There have been four theatrically-released Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles films so far, and, surprisingly, they've only begun to scratch the surface of what started as a gag but soon became a massive mythology. Those early movies dabbled in science fiction with the effects of the mutagenic ooze and time travel, while the animated TMNT focused on mostly-faceless supernatural monsters. But if next month's Teenage is a hit, producers are about to open the floodgates to the wild and wacky world of Ninja Turtle action.
In an interview during Comic Con, Screenrant talked to producer Brad Fuller and director Jonathan Liebesman about future installments of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles featuring a number of other characters from the comic and show's rich continuity. Fuller was asked about characters he wanted to include in this film but couldn't, and he answered...
Casey Jones. Bebop and Rocksteady. We had those conversations throughout development of this movie but we’re launching this movie now in two weeks. Hopefully everybody feels the same way we do [about it]. We love them [Bebop and Rocksteady].
The thing about the Ninja Turtles is that, at heart, the property is either lightweight kids' junk, or it's satirically silly parody. The hyper-violent Casey Jones falls into the latter category, a spoofy mixture of the Punisher and Jason Voorhees. Jones is a neighborhood vigilante who attempts to clean up the streets in a hyper-menacing hockey mask and pads. For the most part, the earlier films introduced him as a lovable goofball played by Elias Koteas who eventually turned into a romantic foil for April O'Neil. Given that this is Platinum Dunes, they might just go the psycho route.
Bebop and Rocksteady, meanwhile, were mutated members of Shredder's gang, one turned into a warthog and the other a rhinoceros. They're basically bumbling sidekicks, and they would have popped up in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret Of The Ooze if it weren't for rights issues. They ended up being replaced by the characters Tokka and Rahzar.
It's always a bit presumptuous to talk sequels before success has arrived – sometimes it takes you to some strange places – but there's a strong likelihood that we'll be seeing these characters pop up in a sequel in a couple of years. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles hits theaters August 8th.
