There is a running topic about the casting of Power Rangers actors, as in the first season of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers series, many have regarded the decision to cast a black actor as the Black Ranger and an Asian actor as the Yellow Ranger as a ‘racially insensitive’ choice. This is a topic that one of the writers on the original show has now commented on in the latest episode of Investigation Discovery’s series titled Dark Side of Power Rangers (thanks, Entertainment Weekly).
Writer Tony Oliver was probed about the casting choices, to which he replied: “None of us are thinking stereotypes.” He then noted that for “the Black character the Black Ranger and the Asian character the Yellow Ranger, [it was] my assistant who pointed it out in a meeting one day.” He concluded with, “It was such a mistake.”
Oliver did note as well that Thuy Trang, who played the Yellow Ranger in the series was not actually the originally casted star, as Audri Dubois was meant to fill the role before exiting due to salary issues.
Which Power Ranger was your favourite?