Lord Drakkon is arguably the most popular of thePower Rangerscharacters who never appeared in the TV show, and the closest thing to a live-action version of the multiversal conqueror that we got is more than enough proof that the series needs a modern reboot.Power Rangersis currently on hiatusas there has been no new season or announcement of a new show in 2024. Earlier this year,TV Linereported that thePower Rangersreboot at Netflixwas no longer moving forward. It’s now unclear where the franchise is heading next.
Cosmic Fury, the most recent entry in thePower Rangerschronology, strangely worked as a conclusion for the show’s 30-year-old legacy. Between Lord Zedd being defeated once and for all and Blue Ranger Billy learning that Zordon was not gone forever,Cosmic Fury’s endingwas a good way of saying goodbye to this version of the series ifPower Rangersseason 31 never happens. However, given how big thePower Rangersbrand is, it’s difficult to imagine the show not continuing in some way or form eventually. WheneverPower Rangersreturns, it could use a character like Drakkon.
Live-Action Lord Drakkon Looked Great (Even If Just For A Commercial)
The Late Jason David Frank Once Played Drakkon In Shattered Grid Ad
ThePower Rangerscomics from BOOM! Studios have been some of the most exciting stuff the franchise has released in the last eight years. Starting in 2016 withMighty MorphinPower Rangers, BOOM! Studios published hundreds ofPower Rangerscomics already and has tackled a lot of characters and events. Whilethe comics have so far covered theMighty MorphinTV show for the most part, they have also told a lot of original stories and even incorporated events from other series such asIn Space,Time Force, andWild Force.
One of the reasons the comics have managed to combine theMighty Morphinera with characters from otherPower RangersTV shows is the multiverse.The first major saga in the modernPower Rangerscomics had everything to do with the multiverseand served as the franchise’s version of Marvel’sSecret Wars– heroes from multiple realities coming together to stop a threat that could end existence as we know it. The threat in question was Lord Drakkon, a version of Tommy Oliver from a universe wherethe original Green Rangerremained bad and never joined the Power Rangers.
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Power Rangers Super Ninja Steel (cameo)
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By December 2017, both of BOOM! Studios’Power Rangersbooks had converged into a major event calledShattered Grid, during which Drakkon had become so powerful that he could destroy entire universes and reshape the multiverse. To promote the series,a live-actionShattered Gridcommercial was released starring Jason David Frank as Lord Drakkon.The original Tommy Oliver actor got to play this new yet incredibly popular version of his iconic character for a couple of minutes, and it all looked very exciting. Drakkon’s costume was on point, and the commercial recreated a couple of panels from the comic books.
Why Lord Drakkon Still Hasn’t Appeared In A Power Rangers Show Or Movie
Lord Drakkon Has Only Been In Comics Books And Games
The modernPower Rangerscomics have been a separate thing from the TV show ever since they started. While the comics reference the show and consider everything that happened on the screen to be canon, the opposite is not necessarily the same. The comics modernizedPower Rangersand brought the story from the 1990s to the present day, which itself meant that this was supposed to be a new take on the TV show. Those who enjoy in-universe explanations can assume thatthe comic books take place in one of the many realities of thePower Rangersmultiverse.
Lord Drakkon first appeared in 2016’sMighty Morphin Power Rangers #9, although his voice was heard in issue#4of that same book.
Regardless, the fact that comics and TV shows have always been separate things explains why Lord Drakkon never appeared in live-action apart from that one commercial. Drakkon was a major player in several stories from the comics, but those stories were set during theMighty Morphinera. ThePower Rangersshow, however, usually takes place in the present day and follows the timeline that began in 1993 withMighty Morphin.An adaptation of Lord Drakkon would only work in a rebootnot only because of the timeline but also because of the tone of the comic books.
The Ideal Power Rangers Reboot Would Be Inspired By The Comics
The Power Rangers Comics Are Just Too Good
It’s unclear if there will ever be aPower Rangersreboot for TV. The most recent attempt to reimagineMighty MorphinPower Rangersfor a new generation was the 2017 movie, which, despite the positive reception, bombed at the box office. That said, given the uncertainty of thePower Rangersshow’s future, no option can be ruled out. A slightly more maturePower Rangersreboot would be a great way of revitalizing the saga, even more so after the hiatus that is currently facing. A reboot would allowPower Rangersto start fresh and use different formats.
Power Rangerscan be its own cinematic universe, of which a live-action Lord Drakkon could be the big bad.
Apart from a few exceptions – namely the theatrical movies, Once & Always, andCosmic Fury– all ofPower Rangers’ live-action releases are directSuper Sentaiadaptationsthat combine Japanese and American footage. As much asSuper Sentaiis part of the identity ofPower Rangers,there is room forPower Rangersto grow beyondSentaiand do its own thing going forward.Cosmic Fury, while not a perfect season, showed thatPower Rangerscan work even when it’s not adaptingSentai. A reboot inspired by the comics would be a great way to do it, be it live-action or animated.
Power Rangers Already Has The Blueprint For How To Reinvent Itself
Power Rangers Can Find The Balance Between Nostalgia And Something New
Even ifPower Rangersnever directly adapts any of the stories from the modern comic books to the screen, the comics should be an inspiration for whenever the franchise returns. ThePower Rangersbooks from 2016 onward showed how to reinvent the saga and make it fresh while keeping the essence of the show. Even thoughPower Rangersis more thanMighty Morphin, the comics justified spending so many issues with the original team simply because of how well-written all the characters were. They also highlight how rich thePower Rangersuniverse is.
Tommy Oliver’s Red Ranger Promotion Proved 1 Harsh Truth About The Original Green Ranger
Power Rangers’ Tommy was eventually promoted to Red Ranger, but this new phase of the character proved a harsh truth about the original Green Ranger.
A character like Lord Drakkon only works because thePower Rangersfranchise can easily welcome things like time travel and multiverse.Power Rangerscan be its own cinematic universe, of which a live-action Lord Drakkon could be the big bad. Adapting stories likeShattered Gridto a TV show or even a movie would be a difficult task and would come with risks, especially after the most recentPower Rangersfilm performed poorly at the box office. However, if successful, it would be just whatPower Rangersneeds to launch a new era.
Power Rangers
Power Rangersis a long-running multimedia franchise that debuted in 1993 with the TV seriesMighty Morphin Power Rangers. Created by Haim Saban and adapted from the JapaneseSuper Sentaiseries,Power Rangersbecame a cultural phenomenon by combining action-packed footage fromSuper Sentaiwith new scenes featuring American actors. The franchise follows teams of young heroes who transform into Power Rangers to battle various villains, using martial arts, special powers, and giant mechas called Zords. Over the decades, the franchise has expanded into multiple TV series, films, comics, video games, and merchandise, becoming one of the most successful children’s franchises in the world.
