Live Action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Reboot

Published by Jeff Leins on: April 23rd, 2009

Today is the 25th anniversary of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, so what better way to “shell-abrate” than to announce a fifth feature film?  The Mirage Group, who owns the property, is moving forward with a live-action TMNT that will re-hash the origin story of the fighting foursome.

A CGI version was released in 2007 that performed much better than expected ($95 million worldwide), which meant the inevitable next installment.  The live-action restart may use “face replacement technology” similar to Where the Wild Things Are, according to executive producer Peter Laird.  (For more information on the method, visit his blog).  Obviously as an adult I would love to see them ditch the corny banter from the first string of movies and go with something a little edgier.  Laird said the new film will “remain true to the spirit of the original comic books.”

There were rumblings of this in the works back in September that were confirmed by TMNT co-creator Kevin Eastman.  The other creator, Laird, purchased the rights from Eastman years ago.  At the time, the idea was to “re-invent” the series, much like Batman Begins.

The Variety story making the announcement today doesn’t mention the inspiration for the redo, but that might have something to do with the project moving away from Imagi and Warner Bros.  The main reason is merchandising.  Even if the movie is a disappointment, it potentially opens the floodgates for a whole new line of toys, lunch boxes, bed comforters, and tooth brushes; all of which I own and regularly use.

The rest of the “shell-abration” in New York City will consist of a drive-in pizza party screening of the original 1990 movie, the Empire State Building lit up green, and appearances by the fictional characters.  Vanilla Ice was unavailable to perform.

They were a huge part of a lot of people’s childhoods and the nostalgia factor is a big draw right now, so maybe the world is ready for more teenage mutant ninjas who also happen to be turtles.