Amy Jo Johnson’s Return As Kimberly In Power Rangers Was Not What I Expected After The Pink Ranger’s Departure

Amy Jo Johnson reprised her role as Kimberly in Power Rangers two years after the original Pink Ranger departed from the team, yet the circumstances of her return were not what I was expecting. Kimberly Hart was one of the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and appeared in all three seasons of the original show. However, Kimberly did not remain on the team until the very end of MMPR 3, as Amy Jo Johnson left the show after the “A Different Shade of Pink” arc. Kimberly was replaced by Katherine Lillard, played by Catherine Sutherland.

Unlike the exits of Jason, Zack, and Trini from the team, Kimberly’s departure was very well handled. Not only did we get to meet Kat a couple of episodes before she became the new Pink Ranger, but Kimberly also got to pass the torch herself to her successor. Kat would go on to build a legacy of her own as the Pink Ranger in the remaining episodes of MMPR as well as in Zeo and Turbo. While Amy Jo Johnson never returned to the Power Rangers TV show, she did reprise her role in Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie.

Kimberly’s Return In Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie Was Not As A Ranger

Kimberly And Jason Were Captured And Brainwashed

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Kimberly returned to Power Rangers two years after “A Different Shade of Pink,” yet not as a Power Ranger. Austin St. John and Amy Jo Johnson reprised their Mighty Morphin roles as Jason and Kimberly, respectively, for Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie, although neither character was a Power Ranger by that point. Jason and Kimberly were seemingly on vacation together and were kidnapped by Divatox to be used as weapons against the Power Rangers. The original Red and Pink Rangers were brainwashed and forced to fight their friends in the film’s third arc.

A romance subplot between Jason and Kimberly was cut from the movie. This would have explained why they were on vacation together.

While I was incredibly excited to see Kimberly and Jason back, it was strange having the original Pink Ranger back but not as a Power Ranger. Jason had already returned for Zeo a year earlier, during which he became the second Gold Ranger, which is why I would have loved to see Kimberly’s return leading into something bigger. That said, given that Amy Jo Johnson’s return as Kimberly was supposed to be a one-off thing for the film, it made sense for her not to have any Ranger powers. Seeing Kimberly back in action was still a lot of fun.

Kimberly’s Other Appearances After Turbo Were All Without Amy Jo Johnson

The Original Pink Ranger Appeared A Few Times (In Costume)

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The Turbo movie was technically not Kimberly’s final appearance in Power Rangers. During “Legendary Battle,” nearly every Power Ranger in the franchise up until that point appeared to assist the Megaforce Rangers. However, most of those Rangers never removed their helmets, with one of the exceptions being Jason David Frank as the original Green Ranger. Although “Legendary Battle” had a lot of inconsistencies, it can be assumed that the Mighty Morphin Pink Ranger shown in this crossover episode was Kimberly Hart. Likewise, the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers assembled in 2019 to help Jason in “Grid Connection.”

Season Release Year Mighty Morphin 1993 Zeo 1996 Turbo 1997 In Space 1998 Lost Galaxy 1999 Lightspeed Rescue 2000 Time Force 2001 Wild Force 2002 Ninja Storm 2003 Dino Thunder 2004 S.P.D. 2005 Mystic Force 2006 Operation Overdrive 2007 Jungle Fury 2008 R.P.M. 2009 Samurai/Super Samurai 2011 Megaforce/Super Megaforce 2013 Dino Charge/Super Dino Charge 2015 Ninja Steel/ Super Ninja Steel 2017 Beast Morphers 2019 Dino Fury 2021 Cosmic Fury 2023

The original Red Ranger was the only one to appear without his costume in that episode, leaving us to assume the identities of the other Mighty Morphin Rangers. More recently, Kimberly was one of the Rangers kidnapped by Robot Rita in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always. Kat, who had appeared in a previous crossover with her Zeo Pink powers, was brought in by Alpha to help fight Robot Rita using the Mighty Morphin Pink powers. From an in-universe perspective, Kimberly eventually became the Pink Ranger again and continued to fight alongside her friends.

Amy Jo Johnson's Only Other Appearance In Power Rangers Wasn't As Kimberly

Amy Jo Johson Had A Cameo In The 2017 Power Rangers Movie

Amy Jo Johnson would appear in another Power Rangers movie 20 years after Turbo, yet not as Kimberly. The original Pink Ranger’s actress made a cameo in 2017’s Power Rangers, which served as a reboot and reimagined the events of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Johnson was not the only Mighty Morphin actor to have a cameo in the film, with Jason David Frank also appearing. Both played Angel Grove citizens who were watching the Power Rangers save the day during the final battle.

Related Power Rangers’ 2000s Era Peaked 20 Years Ago With A Crossover That Will Never Be Topped One of the coolest team-up episodes in Power Rangers history aired 20 years ago and combined two of the show’s best seasons from the early 2000s.

Amy Jo Johnson and Jason David Frank’s cameos in Power Rangers (2017) confirmed them as the only two actors to have appeared in all three theatrical Power Rangers movies. While Johnson hasn’t played Kimberly since 1997, she recently returned to the Power Rangers universe with a comic book series by BOOM! Studios. Johnson, who had served as a consultant for the Mighty Morphin’s Power Rangers: Pink comic, co-wrote a brand-new series in 2024. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Return told an alternate universe story in which the original team never split.