Tom is a Senior Staff Writer at Screen Rant, with expertise covering all things Classic TV from hilarious sitcoms to jaw-dropping sci-fi.
Initially he was an Updates writer, though before long he found his way to the Classic TV team. He now spends his days keeping Screen Rant readers informed about the TV shows of yesteryear, whether it's recommending hidden gems that may have been missed by genre fans or deep diving into ways your favorite shows have (or haven't) stood the test of time.
Tom is based in the UK and when he's not writing about TV shows, he's watching them. He's also an avid horror fiction writer, gamer, and has a Dungeons and Dragons habit that he tries (and fails) to keep in check.
When Power Rangers returns, it will be through Disney and Hasbro’s long-awaited Disney+ reboot, a project designed to rebuild the franchise from the ground up. That clean slate matters. Power Rangers has accumulated decades of creative compromises, structural shortcuts, and production limitations, and a full reset finally gives the series space to rethink storytelling, tone, and casting decisions.
Beyond freeing the show from reliance on Super Sentai footage for action scenes like Zord battles, the Disney+ Power Rangers can also fix a long-running issue with the Rangers themselves. For years, the franchise has struggled to make its heroes feel authentic as people once the helmets come off for quieter, character-driven scenes and everyday moments.
Power Rangers also suffers from a familiar problem tied to its era: teenagers played by actors far older than their characters. It was common across television in the 1990s, 2000s, and even 2010s, but it definitely doesn't fly today. When the Disney+ Power Rangers reboot arrives, this outdated approach needs to be left behind to keep the franchise credible for modern audiences.
Disney+'s Power Rangers Needs To Cast Actual Teenagers
Casting Age Accurate Rangers Would Immediately Modernize The Franchise
From its earliest seasons, Power Rangers embraced a heightened reality where suspension of disbelief did much of the heavy lifting. This didn’t just stretch to the Rangers fighting whatever monster-of-the-week plagued Angel Grove, but what the team got up to in their downtime too. While it didn’t matter much to fans at the time, it was always clear viewers were watching teenagers being played by adults.
While it got slightly better as Power Rangers went on, early seasons like Mighty Morphin focused on 14-year-old freshmen who were being played by, in some cases, actors approaching their mid 20s. That approach may have worked in the 1990s, but modern audiences expect greater authenticity. Casting actors who are genuinely the same age as their teenage characters is now a baseline expectation, not an optional creative choice.
|
Jason Lee Scott/Red Ranger |
Austin St John |
1974 |
19 |
|
Zack Taylor/Black Ranger |
Walter Emanuel Jones |
1970 |
23 |
|
Trini Kwan/Yellow Ranger |
Thuy Trang |
1973 |
20 |
|
Kimberly Hart/Pink Ranger |
Amy Jo Johnson |
1970 |
23 |
|
Billy Cranston/Blue Ranger |
David Yost |
1969 |
24 |
|
Tommy Oliver/Green Ranger |
Jason David Frank |
1973 |
20 |
Shows aimed at younger viewers have shifted dramatically in the days since Mighty Morphin Power Rangers debuted. Series like Percy Jackson and the Olympians prioritize age-accurate casting to preserve emotional honesty. When characters are meant to be inexperienced, impulsive, or still figuring themselves out, having actors who share those life stages makes every interaction feel more grounded.
By contrast, revisiting Mighty Morphin Power Rangers highlights how noticeable the age gap can be. The Rangers were written as high school freshmen, yet the actors were clearly adults. While nostalgia softens that disconnect, it becomes more apparent when viewed alongside contemporary youth-driven television.
Casting actual teenagers for the Disney+ reboot would also improve how Power Rangers handles everyday stakes. School pressures, friendships, and family dynamics land differently when portrayed by performers who understand them firsthand. That authenticity would strengthen the show’s quieter scenes, which have often been overshadowed by the Power Rangers monster-of-the-week showdown of each episode.
Disney+ is positioning its reboot for longevity, not just nostalgia. Getting the casting right from the beginning signals that Power Rangers is evolving with its audience, rather than clinging to outdated production norms that no longer reflect how teen stories are told on modern television.
Power Rangers' New Actors Can Age With The Audience
Age Appropriate Casting Creates Long Term Storytelling Potential
One of the greatest advantages of casting real teenagers in the Disney+ Power Rangers reboot is the opportunity for organic growth. When actors age alongside their characters, the story gains an authenticity that cannot be replicated artificially. This approach will allow Power Rangers to evolve naturally, rather than resetting its emotional stakes every season.
The Harry Potter films remain the gold standard for this model. Audiences watched the characters mature in real time, creating a deep emotional bond that extended across a decade. Similarly, shows like Cobra Kai have benefitted from acknowledging the passage of time with age-appropriate casting rather than pretending its characters are frozen in adolescence.
While streaming-era hits like Cobra Kai show why having a cast of the right age works, some modern series also illustrate why the Power Rangers reboot needs to take the ages of its actors into account. Early seasons of Stranger Things thrived on youthful authenticity, but later episodes faced criticism as the cast visibly outgrew their supposed ages.
For Power Rangers, the Rangers aging with the audience could unlock unprecedented longevity. Early seasons could focus on discovery and responsibility, while later ones explore leadership, loss, and adulthood. That evolution mirrors the journey many longtime fans have already taken with the franchise.
By committing to age-appropriate casting, Disney and Habro can ensure the Power Rangers reboot can grow without narrative contortions. The Rangers would not just save the world repeatedly, but change in believable ways, giving the franchise emotional depth it has rarely sustained across multiple seasons.
Will Disney+'s Power Rangers Be A Mighty Morphin Reboot?
Disney And Hasbro Are Likely Starting From A Complete Creative Reset
At present, concrete story details about the Disney+ Power Rangers reboot remain scarce. While Mighty Morphin Power Rangers is the most recognizable era, there is no indication that the new series will directly revisit that storyline or its characters. The fact it's being touted as a reboot suggests something more than a simple remake.
That distinction matters, especially after the 2017 Power Rangers movie attempted a modernized Mighty Morphin retelling. Despite ambitious worldbuilding and a grounded tone, the film underperformed relative to the studio's expectations (Lionsgate, in this case), effectively halting plans for a cinematic franchise revival.
Disney and Hasbro are unlikely to repeat that experiment so soon. Instead, starting from scratch allows the reboot to define its own mythology, team dynamics, and aesthetic without being constrained by decades of continuity. That freedom aligns with the decision to rebuild rather than remix.
A fresh narrative instead of a rehash of the Mighty Morphin era also pairs naturally with younger casting. New characters, unburdened by legacy comparisons, can establish their own identities and arcs. This approach reduces reliance on nostalgia while still respecting the franchise’s core themes of teamwork and responsibility.
Whether familiar elements eventually return remains to be seen. What matters most is that the Disney+ reboot positions Power Rangers for the future, not the past. A complete reset offers the best chance to modernize the franchise and finally resolve its longest-standing creative problems.
Created by Haim Saban, Shuki Levy, Shotaro Ishinomori
First TV Show Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers
First Episode Air Date August 28, 1993
.png)








English (US) ·