Fans noted the absence of Amy Jo Johnson’s Kimberly Hart around the time “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always” was first announced and the cast only mentioned David Yost and Walter Jones from the original team as returning.
Earlier this year, Johnson took to Twitter (via Entertainment Weekly) to shut down rumors that he said no to the special for financial reasons. “Please stop saying I didn’t do the meeting for money. I just don’t,” the actor tweeted. “Maybe I just didn’t want to wear spandex in my 50s. […] or couldn’t go to New Zealand for a month. or none of [your] Bee wax.”
These are all good reasons for not wanting to appear in the special. Like Johnson, Jason David Frank did not join the special before his death, although the reason was not specified. It’s quite possible, given the runtime of the special and the budget generally allocated to the franchise, that his roles could have simply been very short cameos at the beginning and end. After all, the Pink, Green, and Red Rangers are kidnapped for most of the special, which focuses on the Blue and Black Rangers. Having more team members on screen would take away from that story.
In any case, only Johnson was missed in the special.