According to 1News New Zealand, Hasbro is ending production of Power Rangers in New Zealand after 20 years.
In a statement, Hasbro didn’t say why production was ending, but fan speculation and tweets from executive producer Simon Bennett and writers like Becca Barnes over the past few weeks seems to point to Cosmic Fury being the last live action tv series in the current iteration.
I was not confirming any such thing. I should have added ‘for me’ after ‘opportunities’.
— Simon Bennett (@Pookina1) June 19, 2023
Update from over on LinkedIn… pic.twitter.com/p1NyqbLjIo
— Becca Barnes (@BeccaBarnesCats) June 13, 2023
From 1NewsNZ:
“We are committed to keeping Power Rangers fresh by reimagining the brand and how we bring our entertainment content to life for our consumers”, a spokesperson said.
“We’ve been in communication with teams to ensure they are set up for success in their next adventures”, a Hasbro spokesperson said.
“We’ve had the pleasure of working with such incredible and talented teams in New Zealand and plan to keep close for any future projects that may be a fit for Power Rangers or across any other of our future entertainment productions”.
Below is the video 1NewsNZ put together for the story including interviews with Sally Martin (Tori, Power Rangers Ninja Storm), Ria Vandervis (Miratrix, Power Rangers Operation Overdrive) and Teuila Blakely (Power Rangers Beast Morphers).
With 25% tax breaks for filming in New Zealand as well as generating more than $340 million for the local economy, it’s hard to imagine Power Rangers without the setting, crew and cast of New Zealand. Some crew have been with the show for 20 years, including VFX Supervisor Carol Petrie, who was kind enough to be interviewed by Ranger Command back in 2014.
The future remains unclear for Power Rangers after Cosmic Fury, aside from a potential reboot from Jonathan Entwistle and Jenny Klein.
Source: https://www.1news.co.nz/2023/06/28/huge-blow-to-industry-as-power-rangers-ending-production-in-nz/
