Last year’s loss of fan-favorite actor Jason David Frank was a blow to us all. His commitment to not just his star-making role on Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, but his love and passion for the pop culture community at large, was truly unique and special. Now, we get a chance to celebrate that with what’s being sold as Frank’s final film, Legend of the White Dragon.
Directed by Aaron Schoenke (Ninjak vs. the Valiant Universe), Legend of the White Dragon is a sci-fi fantasy epic that follows a legendary warrior (Frank) as he returns to his hometown to protect it from a new evil. Frank is joined by genre veterans like Mark Dacascos (Only the Strong, Brotherhood of the Wolf) and Michael Madsen (Reservoir Dogs, Kill Bill) as well as Schoenke himself as the villain. Here’s the first trailer.
Now, look. Does that look incredibly cheesy? Of course it does. Is it exactly what you expected when I said “Legend of the White Dragon” and “Jason David Frank?” Of course it is. And there’s nothing wrong with that. There’s plenty to be said for how big directors like Schoenke are able to make movies with what we can only believe is a more limited budget. One that, if you can believe it, was bolstered by Kickstarter. But anytime you get two masked warriors fighting with lasers coming out of awesome armor, you’ve got our attention. Plus, it sure looks like Frank has a big, bold character to dive into here. A suitable send-off, one would hope.
Legend of the White Dragon also stars King Bach, David Ramsey, Jason Faunt, Rachel Brooke Smith, Ciara Hanna, Kevin Porter, Mayling Ng, Cerina Vincent, and Jenna Rae Frank, who happens to be Jason David’s daughter. There’s no release date yet but it’ll be out sometimes in 2024. Keep an eye on the official site for more information.
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