Out of the Ashes of Captain Power Comes Phoenix Rising

Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future, which first aired on American television in 1987, was widely remembered as one of the most groundbreaking works of TV science fiction of its era. Created as a toy tie-in, the show was the first to incorporate fully computer-generated characters, drew writers from series like Beast Wars, Babylon 5, and Jem, and paired its action with toys, ships and figures that could interact with footage on screen and “shoot back.” Set on a war-ravaged future Earth, it pitted its titular hero against Lord Dread’s machine empire. Like other well-regarded shows aimed at children of the era, it was cancelled after a single season.

The prior year had seen a complete Captain Power DVD box set released, followed by a remastered soundtrack a few weeks earlier, prompting fans to keep asking whether the series might return. According to a report from Ain’t It Cool News, the answer arrived: Goddard Film Group’s producing team of Gary Goddard, Roger Lay Jr., and Eric Carnagey were working with former Paramount Television senior executive Jeffrey Hayes, whose credits included Star Trek: The Next Generation, Family Ties, and Cheers, to bring the series back as a weekly one-hour drama titled Phoenix Rising.

Writers and producers Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens were enlisted to develop the new series. Their recent credits included creating the science-fiction drama Primeval: New World, the North American spin-off of the UK series Primeval, as well as writing and producing on Star Trek: Enterprise for Paramount and Race to Mars for Discovery.