When the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles return to the big screen next year, they won’t be the only mutants running around. Earlier, it was announced that Bebop and Rocksteady will appear in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 (a.k.a. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Half Shell), played by Gary Anthony Williams and WWE star Stephen "Sheamus" Farrelly. Just like how the turtles were once normal reptiles, Bebop and Rocksteady start out as normal humans, and now we have an idea of when their transformation into freakish humanoids will occur.
During an interview with The Chicago Tribune (via ComicBookMovie), former WWE wrestler, and future UFC fighter, CM Punk revealed that he had originally been up for the Rocksteady role, but believes he lost it due to Sheamus being a "bigger dude." He then mentioned when moviegoers can expect to see Bebop and Rocksteady in their warthog and rhino forms. According to Punk:
I think they end up getting mutated half way through. You didn’t hear that from me, though.
Although Punk’s statement isn’t official confirmation that this is when their mutation will occur, it makes sense. There are leaked set photos showing Williams and Sheamus as humans (albeit poorly dressed ones), so they’ll at least be up to no good at the beginning of the story. In the 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series, the two men worked for Shredder as regular humans, but after a defeat at hands of the Turtles, they agreed to undergo a genetic procedure to make them stronger. After being combined with a warthog and rhino, respectively, the incompetent criminals were transformed into what you see above. Unfortunately for them, while their power did increase, they remained just as stupid.
Bebop and Rocksteady are a few of the rogues that will be appearing in TMNT 2. Other confirmed villains include Shredder (played by Brian Tee), Karai (played by Brittany Ishibashi), and even Krang is rumored to appear. Baxter Stockman (played by Tyler Perry) will also make an appearance, though it’s unclear whether he’ll be a villain or a general supporting character. As for Bebop and Rocksteady, they work for Shredder and his Foot Clan in the film, though just like their TV counterparts, they’ll eventually be transformed either willingly or without realizing what they’re getting into. Whatever the case, we can likely expect these guys to be physically menacing, but incapable of doing what’s expected of them.
You can look forward to seeing Bebop and Rocksteady take on the reptilian martial artists when Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 hits theaters on June 3, 2016.
