MUTANT MAYHEM 2 Director Confirms New Live-Action NINJA TURTLES Movie Won’t Impact the Sequel
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fans were hit with a double dose of news this week. Paramount revealed plans for a brand new live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film that aims to shake up the franchise in a big way.
They want to “Sonic-fy” the franchise, and that makes me sad. Especially since the R-rated adaptation of The Last Ronin was shelved in favor of the new vision.
At the same time, audiences are gearing up for the upcoming sequel to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, which arrives a full year before the live action project.
With two major TMNT stories heading to theaters so close together, it’s fair to wonder whether one might overshadow the other. Fortunately, director Jeff Rowe isn’t concerned.
Rowe, who helmed Mutant Mayhem and is directing its 2027 follow up, spoke with io9 just as the live action announcement dropped. Even he was still catching up on the news.
“No one’s called me and told me anything yet,” Rowe said. “It seems like we’re moving into a world where maybe multiple things can coexist. And, you know, there was a time when there were live-action Spider-Man movies being made at the same time as Spider-Verse. I love these characters and welcome as many takes on the franchise as people are willing to put out there.”
That confidence comes from knowing how strong the animated sequel’s progress has been. Rowe recently wrapped producing duties on a short film that plays in the same universe, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Chrome Alone 2 – Lost in New Jersey.
Balancing the short while managing the feature film kept him moving nonstop. “Sometimes it would be like ‘This week is all about the short.’ And other times it’d be like, ‘All right, short, you’re on your own. Here’s $20 for pizza, and I’ve got to go deal with the feature.’”
Even with all that juggling, he sounds optimistic about where the sequel stands. “There are a lot of parts that are now going into animation, and I think the film will be fully animated by the middle of next year. Then we’re going to be lighting and comping and just working every day to put as much quality on screen as we can.”
Fans eager for details about the story or official title will have to hold tight. Rowe isn’t sure when those reveals will happen. “We’ll see what the marketing department thinks is best,” he said. “But I think there’s some internal excitement about it. And I’m excited for the world to see it.”
Same here. And while we wait, audiences will get a small taste of the world that Mutant Mayhem set up. The new short Chrome Alone 2 arrives in theaters on December 19, attached to The SpongeBob Movie Search for SquarePants.