7 Things You Didn’t Know About ‘Mighty Morphin Power Rangers’

MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS: THE MOVIE, 1995

In 1993, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers burst upon the television scene on Fox Kids, and action figure and lunchbox aisles have never been the same. Spawning spinoffs, reboots, merchandise and big-screen movies, the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers quickly became a global dynasty that has only gotten bigger with time — for better and worse, with various tragedies and scandals associated with the show’s stars over the years, which will be explored in the “Dark Side of the Power Rangers” episode of ID’s Hollywood Demons, airing April 7, at 9 p.m. ET and streaming on Max.

If you’re interested in learning about the less-dark side of those spandex-suited heroes, read on for some fun, little-known facts about Mighty Morphin Power Rangers!

1The show was originally focused on … dinosaurs?

Intended to capitalize on the popularity of big-screen megahit Jurassic Park (which had premiered earlier in 1993), the show originally went through working titles like Dino Knights and Dino Rangers before settling on the name we all know and love. The dinosaur connection can mostly be seen in the final product in the form of some of the zords, which take on the form of dinosaurs and extinct creatures like the T-rex.

But the dinosaur connection wasn’t just due to America’s velociraptor fever at the time — the original American version of the show was actually based on the Beast Rangers of the Dinosaur Corps, the 16th iteration of the original Japanese version of the series.

2The stars were unknown before being cast

MIGHTY MORPHIN' POWER RANGERS, Amy Jo Johnson, Thuy Trang, Austin St. John, Walter Jones, David Yost, 1993-96

Everett Collection

Determined to cast fresh faces for all the leading roles on the show, producers held open auditions that attracted thousands of wannabe Power Rangers. Eventually, the directors narrowed the enormous field down to six groups of five teenagers, one of which happened to include a handful of future stars destined to become cast members: Amy Jo Johnson (Pink Ranger Kimberly), Austin St. John (Red Ranger Jason), David Yost (Blue Ranger Billy), and Walter Jones (Black Ranger Zack). The rest, as they say, was history.

3The theme song was inspired by a very popular cartoon

With only a couple of hours to throw together a theme song (with a rough cut of the credits as his only reference point, no less), composer Ron Wasserman had no time to waste. His only direction? Use the word “go,” a nod to the success of “Go Gadget Go,” the popular theme song for the then-10-year-old Inspector Gadget animated series. Fox immediately loved Wasserman’s theme, cementing his role as the go-to guy for the show’s music needs.

4The show was considered controversial for a very strange reason

While largely remembered as a pop culture classic suitable for the whole family, Power Rangers raised eyebrows in various parts of the world for its intense action sequences. In 1994 alone, the show was dropped from two TV stations in Canada and banned outright in New Zealand, all for being considered too violent. Even stateside, there were rumblings about the show’s content, with one New York preschool making headlines after banning the show’s clothing and merchandise because it was allegedly causing fighting to break out among the pre-K set.

But while that all makes some sense, in one case, it was considered controversial for an extremely bizarre reason. In 1995, the series was banned in Malaysia, simply because authorities believed that the word “morphin” sounded too much like “morphine,” potentially encouraging drug use amongst the show’s young fanbase.

5Zordon’s footage was all shot in one day

Do you remember Zordon, the wise galactic wizard who fought for the side of good … who was also just a giant floating head? The ever-popular character was brought to life by actor David Fielding, who based his performance on mythical gods like Zeus and Odin.

Believe it or not, while Zordon had a huge presence throughout the series, Fielding was only filmed once for the role. Citing budgetary limitations, producers opted to recycle video footage throughout the series (awkward-looking as it was at certain points) while enlisting Fielding to record new lines regularly in a voiceover studio.

6One of the show’s biggest villains was… Bryan Cranston?

Before his career-making roles in Malcolm in the Middle and Breaking Bad, Bryan Cranston handled some voiceover work for Power Rangers, bringing bad guys to life on two memorable episodes from 1993: “Foul Play in the Sky” and “A Bad Reflection on You.” Rumor has it that the last name of Cranston was actually given to the Blue Power Ranger in tribute to the future “Walter White,” a fact that the actor himself believes to be true. Years later, Cranston paid it all forward by appearing as Power Rangers mentor Zordon in the 2017 feature film.

7Amy Jo Johnson almost quit show business

MIGHTY MORPHIN' POWER RANGERS, Amy Jo Johnson, Pink Power Ranger, 1993-96.

Before being cast on Power Rangers, Amy Jo Johnson’s life had basically become a country music song. Six months after moving to Hollywood to pursue her acting dreams, she found herself single (she’d broken up with the boyfriend she’d moved to LA with), lonely, and struggling to find work. Resigning herself to the fact that she’d failed, Johnson sold her belongings and prepared to move back home.

Luckily, destiny had other ideas. The night before her big move, she met Walter Rainey, an acting coach who immediately saw something special in her. After two weeks back home, Rainey called the Johnson family home and urged her parents to get her back to Hollywood, Soon after, she got a call from acting teacher-turned-casting agent Katy Wallin, who gave her the inside scoop on Power Rangers. Johnson went on to a TV career that included starring roles on teen drama Felicity, and Canadian police procedural Flashpoint; she’s also taken up directing, and has helmed a handful of short films and features.