Will The Tragic Past Of The Original Power Rangers Haunt The New Cast?
It’s no secret that a new Power Rangers movie is in the works. The studios, Lionsgate and Saban Entertainment, the former of which made the iconic The Hunger Games and Divergent series, have been confirmed in the past by The Inquisitr to have resurrected the teen movie franchise The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers after a sabbatical of two decades.
The Power Rangers, wearing bright colored spandex suits that covered everything, sprang onto the TV screen in 1993. Though they undoubtedly remain popular to this day, it is sincerely hoped that the studios that are reviving the series shouldn’t be so harsh with the stereotypes and criticisms that the original cast members faced.
The kids inside the suit, well most of them, have now grown up, but majority of them suffered at the hands of the mighty studios who attired them in costumes which would have drawn heavy criticism today. If that’s not all, one of the cast members was even subjected to routine humiliation, reported Digital Spy. Let’s find out what happened to these bright and springy actors.
David Yost aka Billy Cranston, The Blue Ranger: The Blue Ranger, acknowledged by his Power Rangers friends as the brains behind the operation, suffered behind the screen. In an interview in 2010, Yost painfully revealed that he regularly suffered bullying from the show’s production crew over his sexual orientation. According to Yost, the crew chided him and said “homosexuals could not be superheroes.” Young and impressionable Yost, actually tried to “pray the gay away” with conversion therapy, but ultimately had a severe nervous breakdown and had to be given psychiatric care.
Thuy Trang, aka Trini Kwan, The Yellow Ranger: As if making Yost suffer about his orientation wasn’t enough, Thuy Trang, an Asian girl, was clad in a yellow costume. Talk about emphasizing stereotypes and making an Asian character wear yellow. After her Power Rangers stint, Thuy found quality work hard to come by. She was tragically killed when the car she was traveling in as a passenger lost control, hit a roadside rock-face, and fell over a safety barrier.
Walter Emanuel Jones aka Zack Taylor, The Black Ranger: Another Power Ranger, another stereotype. The contract negotiations with the studies have supposedly always been quite brutal and never appeared to be in favor of the actors. Walter, along with Austin St John aka Jason Lee Scott, The Red Ranger, quit mid-way in the second season of the TV series.
The studios have been blamed for keeping the payment agreements to a bare minimum, while asking the actors to be “quite flexible.” The producers wanted to keep the characters and their hierarchies to be ever-changing and ensure the TV ratings remain high.
The stories of other characters like Paul Schrier, who played bully Bulk and Jason Narvy who played Skull, aren’t that happy either, reported Yahoo.
[Image Credit | Rex]
