What Does The 'Power Rangers' Credits Scene Mean For The Future Of The Franchise?
Power Rangers debuted in theaters this past weekend, and while it wasn't able to topple the box office giant that is Beauty and the Beast, it still ended up with a solid estimated debut of $40.5 million in second place. There's a good chance that this will put the movie in a prime position to warrant a sequel, which is good news for Lionsgate because Power Rangers producer Haim Saban says there's a six-movie arc planned as long as the audience is interested.
The first of those sequels was teased in a Power Rangers credits scene that teases what's next for the franchise, and it's something that fans of the original TV series will be very excited to see on the big screen. But if you haven't seen Power Rangers yet, stop reading now, because we're going to dive into spoiler territory in our discussion of the Power Rangers credits scene.
Those who didn't see Power Rangers on the first day it was in theaters may have had the credits scene spoiled for them a little bit because the official Twitter account of the new franchise posted this update:
— Power Rangers (@ThePowerRangers) March 23, 2017
That's the helmet of the Green Ranger, and while none of the marketing materials indicated that the fan favorite member of the team would make an appearance in Power Rangers, fans of the original iteration of the TV series were hoping his arrival in a sequel would be teased. They were not disappointed. But first, the movie offered up a change in the mythology for the Green Ranger by way of the villain Rita Repulsa.
A Change in Power Rangers Mythology
The beginning of Power Rangers takes place millions of years ago in the Cenozoic Era. The Red Ranger has just gotten his ass kicked, and there's destruction all over as he struggles to pull himself across the ground. He makes it to the Yellow Ranger, a female alien being of some sort, just as she dies, handing him her power coin. Then we see who is responsible for the defeat of the prehistoric Power Rangers, and it's Rita Repulsa. However, it's not Rita Repulsa exactly as fans have seen her in the movie's marketing.
In this prologue, it's revealed that Rita Repulsa is the original Green Ranger who has betrayed the rest of the Power Rangers for her own gain. Furthermore, we learn that the Red Ranger is none other than Zordon, the man who will become the floating head guide for the new Power Rangers. In order to stop Rita, he communicates with the robot Alpha 5 through his helmet communicator to have a meteor strike their location that will get rid of Rita and bury the salvaged power coins of his fellow Power Rangers until the morphing grid allows a new group of teenagers to take over the mantle.
The meteor strike sends Rita flying into the sea nearby, and she sinks into its depths along with the her Power Coin, only to return when a fishing vessel picks her up in a fishing net. Upon returning to land, she slowly regains her power and strength as she collects gold from people's teeth and jewelry stores in order to rebuild a giant version of her monster companion Goldar. However, as she gains power, she never ends up becoming the Green Ranger in order to fight the new Power Rangers, opting to use the power coin to fuel her staff instead. But that's good, because it leaves a sequel open to adapt what is the most iconic storyline of the original Power Rangers TV series.
Power Rangers Credits Scene Explained
After a little credits sequence, we get a scene that takes us back to detention with our new teenagers with attitude. The teacher who oversees detention is taking attendance and then he suddenly gets a name we haven't heard before: Tommy Oliver. As the teacher repeats his name, not unlike Ferris Bueller's Day Off, the camera cuts to an empty chair with a green jacket hanging off it. Tommy is nowhere to be found, but his entrance into the Power Rangers universe is a welcome tease.
Not only does his absence allow producers to find someone to fill the shoes of the Green Ranger, potentially getting a more well-known name to take on the role, but it also sets up Tommy as a character. Director Dean Israelite explained to Entertainment Weekly:
"We thought about the fact that the movie is an updated version of the show, which was teenagers with attitude, so [the tease is saying] if you think these teenagers have attitude, wait 'til you see Tommy. He brings it in bucketloads. That's what this scene is trying to hint at."
While general audiences not familiar with Power Rangers mythology would easily be able to discern that this hints at the arrival of another Power Ranger, the tease of Tommy Oliver entering the story is a big deal for those who watched the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers series.
Who Is Tommy Oliver?
The character Tommy Oliver was played by Jason David Frank in the original iteration of the Power Rangers TV series. In a five-episode story arc called "Green with Evil", Tommy shows up at Angel Grove High School as a new student who not only becomes a rival for Jason in a karate tournament, but also catches the eye of Kimberly, the Pink Ranger.
Rita Repulsa sees the potential in using Tommy to destroy the Power Rangers, so she uses her magic to enchant him to do her bidding and gives him the Dragon Power Coin to allow him to turn into the Green Ranger. Unlike the other Power Rangers, the Green Ranger has a golden dragon shield as part of his suit, which makes him more powerful. Plus, he has the Dragon Dagger which allows him to summon the Dragonzord, as well as the deadly Sword of Darkness.
Tommy is commanded by Rita to destroy Zordon and his command center along with the Power Rangers so that Rita can finally take over Earth without interference. The Green Ranger succeeds, even giving Alpha 5 a computer virus, and the Power Rangers are left nearly powerless. Though they are able to use their Megazord to keep him at bay, eventually reinforcements arrive in the form of Goldar and his wife Scorpina, and the Power Rangers have their Megazord thrown into the Earth's core.
This leaves Tommy to use the Dragonzord to destroy Angel Grove, but of course, somehow the Earth's lava has restored the Power Rangers Zords, allowing them to take down the Green Ranger's Zord before Jason the Red Ranger takes on the Green Ranger for one final battle to free Tommy from Rita's spell.
After breaking the enchantment Rita had over Tommy, Zordon offers him a place on the Power Rangers so that he might atone for all the wrong he did as the evil Green Ranger. After that, Tommy slowly becomes the closest thing to a main character that the entire TV series ever had. He would go on to become the White Ranger, the White Ninja Ranger, Zeo Ranger V Red, Red Turbo Ranger and Black Dino Ranger.
The Green Ranger with a Twist?
Bringing Tommy Oliver into the Power Rangers franchise is a smart move, if only because the storyline featuring the Green Ranger is a fan favorite. Having the Power Rangers forced to face someone just like them instead of Rita Repulsa would make for a fine sequel, and if the story takes the same path as the series, then we'll get a new Power Ranger out of it.
However, if some of the cast of Power Rangers have their way, the identity of the Green Ranger will be mixed up a bit. While Tommy Oliver is male in the original TV series, the credits scene doesn't show us who Tommy is. That means Tommy Oliver could easily be a woman, and according to Dacre Montgomery (who plays Jason the Red Ranger), he and the rest of the cast think Tommy should be female. He told THR:
"A lot of the cast and I have discussed that we think it should be a girl. It makes it even: three girls, three boys."
Tommy (Tommi?) is a less common name for a girl, but it's not unheard of. However, considering how diverse the Power Rangers cast is, including having Trini the Yellow Ranger (Becky G) as a member of the LGBTQ community (although the first movie did half-ass that aspect) and Billy the Blue Ranger (RJ Cyler) as a teen who is on the autism spectrum, I think there might be another route to take with the Green Ranger, but it could also prove to be (let's say it together) problematic in some regards.
What if Power Rangers made Tommy Oliver a transgender character? It would only add to the diversity of the Power Rangers roster, and it would allow for those in the transgender community to have a prominent superhero character represent them on the big screen. Though I do wonder if making Tommy Oliver a trans character could be potentially problematic due to the fact that it's a character that starts out as a villain and some who identify as transgender might see it as vilifying the community.
At the same time, there's a chance that the story of the Green Ranger being a villain who becomes a good guy could be a story that mirrors the experience of many LGBT youths. Plenty of people in the community feel like outcasts in society until they're accepted as the person they identify as, and that might work as a parallel to the story of a teen who is regarded as a villain, only to become accepted as one of the Power Rangers.
Again, there's a chance that the narrative element of the Green Ranger changing from a bad guy to good guy could be misconstrued as insensitive, potentially implying that a trans person can only be accepted if they change, but I feel like there's a way to have a trans character in this role and do it in a way that's sensitive to the plight of the journey of those in the transgender community. But someone more wise and seasoned in gender roles than myself would have to ensure that it's done properly.
While there are certain corners of the internet that will roll their eyes about "social justice" being forced on their dinosaur robot movies, it's worth remembering that the Power Rangers have always been a diverse, welcoming, progressive group of kids. If the reborn franchise has any nerve, it'll lead the way.
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No matter what path the new Power Rangers takes with the Green Ranger, we at least know that a sequel will introduce the character, and hopefully their adaptation of the beloved storyline from the original franchise will be done justice on the big screen. There's no confirmation that a Power Rangers sequel will move forward yet, but as soon as we hear anything about a follow up, we'll be sure to let you know.