It wasn’t that long ago that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were fighting bad guys in a live-action theatrical setting again, having previously done so in the 1990s. However, the reboot button is being pressed on this property once more, as it was announced at the end of June that an all-CGI Turtles movie is in the works, and Seth Rogen is involved as a producer alongside frequent collaborator Evan Goldberg.
So how does this Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie plan to stand out from its predecessors? According to Seth Rogen, there will be extra emphasis on these humanoid reptiles being teenager, as he explained:
As a lifelong fan of Ninja Turtles, weirdly the ‘Teenage’ part of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was always the part that stuck out to me the most. And as someone who loves teenage movies, and who’s made a lot of teenage movies, and who literally got their start in their entire profession by writing a teenage movie, the idea of kind of honing in on that element was really exciting to us. I mean, not disregarding the rest, but really using that as kind of a jumping off point for the film.
Seth Rogen shared his vision for the upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot while speaking with Collider about his new movie An American Pickle. It certainly sounds like Rogen and the other creative talent involved are looking to infuse this Turtles tale with more of a coming-of-age vibe, and as Rogen noted, he certainly has experience in making these kinds of movies both in front of the camera and behind it, from Superbad to Blockers. As a bonus, let’s not forget his time on the short-lived, yet beloved TV series Freaks and Geeks.
Now, obviously one goes into any kind of Teenage Mutants Ninja Turtles story expecting to see Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo and Raphael kicking butt first and foremost, so there’s no need to worry about not seeing that in the reboot. However, Seth Rogen is correct the Teenage part of the property name doesn’t get as much of attention compared to the other descriptors, so it’ll be interesting to see how that’s specifically highlighted in the reboot beyond their love of pizza and video games, as well occasional displays of more juvenile behavior (particularly where Michelangelo and Raphael are concerned).
This won’t be the first all-CGI Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie to make its way to the big screen, as it’s preceded by 2007’s TMNT. That flick was loosely connected to the first three live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies and was met with mixed reviews, though it managed to rake in over $95 million worldwide off a $34 million budget.
Along with Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg producing, the CGI Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot has tapped Neighbors: Sorority Rising writer Brendan O’Brian to pen the script and Gravity Falls’ Jeff Rowe to direct. In addition to the Turtles returning to theaters at some point in the coming years, they’re also currently leading yet another animated series, this one titled Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which airs on Nickelodeon.
Keep checking back with CinemaBlend for more news concerning the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot, and don’t forget to look through our 2020 release schedule to learn what movies are supposed to come out later this year.
