Why Amy Jo Johnson Isn't In Power Rangers: Once & Always
"Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always" is everything fans could have hoped for in a celebration of 30 years of "Power Rangers." This is a special that is full of fanservice, Easter eggs from even the deepest of deep cuts from across "Power Rangers" lore, and all sorts of cheesy jokes and cool martial arts moves — including Hip-Hop kido.
"Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always" takes place after the death of one of the Rangers, with the rest mourning a loss of one of their own as Rita Repulsa returns in a new robot body to wreak chaos across the globe. Meanwhile, a new Ranger rises to take the mantle of the old generation, because Power Rangers are forever.
This is a special full of cool moments and loving homages to the franchise, including a rather emotional coda that pays tribute to two fallen rangers, Jason David Frank and Thuy Trang. But despite all the callbacks and cameos, fans may wonder why only two of the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers returned for "Once & Always." The original Red Ranger Austin St. John is facing legal troubles, so that explains his absence, but what about the original Pink Ranger, Amy Jo Johnson?
Once a Ranger, always a Ranger
Fans noted the absence of Amy Jo Johnson's Kimberly Hart the moment "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always" was first announced and the cast only listed David Yost and Walter Jones from the original team as returning.
Earlier this year, Johnson took to Twitter (via Entertainment Weekly) to shut down rumors that she said no to the special for financial reasons. "Please stop saying I didn't do reunion because of money. Simply not," the actor tweeted. "Maybe I just didn't want to wear spandex in my 50s [...] or couldn't go to NZ for a month. Or none of [your] beeswax."
All of these are good reasons not to want to appear in the special. Like Johnson, Jason David Frank did not join the special before his death, though no reason was specified. It is entirely possible, given the runtime for the special and the budget usually allocated for the franchise, that their roles could have simply been very short cameos at the beginning and end. After all, the Pink, Green, and Red Rangers are kidnapped for most of the special, which focuses on the Blue and Black Rangers. Having more members of the team on screen would take away from that story.
In any case, Johnson was solely missed from the special.