Fans of giant anthropomorphic reptiles, martial arts, and round Italian food will soon rejoice (hopefully). The Hollywood Reporter has reported (in Hollywood) that Paramount is in the process of finding a new producer to head up live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles projects. The producer, Neal H. Moritz, is the man behind Universal’s Fast and Furious franchise and more recently Paramount’s own Sonic the Hedgehog is in talks to jump into the sewers for the TMNT franchise. New Line

The most recent live-action (well, mixed with CGI) Turtles movie was 2016’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, which underperformed at the box office. Since then, the franchise has seen a renaissance of sorts as an animated film and series, Mutant Mayhem, spearheaded by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. Moritz’s ties to the Sonic series has me thinking a new live-action version will likely be lighter in tone than the comparatively darker Michael Bay-produced 2010s movies.

This news does come with a bit of disappointment as well. The decision from the Skydance-owned studio to do a full reboot effectively puts the kibosh on the gestating adaptation of grown-up Turtles comic The Last Ronin. That very dark story follows the last remaining member of the turtles brotherhood in a post-apocalypse as he seeks Shredder’s grandson to seek vengeance for the death of the other three turtles. It’s a super rad book, but also definitely not for kids. The movie would have been R-rated.

Nickelodeon has owned the rights to the property since 2009, and Paramount owns Nickelodeon. So all parties clearly see the value of a young audience. While the franchise has always ping-ponged between gritty and family friendly. The original ’80s comic was a violent satire of Marvel Comics but turned to a toy behemoth when Playmates obtained the rights and made the most popular cartoon of the era. Paramount clearly wants a four-quadrant hit rather than a violent adult action movie.

The sequel to Mutant Mayhem, directed by Jeff Rowe, is still set for a Sept. 17, 2027 release.  

Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Letterboxd.

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