Seth Rogen’s Point Grey Pictures to produce
Like it or not, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise is big business – and I mean extra-large pepperoni sized big business.
Today, Deadline is reporting that Nickelodeon is set to reboot the big-screen incarnation of our heroes in a half shell in an all-new CG animated movie. The blockbuster will be produced by Point Grey Pictures’ Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg and James Weaver with Jeff Rowe (Gravity Falls, Connected) sat in the director’s chair. Brendan O’ Brian (Neighbors: Sorority Rising, Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates) will write the screenplay with Paramount Pictures handling global distribution on the film.
This new adaptation represents Nickelodeon’s first foray into the realm of CG animated theatrical features and is a bold step following the divisive reaction to Michael Bay’s live-action movies.
Brian Robbins, President, Kids & Family for ViacomCBS had this to say about the project: “Adding Seth, Evan and James’ genius to the humor and action that’s already an integral part of TMNT is going to make this a next-level reinvention of the property. I’m looking forward to seeing what they do, and I know that Ramsey Naito and her team are excited to take the Nick Animation Studio into another great direction with their first-ever CG-animated theatrical.”
Since taking over the rights to the franchise, Nickelodeon has overseen two new animated series’ and two tentpole blockbuster movies which have yielded varying results. Also, aside from the proposed big-screen CG adventure, Nickelodeon has signed a deal with Netflix to produce an animated 2D movie based on The Rise Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series.
Personally, this news doesn’t thrill me at all. Bringing Seth Rogen aboard is a calculated risk, one that will undoubtedly divide the loyal and devoted fanbase. Brendan O’ Brian’s well established comedic chops were cemented following the success of Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates, however, his material is far from suited to the adventures of the TMNT. Hopefully, I am proven wrong and I am left to eat humble pie somewhere down the line – but as it stands this is one incarnation of the heroes in a half shell I will NOT be looking forward to.
In the meantime, I’ll stick with the original 1990 movie from New Line Cinema. Even now, thirty years later it still stands as the definitive TMNT adventure and will never be surpassed.
Cowabunga!
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Phil Roberts is the Owner, Daily Content Manager, and Editor-In-Chief of The Future of the Force. He is passionate about Star Wars, Batman, DC, Marvel, Star Trek, Indiana Jones, Ghostbusters, King Kong, and the Ray Harryhausen movies. Follow him on Twitter @philthecool where he uses the force and babbles frequently!
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(Source: Deadline)
Author
Phil Roberts is the Owner, Daily Content Manager, and Editor-In-Chief of The Future of the Force. He is passionate about Star Wars, Batman, DC, Marvel, Star Trek, Indiana Jones, Ghostbusters, King Kong, and the Ray Harryhausen movies. Follow him on Twitter where he uses the force and babbles frequently!
