Power Rangers Reboot Probably Won't Feature Cameos From Original Actors

It sounds like next year's Power Rangers reboot will not feature cameos from the original TV show's actors. Walter Jones, who played Black Ranger/Zack in the '90s TV show said on the Audibly Exquisite podcast that fans shouldn't expect to see him or other original cast members in the movie.

"Unfortunately, we were not invited to be part of the film," he said, as reported by Entertainment Weekly. "Which is confusing to me, but I'm excited about the film nevertheless."

It's pretty common for original cast members to appear in a reboot or sequel of a particular project in a cameo role. However, it doesn't happen all the time and not always with full participation. Recently, Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd appeared in the new Ghostbusters in cameo roles, though Rick Moranis declined to be a part of it.

There may be a story reason why the original Power Rangers actors won't appear in the reboot. Zordon actor Bryan Cranston said recently that the film and the '90s TV show are almost nothing alike.

"You can't compare those two, and nor can you compare this movie version of the Power Rangers to that television series. It's unrecognizable for the most part," he explained. "There are tenets of the folklore that you hold onto for sure, but the inspiration is different, and the sensibility of it, and the approach to the filmmaking is completely different."

Power Rangers opens in theaters on March 24, 2017. The cast includes Elizabeth Banks as villain Rita Repulsa, while the Rangers are played by Dacre Montgomery (Red Ranger), RJ Cyler (Blue Ranger), Becky G (Yellow Ranger), Ludi Lin (Black Ranger), and Naomi Scott (Pink Ranger). You can check out the new Power Rangers' costumes here, while another picture of Banks' Repulsa was recently released.

The rebooted Power Rangers movie could be the first of many. In a conference call with analysts, Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer said the production company is "really, really excited about the Power Rangers movie" and "could see doing five or six or seven."