Oh how the Mighty Morphin’ have fallen. The Power Rangers franchise has somehow managed to walk a thin line for years. Unlike Pokémon which has maintained its popularity over the years, Power Rangers dropped off a cliff. It managed to maintain enough of a fan base to not completely die-off. From 1993 to 2023 (with the exception of 2010) a new season or version of the show has been broadcast somewhere on American television. The last few years have seen the franchise come to a standstill. The last season aired on Netflix in 2023 in the form of Power Rangers Cosmic Fury. A continuation was reportedly going to be happening at Disney but it looks like that’s fallen through.
Power Rangers Japanese Origins
The series Americans know as Power Rangers has always been a bit of an odd duck with how its produced. The franchise uses material from the various Super Sentai Series that air in japan. The battles the rangers partake in, is edited and redubbed with new live-action material added. For example, the first season of Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers uses material from Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger. The American version of the show was created by Haim Saban an Shuki Levi and developed between the Saban Entertainment brand and the Toei Corporation. These rights issues become more important as the series continued.
Saban Entertainment would eventually be acquired by Disney. This is why, in 2002, Power Rangers shifted from airing on Fox Kids, to ABC and eventually, ABC Family (now Freeform). Saban would later form a new company and buy back the rights to Power Rangers. The program would then be shopped to Nickelodeon where it would make itself a home there from 2011 to 2021. Behind the scenes another change had happened. For the 2019 series of Power Rangers Beast Morphers, Hasbro had acquired the rights to Power Rangers from Saban Entertainment.
The Hasbro Era
Hasbro would eventually shift distribution away from Nickelodeon, starting with the second season of Power Rangers Dino Fury and air the show on Netflix. Ultimately, this partnership would only last for one more season, the aforementioned Cosmic Fury. From there, talk of a series reboot was mentioned with the possibility of starting over with a new origin story. This didn’t seem to work out between Hasbro and Netflix, leaving Hasbro to find a new partner. That was allegedly going to be with Disney with those plans now being scrapped. Reportedly there are budget concerns. With Disney not owning the Power Rangers franchise, they may feel they have little to gain with partnering to produce it.
It’s hard to blame Disney on that front either. How much value does the Power Rangers brand actually carry in 2026? How many people even knew there was a new season on Netflix in 2023? The only real attention the franchise has received lately has been in the form of specials and tragedies. The 2023 television film, Power Rangers: Once and Always generated considerable buzz with its reunion storyline. Back in 2018 the “Shattered Grid” comic storyline made news because of the accompanying short film that starred original Green Ranger, Jason David Frank.
Tragedy Befalls Cast Members
That leads us to the tragedy. Frank was easily one of the most beloved cast members of all time. His character of Tommy Oliver was possibly the most famous of all the rangers and popped up in a few seasons even after his character retired. If there was a human heart to the franchise, he was it. Frank died from suicide in 2022. His loss is still being felt by the fanbase. That same year, Austin St. John, the original Red Ranger was caught up in a business scam to take advantage of COVID relief for businesses. He would later plead guilty in 2024. An let’s not forget Ricardo Medina Jr., the Red Ranger from Power Rangers Wild Force. He stabbed his roommate to death with a sword in 2015.
Photo by Super Festivals
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Maybe the best indicator of the franchise not being financially viable comes from 2017. That’s the year the Power Rangers film reboot hit theaters. It made $142 million on a budget of around $100 million. Hopes were much higher than that. Apparently the production team was going for a six film story arc. That clearly did not happen. They couldn’t even greenlight one sequel with a box office return that bad. Combine that with Disney struggling to figure out what the hell its doing with its own franchises and Power Rangers ain’t happening. This isn’t exactly Spider-Man: Brand New Day we’re talking about here.
The Future of the Franchise
So then, what happens next for Power Rangers? Hasbro is likely going to try to shop the franchise around. Unfortunately, Hasbro also has no idea what the hell they’re doing lately. We talked about the failure of their previous G.I. Joe attempts and their decision to try and reboot Jem and the Holograms. It’s like they think the stuff they own has more intrinsic value than it actually does. That’s not to say that Power Rangers is a dead franchise, but its had more success in comic book form and video games than anything else recently. Maybe they’d have better luck adapting some of the comic stories into animated form.
Another potential point of concern is that the Super Sentai Series is currently done with in Japan. 2026 marked the first time in its history that its not actively in production. That’s dating back to 1975. The program went into hiatus after its 49th season. If Power Rangers does get back on its feet, they still have the last few years of material to draw from if they want to license it from Toei. But after that, they’re going to have to do something on their own in order to get that battle footage. All the more reason why animation could be an appropriate shift for reviving the show.
Holding out for Hope
Hasbro has not shown much of an ability to manage the Power Ranges franchise. Their goal for a live-action series may be unfeasible given the dwindling popularity and cost of production. There are surely die-hard fans out there who want to see a return to form, but what does that path look like under Hasbro leadership? If we hear anything more about the future of Power Rangers, we’ll be sure to report on it. It seems sad that something that was once so prominent in pop culture can’t find a foothold anywhere. Maybe it’s a sign that this is the time for reinvention. It needs to morph into something new.
