Power Rangers’ credits scene [spoilers], explained

Spoiler alert: This article discusses the mid-credits scene of Power Rangers.

Mid- and post-credits scenes have become expected — and often welcome — treats for fans of big blockbuster franchises. They tease upcoming movies, add new wrinkles to established characters, and sometimes hint at what future sequels might entail. In fact, they’ve become so common that we’re now seeing similar scenes air ahead of movies, like the Deadpool 2 preview that Fox is running before its latest X-Men flick, Logan.

So it’s no surprise that Lionsgate’s new Power Rangers movie is taking a page out of the Marvel playbook, including an extra scene during the film’s credits that teases out a possible sequel.

At the end of the film, the crew is in detention — a raw deal, since they just saved the world and all. But since they can’t reveal their Ranger identities, they have to just accept the detention they’ve been dealt.

The post-credits scene starts from here. The teacher supervising detention calls out the name “Tommy Oliver,” to no response. He tries a couple more times, as the camera zooms in on an empty desk with a green jacket on it. The camera then cuts to an empty hallway in the school, and an explosion goes off. Fade to black.

“Tommy Oliver” refers to the Green Ranger, a hero who joined the original Rangers during the first season of the original show. Tommy starts out evil, a henchman of Rita Repulsa, but eventually breaks free from her spell and joins the other Rangers with his powerful Dragonzord. In later seasons, Tommy becomes the White Ranger.

The credits scene strongly teases the possibility that Tommy could show up in a Power Rangers sequel — which seems more likely than not at this point. According to an interview with Variety, Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer was excited about the movie and suggested the studio could make as many as seven more sequels.