The new Power Rangers movie not only marks a new beginning for the colorfully-costumed teenagers with attitude, it also provided an opportunity for most of the original TV Power Rangers to reunite. Among the attendees at the reboot's premiere last week was Jason David Frank, who joined Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers as Tommy Oliver, the Green Ranger (and in later years scored the Ranger colors White, Red twice and Black). Although Frank was able to enjoy most of the re-imagined take on the team he was part of more two decades ago, he wasn't able to stay all the way to the end because he was accused of trying to pirate the movie.
When Power Rangers was shooting, Jason David Frank and Amy Jo Johnson, the original Pink Ranger, cameoed in several scenes, and while one of them was later cut (which saw Frank rocking his old-school ponytail), the other remained intact for the final cut. Unfortunately, as Frank told THR, after he shot footage of the audience reacting to him and Johnson suddenly appearing on the big screen, security quickly took notice. Frank explained:
Right after our cameo appeared, I got escorted out by security because I had a camera in the movie. I didn't see the end of the movie, because security was arguing with me outside and I was trying to tell security, 'That's me in the movie!' And they said, 'I need your phone!' I'm like, 'You're not getting my phone!'
Warning: SPOILERS for Power Rangers are ahead!
You can watch Jason David Frank's video of the audience reaction below. As for the altercation that ensued soon afterwards, I definitely wouldn't want to be one of those security personnel demanding that Frank hand over his phone, as the actor has been practicing numerous styles of martial arts for decades. If they'd gotten too rough with him, I suspect he could have wiped the floor with them if necessary. Frank doesn't need the Green Power Coin or Dragonzord to be a badass! In any case, because Frank was outside the theater for Power Rangers' final minutes, he didn't see the mid-credits scene teasing the new version of Tommy Oliver who will surely be introduced in the sequel.
Jason David Frank and Amy Jo Johnson both showed up in Power Rangers right after the cinematic Rangers defeated Rita Repulsa and Goldar. They were among the unnamed Angel Grove citizens who had survived the main antagonist's reign of terror and were looking at the Megazord with wonder, and fittingly, the actors were wearing shirts of the same color as the Ranger uniforms they once wore. Frank's character was actually the first person to pull out a phone to take pictures/videos of the giant robot that saved them all. As for that earlier cut cameo, maybe there will be footage of it included on a featurette attached to the Power Rangers home media release.
You can see Power Rangers in theaters now. Click here to read our review of the movie, and make sure to also check out our 2017 movie schedule.
