Mighty Morphin Power Rangers debuted on Fox Kids in August 1993 and became an immediate hit. Even now, it's still one of the most beloved eras of the long-running franchise. However, given when it first aired, the series was, at times, a little culturally insensitive.
For example, a Black actor, Walter Emanuel Jones, was cast as the Black Ranger and an Asian actress, Thuy Trang, was chosen to portray the Yellow Ranger. That's been discussed a lot over the years, with those who worked on the series at the time facing a lot of criticism.
Talking on the "Dark Side of the Power Rangers" episode of Discovery's Hollywood Demons, former Power Rangers showrunner Tony Oliver said, "None of us are thinking stereotypes." He explained that was how the series got to air and ran for two seasons with "the Black character the Black Ranger and the Asian character the Yellow Ranger."
Oliver added that it took "my assistant who pointed it out in a meeting one day," to realize the stereotype-driven casting at the centre of the show. "It was such a mistake," he confessed.
According to Oliver, Zack Taylor's Black Ranger "seemed to have the swagger of the group," while Trini Kwan's Yellow Ranger was "the peaceful one, who tends to be the conscience of the group." Apparently, "Thuy was not our original Yellow Ranger," as Audri Dubois was cast in the role before a pay dispute saw her walk away.
Behind-the-scenes footage filmed by stunt coordinator Jeff Pruittt confirmed the cast was aware of the optics surrounding their casting, with Jones turning to the camera at one point to say, "My name's Walter Jones, I play Zack. I'm Black, and I play the Black Ranger - go figure."
Amy Jo Johnson, who played the first Pink Ranger, Kimberly Hart, also appeared during Hollywood Demons and shared, "Walter Jones used to crack good-humored jokes about that. I think it's funny if it was done unintentionally by the big bosses. But really? Come on. It wouldn't happen today."
Jones, Trang, and Red Ranger Austin St. John ultimately chose to leave Mighty Morphin Power Rangers during season 2 following a clash over money. Jones was later replaced by Korean-American actor Johnny Yong Bosch and Trang was replaced by Black actress Karan Ashley.
As Entertainment Weekly (via SFFGazette.com) points out, Saban's co-creator Shuki Levi has previously said that Jones and Trang's controversial casting "wasn't intentional at all. At that time, Haim and I were new to this country. We didn't grow up in the same environment that exists in America with regard to skin color."
"We grew up in Israel, where being a Black person is like being any kind of color. It's not something we talked about all the time. It wasn't a big issue," he added.
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