One of the best things about the Power Rangers franchise — even over its Super Sentai counterparts — has always been that every generation has its own unique cast members that leave an indelible mark for future generations to take inspiration. From Mighty Morphin’ to Dino Fury, each season was chock full of memorable characters who were fun to watch. Some episodes focused more heavily on villains than others, but the priority was always set on the rangers themselves. The idea of having a Power Rangers show, or better yet, a movie, focusing solely on a villain might sound out of character for the brand, but at its heart, the concept is one that fits hand-in-glove with what we’ve come to expect from the series. After all, we can’t neglect the rich mythos created by some of the newest Power Rangers comic books, including one of the best villains in the series so far: Lord Drakkon.
Lord Drakkon’s Origin Story: The Evil Tommy Oliver Explained
The idea of a legendary hero becoming an even more iconic villain is something that has worked great for the likes of Star Wars‘ Darth Vader. Lord Drakkon shares many traits with Vader, but his origin story is even more sci-fi than that of the imperial warlord.
Just one look at Drakkon is all it takes to realize that he is an evil version of Tommy Oliver, aka the White Power Ranger from Mighty Morphin’. Don’t worry, old-school Power Ranger fans: good ol’ Tommy didn’t suddenly become a villain in the comic books. Drakkon is Tommy from an alternate reality – one where he never joined the Rangers in the first place.
Being an even mightiest villain than Rita Repulsa, Lord Drakkon rules with an iron fist, possessing all of the powers of a legendary Power Ranger and the cunning wits of an evil overlord.
Why Lord Drakkon Is Perfect for a Power Rangers Multiverse Movie
If there’s one lesson to be learned from the 2017 live-action Power Rangers film, is that filmmakers don’t need to come up with a whole new mythology to make a compelling movie set in the series’ multiverse. All they need to do is revisit some of the less explored areas of the franchise, like the comic books, to find some of the best Power Rangers stories ever conceived.
The whole “Grid” saga, complete with its multiversal storytelling, would present filmmakers with the perfect excuse to make a new live-action Power Rangers film. Following the Shattered Grid comic book event, many things have changed for the franchise, not the least of them being the introduction of Lord Drakkon as the series’ overarching villain.
A movie based on Lord Drakkon’s fall from grace, and establishing both the Power Rangers multiverse and the so-called Prime Continuity, would be the ideal starting point for a new live-action film franchise. Drakkon’s compelling backstory, including his years of doing justice on his own terms, would also prove more than entertaining enough for a standalone Power Rangers flick.
All that said, Lord Drakkon’s character is just on the surface level of what’s going on with the Power Rangers franchise in the comics. As we mentioned before, the star of the show for the Power Rangers universe is the Multiversal Grid: an energy field that connects all Rangers across time and space.
A Drakkon movie would be the first step into something much bigger: it would be the first time in ages that the Power Rangers get a real chance at a live-action movie franchise. And they didn’t even need any purple ooze as they did back in 1995 – a marked improvement for the series if you ask me.
The Cancelled Lord Drakkon Movie That Could’ve Changed Power Rangers Forever
Last year, we got the surprisingly great Karate Kid: Legends – a requel to both Karate Kid movies. Legends had some amazing fighting choreography and deep character moments, all thanks to director Jonathan Entwistle. Power Rangers fans might be crushed to know that we almost had that same top-notch quality in the franchise, as Entwistle would have led the best Power Rangers multiverse story in years.
According to his Reddit AMA, Entwistle had an ambitious idea in mind for Lord Drakkon as the ultimate villain in a Tommy-centric film that was in development at Paramount. In Entwistle’s own words, Tommy would become the center of a new Power Rangers multiverse that would see him starring in a movie and a series – all so he could ultimately defeat his evil counterpart.
As promising as that sounds, the whole project crumbled when Hasbro acquired eOne. The film project moved away from Paramount and then, ultimately, vanished. But all hope was not lost! There was still a small chance of the series seeing the light of day. Until there wasn’t.
The Scrapped Power Rangers Reboot With Arthurian Legends and Magic
The good news is that the show Entwistle envisioned was positively epic; the bad news is that it will probably never get made. As soon as the Tommy Oliver movie was shelved, Netflix gave Entwistle the green light to start working on a Rangers reboot. The filmmaker had been given another chance with the franchise, and he was determined to turn his Lord Drakkon storyline into a reality.
For the series, Entwistle worked closely with Jenny Klein, a producer and screenwriter who had worked on shows like The Witcher, Supernatural, and Renée Zellweger’s The Thing About Pam. Their take on the Power Rangers mythos would have been more focused on magic and Arthurian legends, something that hadn’t been seen before in the franchise’s Japanese origins.
Entwistle mentioned that Klein even came up with the idea of introducing “sentient colors” into the mix – but what he meant by that will forever remain a mystery, as Netflix lost the rights to the Power Rangers franchise around 2024. There is, however, a chance of a similar story coming soon to Disney+.
Disney’s Power Rangers Reboot: What Happens Next for the Franchise?
The ball is now in Disney’s court when it comes to a Power Rangers reboot. The new series will (hopefully) come out later this year, and the stakes are higher than ever. The original Super Sentai series, which has provided the action footage for the Power Rangers franchise since its beginning, is currently on hiatus, so the reboot will have to produce its own fight scenes.
With Jason David Frank’s untimely departure in late 2022, perhaps it would be best if the idea of a Lord Drakkon movie isn’t the reboot’s focus anymore. After all, Frank is, and always will be, Tommy Oliver. Without him wearing the suit, there just isn’t anyone who could come close to the explosive on-screen presence that Tommy (or Lord Drakkon) deserves. Still, here’s hoping the new reboot brings fans the Rangers action that has been sorely missing from the entertainment landscape for all these years.
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