TMNT: MUTANT MAYHEM Originally Featured Shredder as a Crime Boss, but the Story Was Hard to Crack
With Shredder being the long-time main villain of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, it makes sense that the creative team behind Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem would’ve wanted to try and find a way to include him as the main villain in the movie, and they actually tried.
Early on in the development process, director Jeff Rowe and the creative team worked hard to include Shredder in the story as the big bad crime boss, but they couldn’t quite figure out the story. During a recent interview with Uproxx, Rowe explained the problems they faced while trying to utilize the villain:
"He was in the movie for a long time, for a year and a half. And then it just did not work. And we were just banging our head against the wall and we had two big story problems. One, the Turtles were in high school on page 30, so they got exactly what they wanted way too early. And it also meant that the movie was a reset 30 minutes in, which was just broken. And then Shredder was the villain and it was too big of a character too soon. And you didn't understand how a crime boss, which is how we were playing him, was connected to these teenagers.
“And it just got too far away from the most simple essential story, which is teens wanting to fit in -- the metaphor being that they are actual mutants and actually shunned by society. It's not just a feeling for them. And having a villain that was also a mutant and had similar experiences just made the themes and the story all kind of come together."
In the end, the direction that they took the story with Superfly and the other mutants was the best way to go. Shredder will be introduced to the franchise! So we will see him in action, and I’m looking forward to that.
When previously talking about the inclusion of Shredder Rowe said: "We'll Dark Knight it.” He went on to say: "When you've grown and you've become confident as a teenager, to then go up against a foe that is three times scarier than anything you've ever seen before, that's interesting and dramatic."
It’ll be fun to see what they do with Shredder when they introduce him in the next film. I have no doubt that he’s going to be a force to be reckoned with.
In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, after years of being sheltered from the human world, the Turtle brothers set out to win the hearts of New Yorkers and be accepted as normal teenagers through heroic acts. Their new friend April O’Neil helps them take on a mysterious crime syndicate, but they soon get in over their heads when an army of mutants is unleashed upon them.
When previously talking about the tone of the film, director Jeff Rowe revealed the vibe they were going for:. “We wanted it to be like Stand By Me and Lady Bird. But, you know, with Ninja Turtles.”
The voice cast of the film includes Micah Abbey as Donatello, Shamon Brown Jr. as Michelangelo, Nicolas Cantu as Leonardo, Brady Noon as Raphael, Jackie Chan as Splinter, John Cena as Rocksteady, Seth Rogen as Bebop, Ice Cube as Superfly, Rose Byrne as Leatherhead, Natasia Demetriou as Wingnut, Ayo Edebiri as April O’Neil, Giancarlo Esposito as Baxter Stockman, Post Malone as Ray Fillet, Paul Rudd as Mondo Gecko, and Maya Rudolph as Cynthia Utrom.
The Seth Rogen-produced Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem hits theaters on August 4th.