Earlier this month, chatter began circulating on social media that Japan’s long-running Super Sentai franchise, the source material for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, would be wrapping up after its next season in early 2026.
However, the Super Sentai/Power Rangers fandom was split, with some claiming that those reports were just nothing more than scattered rumors and unverified speculation.
Now, word has come down from Toei, that Super Sentai's timeslot will be taken over by a new live-action tokusatsu show, Super Space Sheriff Gavan Infinity, the first entry in a new, planned franchise Project R.E.D. - "Records of Extraordinary Dimensions," via ANN.
To put it in familiar terms for our Western audience, it would be like the Power Rangers franchise being cancelled and being replaced with something like VR Troopers or Big Bad Beetleborgs instead.
This announcement from Toei confirmed an earlier, November 01 report that the Super Sentai series was ending due to "inadequate revenues from related events, tie-in goods and movie adaptations when compared with production costs." This means that the series is concluding after a 50-year, uninterrupted run on Japanese airwaves.
And the series is not concluding without a bit of controversy, as one of its stars has been fired and replaced, due to a purported scandal involving underage drinking.
Maya Imamori who portrayed Sumino Ichikawa aka the Gozyu Unicorn/ Black Ranger, was completely edited out one of the recent shows and will be replaced by Kohaku Shida in upcoming episodes.
Of course, Super Sentai is but one of several Japanese superhero shows in the tokusatsu genre, which includes Kamen Rider and Ultraman, so the genre will live on even if the upcoming Project R.E.D. doesn't pan out, ratings-wise.
Here in the U.S., the last season of Power Rangers to air was Power Rangers Cosmic Fury in 2023. Netflix also aired a 30th Anniversary special, titled Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always, also in 2023. However, 2023 would mark the first time in Power Rangers' U.S. history that there were no new or re-edited episodes to premiere.
On a more positive note, Power Rangers rights lapsed at Netflix and are now owned by Disney, who have commissioned the Percy Jackson and the Olympians showrunner duo of Jonathan E. Steinberg and Dan Shotz to create a new Power Rangers series for Disney+.
Keep an eye on our sister site, AnimeMojo, for ongoing coverage of both Super Sentai and Power Rangers as we approach the former’s final episode and wait for updates on Disney+’s plans for the new Power Rangers series.