Summary
- Amy Jo Johnson, the original Pink Ranger from the 1990s Mighty Morphin Power Rangers TV series, is the co-author of a new miniseries, which explores the original Rangers as adults.
- The series serves as a direct sequel to the original, honoring the franchise while introducing a new, timeline, promising a more mature take on the original squad.
- Johnson aims to provide a "love letter" to adult fans who grew up watching Power Rangers, delivering a cathartic story as an homage to decades of lore.
Original Pink Ranger actress Amy Jo Johnson has returned to the Power Rangers in a creative capacity, as one of the co-writers of the latest Rangers miniseries. Johnson spoke to Screen Rant in an exclusive interview, describing in detail the exhilarating process of approaching the franchise from an entirelty new angle.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Return #1 – written by Johnson, alongside Matt Hotson, with art by Nico Leon – serves as a direct sequel to the original series, reuniting the original Rangers squad after decades apart. The series promises honor the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers incarnation, while realistically exploring a new, exciting version of the series' timeline.
The series revisits the now-former Rangers in modern-day adulthood, which allows Johnson to tap into a whole new side to each of them that older audiences, especially those who grew up with the series, can relate to.
"There Was No Way We Could Revisit These Characters Without Her": Power Rangers' Amy Jo Johnson Explains How New Continuity Honors Thuy Trang
Power Rangers: The Return is just as much a celebration of the franchise as it is a celebration of the late Thuy Trang and the character she played.
Amy Jo Johnson Adds To Her Rangers Legacy With "The Return"
When asked about returning to the character of Kimberly Ann Hart at this stage in her life, Amy Jo Johnson replied: "Looking at these characters differently feels so exciting. Especially now that all the kids who watched Power Rangers are adults," she added. "And the story [for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Return] is about the Rangers, who are now adults." The experience understandably had Johnson at a bit of a loss for words. "There's just something that just feels really special about it," she marveled. "I don't know how to explain it, but I'm really happy."
The original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers first began airing on television just over 30 years ago. The actors of old are far from being the teenagers with attitude they debuted onscreen as, and so are the kids who watched them on TV at the time. Johnson expounded with her enthusiasm regarding working with a great team of artists who helped her craft a "love letter gesture to a whole generation of children who are now adults. Hopefully the story that we are telling will be cathartic and also thirst quenching enough to really deliver what people are hoping and expecting."
The Power Rangers Series Has Matured With Its Audience – & Its Cast
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Return is set to be a wonderful an opportunity for Johnson to celebrate the franchise, as well as a celebration of the audience who made Power Rangers a household name. Power Rangers has always been, and will always primarily be, marketed towards children, but the children who made the original show popular are fully-grown adults now, as are its cast-mates. As the franchise grows with its audiences, Johnson understands the importance of catering a story like this to those original Power Rangers fans, as a 'thank you' to the community.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Return #1 is available now from BOOM! Studios
