Disney+ Cancels Live-Action ‘Power Rangers’ Reboot Amid Budget Concerns

Fans of ‘Power Rangers’ have witnessed the franchise’s tumultuous journey through various studios and streaming platforms, with each live-action revival attempt ending in disappointment. This frustrating trend has repeated itself once more, as Disney+ has decided to abandon the property, marking the second major streaming service to do so in recent years.

The latest attempt dates back to March 2025, when it was announced that Hasbro was collaborating with Disney+ and 20th Century TV on a new live-action series. The project gained traction when ‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians’ showrunners Jonathan E. Steinberg and Dan Shotz confirmed their roles as writers, executive producers, and showrunners during a red carpet event for the second season premiere of the Disney+ fantasy series.

However, a recent Deadline report reveals that Disney+ will not be moving forward with the project, which has stalled after approximately a year and a half of development. Sources indicate that the decision was primarily driven by business and budgetary issues rather than any creative disagreements regarding the show’s direction.

The main concern revolves around ownership. Producing a high-quality, live-action superhero series like ‘Power Rangers’ requires a substantial investment, and the financial dynamics become less favorable when neither the streaming service nor the production studio owns the underlying intellectual property. In this case, the ‘Power Rangers’ brand is owned by Hasbro, not Disney, meaning that any costly production risks would mainly benefit a company outside of Disney’s ecosystem.

This marks the second instance in recent years where a live-action ‘Power Rangers’ revival has fallen through before reaching the screen. Netflix previously attempted its own reboot, with ‘Daisy Jones & the Six’ writer Jenny Klein attached as showrunner alongside Jonathan Entwistle, only for that version to be scrapped after Hasbro sought a new creative direction for the franchise with a different production partner.

With both the Netflix and Disney+ attempts now in the past, it remains uncertain where Hasbro will turn next to finally launch a new live-action ‘Power Rangers’ series. The franchise, which originated from Japan’s long-running ‘Super Sentai’ tokusatsu series and debuted in the U.S. as ‘Mighty Morphin Power Rangers’ in 1993, is one of the longest-running live-action children’s franchises in television history, despite its ongoing struggles to find a stable platform for a modern reboot.

For Steinberg and Shotz, this setback doesn’t leave them without work. The duo continues to oversee ‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians’ Season 3, set to premiere on Disney+ on November 20, providing them with ample focus even as their ‘Power Rangers’ project quietly dissolves.

Disney+ has been broadening its content slate beyond in-house properties, developing external projects like ‘Ella Enchanted’ and ‘Casper’ alongside what was intended to be its ‘Power Rangers’ entry. This diversification strategy suggests that the streamer is still interested in external franchises in theory, even as this particular endeavor succumbed to the financial realities of licensing someone else’s intellectual property for a costly production.

For now, ‘Power Rangers’ fans are left waiting once more, with no clear indication of when or where the franchise might finally get another chance at a live-action revival.

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