Why The ‘Power Rangers’ Spiritual Sequel Is So Emotional For Fans
If you grew up in the ‘90s, some franchises were impossible to avoid. Whether you watched them or not, you knew about shows like Pokémon (1997), X-Men (1992), and The Powerpuff Girls (1998). However, no shows were as ambitious or as lucrative as Power Rangers (1993). Created by Saban Entertainment, Power Rangers was conceived to take Japanese Sentai shows, dub them with English voice actors, then repackage them as a more action-oriented take on Saved By the Bell (1989), and it worked.
Since its release, the show has had 30 seasons over the course of 33 years, as well as three feature films. Whether they were aired on Fox Kids, Disney, Nickelodeon, or Netflix, generations of kids, as well as adults, tuned in to watch teams of teenagers with attitude saving the world from the forces of evil. But while adults can still definitely enjoy the series, the show was never designed with them in mind. It’s been up to the fans to create their own mature take on Power Rangers through fan projects, but they’ll finally be getting their wish in the near future when Legend of the White Dragon (2026) releases in theaters. And yet, it comes with a terrible, tragic caveat that will leave diehard Power Rangers fans heartbroken.
What Is ‘Legend of the White Dragon’ About?
For fans looking for a more mature take on Power Rangers, Legend of the White Dragon is the gritty spiritual successor that they’ve waited decades for.
Set in an entirely separate universe from Power Rangers, the film stars Jason David Frank as Erik Reed, a former superhero known as the White Dragon. He was the beloved hero of Viruto City, but an incident occurred where Erik had to give up the mantle of the White Dragon and flee the city as a fugitive. Now, three years later, Erik is back, and he’s looking to clear his name by defeating a villain named Dragon Prime, who has not only stolen Erik’s identity, but his family as well.
On paper, Legend of the White Dragon hits all the notes you would expect from a movie about a retired badass coming back to make things right. Thanks to the film’s R-rating, it’ll probably feature some pretty violent action that would make it fit right at home with movies like Nobody (2021), but with plenty of superhero theatrics, complete with spandex costumes. But the film doesn’t just include Power Rangers legend Jason David Frank, as it also features series veterans like Jason Faunt, Cerina Vincent, and Ciara Hanna. In fact, it has a good amount of well-known Hollywood figures, including Mark Dacascos and Michael Madsen, which serves as one of his final roles following his death in 2025. Sadly, he wouldn’t be the only actor to be remembered posthumously through Legend of the White Dragon.
What Happened to Jason David Frank?
On November 19, 2022, Jason David Frank committed suicide while staying at a hotel in Texas with his wife, Tammie. The actor had been battling depression for years and was going through a messy divorce with her. He was 49 at the time of his death.
This death was shocking to the Power Rangers community, because to many fans, myself included, Jason David Frank was the face of the series. His debut in the five-part storyline ‘Green With Evil’ helped make the first season of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers such a cultural touchstone. He consistently appeared throughout the franchise’s history, whether it was as a core team member during all three seasons of MMPM, a supporting character in Dino Thunder, or his numerous cameos for almost every single major anniversary and celebration of the franchise. He truly loved Power Rangers, and he was the reason why the Legend of the White Dragon was created in the first place.
Jason David Frank kickstarted Legend of the White Dragon alongside the film’s director, Aaron Schoenke, back in 2020 and raised just slightly over half a million dollars to turn what was originally meant to be a miniseries into a full feature film. There are little winks and nods throughout the film to Frank’s time in the series, whether it’s making the White Dragon similar to his White Ranger outfit from MMPM, letting him don a green power suit for a few seconds in the trailer, or having him blurt out his grunts that defined every fight scene in all of his Power Rangers appearances. And now, fans will hear and see him one final time.
Why Was the Film Delayed So Much?
It’s a tragedy that Jason David Frank won’t be able to see the film he spent years of his life making, so what happened during the production that caused it to slip from its estimated 2020 release to 2026?
As a small independent film, one funded by Kickstarter and featuring a whole host of special effects, Schoenke needed time to polish the special effects to make sure he could honor Frank properly. Not only that, but production was disrupted numerous times, whether it was because of the COVID-19 pandemic that delayed filming or the SAG-AFTRA strike in 2023, though they were granted a waiver to continue filming. The film underwent reshoots throughout 2023 and was only deemed finished in 2025. From there, Schoenke had to find a distributor to pick up the film, and it was then given the release date of August 28th, one week before what would have been Frank’s 53rd birthday.
It’s surely a bittersweet moment for Power Rangers fans. Legend of the White Dragon was Jason David Frank’s passion project, and he poured his heart and soul into it. Hell, his character’s name, Erik, shares the same name as his late brother, and he had his real-life daughter Jenna Rae Frank play his fictional daughter for the film. Power Rangers fans had wanted to see a mature take on the series for years, but not like this. Not without Jason David Frank, the man who made Power Rangers into the pop-cultural juggernaut it was.
Rest in peace, Jason. May the power protect you always.
