The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles feature that was released this past summer reintroduced a whole bunch of classic characters from the comics and TV shows - including the likes of Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo as well as April O'Neil, Shredder and Splinter. The coming sequel, however, will allow the new live-action series to provide screentime for even more in-universe characters - and apparently there are big plans to do exactly that.
With Earth To Echo director David Green now attached to helm Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 and the project moving forward, Platinum Dunes producers Brad Fuller and Andrew Form have been discussing where the franchise is heading and what new characters the movie will introduce. Speaking with the Brazilian outlet Omelette, the two filmmakers revealed that fans will get to see brand new versions of both Bebop and Rocksteady in the new film, and that discussions are now in the works about including Casey Jones in the mix. Said Form,
"We can say that Bebop and Rocksteady are in the film, and Casey Jones is a character that we love and we’re trying to fit him in as well"
This is actually further development of a story that sprung up all the way back in July - a few weeks before the release of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. At that time, Fuller mentioned that there were daily discussions about including Bebop, Rocksteady and Casey Jones. The first film wound up being a box office success, leading to a sequel being announced, and that's what brings us to today and this confirmation.
For those unfamiliar with the characters, Bebop and Rocksteady were originally introduced as members of the Foot Clan (the organization run by Shredder). After a humiliating defeat, at the hands of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Shredder mutates them with warthog and rhinoceros DNA. Rather than being a part of the original comics, Bebop and Rocksteady were first introduced on the 1987 animated series. The characters were going to appear in the 1991 film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret Of The Ooze, but due to rights issues they were replaced by two other mutant creatures, Tokka and Rahzar.
Unlike Bebop and Rocksteady, Casey Jones has already had his live-action debut, having been played by Elias Koteas all the way back in 1990 in the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film. The character is a hockey mask-wearing vigilante who has a knack for knocking the hell from criminals with various pieces of sporting equipment (though he's naturally best known for his work with hockey sticks). There is also a good chance that he will wind up having some kind of romantic relationship with April O'Neil, who was played by Megan Fox in the most recent Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles iteration.
The folks at Paramount Pictures and Platinum Dunes aren't wasting any time with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 and will be releasing it on June 3, 2016 - with plans to start production in 2015. Who do you think they should get to play Bebop, Rocksteady and Casey Jones?
