‘Power Rangers’ Star David Yost Returns For New Netflix Special, Honoring His Co-Stars: ‘We’re Like Family’

It is hard to believe that it has already been 30 years since the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers first premiered on television. Following a group of ordinary teenagers chosen to protect Earth from evil forces, some familiar faces have returned these three decades later in the form of a new Netflix special.

In Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always, original “Blue Ranger Billy Cranston” cast member David Yost returns alongside his longtime friend and “Black Ranger Zack Taylor” co-star Walter Emanuel Jones to protect the planet yet again.

Yost, 54, told me, “It was so much fun to get to work with Walter Jones again, and kind of like re-live how this all started for the two of us, because being in the original cast, we went through so much together.”

So, how exactly did this Netflix special ultimately come about? Yost said he had been in talks to potentially develop his own Power Rangers script titled Quantum Continuum, but he said his story ran into legal issues that did not allow his idea to move forward at the time. So Hasbro, which now owns Power Rangers, “came up with this idea of doing this anniversary special.”

Embodying characters known for facing their fears against the evil beings that wreak havoc on their fictional California town of Angel Grove, Yost said that a lot of his fear today was the reality of suiting up again after all this time. “I did my best to workout as much as possible prior to going to New Zealand to film this special, so that I would look relatively okay in spandex. Hopefully, it comes off that way.”

In the new Once & Always special, we find Billy, Zack and other MMPR characters added over the years coming together to fight against the return of original villain Rita Repulsa. Even though fellow original Ranger actors Amy Jo Johnson and Austin St. John are not in the Netflix special, they are still appropriately woven into this latest storyline. One of the more touching tributes within this modern tale is the heroic send-off given to “Yellow Ranger Trini Kwan” actor Thuy Trang, who died in a car accident in 2001 at the age of 27.

“I’m certainly glad that we get to honor Thuy,” Yost said. “It’s unfortunate that she passed away so young and she hasn’t got to share in the Power Rangers fandom as the rest of us have. I’m certainly glad that Hasbro stepped up to the plate and did that because I know that the character of Trini meant so much to so many young girls growing up and so many Asian women.”

These days, Yost and many of his Power Rangers co-stars travel around the world to appear at Comic Con conventions for panel discussions, as well as autograph signings and photo opportunities with fans of all ages. Yost said that the longevity MMPR has had over the past 30 years is something he still doesn’t quite understand, but is honored and humbled by the continuing response from people all across the globe. He added that he thinks it’s the natural chemistry that he and his co-stars had on the 90s series, and the important moral messages in the scripts that keeps Power Rangers such a beloved hot topic.

Sadly, Trang is not the only original Ranger no longer with us. Actor Jason David Frank, who played the “Green Ranger Tommy Oliver,” passed away last November. As art seems to be somewhat imitating real-life in this MMPR universe, I wondered how Yost and his co-stars have been able to best comfort one another during these hard times.

“We’re like family in a lot of ways,” Yost said. “Losing two of our co-stars is really difficult, and Amy Jo and I talk about Jason often. Obviously, Thuy as well. She’s always brought up and whenever I see Walter and Austin at a Comic Con, we always end up, whether we know it or not, we’re always talking about Thuy.”

Yost added, “Now with the recent passing of Jason, I still personally haven’t really dealt with it probably in the way I need to deal with it. I’m still in a state of disbelief. Amy Jo was just here at my house last week staying with me and we both just keep saying, ‘We just can’t believe that he’s gone.’ It hasn’t hit me yet but I know it’s coming, unfortunately.”

Throughout all of the highs-and-lows over the past 30 years, Yost has been able to turn his well-known television persona into a full-fledged business. Beyond the many conventions he attends, Yost launched Affirmative Clothing Company alongside a couple of his fans in 2015.

“It’s been a journey in terms of business and thinking about branding and stuff like that, but in terms of Affirmative Clothing Company, I wanted to make sure that anything that I put my name to, I want to make sure has some kind of an important message to it. The company motto is Embrace who you are. Believe in who you are. Affirm who you are. And so, if we’re putting out a product, let’s make sure that there’s a meaning behind it, even if it’s sort of a loose take on my character Billy because Billy always said, ‘Affirmative.’”

Yost added that it was a difficult journey for him to embrace the person he was during his early years of stardom because of all the negative messages he had received for being a gay man. Now he says, “It really is important to me to embrace who I am and believe there’s nothing that I can’t do.”

Just as Yost has noticed himself grow over the years, so has his character Billy in this Once & Always Netflix special, as he now leads Cranston Technologies, which provides much of the world’s greatest advancements and assists the Rangers on their missions. Known for being a “brainy” character, I asked Yost which real world trailblazers and business leaders would Billy likely be interacting with.

Yost said, “I would certainly think that Steve Jobs came to Billy first and foremost to create the Apple Watch because Billy created a communicator way back when. Still, the Apple Watch can’t teleport you, so Billy’s ahead of the game. I definitely think Elon Musk would’ve definitely put his own call into Billy to say, ‘Hey man! I am trying to build SpaceX. Can you help me? What are your thoughts?’ Billy had The Rad Bug that does fly, so Billy’s still leaps and bounds ahead of anybody that I have seen currently on the planet.”

As I began to wrap up my conversation with Yost, I asked the longtime actor and entrepreneur what message he might have for the many loyal MMPR fans, who continue to champion all of the work that he and his co-stars do, and remain eager to see what’s next.”

“I have nothing but gratitude, so thank you,” Yost said, “Without you, I certainly would not be who I am, and the original cast, we would not be who we are. To know that we have had your love and support over the past 30 years is overwhelming and humbling, and it’s not taken for granted. We certainly respect you and appreciate you, and hopefully we’ll be able to create more content for you.”