The first incarnation of the Power Rangers franchise was the Fox series Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, which used footage from the Japanese series Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger and began airing in the U.S. in 1993 — a time when you could make the only black cast member the Black Ranger and have a Vietnamese woman play the Yellow Ranger and no one said, “Let’s reconsider this.” There have been hundreds of episodes of Power Ranger–related television since the original series ended in 1996, including Turbo, Zeo, Lightspeed Rescue, and Dino Charge, but for many millennials it’s still the Might Morphin edition (no apostrophe) that lives on as the show of record. As hip new kids like RJ Cyler and Becky G. prepare take over the controls of the Megazord, here’s a brief on what the original six have done since their mightiest morphin days.
David Yost (Billy Cranston, the Blue Ranger)
Original Series Episodes: 154
In addition to logging the most appearances in the original series, Yost also put in work on 43 episodes of Power Rangers Zeo. In 2010, he revealed he left the show after being harassed for being gay, Outside the spandex, Yost hasn’t done much acting, though he does have a credit this year in a sci-fi movie called The Order. Another fun fact about David Yost: He served as an associate producer on the Fox reality show Temptation Island, and was a segment producer on three episodes of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
Amy Jo Johnson (Kimberly Hart, the Pink Ranger)
Episodes: 138
As one of the longest serving Rangers, Johnson appeared in the original series from 1993 to 1995, a run that included the franchise’s first big-screen production, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie. She later reprised her role in 1997’s Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie. She’s had the highest-profile post-morphin career of the original cast, with a supporting role on Felicity as well as stints on The Division, Flashpoint, and Covert Affairs. Johnson is still acting, with a handful of projects in development, and a cameo role in the new Power Rangers movie.
Jason David Frank (Tommy Oliver, the Green Ranger and the White Ranger)
Episodes: 118
Though Frank came late to Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, he’s become the Iron Man of the franchise, logging more episodes than any other performer, appearing in four subsequent Power Rangers series: He did 50 episodes of Power Rangers Zeo, 19 episodes of Power Rangers Turbo, one episode each for Power Rangers Wild Force and Power Rangers Megaforce, and 38 for Power Rangers Dino Thunder. In addition to various Rangers-related videos, he’s also appeared in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie, Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie, and joins Johnson in a cameo role in the new movie. For Frank, a trained martial-arts professional who’s competed as an MMA fighter, it’s always morphin time.
Walter Jones (Zack Taylor, the Black Ranger)
Episodes: 89
Jones came into Power Rangers with the longest résumé behind him, and after exiting the franchise after a contract dispute in 1994, he starred in the short-lived Nickelodeon sci-fi series Space Cases in 1996. Since then he’s worked steadily in shorts, indie films, and one-off TV roles in shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, NYPD Blue, and Sabrina the Teenage Witch. The biggest movie you’ll find him attached to is likely his voice work in Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2, but he was also credited as Angry Fan in Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping. Although he never picked up a Morpher again, Jones did lend his voice to the Power Rangers Wild Force series in 2002, playing a character named Gerrock.
Austin St. John (Jason Lee Scott, the Red Ranger)
Episodes: 89
Despite being the group’s ostensible leader, St. John had one of the shortest runs on Mighty Morphin, but he did reprise his role multiple times after departing in the same contract dispute. In 1996, St. John had an 18-episode stint on Power Rangers Zeo, Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie in 1997, and returned once more for a single episode of Power Rangers Wild Force in 2002. After being mostly inactive during the aughts, St. John has three film credits for 2017, one of them alongside his old Ranger pal David Yost in The Order. Judging by his Instagram, he loves Jeeps.
Thuy Trang (Trini Kwan, the Yellow Ranger)
Episodes: 88
Trang’s career was tragically short-lived. After leaving Power Rangers in 1994 alongside Jones and St. John, she appeared in two films in 1996, Spy Hard and The Crow: City of Angels, before dying in a car accident in 2001.
