Despite being active for over 30 years, the sprawlingPower Rangersfranchise has only ever spawned three movies, which becomes even more surprising when it’s considered just how many TV shows there are. The huge amount of source material that could easily be used as a jumping-off point for a feature-length project has arguably been drastically underutilized, but there’s actually a very reasonable explanation for why the franchise has focused almost entirely on its impressive collection ofPower RangersTV shows.
Since 1993 kickstarted theMighty Morphin Power Rangerstimeline, the child-friendly action saga has generated a huge amount of media. Although it has primarily been known for its small-screen storytelling, there have also been comic books, video games, and other ways the canon has been fleshed out. That being said, various projects aren’t all set in the same continuity. Although some direct links exist between certain installments, others are standalone creations that arguably still exist in thePower Rangersmultiverse. Either way, it’s still one of thelongest-running TV franchises. As such, it’s unclear why there’s been a movie shortage.
Power Rangers’ First Movie Came Out At The Height Of The Show’s Popularity
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie Arrived In 1995
1995 was a huge year for the franchise. Its popularity had ballooned since its inception to a point it has struggled to replicate since. This was capitalized on almost immediately with the release ofMighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie. The movie had a budget of around $15 million, andBox Office Mojoreports it took just short of $40 million in box office sales. As a general rule of thumb, a movie’s budget is often roughly double what’s declared, as this accounts for marketing costs. So, although the project did turn a profit, it didn’t quite earn a sequel.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangersfor three seasons between 1993 and 1995 and a staggering 145 episodes. It was followed in 1996 by one season ofMighty Morphin Alien Rangers.
While it wasn’t the success Fox had hoped,Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Moviehas since become a huge nostalgia trip for those who grew up engaging with the show and the movie in the 1990s. VHS and DVD sales have allowed it to live on beyond its various failings and mixed reception. It’s still not viewed as anything approaching a masterpiece, but it’s a fun ride. Interestingly, although it featured the main cast and established lore from its parent show,theMighty Morphinmovie is a standalone project, with the show’s third season quickly retconning key moments and storylines.
The Second Power Rangers Movie Was A Much Smaller Release
The Franchise Essentially Gave Power Rangers Turbo A Feature-Length Pilot Episode
The TV shows continued to progress afterMighty Morphin Power Rangers' release. In fact,Mighty Morphin Alien RangersandPower Rangers Zeocame and went before the franchise’s next movie arrived. In 1997,Turbo: A Power Rangers Moviemarked the saga’s second feature-length project. This time around, it was produced in a very different way. Rather than givingTurbothe same glossy Hollywood treatment as its predecessor, it was made on a far smaller budget. In addition, its theatrical release wasn’t prioritized nearly as much - but it did still make over $8 million worldwide.
As a result,Turbofelt far more like a TV movie than a traditional feature-length effort. Having said that, its eventual purpose meant this made a lot of sense. While theMighty Morphinmovie was retroactively scrubbed from its parent show’s canon after being initially intended as a part of the main timeline,Turbo: A Power Rangers Movieserved as a backdoor pilot to a new show. Less than a month after its release,Power RangersTurbobegan its 45-episode run. This time, the movie remained in place as a pivotal part of the show’s lore.
10 Best Power Rangers Series That Still Hold Up Today
The most famous Power Rangers seasons were released in the 1990s and early 2000s, but some of these series have aged much better than others.
Power Rangers (2017) Was A Reboot Of The Original Show But Never Got A Sequel
This Power Rangers Movie Was An Attempt At A Branch Of Cinematic Longevity
ThePower RangersTV shows continued to be produced afterTurbo. They remained, and still remain, the heart of the franchise. They’re the bedrock on which all the saga’s various spinoffs and sequels are built. Without them, the possibility of new movies (even occasional ones) would be far lower. However, there was a far more significant gap afterTurbo: A Power Rangers Moviethan there was afterMighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Moviebefore another film materialized. In 2017,the simply-namedPower Rangerswas the franchise’s most ambitious movie to date.
1995
32%
1997
16%
2017
51%
ThePower Rangersmovie had a budget of around $100 million, making it almost seven times more expensive to make than the 1995 effort. It was a complete reboot and didn’t directly acknowledge any of the movies or shows that came before it - other than for a few Easter Eggs. That being said,it did draw a lot of influence from theMighty Morphineraby using the same characters but recasting them with new actors.
Sadly,Power Rangersonly took $142 million at the box office, which fell very short of the benchmark required to make a sequel financially worthwhile. It was supposed to be the starting point of a new movie franchise, with the series trying to make its long-running property branch out into the cinematic realm on a more regular and ongoing basis. Unfortunately, the blueprint was never able to be executed thanks to the movie’s failure. The one saving grace was that the TV shows were still active through all of this.
None Of The Power Rangers Movies Was Ever Big Enough For The Franchise To Switch Its Focus
Power Rangers' Future Is Unclear, But It Probably Still Belongs On Tv Screens Rather Than In Movie Theaters
Despite three very different attempts to make aPower Rangersmovie capture everyone’s attention, it still hasn’t yet been achieved. The saga has been incredibly TV-focused since its inception, and that’s clearly wherePower Rangersshines. All three movies have quietly admitted this fact. With the first being retconned, the second basically just being a long TV pilot, and the third resulting in its sequel being abandoned, the franchise almost seems to be keenly aware that straying too far from its original format is always a huge risk. So, the saga as a whole has largely stuck to its strengths.
BecausePower Rangershas been on the air for so long now, the various shows have explored pretty much every main avenue and permutation possible. More shows could still be greenlit, with some developments in the franchise being discussed recently. However, despite the long-lasting love of the franchise,Power Rangersis still looking for its major movie breakthrough.
10 Best Power Rangers Of All Time, Ranked
From Mighty Morphin legends like Tommy and Jason to new names, it can be difficult to pick the best Power Rangers among so many great characters.
Are More Power Rangers Movies Being Made?
A New Reboot Is Being Planned
While there were original big plans for an extensivePower Rangersfranchise unfolding on Netflix, little has been said about those plans in recent years. However, it seems that a newPower Rangersmovie is in development with the franchise heading in a new direction. According toComicbook.com, Paramount is in development of a newPower Rangersmovie that will be a complete reboot for the franchise and separate from the previous Netflix plans.
While there are still a lot of people who enjoyedthe 2017Power Rangersmovieand would have liked to see it get some sort of continuation, it makes sense that a newPower Rangersfilm would seek out an opportunity to start fresh. With the beloved franchise still searching for success in movies, it needs to find a way to appeal to more than just the die-hard fans of the earlier iterations.While there is no news on directors or actors attached to the project, it is apparently looking at a late 2026 release.
Power Rangers
Power Rangersis a long-running multimedia franchise that debuted in 1993 with the TV seriesMighty Morphin Power Rangers. Created by Haim Saban and adapted from the JapaneseSuper Sentaiseries,Power Rangersbecame a cultural phenomenon by combining action-packed footage fromSuper Sentaiwith new scenes featuring American actors. The franchise follows teams of young heroes who transform into Power Rangers to battle various villains, using martial arts, special powers, and giant mechas called Zords. Over the decades, the franchise has expanded into multiple TV series, films, comics, video games, and merchandise, becoming one of the most successful children’s franchises in the world.
