The Power Rangers Introduces Its First Gay Character

Director Dean Israelite discusses first big-screen LGBT superhero

By Kendall Fisher Mar 20, 2017 9:56 PMTags
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The Power Rangers movie is making big waves for the LGBT community.

Somehow it's 2017 and the film marks the first-ever superhero movie to feature a gay protagonist character

Though small, the scene in which the character—Trini, the Yellow Power Ranger played by Becky G—is pivotal for the film as we watch her come to terms with her sexuality. When one character asks about her "boyfriend problems," we soon realize that she may actually be having "girlfriend problems."

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LGBT Characters in Movies

Director Dean Israelite tells The Hollywood Reporter, "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."

In the original Power Rangers series, Trini was portrayed as straight, but the change is definitely receiving positive feedback.

For example, the original Blue Ranger actor David Yost was openly gay when he took on the role, but ended up leaving the series in the late '90s after facing harassment over his sexual orientation.

Now, he's praising the film's twist. "They really stepped up to the plate," Yost told THR. "I think so many people in the LGBTQI community are going to be excited to see that representation."

While characters like Catwoman, Harley Quinn, Wonder Woman and others are among some of the more high-profile LGBT characters in comic books, they were portrayed as straight when turned into movies. The only superhero that came even close to representing non-heterosexuality was Marvel's antihero Deadpool, who identifies as pansexual (however, he never had any non-heterosexual experiences in the film).

News of the Power Rangers LGBT representation comes on the heels of Disney featuring its first-ever gay character in the live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast