“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.
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles brand has been alive and thriving for years now. Comics, shows, merchandise and, of course, feature films. There was a pretty significant gap in the wide release department between 1993’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III and 2007’s TMNT, but since then, we’ve been getting a new Ninja Turtles movie fairly regularly. Paramount Pictures went big in 2014 with their live-action, motion capture reboot, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. While that film did wind up earning a sequel, when 2016’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows only took in $245.6 million on a reported $135 million production budget, that seemed to spell the end of that iteration of the franchise. But, this is Ninjas Turtles we’re talking about here! There had to be another go.
It’s only been four years since everyone’s favorite anthropomorphic reptiles showed up on the big screen in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows. But since that installment wasn’t exactly a hit with fans, audiences might be more receptive to the idea of another reboot. It also helps that Seth Rogen, who’s made a name for himself in recent years by bringing a few other geek properties to life, is shepherding the Turtles’ next cinematic adventure. Now, Rogen is explaining how his upcoming CGI version of TMNT will be different from prior incarnations.
Rogen recently sat down for a virtual discussion with Collider about his new HBO Max film, An American Pickle. When the TMNT came up, Rogen made it clear that he’s a longtime fan of the franchise. However, his reboot will zone in on a specific aspect of the characters.
Paramount and Nickelodeon announced plans for Rogen’s TMNT at the end of June. Rogen will produce the movie alongside his frequent collaborator, Evan Goldberg, through their Point Grey Pictures banner. Jeff Lowe is directing the movie from a script by Brendan O’Brien.