Update: March 20, 2017
POWER RANGERS Movie Breaks Ground with First Gay Big-Screen Superhero
Power Rangers is breaking down a barrier no superhero movie has before. The Lionsgate reboot of the '90s children's TV show is the first big-budget superhero movie to feature an LGBT protagonist.
During
Power Rangers' second act, there's a scene in which the titular heroes learn that the Yellow Ranger Trini (Becky G) is coming to terms with her sexual orientation, with one character assuming she's having "boyfriend problems," and soon realizing that perhaps she's actually having "girlfriend problems." It's a small moment, but one director Dean Israelite calls "pivotal" for the entire film.
"For Trini, really she's questioning a lot about who she is," Israelite tells
The Hollywood Reporter. "She hasn't fully figured it out yet. I think what's great about that scene and what that scene propels for the rest of the movie is, 'That's OK.' The movie is saying, 'That's OK,' and all of the kids have to own who they are and find their tribe."
Original Blue Ranger actor David Yost, who is openly gay and left the 1990s
Power Rangers series after facing harassment over his sexual orientation, praised the new film for its inclusiveness.
"They really stepped up to the plate,” says Yost. “I think so many people in the LGBTQI community are going to be excited to see that representation.”
In the original
Power Rangers series, the Yellow Ranger was played by the late actress Thuy Trang, who is credited as the character for 81 episodes from 1993-94 on
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. The original character was portrayed as straight.
'Power Rangers' Breaks Ground With First Queer Big-Screen Superhero
