Credit: Adi Shankar Productions (via YouTube), original creators Haim Saban, Shuki LevyLong before The Mandalorian (2019) premiered on Disney+, even before Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) and Star Wars: Rebels (2014) arrived, Katee Sackhoff was already deeply embedded in the world of fantasy and science fiction; tearing through star systems aboard space ships, jumping into hyperspace, and even sporting an iconic helmet.
These days, the 45-year-old actress is best known for playing the character of Bo-Katan Kryze in The Mandalorian (she also voiced her in The Clone Wars and Rebels). However, fans of Battlestar Galactica (2004), the remake of the original 1978 television series, will recognize her as Kara “Starbuck” Thrace first, the rough-around-the-edges Raptor pilot.
Battlestar Galactica (2003) follows a race of “other” humans elsewhere in the galaxy, who go on the run in deep space aboard a fleet of vessels led by the titular warship, after their home world, the Twelve Colonies, comes under nuclear attack from the Cylons; a race of artificially intelligent machines who now have the ability to appear entirely human.
So, Katee Sackhoff doesn’t just have one sci-fi character with an iconic helmet, costume, and space ship under her belt, and she doesn’t just have two, either. Bo-Katan and Starbuck aren’t her only rodeos in that area, as Sackhoff has also played another character within the world of science fiction, whose helmet, costume, and ship are the most iconic of all three.
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In 2015, Sackhoff appeared in a fan-made film directed by Joseph Kahn; a super-violent interpretation of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers — the popular kids’ show from the ’90s. The YouTube film, titled Power Rangers Short Film, is only 14 minutes in length, however, it stars Katee Sackhoff and Dawson’s Creek (1998) actor James Van Der Beek.
In the film, Sackhoff plays Pink Power Ranger Kimberly Hart, who was played by actress Amy Jo Johnson throughout the ’90s, including Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie (1995), while Van Der Beek plays the Red Ranger Rocky DeSantos. The film offers a vision of Power Rangers the likes of which we’ve never seen before, pitting them in a hyper-violent, futuristic war, in which each of them is brutally killed by an unseen figure.
You can watch the film below:
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While, of course, the film is in no way canon with any official Power Rangers material, whether it’s the television series, the 1995 film, the 2017 reboot, or the ongoing comic books, it’s still widely appreciated by many fans of the franchise.
At the time of its release, the video went viral, and even caught the attention of Power Rangers creator Haim Saban, as well as the late legacy Power Rangers actor Jason David Frank, both of whom admitted that they weren’t fans due to the extremely violent nature of the film (understandable, of course, considering the IP has always been family-friendly).
However, it remains an awesome alternative version of the Power Rangers that stars the one and only Katee Sackhoff. These days, the Battlestar Galactica actress is busy helping Din Djarin and Grogu from Imperial forces in Star Wars, but it would be great to see her ditch her Mandalorian helmet for a while and pick up the Pink Ranger one again.
We’re just not convinced putting the hard-as-nails Sackhoff up against Rita Repulsa would be a fair fight for the evil space-witch.
What’s your favorite Katee Sackhoff role? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!