Today’s the 25th Anniversary of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, as we reported yesterday. So what better day to announce a brand new live-action film?
The Mirage group was given the green light for a new TMNT film that will hit in 2011, and focus on the origins of the turtles.
“The original dozen comics created by Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman are some of the best source material one could hope for,” said [producer Scott] Mednick. “We’re excited to bring this story to a whole new generation of moviegoers as well as the legions of fans that have made the Turtles – Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael as well as Splinter, April O’Neil, Casey Jones and, of course, the great villain Shredder – a part of their world for 25 years.”
While I don’t think that anyone could possibly think that a live-action Turtle film could be a bad thing, it is a bit of a letdown to see another goddamn origin movie. It was handled pretty well in the first movie- what more could they add? More montages of training sequences as the young turtles learn to be ninjas?
They’re looking for writers and directors and are already in discussion with “several high-profile actors”, and are working with Galen Walker who produced the last quite-fun TMNT film.
“It was critical to us to find people who both understood the Turtles franchise and were accomplished film makers who appreciated both the action and humor components of the Turtles’ identity ,” said Gary Richardson CEO, The Mirage Group. “With Galen and Scott we know we’ve found great talent with those essential attributes.”
All I know is that we better see some great effects work on those turtles. For those wishing for a darker film, enjoy this fun clip from their concert!