Power Rangers will include the first ever gay superhero on the big screen

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Power Rangers will feature the first ever gay superhero in a film.

The reboot of the 90s TV show and film series sees one of the five main characters struggle with her relationship with another girl in the film’s second act.

Trini, the Yellow Ranger, eventually comes to terms with her sexual orientation and is accepted by all the other characters, said director Dean Israelite.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter ahead of the film’s release at the end of this week, Israelite said: “For Trini, really she’s questioning a lot about who she is. She hasn’t fully figured it out yet.

“I think what’s great about that scene and what that scene propels for the rest of the movie is, ‘That’s OK.’

“The movie is saying, ‘That’s OK,’ and all of the kids have to own who they are and find their tribe.””

Power Rangers will include the first ever gay superhero on the big screen

The development is especially remarkable as Power Rangers was previously known for causing the original series’ Blue Ranger to quit because of vile homophobic abuse.

David Yost, who played Billy Cranston and the Blue Ranger in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, also said his co-stars were repeatedly quizzed about what they knew about his sexuality.

In 2010, he revealed: “I walked off set one day during the middle of lunch – I had made a decision, I had been thinking about it for a good week, and the reason I walked off was because I was called faggot one too many times.”

But in reaction to news of a gay Yellow Ranger, Yost praised the new film for its bravery.

Power Rangers will include the first ever gay superhero on the big screen

“They really stepped up to the plate,” he said.

“I think so many people in the LGBTQI community are going to be excited to see that representation.”

Trini, who is played by singer and actress Becky G, follows a relatively recent shift towards writing gay characters into superhero films and TV shows.

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Deadpool, whose film came out last year, is pansexual, while Supergirl, Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow – all on US TV channel CW – all feature a gay character.

The coming out storyline of Alex Danvers, Supergirl’s adoptive sister, this season prompted a hugely positive reaction from fans and the LGBT community.

And of course, the news comes on the heels of Beauty and the Beast featuring the first ever explicitly gay Disney character, Le Fou.

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