Subscribe to our YouTube channel and in your favorite podcast app.

[00:37:46] All right. Now to the major news that we're here to discuss. Deadline broke the story on August 13th that the Power Rangers live action series planned for Disney Plus has been canned. The project, which would have been written and executive produced by Jonathan E. Steinberg and Dan Schatz, who were the showrunners, as well as Percy Jackson and the Olympians, was set up at 20th Television with Hasbro Entertainment co-producing.

[00:38:15] It would have been going on Disney Plus, but it's not. And the reasons are, well, just business. Deadline says a high-end live action superhero series like Power Rangers to do it right would cost a lot of money. And it doesn't make sense for Disney to spend that money on a show that it doesn't currently own. And I think it also fits in context of other decisions being made in regards to Disney Plus,

[00:38:45] such as the renewal of Wonder Man by Marvel Studios, followed by the swift un-renewal of Wonder Man by Kevin Feige's bosses at Disney. So recently, Disney has been opening up its slate to other IP, like making development deals for shows like, for things like L. Enchanted and Casper. And, you know, it doesn't mean that they're on the outs with Steinberg and Schatz.

[00:39:13] They're still going to, you know, put out season three of Percy Jackson and other projects under their deal with 20th. But the difference is Disney owns those shows. My friend Joshua Moore, who wrote the book More Phenomenal, he had a reaction to the news on his sub-stack. He says, quote, This is a modern entertainment ecosystem that bedfell through many fans' pined.

[00:39:41] They were increasingly dissatisfied with an existence on the periphery of pop culture discourse, in large part because their favorite TV show insisted on continuing to cater to the same target demographic that propelled it from day one. The thing about actual Hollywood, though, is that it takes actual money to make things happen. And while there's plenty of things that have bonded every Power Rangers proprietor, making a show on the thinnest of shoestrings is the biggest. So, Josh, what is your reaction?

[00:40:08] I'm going to answer your question with a question before I do. Yeah. If you could describe Power Rangers in one word based on this situation, the state of the franchise, what would it be? Groot. I don't mean... I don't mean that this is unfair. I mean that Power Rangers was a show with nine lives. And it's lived its ninth.

[00:40:39] So, I thank you for asking that or answering it because I threw this exact same question to a group of friends. And this is what everybody gave me. Very kind of similar answers. Life support, stagnation, dormant, limbo. This is purely a capitalist business decision. Whichever direction you want to take with it. But they all kind of offered similar answers.

[00:41:08] And to answer your question, I have my initial reaction. But it's easier for me to kind of just give you my full kind of thoughts on it. Because on one hand, on the surface, everything kind of does seem fine with Power Rangers. There's the toy line with the Playmates and the Reignition series. Sure, it's Mighty Morphin again. But it is still a current ongoing active line. With more toys on the way.

[00:41:36] Such as what you mentioned about Wild Force. Or the Dragonzord Kickstarter going on. There's other toys that are guaranteed being in other major brands. Such as the Lego set that's supposed to eventually release this year. And as we said, Heroclix. Some persons may have figured out finally that Power Ranger is some hidden gem. With some hidden capital that they can capitalize on. But regardless, Power Rangers is showing up in other things. Power Rangers with collabs.

[00:42:06] Like Fortnite. Or video games like Reader's Rewind. At some point, we're going to get a Magic the Gathering set. I would bank money on it. Eventually that's going to happen. We have the ongoing comic series right now. With 3, I think. Unlimited. The Green Ranger 1. And the reboot. Happening at this point. As well as the novels with Trini. I think it's based on Shattered Grid or whatever. And we did get the 25th anniversary special. And the annual report. As you mentioned earlier.

[00:42:34] Kind of saying like Power Rangers is one of the highest social media presences. Engagement on social media. Which is kind of surprising when you consider like G.I. Joe. Being a very America-centric brand. Is not even in their top 10. Or like some of the others that have been popular. Say like My Little Pony. Has kind of tapered off a little bit. It's accessible as it's ever been. And for better or for worse. There are side projects. Some directly tied to the brand. Some with former actors. Whether it's Ninja Kids. Or Legend of the White Dragon.

[00:43:04] Or acknowledgement in like documentaries. Like the toys that made us. It's very much still present in everyday life. On the flip side of that though. You also dig deeper. And it almost feels like everything is conditional. The 2017 movie was a complete flop. Because it was a shame of being a Power Rangers film. As well as like the Heritage Auction. People finally admitting that that was a complete red flag. That the franchise was going downhill.

[00:43:35] Playmates. That's what you do when you cancel all TV shows. Playmates. Whether we agree on it or not. There is some half-assing with the Dragonzord. Kickstarter. Enough that they've had to backtrack. Or change certain things. Whether it's the face mask. Or the screw in the middle of the face. Like there is stuff that made people. Almost like mob mentality. Playmates to get this fixed at this point. Right.

[00:44:04] We could blame QC for that. We could blame whatever. But Lightning Collection had the same thing too. Which led to its downfall. MMPR For better or for worse. Is still the only series that actually makes money. This also again resulted in killing Sentai. Jokes on them. Oh we're going to continue. No it didn't. Don't lie about that. Yes it did. I'm not lying. No. It's a massive dream. Hasbro. Hasbro. Acquiring. The brand.

[00:44:34] And focusing solely on Mighty Morphin. Led to lower sales. And Sentai was cancelled as a result of that. What happened to Sentai. Is in the streaming area. You had these. These Sentai series cannibalizing each other. Toy sales were down. Especially as. These shows are facing. Competitions they didn't face previously. From international superhero content. Like Marvel. DC. Etc. And kids are going for that. We'll agree to disagree. But. No.

[00:45:03] Shooter could have said all this. He didn't say Hasbro at all. I mean it'd have to be because Hasbro has the rights to it. And they lost that revenue stream. He can't have it both ways. Regardless. Anyway. Where I'm getting at with that is. There's still more with it. The Ninja Kid stuff. Cool. There's. There's a side project that's happening. And it's loaded with AI slop. Again. They're half-assing a lot of it. Whatever the controversy is. We'll find out eventually. It's still. Turning people away from the franchise. The written stuff.

[00:45:33] Even has varied. Like the novels that came out. People aren't exactly thrilled for them. And say they're kind of crap. Two out of the three comic series right now. At least as we are recording this. In late August. The Green Ranger series. Seems kind of lackluster. With old man Tommy. And the 2026 reboot. Has not been. Well received at all. The only one that's been really well received. Has been unlimited. But that's still 66% of your comic line.

[00:46:02] That's probably getting canceled. Within the next year. And or goes throughout a prime. Where nobody gives a shit. If it's not. The original core team. We have no real. Other presence. In like toys. Like tabletop stuff. You mentioned renegade stuff. That's coming down the line though. Who knows. That could even get delayed. We don't know what that looks like. Because we also saw. The Power Ranger RPG got canceled. Because they're moving to 5.5. But who knows when that's releasing.

[00:46:32] It's coming. We don't know when that's happening. Where I'm getting with that. Is. My impression is. Is. What will it take. For Power Rangers. To get a foothold. Or kind of like. Launched off the ground. And stable again. Is it going to take. A Marvel level. Intervention. Like it did with the MCU. Where a fan. And I say fan. Kind of like air quoting. Of like someone truly.

[00:47:01] Passionate about the series. Leading it. And bringing it back to prominence. And getting someone. Who still gets it. Within reason. Like look. I get you have to reboot brands. Like Marvel and DC. Gets that to bring new fans in. Star Wars was trying to do that too. That. You can't tell the same thing. With a complicated history. Like Power Rangers. And expects people. To start from day one. Power Rangers is not on the level. Of one piece. People aren't going to start on episode one. And hope for the best. They're probably going to watch. Their favorite seasons. Or episodes.

[00:47:30] Or watch like an abridged version. And call it a day. They don't want to also go deeper. Into deeper telling stories. It does not want to age. With its audience. Once and always. Was an exception to the rule. But. They don't clearly want to do that. Is it like. As we kind of said too. Is it kind of maybe like Davy Crockett. Or the Muppets. Where it's struggling. And maybe Power Rangers. Has run its course. Exactly where you said. It's had its nine lives. And maybe it's time. For it to rest.

[00:48:00] At this point. Maybe give it a long time. Before they bring it back. Does it need. Even a show to succeed. For the time being. Look at some franchises. That have gone dormant. Here and there. Until they got a reboot. Look at Transformers. From the original series. To I think Armada. In 2001. Beast Wars. Filled that void. But there was no true. Transformers series. Ghostbusters. After the animated. Didn't have anything. For the longest time. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. They had stuff too.

[00:48:30] Like. The comics. That was really big. But there was not. A TV show. Doesn't need that. They're also not doing. Kind of like. What needs to be done. Like embracing. Whether. People want it or not. Or even tolerating it. An animated series. If they're going to do a comic. Maybe that is a new art form. They need to go to. Really targeting. The collectors lines. With HasLab. Is there another medium. They have not tried yet. The fans don't necessarily. Know what they want. But neither does the company. It seems like. It seems more like.

[00:49:00] That Casper wants. Wants to make money. But doesn't want to put. That work and effort. Into it at this point. I mean. You and I can both agree. It's kind of funny. That the toy company. Does not want to make toys. And has outsourced. Power Rangers to Playmates. All this back history. Aside with like. What. Who bought it before. Is not there. He unfortunately. Passed away. Several years ago. That vision. Is not there anymore. But. All that to say. Is. Is. I don't know. Where I stand. With Power Rangers.

[00:49:29] At the moment. I. I almost have to. Cherry pick. Every single little thing. Tyler. Because. On one hand. I would say. I think it's time. To just let Power Rangers. Take a breather. But that's also. A very very scary prospect. Because. You let stuff lie. Too long. No one cares about it anymore. On the same time. I'm also seeing like. Well. If they did something. Like a shattered grid. Not the fighting game. But like. An immersive thing. People would play it. We saw with Fortnite. How much people.

[00:49:58] Loved that crossover. And how fun it was. Like that was probably. Outside of Rita's Rewind. The best thing. We got in a video game. With Power Rangers. In a long time. I don't know. If I'm ready to say. The franchise is dead. But if I had to use. One word. I would say. Life support. Because I don't know. The medic. Basically. I don't know. What doctor needs. To be brought in. To stabilize it. And I do believe. It is death by. I don't think it's.

[00:50:28] One single answer. I think it's death. By a thousand cuts. I think. Kind of. The thing I keep going to. Is. The revenue will come. If you tell a good story. I think they are scared. To change. Even the slightest part. Of the Mighty Morphin formula. That they would lose money. When. To be fair. I said. You have to incorporate. Mighty Morphin. But it's okay. To bring other. Stories. There's. It's okay. To bring.

[00:50:57] Other seasons. Into it. And I don't think. They get that. Seen. As. A brand. That. Belongs. To the past. And I think. Since. 2011. Successive. Owners. And executives.

[00:51:26] And sometimes. Producers. Have. Attempted. To. You know. Try to. Do. MMPR. But now. And they failed. Because they've. Done it the wrong way. Yeah. But. I think. I think. Pounders. Is. A brand. And I think. This is going to. Sound weird. Coming.

[00:51:57] From somebody. Who's been doing. A podcast. Off and on. Since 2005. I think. It. Would be difficult. For any company. To justify. The. Millions of dollars. Of expense. That it would take. To. Produce. A Power Rangers show. Especially. If Hasbro. Is no longer. Going to co-finance. Anything.

[00:52:27] Unless it's like. Transformers. The Transformers movie. After the flop. Of Transformers 1. Which ironically. They caused. Well going back. To Joshua Moore. He points out that. You know. If we're using. Percy Jackson. As a comparison. Every episode. The first season. Reportedly. Cost. About 12 to 15 million. You know. Just. If you go on the low end of that. You're looking at a show. That just cost. That cost just under. What a million. A hundred million dollars. To make.

[00:52:57] And. Season 1. Was one of the most watched series. Ever in Disney Plus. You know. More so in the Marvel stuff. The Star Wars stuff. Season 2. Which cost. As much probably more. Than the first season. Lost a bunch of its viewers. Is. So. The cost. Starts to. Look. Like a pretty bad investment. Pretty quickly. So. You know. If you're going to make. A superhero show. Even if the actors are no names.

[00:53:26] You still have to. To shoot these fights. You still have to do these. Like. Uh. Have these effects. And it's not cheap. You know. Because like. You don't want it to look. As cheap as Power Rangers. Sometimes did. And I think that these fans. Who try to come up with. Like. You know. Scenarios on the creative side. Like. Like. What could a show be based on? Or. Adapt this. Unadaptable Sentai. We're. Like.

[00:53:56] Lupin Ranger versus Pat Ranger. Is never happening. As a Power Rangers series. It doesn't matter who's running the show. You just cannot do that. In the West. You certainly cannot do that. In the United States. And I think that fans are kind of. They're not really understanding. Why the math isn't working. And won't work. Especially. With a brand. With as tattered. A. Financial track record recently. As Power Rangers.

[00:54:26] This is a brand. That has. That Hasbro. Overpaid for. They paid. 500 million dollars. For Power Rangers. Then they went out. And got Entertainment 1. And that deal was. Made at the absolute wrong time. It was an abject failure. You know. And if Hasbro isn't going to put another dime. Toward another Power Rangers series. Why should Disney? Why should Paramount? Why should anybody else? And I agree with you in that respect.

[00:54:56] That. Disney, Paramount. They all don't want to foot the bill. And some of that comes from. Hasbro's old CEO dying. Again. We've brought this up many times. In many episodes. But. It changed the. We want to do in-house. To we just want to outsource everything. Well that does kind of change. Like. How you treat your brands at that point. You're lying more on World of Mouth. Even if Brian Gilder would be alive. He reported to his board. And the. Like. The math would still be the same.

[00:55:26] And we'd still be sitting here. Talking about Power Rangers being over. And the fans. Going to the thread on Reddit. The fans seem to be. You know. There's some level of copium and opium out there. But the fans. Kind of. Seem to have. You know. Smelled the coffee on this. One Masked Ninja writes. This is the least surprising news of all time. I genuinely do not believe. This is ever in serious production for a second.

[00:55:55] Scorpion Rain. Referring to. The old fan hoax. Referenced. And Forever Red. Was closer to a real thing. Than this ever would have been. Y'all were fooling yourselves. Getting your hopes up. MMPR is dead. MMPR as whole. Is deader than dead. Hell even Super Sentai is probably dead. And that was supposed to be unkillable. 30 years is a hell of a run. But Dino and Cosmic Fury. Showed us that kids just do not watch Shokasatsu anymore. Giraffe Got Game wrote. The 2017 movie.

[00:56:25] If actually successful. Would have really helped the brand. But it was a complete flop. And they botched it. And people can disagree all they want. But the JDF pass. He did pretty irreversible damage to the brand. Considering Tommy was the most popular character. Slash Ranger. In the history of the franchise. Desi Lead writes. As a Power Rangers fan. A Star Trek fan. And a Doctor Who fan. Things have been going too great for me. In that department. And I agree with those users. And I think that's a good point.

[00:56:55] That Power Rangers. Where it's been at the moment. And where it's at now. It's just had an unfortunate series. A series of unfortunate events happen to it. That are not necessarily something you can recover from. It's had some stuff of steroids. Injected into it. To like give a boost. For example. Like the comic run. When it was the original Shattered Grid comic. It was beating Marvel and DC's main titles. Because it was that well written.

[00:57:25] And it was updated for a modern audience. But then again. It's kind of what I mentioned before. There's always something conditional. The Lightning Collection was around at that time. But that's when the quality control. Was getting so out of hand. Fans didn't buy the stuff anymore. Because it didn't feel like. They were getting their money's worth for it. We talk about the CEO passing away. But the 2017 movie. Did do irreparable damage. Because like. It flopped.

[00:57:54] Like we can talk. As you said. We can talk left and right. That was. You're right. It. I argue with a lot of people. For the quality of the movie. For it. But that's where I'm going at. Regardless of it. That was supposed to be a launching point. To kind of expand. And become its own MCU. And it did not happen. Jason David Frank. I love the movie. It was just the wrong movie. Yeah. Like. Jason David Frank. Passing away. You lost your anchor. To your franchise. The only other one.

[00:58:24] He was the Power Ranger. Correct. You lost the face of your franchise. The only other one. Who could probably. Pull off. Being that. Would be. Amy Jo. And she doesn't want to be the face. So you're kind of left. Floundering at this point. And the only thing to do. Would be genuinely. Reboot the entire thing. But they don't want to spend the money. Which. In a sense. I agree with them. Of. Why do I want to spend. Now. I preface this. By saying.

[00:58:54] Disney's burning money. Left and right. Because their. Their excuse. It's too much. We don't want to finance this. When you. You spent almost 300 million dollars. For a secret. Or a. Secret invasion. You don't get that pass. But. I understand them saying. Though like. We don't want to burn. 10 to 12 million dollars. An episode. And also go cast. A very young cast. That's going to grow up. At some point. They're going to have to. Age them out. And bring in a new cast. That's the entire reason. They did. With many other reasons.

[00:59:23] That's why they did that. In the original series. So they could pay them less. They were aging out. Less interest. Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah. The point is. Is like. I don't think the company. Knows what to do with this. To sustain it. I also don't think. The fans know exactly. What they want to do. To sustain this. Because. For every person. That says. Mighty Morphin. Is. Not my favorite series. Why does this keep getting made? Other people like yourself. And me acknowledge. It's the only one making money. You kind of have to tailor. In a business decision.

[00:59:53] The things that's being made. For it. I think. I almost feel like. You have to get people in the room. And have a serious talk of. What is the direction of this brand? Six months. One year. Five years. And ten years. I think you have to get someone. Like a. Kevin. To make a. Whether it's a. Cinematic universe. Whether it's a TV series. You have to get someone. With a vision. I'm not talking like. There was an attempt. And then. Everything else around it. Collapsed.

[01:00:23] And apparently. The Egekias. Weren't happy about. Jonathan. It was a vision either. Which is like. Again. Executive meddling. Which we've heard. A tale as old as time. Um. At some point. If no one wants to buy in. Maybe it should. Instead of like. Ruining it. More. Just let it rest. For a little bit. It may be. In our 40s and 50s. Before it comes back. But maybe that's the time. It needs at this point. For it. Make people hungry. For it again. And not.

[01:00:52] Some of the stuff. Like. I keep forgetting. And I should mention now. Even the quality of the TV show. Was going down. And I'm not talking about like. Oh. It was always low quality. Like. People were tired of the fart jokes. People were tired of some of like. The tried and used storylines. Every single time. People were tired of like. Essentially 12 episode seasons. Like. I know I'm exaggerating on stuff. But even the long time fans. Were getting tired of it. The ones that are keeping this franchise alive. Are the fans. The people going to Morphicon.

[01:01:22] The people supporting the board games. They're the ones keeping it afloat. But even they're getting exhausted. At this point. Because there's only so much. They can do without any help. And it's. Hasbro is not the person. Who's going to come save your ship. Whether you're a G.I. Joe. Transformers. My Little Pony. They are not going to come save this ship. So that kind of circled back around. To your original question. What. Where are we at this point? Well. It's kind of. Where's the fandom at? If the fandom's burnt out. That's where the franchise is. If there's a positive. It's that the fan base. Is.

[01:01:52] Is healthy. Even if there's no show. You know. That. One of the people I quoted. Mentioned Doctor Who. There is a show. That knows wilderness years. And they're living through. We're living through. We're living through another. You know. Wilderness period right now. I don't know when the show is going to come back. I don't know if it's going to come back. I'm just going to make peace with whatever happens. Because there will still be. Like there's Doctor Who conventions. There's still going to be powers conventions. There's still going to be fan chatter.

[01:02:21] There's still going to be fan creations. And. And that's cool. I don't want to highlight that. Yeah. It's. It's one of those that. The fandom is going to be continuate regardless. It's going to be more of. Is there a new generation that's going to pick it up. Versus the old guard. And again. Maybe Power Rangers has just outlived its usefulness. And it finally was just like to rest. With it too.

[01:02:50] Maybe people aren't interested in. Maybe people aren't interested in. People in spandex fighting the monsters. Maybe that time is over. Or maybe it just needs a new reinvention. Like Godzilla went through with Legendary. That people want. Godzilla. But it needs. Something new. And that Godzilla film with the Mudos. Did provide that. People wanted Godzilla versus King Kong. And wanted just the classic Kaiju beat down. They wanted that. We'll see.

[01:03:19] Like people say. They want. A more serious show. Or they want a more serious. Like Power Ranger reproduction. And we're going to get into this in our next episode. But. You know. When you actually get one. You know. You'd be surprised. You know how it turns out. Or how it can turn out. I think. Power Rangers essentially is. Made.

[01:03:49] To be watched primarily. By kids. And any attempt to. Like. You know that. That stupid. Short film. That I'm not going to watch. With like. The late James Van Der Beek. You know. That's not. Power Rangers. That's something else. Yeah. And. I think. But that also makes it tough. To. Tough to bring back. Back. Here's. Because. I think. I want somebody who. Who understands. What it is.

[01:04:19] And. The show. With the exception of. Jonathan Zaccor. Has. Had. Most showrunners. Understand. What it is. And yes. I include. Bruce Couch. I think. That's a point. That's very. Very significant. To make. Is. You need someone. Who gets it. And understands. The franchise. Um. I guess. You need executives. Who understand it too. And understand.

[01:04:48] What's actually funny. And not like. Haim Saban. Run into a meeting. And insist. Farts are funny. Correct. And it's a. Is Power Rangers. In the original series. A product of its time. Being a right. Time. Right place. Sure. I acknowledge that. You do too. Everybody. Who can critically think. Acknowledges that. I think that's. Where my question. To you Tyler. Would be. Is the franchise. Worth staving. At this point. In its life cycle.

[01:05:18] I think. You know. There's an alternate timeline. Where. Like Simon Bennett. Has talked about this. They had. Ideas. On the table. For if they were given. Another year. But after. Their episode. Count for Cosmic Fury. Was. Halved. 20 to 10. It probably became. Pretty clear. They weren't. Gonna. Get that reprieve.

[01:05:49] But. I think. That. The show. Was living on borrowed time. As it was. Um. And I think. That. After. These. Two. Now. Failed attempts. At. Bringing it back. I think. It's probably. Best. To let it. Rest. For who knows. How long. And. I think. In a sense. With that. I think. I agree. Of like.

[01:06:19] In the baseline. Is this franchise. Saveable? Yes. That means. There is hope. Hope. But. What does that. Look like? And I think. A lot of that. Has to be. They have to walk. Into these board meetings. There has to be. Some hard truth. Said about. That this is not. Going to be a cheap show. To replicate. If you want. The high quality. You're going to have to pay. For the stuntmen. You're going to have to pay. I think. People will absolutely. Overlook. Like the. The silliness. Of the monsters. Like that's what makes it fun. But like. At the same time.

[01:06:49] I think. Kind of. In a sense. I've heard this before. And I do think. This is right. Storytelling. Has changed. From when. The initial power rangers. Was made. To now. We can argue. Left and right of. Is 12. A good episode count. Is 20. Whatever. But someone pointed out. To me.

[01:07:22] How it told the story. And how long it focused. At the wedding. For like an hour. That is not acceptable. In today's storytelling standards. And I think. That's kind of. To make power rangers grow. You kind of have to do that. Accept that. As well as. The old way of telling it. To start. To like. Revive this franchise. You do have to. Age it up a little bit. And have. It not talk down. To its audience. Like it was. Kind of. In the later seasons. You do have to have. Have. It have.

[01:07:51] Everyday issues. It could be a. Tween. Type of show. Or it could be. Something like. The animated cartoon. The Teen Titans one. And that would be. I think would be. The best ideal stuff. Where you could have. Comedy episodes. But also a serious. Overarching tone. If you can bring back. X-Men 97. Or X-Men to be 97. Be successful. You could do it. With power rangers. But they have to accept. That the brand. Has to grow. If not. You get where we're. Kind of at right now. At this point. And I do think. There are people. Who want to see. This.

[01:08:21] And you have to. The other part of it. I think you have to. Accept the hard truth. Is there are certain things. You are not going to change. About it. And you should. You have to lean. Into it. And just hope for the best. Such as. Right now. Is the opportunity. I'm not going to say. They cannot ever get away. From it. But. This is the opportunity. That you can find. Replacement. Faces. For the power rangers. That's not Tommy. Tommy will always be. The fan favorite. But without. Jason David Frank. Here anymore. Rest in peace.

[01:08:50] This is your prime opportunity. To find that next. Anchor. For the series. For that. Are you ever going to get away. From the dragon sword though? No. That's going to stay. You need to lean into that. Type of stuff. I think. I think. I think. The problem is. I think this has been a problem. Ever since Hasbro acquired the franchise. And. It's that. When. Saban owned it.

[01:09:20] Whether it was under Saban. Or. Or Fox Kids. Worldwide. Fox Family Worldwide. Or whether it was under Saban Brands. There was no doubt. In. Anybody's mind. That. Saban. Cared about Power Rangers. Even. You know. Good. Bad. Whatever. They cared about the franchise. Hasbro. Could stop. Releasing.

[01:09:51] Or licensing. Power Rangers. Things tomorrow. And be fine with that. So there's no pressure on them to make a show. Or rather to facilitate. The making of a show. If it doesn't serve their business interests. And you're right. Because right now. Like. Even before they licensed. Licensed out to Playmates. They barely cared to make Power Rangers toys. As it was. They would rather have that shelf space. Be given to Transformers. Remember shelf space. Was the big thing. That we were kind of.

[01:10:20] Excited about. When Hasbro got the. The toy rights. Before they bought the show. Because Bandai. Did not have that shelf space. At the toy retailers. And I think that's something. We haven't mentioned. That is very important. Because we have. A very recent example of this. You mentioned. Self space. Tyler. That means. The. Companies. Do not have confidence. That it will sell. And that it will be a shelf warmer. We see that with the Dragonzord.

[01:10:51] That. People did not. Immediately clamor. And it's the Dragonzord. Like this isn't something like. Oh. We don't know. It'd be like them turning away. Pikachu. Like. Wow. That is how far the brand has fallen. To me. That is also a telling sign. Like. That the shelf space. Is not. The confidence is not there. And some of it sure. Again. That is. The changing time. Streaming. Digital. Blah blah blah blah. But the confidence is not there. For that.

[01:11:20] And maybe that's what it is too. Maybe the Power Ranger brand is dead. Because we. Our interests and stuff. Have just changed over time. And that. That's not. The physical item stuff. Unless it's something collectible. It's just not there anymore. And that could be a sign. Of the changing times too. I mean. You would have asked someone in the 50s. Again. I say Davy Crockett. Oh yeah. Everybody had their raccoon hat. Nowadays. Like who cares. And. No one's batted an eye over it. It just could be. The changing tastes and stuff. For it. And maybe that's a okay too.

[01:11:50] And it's okay that maybe. Its ship has sailed. And that we give it. Its Viking funeral. At this point. And that's okay. We love. And we remember it for what it was. Not necessarily like. Driving it where it's just on life support. And we just kind of just. Is it time? Is it time to unplug? Type of deal for it. It would be sad. But. At the same time too. Who knows? It could come back in 20 years. Because that's the trend. Stuff comes back in 20 years. 20 years. Maybe it's the people with the disposable income again. We'll.

[01:12:20] We'll bring it back. When it's samurai's the thing. Yeah. At this point. I think. To point something out real fast. I think. What. It's late Tyler. So I'm trying to remember the name. The ones who run the Sentai toys. In Japan. Bandai. Thank you. I could not. I had a brain fart. I think. I think. What their strategy. They are doing. Is right. And I think that could be something. For the time being.

[01:12:49] We could replicate. With Hasbro. Is. If they want to do Mighty Morphin. More power to them. Celebrate the seasons. That are at milestones. Such as Galranger. Right now. And bringing back. That cut content. People are eating that up. Right now. On both sides. Like Sentai. And Ranger. People. All like. I think. That's where the focus should be. To build confidence. Back up in the brand. And then kind of. Because. I think the other part of it too. Is even with the reboot. Nobody. We've had these episodes. We don't even know. What we wanted.

[01:13:19] With the reboot. Because we're like. What story does it want to tell? Like. It's kind of like. Spider-Man was at one point. Do we really need to hear Ben. The Uncle Ben story again? No. Not really. Like. Do we really need. Like. The day of the dumpster? What about. If we started with Lord Zed? What if we started. With the Machine Empire first? Maybe that's. Mixing it up a little bit. But I don't think. We know what we want. And until then. I don't know. Where the franchise. I don't think the franchise. Can be given.

[01:13:48] An action plan. A smart goal. Until it. Figures out. What it wants to be. And then you build upon that. Like the MCU did. The MCU had a goal. Of we're going to tell this story. And maybe that's what it is too. They have to decide. Like. We want to do the entire. Zordon countdown. Down to destruction era. Cool. We need to start that story. How do we get to that point? And kind of like. Bring back the cut content. And focus with one set of actors. There's no demand for any of that though. That's the problem. There's not.

[01:14:18] And I don't think. You know. Telling Hasbro to do something. Is going to make that demand appear. And I think that gets to. A lot of the disconnect. You have fans who don't understand the business. But I think it's going to be. You know. I don't think. There's any. Buddy. On the business side. Any bean counters. Who. See. A reason. To. Facilitate. A new Power Rangers show.

[01:14:48] After these two previous attempts. Have fallen apart. After the movie. Which still. I think. Is a stain on the brand. And. There's just not. Any. Any demand. For it at the moment. And I think. I think it's going to be. It's going to be a while. I don't know how long. If ever. But would you be okay. With it. If it never comes back. Yes. Because. It's a tough pill to swallow.

[01:15:19] But. I think it's one of those. It's ran its course. And. I don't see the newer fans. Like I used to. And that's okay. Some things aren't meant. Things are not meant to last forever. And as the saying has gone. It's beautiful in the moment. And I'm glad I got to enjoy it. And. C'est la vie. With it. I'm grateful for it. You know. I've met a lot of great friends. And had a lot of great experiences. Through Power Rangers.

[01:15:48] And I'm still going to have a lot of. Great experiences. Part of this community. We just move into a different chapter. For a while. And that's. Yeah. That's okay. You know. Nothing. You know. Everything. Everything. You know. Everything has been. I mean. And there. There are way worse endings. The show. Could have had. Than Cosmic Fury. So I'm just grateful for what we have. And. And. Yeah. You know. Yeah. Whatever happens.

[01:16:19] Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. All right. So. That'll be it for us. Tonight. If you have any. Any. You know. What do you think. What do you think. The future holds for Power Rangers. What should it hold for Power Rangers. Should it hold anything. It. Is the show. Dead. Dead. Is that one. Reddit. Commenter. Put it. Email us at. RangerCast. Gmail. Dot. Com. Find us on. Twitter. Facebook. Semaphore. You know.

[01:16:49] I think I can figure out. You know. Flag signals. It's late. I'm tired. I'm sorry. I'm sorry if that joke didn't land. But we will see you next time. Good night everybody. Night everybody. Good night.