Most ‘Power Rangers’ fans were delighted that acclaimed actor Bryan Cranston was cast to play the heroes’ mentor Zordon in the upcoming film adapatation. After all, not only was Cranston a fan favorite due to his long-running role on ‘Breaking Bad’ but he actually had an inside connection to ‘Power Rangers’, having voiced some of the villains on the original show. And original Blue Ranger, Billy Cranston was named after him! Cool huh?
Or maybe not.
Of all people, it’s David Yost, who played Billy who has voiced his disapproval.
It started when original Pink Ranger, Amy Jo Johnson tweeted Yost expressing excitement over the casting:
Yo @David_Yost how cool is it that @BryanCranston is playing Zordon in #PowerRangersMovie wasn’t your character named after him!?
— Amy Jo Johnson (@_amyjojohnson) June 22, 2016
Unfortunately, Yost was not as thrilled, replying:
Not cool. I’m not a fan of homophobes https://t.co/QfJ5O60ay0 last page last line. Fey/gay = a problem https://t.co/qVHwILjNVV
— David Yost (@David_Yost) June 22, 2016
Yost dug up a 2009 interview with Cranston and ‘Breaking Bad’ creator Vince Gilligan, which ended with Cranston discussing working on ‘Mighty Morphin Power Rangers’ and stated:
Cranston: The Blue Power Ranger’s last name is Cranston.
IGN: [Laughs] Wow, that’s pretty funny.
Gilligan: That’s an awesome story!
Cranston: He’s the fey one, that’s the problem.
Fey is indeed a fancy word for feminine or gay. Yost is gay in real life and has spoken publicly about the harassment he received on the set of ‘MMPR’ as a result. He even blames that harassment on his decision to quit the show.
On the series, the character Billy was not depicted as gay. But in last year’s “Dark Power Rangers” fan film, in a nod to Yost, Billy is shown on the cover of gay magazine ‘Out’. To the right, you can see Yost with Steve Cardenas (Rocky the Red Ranger) and Karan Ashley (Aisha the Yellow Ranger) participating in the anti-bullying campaign No H8.
Obviously, Yost isn’t happy about Cranston’s comments. It being print, it’s hard to determine the tone and context. It seems like a harmless off-the-cuff remark. Perhaps it was just a poor choice of words. Billy was, of course, the nerd of the group and maybe that was what Cranston was referencing.
Cranston has yet to reply (if he ever does). Does this statement alter your opinion of Cranston’s casting?
Directed by Dean Israelite, ‘Saban’s Power Rangers’ stars Elizabeth Banks, Bryan Cranston, R.J. Cyler, Becky G, Ludi Lin, Dacre Montgomery, Naomi Scott, Lisa Berry, Caroline Cave, David Denman, Anjali Jay, Sarah Grey, Emily Maddison, Kayden Magnuson, and Patrick Sabongui and hits theaters on April 24, 2017.
Source: Cinema Blend
