The writer of Power Rangers has said it was a “mistake” to cast Asian and Black actors as the Yellow and Black Rangers respectively.
Tony Oliver was the head writer and co-producer of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers during its initial run from 1993-1995, and in a new interview for the Investigation Discovery show Hollywood Demons, he has conceded that he regrets that the casting decisions appeared to uphold stereotypes.
The children’s show, which became a major cultural hit in the ‘90s and spawned countless spin-offs and merchandise lines, saw Walter Emanuel Jones play Zack Taylor, the first Black Ranger, while Thuy Trang played Trini Kwan, the first Yellow Ranger.
Oliver says in the show that “none of us [were] thinking stereotypes” with the casting, adding that it was not until “my assistant pointed it out in a meeting one day” that he realised there was an issue. “It was such a mistake,” he added (via Entertainment Weekly).
The Investigation Discovery documentary, which aired on Monday (April 7), includes camcorder footage from the set of the show that sees Jones say: “My name’s Walter Jones, I play Zack. I’m Black, and I play the Black Ranger – go figure.”
In other Power Rangers news, last year Austin St. John, who played Jason Lee Scott, the original Red Ranger, launched a clothing line that featured quotes from Adolf Hitler. The line featured quotes from prominent historical figures, and St. John said: “I’m gonna have famous quotes from warriors of all ilks, including the terrible ones. Hitler was, you know, a demon on steroids, but he had some pretty good one-liners. So everybody from the great ones to the infamous and terrible ones.”
Last month, Dave Mallow, who played the villain Baboo in over 130 episodes of the show, died at the age of 76.
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