Following the release of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles last year, many promises started spilling out about classic franchise characters that would appear in the sequel. Sadly, we're still waiting for official confirmation that the likes of Kang, Bebop and Rocksteady will appear in the upcoming movie, but now we do have word that TMNT 2 will feature a brand new big screen version of Casey Jones. And he will be played by none other than Stephen Amell.
This news comes to us from Variety, though the trade unfortunately doesn't have any details in regard to either Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2's plot or the part that Casey Jones will be playing within it. All that seems to be known at this point is that Paramount and Platinum Dunes have agreed that the titular lead of The CW's Arrow is their ultimate choice for the franchise's famous hockey mask-wearing vigilante.
In the lore of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Casey Jones is classically a loner living in New York City who decides to take it upon himself to try and stop crime. He hides his identity behind a hockey mask, and while a hockey stick is one of his favorite weapons, he has been known to beat the hell from criminals with all sorts of sports equipment. As you might imagine, he is an ally of Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo, but he has also long been used as a love interest for April O'Neil (who will once again be played by Megan Fox in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2). The sequel will actually be the second live-action interpretation that we've seen of Casey Jones, as he was famously played by Elias Koteas in both the first live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie in 1990, and then again in 1993's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III.
Stephen Amell has garnered a huge fan following thanks to his time on Arrow, but to this point in his career he actually hasn't had much big screen experience. In fact, you have to go back to Richard Attenborough's 2007 drama Closing The Ring with Shirley MacLaine and Christopher Plummer to find his last big screen appearance. That being said, he is a longtime TV veteran, and has credits on shows like Heartland, Private Practice, New Girl and Hung.
Do you think casting Stephen Amell as Casey Jones in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 is a good choice? Hit the comments with your thoughts, and look for the sequel in theaters on June 3, 2016.
