David Yost originally auditioned for a different Power Rangers team.

From Stan Lee trying to Super Sentai to America to the original, unaired pilot of a show whose working title was Phantoms, it took a while for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers as we know it to happen. All stars aligned eventually, and Power Rangers premiered on August 28, 1993. The colorful team of superheroes quickly became a television phenomenon, with the original Power Rangers still being the face of the franchise even after dozens of other iterations. That said, things would've been very different had David Yost been cast as "Victor" instead of Billy.

David Yost Originally Auditioned For The Red Ranger In Mighty Morphin Power Rangers

Yost Almost Didn't Read For Billy

During an interview with Entertainment Weekly in 2018 for the 25th anniversary of MMPR, David Yost revealed that he originally auditioned for Victor, which was the name of the Red Ranger before it was changed to Jason. Yost made it through three auditions, but he "could tell that the producers were leaning in a different direction." Sensing that he was not going to be cast as the Red Ranger, Yost asked the producers to read for Billy, but they told him no.

Yost didn't seem fit for what Billy was supposed to be, but that didn't stop him from trying. The actor quickly realized what they were going for with the Blue Ranger character, went to the bathroom, and wet his hair down. Yost also borrowed somebody's glasses and buttoned his shirt crooked. He then came back and asked to read for Billy, and the rest is history. In hindsight, there was no better choice to play Billy, but that would not have happened hadn't Yost begged to read for the Blue Ranger part.

David Yost Understood Who Billy Was Supposed To Be – And Gave Us An Iconic Character

The Actor Made Billy His Own

The fact that Yost quickly understood who Billy was supposed to be speaks volumes about how he was the right choice for the character. Whereas the Red Ranger was meant to be this popular, athletic character who taught kids karate during his free time, Billy was the nerdy, techy guy whose true strength was hidden. Yost could not have played Billy the same way he auditioned for Victor/Jason, which is why his wet hair and glasses stunt worked so well.

Audri Dubois played Trini in the unaired pilot of Power Rangers.

Interestingly, Billy went from an insecure teenager to a confident, experienced Power Rangers throughout the show. By the end of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers season 3, the original Blue Ranger had become quite different from how he looked and acted in the first half of the show. What didn't change was how Billy was arguably the heart of the original Power Rangers. The Blue Ranger was one of the pillars of Zordon's team, which went through a few different iterations over the course of three seasons.

We got to see Billy grow during Power Rangers, and while Yost exited the show during Zeo, the original Blue Ranger recently returned to the franchise after almost 30 years. 2023 was the year of Billy in Power Rangers, with Yost returning not only for Netflix's Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always but also for Cosmic Fury. Both were a reminder of how important Billy is to the franchise, and if Cosmic Fury truly is the last of the traditional Power Rangers shows before a reboot, I'm glad that the Blue Ranger was part of it.

Source: Entertainment Weekly