Bryan Cranston’s Role as the Red Ranger in Power Rangers: A Surprising Casting Choice That Makes Perfect Sense

Power Rangers (2017) took an intriguing direction by casting Bryan Cranston as Zordon, a character with deep roots in the franchise. Before Cranston became widely recognized for his exceptional performances as Hal in Malcolm in the Middle and Walter White in Breaking Bad, he earned his place in Power Rangers lore through voice roles in the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. He voiced the character Snizzard and later took on the role of Twin Man, making his connection to the franchise quite significant.

The excitement around Cranston’s casting as Zordon was palpable, given his extensive history with Power Rangers and the subsequent rise of his career. The reboot not only represented a full-circle moment for him but also signaled a desire to innovate and refresh the classic Power Rangers characters from the 1990s. Notably, Cranston’s incarnation of Zordon was uniquely revealed to be the Red Ranger.

Reimagining Zordon: The Original Red Ranger

Zordon’s Legacy as a Power Ranger

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLEaVnqU1vI

Power Rangers (2018) OMS CLIP – Rita Repulsa -Zordon – Opening Scene – 4k ULTRA HD (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLEaVnqU1vI)

The narrative kicks off with an ancient band of Rangers from outer space crashing their Zords on a prehistoric Earth, only to be betrayed by the sinister Green Ranger, Rita Repulsa, who brings devastation to the team, leaving only the Red Ranger alive. In a fresh twist, Zordon is unveiled as the original Red Ranger whose team was decimated during a fierce battle. In a bid to prevent Rita from escaping, Zordon had Alpha alter a meteor’s course toward Earth, hoping this would lead to their mutual destruction. Ironically, both survived, with Zordon’s essence trapped in a vessel while Rita made her eventual return.

Power Rangers Theatrical Movies	Release Date	Budget	Box Office
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie	June 30, 1995	$15 million	$66.4 million
Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie	March 28, 1997	$8 million	$9.6 million
Power Rangers	March 24, 2017	$100-105 million	$142.3 million

While I anticipated some creative liberties with Power Rangers (2017), the revelation that Zordon and Rita were once Power Rangers themselves was unexpected. In the original series, Zordon and Rita were portrayed as powerful extraterrestrial beings, devoid of former Ranger status. The reboot innovatively attributes Zordon’s origins to the *Mighty Morphin* series lore by making him an original Power Ranger, thereby enriching the narrative and affirming a personal stake in assembling a new team of heroes.

Zordon as a Former Red Ranger: A Brilliant Reboot Strategy

Clever Innovations in Power Rangers Lore

Custom image of Zordon and the Red Ranger in Power Rangers 2017

In retrospect, portraying Zordon as a former Red Ranger was a masterstroke for the reboot. Traditionally, Zordon was depicted as a mystical figure from the planet Eltar who lost his corporeal form and took on the role of guiding various Ranger teams, such as mentoring In Space Red Ranger Andros. By establishing Zordon as the original *Mighty Morphin* Red Ranger, the 2017 film refined the franchise’s mythology and added a deeply personal dimension to Zordon’s quest for a new generation of heroes.

In the BOOM! Studios Power Rangers comic franchise, Zordon attempted to assemble a Power Rangers team back in 1969 to combat Psycho Green Ranger, though only the Red Ranger, Grace Sterling, survived the mission on the moon.

The connection between Rita Repulsa and the Green Ranger in the reboot was equally impressive. Since Rita was the catalyst behind the creation of the evil Green Ranger in *Mighty Morphin Power Rangers*, it was a logical development for the reboot to tie her character’s backstory into this narrative. Despite a post-credits tease of Tommy Oliver, the universe established in the film never got a sequel to explore the “Green With Evil”storyline.

The Missed Opportunities for Expanding 2017 Movie Lore

The Fading Ideas from the Power Rangers Reboot

Unfortunately, the box office performance of Power Rangers (2017) fell short, preventing any further storytelling in this reimagined universe. This is disappointing for fans who anticipated an expansive cinematic universe rich in characters and narratives. The new ideas introduced, such as Zordon’s past as a Ranger or Rita’s earlier heroism, exist only outside of the franchise’s main timeline, raising concerns over whether they will be revisited in the future.

Even the BOOM! Studios comics, while they do explore original narratives and recontextualize existing lore, have largely adhered to the traditional storylines of the original series. Although Power Rangers (2017) received a one-off comic sequel following the movie’s release, it never expanded into a full series. If the franchise never revisits Zordon’s narrative as a former Power Ranger, at least the 2017 film dared to explore a fresh dynamic with Bryan Cranston’s character.

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