The legacy of the “Power Rangers” franchise is deep and profound to millions of people. Lovers of superheroes and martial arts alike were and are inspired by the adventures of the Rangers and the last line of defense against intergalactic invaders they represent for the people of Earth. I count myself as one of the many, many young viewers who once thrilled to Jason David Frank’s Tommy Oliver spin-kicking monsters as the leader of the Power Rangers and who was inspired to take up martial arts by him. In turn, that made the tragic news of Sensei Frank’s death in 2022 one of immense heartbreak, but his legacy and impact continue to live on in the newly releaser “Power Rangers” inspired movie “Legend of the White Dragon”.
Erik Reed returns a scarred but determined hero.
Mark Dacascos channels the widsom of a Shaolin Monk in Legend of the White Dragon
In “Legend of the White Dragon”, Frank portrays Erik Reed, a superhero whose past battle against the villainous Ashtagor led to massive destruction in Virtuo City that forced him into hiding and even cutting ties with him family. Three years later, the embittered Jai Katua (co-director Aaron Schoenke), embittered over his wife’s death in Erik’s battle with Ashtagor, has obtained one half of the crystal that granted Erik his powers, but some dark side effects lead Jai to become the nefarious Dragon Prime. This ultimately forces Erik to step out of the shadows as the White Dragon once more to put a stop to Dragon Prime.
Today, we sit down with Aaron Schoenke and Jason’s co-star David Ramsey of “Arrow” fame to dive into the making of “Legend of the White Dragon”, working with Jason David Frank and Michael Madsen on the film prior to their untimely deaths, and how the movie’s story re-imagines the “Power Rangers” mythology in new and unexpected ways!
Hi Aaron and David, thank you both so much for your time today and welcome to Kung Fu Kingdom! Hope you guys are doing well!
Aaron – Hi Brad, I’m doing well, thanks!
David – Yes, thanks for having us, Brad!
Awesome, well, let’s go ahead and dive right into the making of “Legend of the White Dragon”. How did “Legend of the White Dragon” come about for each of you?
David – Well, for me, I met Jason at a Comic Con, and we kind of connected on both of us being martial artists and also knowing some of the same people they we’ve both worked with. During the times that I saw him at different Comic Cons, it kept coming up where he’d say “Hey, I’m working on this and it’s a great story and idea, and I really want you to be a part of it and I really want to say something with it.” So, it was really a yes sight unseen just because I appreciated him as an artist and his authenticity, his relationship with the fans, and that’s really how it came about it with me. And then, I was just pleasantly surprised to read a great script and to meet Aaron and his father and Chris Jay and the team and see their vision, and it began at the top with Jason and Aaron, and it just trickled down and it was a great production.
Erik Reed leads his fellow heroes as the White Dragon.
The White Dragon returns!
Aaron – Yeah, when I first met Jason, we talked about this project and wanting to create it, and as we worked together over the course of ten years on over ten projects, we’d always have things that we wanted to do but couldn’t do, and we’d say “Okay, we’ll put a pin in that”, and “White Dragon” was just an accumulation of ten years of working together and saying “We want to do this, and that’d be cool, and let’s do that!”
And speaking of Jason David Frank, “Legend of the White Dragon” is unfortunately also a posthumous release for both Jason and Michael Madsen, who respectively passed away in 2022 and 2025. What can you share about making “Legend of the White Dragon” with Jason and Michael and working alongside them before their passing.
Aaron – Definitely. I mean, Michael was a friend, Jason was a dear friend, and I’m glad they got to work together. I worked with Michael on a previous project, and he was one of Jason’s idols as an actor, so to have been able to make that happen for him along with our executive producer Chris making that happen, Jason just loved that. With this film, he wanted to show that he had the acting chops, and as far as fond memories from making the movie, seeing Jason fight and put all of that into it and seeing him flex all of his artistic ability, just seeing that dream realized and how happy that made him. Growing up, a lot of people were inspired by Jason to get into martial arts. Our stunt team, they’ve worked with huge talent, and they would come over and tell me “Jason’s the reason why I got into stunt fighting”, and “I’ve worked with Ben Affleck, I’ve worked with Brad Pitt, but I’m more nervous with Jason because he’s my focal point!”, and to see him give that back to them, it was just a really beautiful community.
Ashtagor is determined to conquer the world!
David Ramsey brings his all to Legend of the White Dragon
David – Yeah, Jason and I, we didn’t get to do much together on-screen, but kind of behind the scenes, and as martial artists are, we’d often go to “Is there a space? Are we on lunch? Great, let’s throw some gloves on!” It was great to kind of be in that energy with Jason, and he’s all over this film, both in front of the camera and behind it, and just coming at it as an actor, being in a genre and wanting to say something within the genre but at the same time being true to the audience you have because of the genre and wanting to stretch within it and be true to it is such a thin sort of line, because you have to be true to them and also want to stretch. And he wanted to say something and show himself more as a developed actor, which I think he did, so it was great to see his evolution as an artist.
“Legend of the White Dragon” has also been described as a mature re-imagining of the “Power Rangers” universe. What can you share about how “Power Rangers” influenced “Legend of the White Dragon” and the relationship between the two properties?
Aaron – I think it’s similar to how “Orville” is to “Star Trek” or how “The Boys” is to the “Justice League”. There’s a lot of elements and homages in there, but giving it some more mature themes. The kids who grew up with Power Rangers are adults now, and they’re dealing with different issues, and that’s something that Jason really wanted to communicate to the fans, and take it to places and stuff that Power Rangers never could, because it’s a wonderful kid’s show, but its fans are adults now and dealing with their own issues, and that was very important to Jason of how that conversation was being had.
“Legend of the White Dragon” is now playing in theaters and will be on digital platforms on September 22nd and physical media on October 20th! Have you seen “Legend of the White Dragon”? What are your thoughts on the movie’s re-imaging of the “Power Rangers” template and emotional tribute to Jason David Frank and Michael Madsen? Like, share and join in the conversation on Facebook and follow us on Twitter & Instagram. (And don’t forget to pay a visit to KFK’s FU-niverse of movie reviews and exclusive interviews, grab your official KFK gear and subscribe for more action on YouTube, as well!)
Legend of the White Dragon is in theaters now!
