It looks like “Power Rangers“, too, is going to feature a gay moment – which would effectively make it the first-ever superhero flick to have a gay protagonist character.
According to early reviews of the film, in one scene, Trini the Yellow Ranger (played by the pop star and actor Becky G) appears to be having “girlfriend problems”. It may come as a bit of a surprise to the audience because in the original “Power Rangers” series, the Yellow Ranger (played by the late Vietnamese-born American actress Thuy Trang) was portrayed as straight.
The gay character storyline was later confirmed by director Dean Israelite, who described the said “small moment as “pivotal” in the film.
The Hollywood reporter quoted Dean as saying, “For Trini, really she’s questioning a lot about who she is. She hasn’t fully figured it out yet. I think what’s great about that scene and what that scene propels for the rest of the movie is, ‘That’s OK.’ The movie is saying, ‘That’s OK,’ and all of the kids have to own who they are and find their tribe.”
Original Blue Ranger actor David Yost, who is openly gay and left the 1990s “Power Rangers” series due to harassment over his sexual orientation, praised the new film for the move. “They really stepped up to the plate. I think so many people in the LGBTQI community are going to be excited to see that representation,” he said.
Although it is rare to have a superhero depicted as a gay character, the news seem to be cutting it too close to Disney’s big “exclusively gay moment” reveal earlier this month for the live-action remake of “Beauty and the Beast”. Malaysians, especially, are still very sore over the fact that it has caused the film to be postponed indefinitely.
It seems like everybody is trying to make a stand for equality and the LGBTQ community. And that’s fine, really. But if there’s anything that we can learn from how Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” went down, it’s the fact that maybe these comments should be withheld until after the movie has premiered.
As it is, there was a time back in 1995 when the Malaysian government decided to take the “Power Rangers” series off the air because the “morphin” (which means metamorphosis, by the way) in “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” and “It’s Mophin Time!” sounded too similar to “morphine”, the drug. Oh, you know, lest Malaysian children were influenced to try becoming a Power Ranger though the power of drugs.
Directed by Dean Israelite, starring Dacre Montgomery, Naomi Scott, RJ Cyler, Becky G, Ludi Lin, Bill Hader, Bryan Cranston, and Elizabeth Banks, “Power Rangers” is slated to be released in Malaysian cinemas on 24th March.
Sources: THR, E! Online, The Guardian / Featured image: Lionsgate.
