It was amazing for many longtime fans ofMighty Morphin Power Rangersto watch the Netflix reunion special,Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always, given the returns of several legacy stars. While Jason David Frank turned down the film prior to his passing, another original star not present in the new special is Thuy Trang. Known to fans for playing Trini, the original Yellow Ranger, Trang passed away after an automobile accident in 2001. She was just 27 years old at the time.
In a new chat withComicBook.com,Walter E. Jonesremembered Trang and commented on howOnce & Alwayshonors the late actress and her character. The film introduces Charlie Kersh as Minh Kwan, the daughter of Trang’s Trini Kwan, who steps up to avenge her mother’s death with the help of other original Power Rangers. That includes Zack, the original Black Ranger, with Jones reprising the role. Jones noted how happy he was that many of thePower Rangersfamily had been able to come together for this special to give Trang and Trini a touching tribute.
“I personally, I was really happy that we were able to finally say goodbye to her, meaning that we could come together as a group within Power Rangers and fandom and give kudos to who she was and what she provided within Rangers because…I think she was the heart of our team. Everybody has something they did within our team that we were specialists. I think that’s what made her a specialist. As Power Rangers, we were teenagers with attitude, but because we were confident in what we did, everybody had something they did really well.”
Jones further stressed how Trini was really the “heart” of the team, reiterating how special it was for those who remember her to come back and honor her in such a big way. It helps that, at this point, everyone’s been able to process Trang’s shocking death.
“When we came together as a team, that made us special. I think Trini’s character really was the heart. I think it was really important for us to be able to say goodbye to her in a way where we honor her and give her flowers finally, because it’s been a number of years, and now we’re all finally mature enough to deal with it. You know what I mean?”
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The Late Rangers Are Honored in the Netflix Special
David Yost, who played the Original Blue Ranger, Billy, also addressed honoring Trang. He noted how vital she had been to the show on both sides of the camera, both with how important her casting was as Trini as well as the role the character played in the team. As Yost explains:
“I’m really glad that Hasbro stepped up to the plate and really wanted to honor Thuy as an actress and the character that she played, Trini, because Trini obviously meant so much to so many people, especially to young girls. She was a female superhero, and obviously she meant a lot to Asian Women everywhere, giving them hope. And her character was so sweet, yet so strong, and she was obviously always Billy’s translator. Nobody could understand what Billy was saying. So, Trini was always the character that sort of helped Billy express himself… And so I think it’s such a great way that we got to honor her and I’m glad that we got to do it.”
Yost then reflected on how the other original Power Rangers would see each other at fan conventions, including Jason David Frank, and it was always bittersweet wihout Trang being able to ride that wave of nostalgia along with the rest of them. While Trang is no longer with us, Yost also comments on the positive fan response, as the fans were also just as stoked to see the tribute.
“Walter and I, and Austin [St. John] and Amy Jo [Johnson] and Jason David Frank, we used to always…When we’d see each other at Comic-Con, we were always wishing that Thuy could be there with us to experience the amazing love that the Power Rangers fans have for us and what our show did in so many lives, and how it’s just transpired and inspired over all these years. And it was just really great to get to see that. And we hear so many stories about her and how excited fans are to get to see how we’re going to honor her in this special. I’ll be really curious to see how it goes.”
Filming was complete when Frank passed away, though a note of tribute also acknowledges the actor and martial artist. Frank died in November at the age of 49, the result of suicide. He had reportedly turned down the Netflix special as he was focused ondeveloping hisPower Rangers-inspired projectLegend of the White Dragon.
