Back in 2018, it was announced that rather than keep their live-action film series going, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles would get rebooted again for the big screen. In the following two years, hadn’t been any major updates on what the next era of the Turtles’ cinematic adventures would look like, but today brings word of some of the creative talent that will be involved in this next movie, as well as the fact that this will be an all-CGI reboot rather than another live-action one.
While the initial announcement of the next Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot noted that Bad Words’ Andrew Dodge has been tapped to write the script, the latest update from Deadline states that Neighbors: Sorority Rising’s Brendan O’Brian will be the one handling scripting duties. Furthermore, Nickelodeon is teaming with Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s production company, Point Grey Pictures, to bring this movie to life. Rogen and Goldberg will produce alongside James Weaver, and Gravity Falls’ Jeff Rowe has been tapped to direct.
It should be noted that this won’t be the first time the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have led an all-CGI movie. 2007 saw the release of TMNT, which was loosely connected to the original Turtles film trilogy. While the movie was met with mixed-to-negative critical reception, it made $95 million worldwide off a $34 million production budget. The Turtles also starred in a CGI series that ran on Nickelodeon from 2012 to 2017.
No plot details were shared about this Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot, though one can logically expect the basic premise to be the same as it’s always been ever since these characters were created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird for the comic book pages all those decades ago. Four turtles (Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo and Raphael) and their rat mentor, Splinter, are exposed to a strange mutagen (nicknamed “Ooze”) that transforms them into humanoids and boosts their intelligence. With their martial arts skills, the Turtles protect New York City from the forces of evil, with their adversaries including Shredder and his Foot Clan, Krang and Baxter Stockman.
Given how the last two Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies fared, it’s hardly surprising that the reboot button is being pressed again. While 2014’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was a commercial success with its over $493 million worldwide haul, it was met with primary negative reception. 2016’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows performed slightly better on the critical front, but it fared worse at the box office, raking in only $245.6 million across the globe.
Thus, while there was talk about making a third Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie set in this live-action continuity, those plans were scrapped, and now we’re on this CGI path. Considering how successful this franchise has been over the years in the realm of animated television, maybe this second go-around at feature animation will go better than it did last time, which would ideally pave the way for the Turtles to get another film trilogy under their belts, if not an even longer big screen saga.
We here at CinemaBlend will keep you updated on how the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot is progressing as more news comes in, including who will be cast to voice the eponymous quartet. In the meantime, you can get your fill of Turtles by watching Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series on Nickelodeon, and be sure to look through our 2020 release schedule to learn what movies are supposed to arrive in theaters later this year.
