Whether you love or hate it, Power Rangers has a mark on the cultural zeitgeist that can never be removed. In 2023, the series ended after 30 years to make way for a long-awaited reboot to revitalize the franchise. Since news broke about Percy Jackson showrunners, Jonathan E. Steinberg and Dan Shotz, developing Hasbro Entertainment’s new series for Disney+, many fans have been wondering what it would look like, while others think further ahead, daring to ask what’s next.

The success of the Disney+ Power Rangers reboot would invite expansion and competition. In fact, there are already heavy competing toku, mecha, or related upcoming projects, including Amazon MGM’s live-action Voltron film, Netflix’s live-action Gundam movie, and Legendary’s Pacific Rim prequel series for Prime Video. Lesser-known projects: Disney XD’s Armorsaurs and Gormiti: The New Era on CBBC. Now, let’s look at 10 worthy rivals to Power Rangers with potential for a reboot.

10) Voltes V: More Like Voltron than Power Rangers

Admittedly, Voltes V screams Voltron more than Power Rangers. Considering that those two are being reinvented across film and television in the near future, it would be a stroke of genius to capitalize on the craze with a live-action reboot of Voltes V for mainstream audiences.

For those of you who have never heard of Voltes V, it’s a Japanese anime series about five young heroes who pilot vehicles that combine into a giant robot to defend Earth against an armada of evil aliens. The series has been a hit overseas, especially in the Philippines, where it was adopted as a cultural staple. A live-action Philippine TV series adaptation titled Voltes V: Legacy premiered in 2023 with 90 episodes, so the seeds for a potential Western reboot have already been planted.

Since Hasbro opted to cease using pre-existing Super Sentai footage in Power Rangers for full originality, a portion of fans have been vocal about their concerns. A live-action Western reboot of Voltes V can avoid that issue by adopting Power Rangers’s formula of blending new footage and new actors with stock footage of giant mechs and monsters. Not only would that plan save the studio money, but it would also gain the trust of an established fanbase by keeping the core of Voltes V intact.

9) Battle Of The Planets: Teenagers With Attitude Wearing Capes

Battle of the Planets introduced a worldwide audience to the G-Force, the teenagers with attitude who preceded the Power Rangers. Based on the Japanese anime series Science Ninja Team Gatchaman, Battle of the Planets follows Mark, Jason, Princess, Keyop, and Tiny in their mission to defend Earth against Zoltar’s hostile forces from the planet Spectra.

Our heroes did not pilot giant robots, but they constantly fought them with fighter ships, sporting color-coded spandex, helmets, and capes. They also had wrist communicators, martial arts expertise, and, on the opposite side, a large disembodied floating head, ironically. The Gatchaman franchise continues to thrive in Japan with numerous adaptations, including a live-action film in 2013, while it awaits a large-scale adaptation for general audiences. Battle of the Planets set the bar too high for subsequent adaptations in the US: G-Force and Eagle Riders, but the Russo Brothers have been willing to accept that challenge.

The duo behind some of Marvel’s biggest blockbusters announced their development of a live-action remake of Battle of the Planets at San Diego Comic-Con in 2019. No updates were given until 2023, when the Russo Brothers reiterated their commitment to the production at the premiere of Prime Video’s Citadel. Hopefully, that’s still the case after all this time. Either way, a live-action remake of Battle of the Planets is long overdue.

8) Ronin Warriors: Arguably the Original “Power Rangers Samurai”

Long before Power Rangers Samurai captured the hearts of Gen Z, Ronin Warriors fought Mighty Morphin Power Rangers for the souls of Millennials. Based on the Japanese anime series Yoroiden Samurai Troopers, Ronin Warriors is an epic tale about five young warriors chosen to don mystical samurai armor and protect Earth from the demonic forces of the Netherworld.

Ronin Warriors tastes like a Power Rangers anime series, with heightened action sequences and contemporary fantasy without mecha. The anime boasts ferocious teenagers fighting like demons to kill demons. Surprisingly, Ronin Warriors is the only Western adaptation of Yoroiden Samurai Troopers, while the IP thrives in Japan with the sequel series Yoroi Shin Den Samurai Troopers.

It is only a matter of time before Ronin Warriors experiences a global resurgence among new and established audiences. A theatrical live-action adaptation would be ideal to give this franchise the exposure it deserves. Until then, thank goodness the Ronin Warriors are not set in any universe with the Power Rangers, because they would probably wipe them out.

7) Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!

As strange as this may sound, Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go! is the spiritual offspring of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Inspired by both childhood staples, Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go! is an original series produced by Walt Disney Animation, animated by The Answer Studio in Japan, about a teenage boy leading an elite cyborg monkey squad to protect their planet from the forces of evil.

Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go! ran for four seasons on ABC Family’s programming block, Jetix, and Toon Disney in the 2000’s. A dedicated fanbase has been yearning for a revival for years after the series infamously ended on a grim cliffhanger. The creator, Ciro Nieli, has expressed interest in doing another season or a movie to tie up loose ends.

Power Rangers and Ninja Turtles have been caught in a cycle of creative reincarnation across the TV realms, so Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go! deserves that treatment, but if the corporate hands of fate never permit it, the monkeys deserve closure.

6) Knights of the Zodiac Should Be as Big as Power Rangers

There has never been a knight-themed Power Rangers anime series, but Knights of the Zodiac came close. Based on the Japanese manga Saint Seiya, the series follows five armored warriors, powered by the stars, as they protect the reincarnated goddess Athena from malevolent gods seeking world domination.

Addressing the elephant in the room, there have been two Western attempts to adapt the manga for live action, and neither succeeded. After seeing the phenomenon Mighty Mighty Morphin Power Rangers became, Renaissance Atlantic Films and Bandai America produced a live-action adaptation of Saint Seiya, titled Starstorm, which did not last beyond a pilot episode with original footage. No one saw Starstorm, but fans saw the second attempt, Knights of the Zodiac, flop horribly in theaters in 2023.

You may be wondering why Knights of the Zodiac warrants a reboot, given the underwhelming results of previous attempts. Saint Seiya is a deeply cherished IP among generations of fans since the 1980s, so it deserves a strong adaptation to show a wider audience what they have been missing. Starstorm and the live-action Knights of the Zodiac movie failed simply because neither was good. All the IP needs is fresh talent to realize its potential.

5) Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog: The Age Before Power Rangers Mystic Force

Before Power Rangers Mystic Force showed what Rangers attending Hogwarts would look like, Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog was a modest attempt at depicting Power Rangers in Narnia for its time. The series, inspired by Celtic Mythology, follows young warriors as they protect their kingdom from an evil queen after embarking on individual quests to gain the power to summon magical armor at will.

Created by the original Power Rangers producer, Haim Saban, Mystic Knights made history as one of the first original Western Tokusatsu productions without any stock footage. Despite the children being the target audience, the serialized storytelling was sophisticated, complemented by rounded character development and unpredictable plot twists. While the CGI and VFX were dated, production costs were too high to sustain; therefore, Saban cancelled the series to prioritize Power Rangers after Power Rangers in Space secured a future for legions of rangers.

In today’s day and age, a reboot of Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog can be produced with updated CGI and VFX on possibly a lower budget without any use for AI. Studios continuing to push AI as an “advancement” for filmmakers when there are so many talented artists ready and willing to do their jobs is unfathomable, but I digress. The world is ready to bask in the glory of the Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog.

4) Superhuman Samurai Syber-Squad Saved the Internet

Forget about Power Rangers in Space for a minute. It’s time to learn about “Power Rangers in Cyberspace,” a show that does not exist. Instead, we got Superhuman Samurai Syber-Squad introducing another toku hero. The series follows a teenage boy named Sam, who acquires a device that lets him morph into the digital superhero Servo after a computer gets him caught in a mysterious freak accident. His friends aid him in their Samuraiized attack vehicles in the endless battle against the rogue military AI, Kilokahn.

DIC Entertainment and Tsuburaya Productions produced this series specifically to rival Mighty Morphin Power Rangers in 1994, using footage from the Japanese series, Denkou Choujin Gridman. The attempt to capitalize on the Power Rangers mania seemed to be in vain as Superhuman Samurai Syber-Squad got disconnected after one season. However, Tsuburaya Productions may be aware of its growing impact across toku fanbases.

In a full-circle moment, Superhuman Samurai Syber-Squad, based on Denkou Choujin Gridman, inspired the 2018 anime series adaptation SSSS. Gridman. There are currently no plans for a live-action reboot, but if the new Power Rangers series becomes a hit, do not be surprised to see history repeat itself.

3) Beetleborgs Battled Power Rangers in Ratings

Beetleborgs succeeded where Power Rangers Turbo failed in bringing the imaginations of kids dreaming of becoming superheroes to life. The second series on this list, created by Saban, follows three kids who got their wish to become their favorite superheroes granted while visiting a haunted mansion. Unfortunately, said wish materialized their foes from the comics into reality. Now the Beetleborgs, alongside a magical being resembling Jay Leno, must do everything they can to stop them.

After replacing VR Troopers as Saban’s resident adaptation of Toei’s Metal Hero series, Beetleborgs was fighting relentlessly to take down its sister series, Power Rangers, for the number one spot. Big Bad Beetleborgs premiered later in 1996, when Power Rangers Zeo was on the verge of wrapping up. At a dark time when Power Rangers was on life support, kids flocked in droves away from Turbo to Big Bad Beetleborgs, which evolved into Beetleborgs Metallix in the second season, until Power Rangers In Space stepped into the ring.

Despite Power Rangers’ triumphant return, Beetleborgs continued to peak in ratings, viewership, and toy sales. The show met the same fate as its predecessor, running out of stock footage from its Japanese source material, which was the only reason for its cancellation after Metallix. There is currently a demand for a Beetleborgs reboot; in a perfect world, it would spin out of a Power Rangers reboot, but one can only dream.

2) VR Troopers: The Power Rangers That Could Have Been

A year after Mighty Morphin Power Rangers exceeded expectations, Saban, Fox Kids, and Toei went to work to capture lightning in a bottle again with VR Troopers. The first live-action series based on Toei’s Metal Hero franchise is an adventure about Ryan Steele and his best friends, Caitlin and JB, trying to solve the mystery of his father’s disappearance. After stumbling on a secret lab, the teens learn about parallel realities and gain devices that allow them to transform into armored heroes to defeat the otherworldly Grimlord and his cronies.

VR Troopers, being Power Rangers’ first little sister series, immediately succeeded by association, while standing on its own merits. Despite a loose grasp on virtual reality, as the story involved parallel dimensions more than anything, VR Troopers kept viewers outside of the usual Power Rangers fanbase hooked through arguably better acting, well-written storylines, and surprising plot twists.

As mentioned earlier, VR Troopers got cancelled after two seasons because stock footage ran out, which led to production on the subsequent Metal Hero adaptation, Beetleborgs. Recently, fans embraced the Troopers with open arms when their heroes returned in comics published by BOOM! Studios. They will be ready to embrace them in a live-action or animated reboot.

1) Kamen Rider

Without Super Sentai, there would be no Power Rangers. If you think Sentai started it all, you would be mistaken because, without Kamen Rider, there would be no Super Sentai. Before Power Rangers or its progenitor, Super Sentai, ever existed, Kamen Rider paved the way as the origin story for the henshin superhero frenzy.

Since its inception in 1971, the Japanese-made series has evolved through numerous iterations. One thing is certain: At least one bug-themed superhero riding a motorcycle arrives just in time to fight corruption, aliens, monsters, or demons. As Kamen Rider continues to thrive in the land of the rising sun, with the current series, Zeztz, the same can not be said for the rest of the world. Unfortunately, Kamen Rider‘s reach outside Japan is limited by licensing and broadcasting rights.

Masked Rider and Dragon Knight are the only American adaptations in existence. The former was introduced in the three-part premiere of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers season 3, featuring the late Ted Jan Roberts as Prince Dex/Masked Rider. The latter, which premiered years later on The CW, became a hit and was widely considered a replacement for Power Rangers.

Sadly, both adaptations ended after one season. Nevertheless, the demand for Kamen Rider’s expansion remains palpable. It is only a matter of time before Kamen Rider receives the Hollywood reboot treatment with or without Power Rangers.