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Power Rangers: Future Force is an American animated superhero web special serving to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Power Rangers franchise. In the special, the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Tommy Oliver, Jason Lee Scott, and Kimberly Ann Hart team up with the Red Space Ranger Andros and the Gray Ranger Zoltar to travel back in time to save Zordon from the United Alliance of Evil and carry out an alternate plan to save the universe from the Alliance, only to inadvertently be sent back to the period of time before Zordon was trapped in a time warp.
Production[]
Development[]
An animated reunion special was first conceived by InfinityRanger97531, where he had a script for a project with the working title Power Rangers: To Save Zordon. He pitched the idea to multiple networks, but later revealed that the project was still in its early stages. Carey was subsequently credited as a writer of the final episode.
At an unspecified date, Netflix secured the rights to the animated 30th anniversary special developed by Hasbro based on the original Zordon Era series.
Casting[]
On February 27, 2022, casting sides for a character with the placeholder name "Zen" were released, though it was originally thought to be related to Power Rangers Cosmic Fury. On September 30, 2022 during Hasbro PulseCon 2022, it was announced that Christopher Khayman Lee was in the process of recording a "special animated anniversary" project in Atlanta. Furthermore, it was announced that Brad Hawkins would be joining the cast of the special as well. One month later, Hasbro announced the reprisals of Walter Jones, David Yost, Johnny Yong Bosch, Karan Ashley, Steve Cardenas, Catherine Sutherland, and Melody Perkins in their original roles. It was revealed that Charlie Kersh would also reprise her role from the reunion special Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always in the animated special.
Voice Recording[]
Voice recording occurred in Georgia over 12 days.
Post-Production and Marketing[]
The special was audio mixed in Dolby Atmos, the second Power Rangers media to do so, after Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always, and was followed by Power Rangers Cosmic Fury. Post production ended in February and was shopped to Netflix.
Synopsis[]
A team of mismatched heroes join together to travel back in time to prevent the death of their friend and mentor, but unexpectedly find themselves in a time period far further back than they planned.
Plot[]
In 1998, Andros is forced to destroy Zordon's energy tube, killing him in the process, to save the universe from the United Alliance of Evil. Zordon's energy wave spreads throughout the universe and either purifies or destroys all villains in the process, or so it seems. Over the years since then, a number of villains rise and fall and the Earth experiences alternating periods of conflict and peace as new Power Ranger teams emerge to continue the fight.
Twenty-five years later, Andros still feels immense guilt for having to sacrifice Zordon in the process of saving the universe, while Tommy Oliver, Jason Lee Scott, and Kimberly Ann Hart are wracked with self-doubt due to their recent capture by Robo-Rita Repulsa. Andros is also friends with Zordon's previously unheard of son, Zoltar. Tommy, Jason, Kimberly, Andros, and Zoltar go to meet the other Power Rangers (Zack, Billy, Rocky, Adam, Aisha, Katherine, Tanya, Justin, T.J., Carlos, Ashley, Cassie, Zhane, Karone, and Minh) at the ruins of the old Power Chamber to mark the anniversary of Zordon's death and Billy reveals that he had invented a time machine out of the original RadBug. It's decided that since Billy has not been able to find a way to bring Zordon back in the present so far, that Tommy, Jason, Kimberly, Andros (with Andros volunteering to take a recently injured Billy's place), and Zoltar will travel back in time and rescue Zordon from the United Alliance of Evil, while using a device Billy invented to replicate the effects of Zordon's death in the original timeline.
At the Command Center built underneath Cranston Technologies, Billy explains that the time circuits of his time machine require plutonium to generate the necessary power needed to travel back in time and that the time circuits would activate when the RadBug reached a speed of 88 miles per hour. Billy sets the time period to September 12, 1997, a day after Tommy, Adam, Tanya, and Kat transferred their powers to T.J., Carlos, Ashley, and Cassie, the last time Zordon was seen on Earth before his capture, which would provide plenty of time to travel to Eltar and prevent Zordon's capture. However, the time machine malfunctions and sends them back in time to August 12, sometime during the Early Neolithic era.
While initially disoriented and confused, Tommy, Jason, Kimberly, Andros, and Zoltar soon discover what happened when they locate Zordon's base of operations, the Starcarrier. Zordon theorizes that, since the RadBug Time Machine is the first time machine ever built on Earth, it most likely still has a number of flaws and defects. Zordon also that he's worried that the RadBug's defects are likely to cause dangerous disruptions to the space-time continuum while also commenting its creator for being able to build a functional time machine as Zordon is aware of very few highly advanced alien civilizations capable to building time machines. Zordon also reveals that he has lost many soldiers in his long war with Rita Repulsa and might even lose the war if he fails to seal Rita away in a space dumpster. Zordon offers them refuge on the Starcarrier while his robotic assistant, Alpha 1, fixes their time machine and determine what dangers it might pose to the timeline. Zordon urges the time travelers to avoid interacting with the world around them so as not to alter history too much in the meantime.
Meanwhile, Rita Repulsa watches these events from her observation balcony in the Moon Palace. Realizing that the five are time travelers, she reluctantly informs her boss, Lord Zedd of this development. Lord Zedd, suspecting that the five might hold valuable information on future events that can benefit his plans, immediately travels to the Moon to personally oversee an operation to capture the five time travelers in order to extract information on the future from them. Lord Zedd then sends Goldar, Silverback, Darkonda, Scorpina, Mordant, Eye Guy, and Knasty Knight to attack the Starcarrier and capture the five with a large number of Putty Patrollers.
Tommy, Jason, Kimberly, and Zoltar use their Power Morphers to become the Green Ranger, Red Ranger, Pink Ranger, and Gray Ranger, while Andros uses his Astro Morpher to become the Red Space Ranger. Jason and Tommy tag team Goldar and Silverback while Kimberly, Andros, and Zoltar deal with Scorpina, Darkonda, and Mordant, respectively. However, Eye Guy and Knasty Knight ambush the rangers and, along with Goldar, Silverback, Darkonda, Scorpina, and Mordant, they are able to overpower and capture the Rangers. Goldar and company then take them to the Dark Dimension.
However, they are rescued by Zordon and two of his elite soldiers Trey of Triforia and Zorion of Eltar. Zordon encourages the Future Rangers, as Zordon christens them, not to give up and reminds Tommy, Jason, and Kimberly that no matter recent setbacks they recently experienced, he believed his future counterpart chose wisely when he chose them to be Power Rangers while assuring Andros that he did the right thing in shattering his energy tube and reminds them that the power will always be with them and will protect them. Remembering their past victories as Rangers, Tommy, Jason, and Kimberly regain their self-confidence while Andros makes peace with his past actions. Realizing that Lord Zedd might attempt to interfere with history by meddling with Zordon's attempt to seal Rita away, Tommy, Jason, Kimberly, Andros, and Zoltar then teleport to the Moon Palace in an attempt to keep Lord Zedd occupied so that history can proceed as it was supposed to.
At the Moon Palace, things don't exactly go as planned as Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa dispatch all their forces to recapture the Future Rangers. After seemingly destroying Eye Guy and Knasty Knight as the Green Ranger and Red Ranger, respectively, Tommy morphs into the White Ranger to battle Goldar while Jason once again dons both the Dragon Shield and Dragon Dagger to battle Silverback. Meanwhile, Andros morphs into the Red Space Ranger to battle Darkonda while Kimberly and Zoltar morph into the Pink and Gray Ranger to battle Scorpina and Mordant. Zordon, Trey, and Zorion come to the Rangers aid and personally engage both Rita and Lord Zedd in battle.
Goldar and Silverback still hold the upper hand, causing Tommy to use his Zeonizer to morph into Zeo Ranger V Red once again to level the playing field while Jason uses the Golden Power Staff, which he borrowed for this mission sometime before travelling back in time, to once again morph into the Gold Ranger. When this fails to work, Tommy uses his Turbo Morpher to become the Red Turbo Ranger and later uses his Brachio Morpher to morph into the Black Dino Ranger. Meanwhile, Kimberly, Andros, and Zoltar seemingly destroy Scorpina, Darkonda, and Mordant and they are all informed by Zordon that Rita has left the battlefield. Deducing that Rita is preparing to trap Zordon in a time warp, Kimberly, Andros, and Zoltar head her off in the throne room and engage her in battle. Recognizing that Goldar and Silverback are tiring out, Tommy uses his Master Morpher to rapidly switch between all his available Ranger forms to further wear them down before morphing into a new form: the Ultimate Ranger.
Finally, Tommy and Jason defeat Goldar and Silverback. The two of them come to Kimberly, Andros, and Zoltar's aid while Zordon, Trey, and Zorion continue their battle with Lord Zedd, and together the five manage to destroy Rita's time warp device and thwart her attempt to trap Zordon. Zordon, Trey, and Zorion prevail over Lord Zedd and manage to destroy his staff and, with his means to use magic destroyed, Zedd is forced to retreat from the Moon Palace while Rita and the others are sealed in a space dumpster.
Before being sent back to their own timeline by Zordon, Zordon informs them that none of their actions have affected their future, as the disruptions to the space-time continuum merely split the timeline in two. Zordon also reveals that he knows of a "great power located on the distant planet of Phaedos" that can be used to restore his counterpart, at least temporarily. He then instructs them to rebuild the Power Chamber and use it to make contact once his counterpart is restored.
Meanwhile, Lord Zedd replaces his staff with an identical one. Aware that the Rangers have returned to the present, Lord Zedd chooses to stay put and once more leaves Rita in charge of conquering the Earth in his name once again, not knowing of her imprisonment. Zordon discovers that Darkonda, Scorpina, Eye Guy, and Knasty Knight survived, albeit barely.
Upon returning to the present, Zoltar departs for parts unknown while Andros, T.J., Carlos, Ashley, Cassie, and Zhane return to KO-35 after dropping Karone off on Mirinoi. Tommy informs Billy of the Phaedos lead and reaffirms his decision to continue his work with Billy on restoring Zordon, while the two of them recruit Alpha 6, Alpha 7, and Alpha 9 to help them rebuild the Power Chamber as a base of operations as the two attempt to carry on Zordon's legacy as mentors to subsequent generations of Power Rangers. Tommy and Billy reminisce about their past adventures as Power Rangers before preparing to set off for Phaedos, only to be interrupted by a distress call from the Dino Fury Rangers.
Continuity and Placement[]
- Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The special takes place after Once & Always. Tommy, Jason, and Kimberly discuss their recent recovery on Aquitar and the events of the previous special are shown to have had a major impact on their self-confidence. However, due to time travel, most of the events of the special take place 10,000 years prior to to the events of "Day of the Dumpster".
- Power Rangers in Space: The special takes place 25 years after the events of "Countdown to Destruction".
- Power Rangers S.P.D.: The special takes place sometime before the events of the series, as the Battle of Sirius is stated to have recently ended. However, InfinityRanger97531 has stated that believes that S.P.D. takes place in its own continuity, rather than the continuity of the rest of the series, due to issues with the timeline and the standalone nature of the season contradicting events in the series since Legendary Battle. As such, dialogue was added to indicate that the outcome of the battle had changed in the main timeline.
- Power Rangers Cosmic Fury: InfinityRanger97531 has stated that Cosmic Fury takes place after Future Force, though continuity connectivity was kept to a minimum.
Characters[]
Rangers[]
Future Rangers[]
Designation | Name | Actor | Generation |
---|---|---|---|
Red Ranger Gold Ranger |
Jason Lee Scott | Yuri Lowenthal | Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Zeo Rangers |
Pink Ranger | Kimberly Ann Hart | Meghan Camarena | Mighty Morphin Power Rangers |
Green Ranger White Ranger Zeo Ranger V Red Red Turbo Ranger Black Dino Ranger Ultimate Ranger |
Tommy Oliver | Patrick Seitz | Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Zeo Rangers Turbo Rangers Dino Rangers N/A |
Gray Ranger | Zoltar | Brad Hawkins | Mighty Morphin Power Rangers |
Red Space Ranger | Andros | Christopher Khayman Lee | Space Rangers |
Other Rangers[]
Archival[]
Designation | Name | Actor |
---|---|---|
Red Ranger | Rocky DeSantos | Steve Cardenas |
Black Ranger | Zack Taylor ā¶ā Adam Park | Walter Jones ā¶ā Johnny Yong Bosch |
Blue Ranger | Billy Cranston | David Yost |
Yellow Ranger | Trini Kwan ā¶ā Aisha Campbell | Thuy Trang (archival audio, footage) ā¶ā Karan Ashley |
Pink Ranger | Katherine Hillard-Oliver | Catherine Sutherland |
Black Space Ranger | Carlos Vallerte | Roger Velasco (archival audio, footage) |
Blue Space Ranger | T.J. Johnson | Selwyn Ward (archival audio, footage) |
Yellow Space Ranger | Ashley Hammond | Tracy Lynn Cruz (archival audio, footage) |
Pink Space Ranger | Cassie Chan | Patricia Ja Lee (archival audio, footage) |
Silver Ranger | Zhane | Justin Nimmo (archival audio, footage) |
Red Dino Ranger | Conner McKnight | James Napier (archival audio, footage) |
Blue Dino Ranger | Ethan James | Kevin Duhaney (archival audio, footage) |
Yellow Dino Ranger | Kira Ford | Emma Lahana (archival audio, footage) |
Allies[]
- Adam Park
- Alan
- Alpha 1
- Alpha 6
- Alpha 7
- Alpha 9
- Aisha Campbell
- Ashley Hammond
- Billy Cranston
- Bookala
- Carlos Vallerte
- Cassie Chan
- Heather Thompson
- Justin Stewart
- Karone
- Katherine Hillard-Oliver
- Minh Kwan
- Rocky DeSantos
- Tanya Sloan
- Taylor McCormick
- T.J. Johnson
- Trey of Triforia
- Zack Taylor
- Zhane
- Zordon
- Zorion
Villains[]
- Rita Repulsa
- Lord Zedd
- Goldar
- Silverback
- Darkonda
- Scorpina
- Mordant
- Finster
- Squatt
- Baboo
- Eye Guy
- Knasty Knight
- Putty Patrollers
Cast[]
- Yuri Lowenthal as Jason Lee Scott (Mighty Morphin Red Ranger 1)
- Austin St. John also portrays Jason in archival audio and footage
- Meghan Camarena as Kimberly Ann Hart (Mighty Morphin Pink Ranger 1)
- Amy Jo Johnson also portrays Kimberly in archival audio and footage
- Patrick Seitz as Tommy Oliver (Mighty Morphin Green Ranger)(Mighty Morphin White Ranger)(Zeo Ranger V Red)(Red Turbo Ranger 1)(Black Dino Ranger)(Ultimate Ranger)
- Jason David Frank also portrays Tommy in archival audio and footage
- Christopher Khayman Lee as Andros (Red Space Ranger)
- Brad Hawkins as Zoltar (Mighty Morphin Gray Ranger), Trey of Triforia (future Gold Zeo Ranger 1)
- Walter Jones as Zack Taylor (Mighty Morphin Black Ranger 1)
- David Yost as Billy Cranston (Mighty Morphin Blue Ranger 1)
- Steve Cardenas as Rocky DeSantos (Mighty Morphin Red Ranger 2)
- Catherine Sutherland as Katherine "Kat" Hillard-Oliver (Mighty Morphin Pink Ranger 2)
- Johnny Yong Bosch as Adam Park (Mighty Morphin Black Ranger 2)
- Karan Ashley as Aisha Campbell (Mighty Morphin Yellow Ranger 2)
- Melody Perkins as Karone
- Charlie Kersh as Minh Kwan
- David Fielding as Zordon
- Richard Steven Horvitz as Alpha 7, Alpha 9
- Horvitz also voices Alpha 5 in archival audio and footage
- Campbell Cooley as Alpha 6
- Dante Basco as Alpha 1, Zorion
- Barbara Goodson as Rita Repulsa
- Fred Tatasciore as Lord Zedd
- Kerrigan Mahan as Goldar
- Richard Epcar as Silverback
- Steve Kramer as Darkonda
- Wendee Lee as Scorpina
- Chris Pratt as Mordant
- Toby Jones as Finster
- Michael Sorich as Squatt
- Sorich also voices Terror Toad in archival audio and footage
- Dave Mallow as Baboo
- Richard Cansino as Eye Guy
- Ryan Cooper as Knasty Knight
- Malika Lim as Taylor McCormick
Live action[]
Archival recordings[]
- Thuy Trang as Trini Kwan (Mighty Morphin Yellow Ranger 1)
- Richard Genelle as Ernie
- Paul Schrier as Bulk
- Jason Narvy as Skull
- Bob Manahan as Zordon (voice)
- Kim Strauss as Ninjor (voice)
- Eddie Frierson as Blue Globbor (voice)
- Roger Velasco as Carlos Vallerte (Black Space Ranger)
- Selwyn Ward as T.J. Johnson (Blue Space Ranger)
- Tracy Lynn Cruz as Ashley Hammond (Yellow Space Ranger)
- Patricia Ja Lee as Cassie Chan (Pink Space Ranger)
- Justin Nimmo as Zhane (Silver Space Ranger)
- Lex Lang as Ecliptor (voice)
- Patrick David as Psycho Red (voice)
- Michael Maize as Psycho Black (voice)
- Kamera Walton as Psycho Yellow (voice)
- James Napier as Conner McKnight (Red Dino Ranger)
- Kevin Duhaney as Ethan James (Blue Dino Ranger)
- Emma Lahana as Kira Ford (Yellow Dino Ranger)
- Miriama Smith as Elsa
- James Gaylyn as Zeltrax (voice), Goldenrod (voice)
- Alistair Browning as Pollinator (voice)
Crew[]
- InfinityRanger97531 - Director, co-screenwriter, co-producer
- Tony Oliver - Co-screenwriter, co-producer
- Ron Wasserman - Composer
- Amit Bhaumik - Executive Producer
- Jay Kogen - Executive Producer
- Jackie Marchand - Story Consultant
Notes[]
- This special marks the first time that Tommy morphs into the Ultimate Ranger.
- Three cast members were replaced in their iconic roles for the special due to them being unable to return. However, with their permission, their likenesses were used for animation purposes and archival audio and footage of them in their roles was reused from the live action series.
- Yuri Lowenthal replaces Austin St. John as the voice of Jason Lee Scott. Lowenthal had previously voiced the character in the video game Power Rangers: Super Legends.
- Meghan Camarena replaces Amy Jo Johnson as the voice of Kimberly Ann Hart. Camarena had previously voiced the character in the video game Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid.
- Patrick Seitz replaces Jason David Frank as the voice of Tommy Oliver. Seitz had previously voiced the character as the Mighty Morphin Green Ranger in the Power Rangers Super Megaforce tie-in video game.
- As noted above, archival audio and footage from the live action series was reused in select scenes.
- With Johnson's permission, the scene where Tommy, Jason, and Kimberly remember their past victories as Rangers and regain their self-confidence uses the song Johnson wrote Down the Road, which was originally performed in the eleventh episode Season 2 entitled "The Song of Guitardo". Down the Road was previously used, also with Johnson's permission, during the end credits of Once & Always as a tribute to Thuy Trang and Frank.
- Ernie is mentioned by Zack at the Command Center beneath Cranston Technologies, who states that he attended his funeral while Jason, Kimberly, and Tommy were recovering on Aquitar. It is stated that prior to his death, he bought the Juice Bar back and left it to Jason, Zack, and Tommy in his will.
- Jason is mentioned to have had a son, Corey Scott.
- Kimberly is revealed to have become romantically involved with and married to Skull at some point in the past, as Zack and Billy comfort her on their recent divorce.
- Kimberly and Skull are also revealed to have had a daughter, Eugenia Skullovitch-Hart.
- In addition to J.J. Oliver, it's revealed that Tommy and Kat had 3 other children: Sam Oliver (a girl born earlier the same day as J.J.), Debbie Oliver (born a year after Sam and J.J.), and Matt Oliver (born a year after Debbie).
Callbacks to other series[]
- The title of the series is a reference to the season premiere of Power Rangers Time Force entitled "Force from the Future".
- Adam, Aisha, and Tanya are members of S.P.A., one of twenty-three sister organizations to S.P.D. in Power Rangers S.P.D., with the three of them also being involved in fighting the Troobian Empire on Sirius.
- However, it's revealed that the timelines of S.P.D. and the wider Power Rangers franchise have diverged to the point that the Troobian Empire had been defeated and forced to retreat, whereas in the original season, the entirety of the population of Sirius sans Anubis Cruger and his wife Isinia had been wiped out by the Troobian Empire.
- Aquitar, the homeworld of the Aquitar Rangers, is mentioned to be the location where Jason, Kimberly, and Tommy were relocated for recovery following the Robo-Rita Repulsa incident.
- Kimberly reveals that Bulk and Skull's food company, established by them prior to Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always, and Skull is revealed to have lost his fortune in the stock market, which references Skull having been portrayed as rich in Power Rangers Super Samurai.
- Kimberly is also revealed to be the mother of Skull's son Spike Skullovitch from Power Rangers Samurai and Super Samurai, assuming the son of hers named Spike and Skull's son Spike are one and the same.
- Kat mentions that J.J. wants to join S.P.D. when he's old enough in an effort to make a name for himself as he's always felt like he was living in his father's shadow. This is a reference to the comic book Power Rangers: Soul of the Dragon, where his adult self is depicted as an S.P.D. cadet.
- Tommy, Adam, Tanya, and Kat's passing of their Turbo powers on to T.J., Carlos, Ashley, and Cassie is referenced to have happened with the event having occurred in the Power Rangers Turbo episode entitled "Passing the Torch", with the event being referenced as having occurred on September 11, 1997, the same date that Part II aired in real life.
- Oddly enough and in contrast to previous series, Tommy is shown to still be in possession of his Turbo powers, meaning he had to have reclaimed them from T.J. sometime after the Power Rangers Super Ninja Steel episode entitled "Dimensions in Danger", where he was shown not to have them, as he didn't use them as one of his powers during his fight with his robotic clone.
- Zordon's sacrifice and the resulting Z-Wave is referenced often, with the event having occurred in the season finale of Power Rangers in Space entitled "Countdown to Destruction". The date given for the event as November 21, 1998, the same date that Part 2 aired in real life.
- Billy's plan to save the universe from the United Alliance of Evil using a device called the Universal Purifier after Jason, Kimberly, Tommy, Zoltar, and Andros have traveled back in time to rescue Zordon from the Alliance is a reference to Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Return, where a similar device called the Benevolator was used in an effort to purify the Evil Space Aliens.
External Links[]
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