Phil Roberts 
Paramount has turned to producer Neal H. Moritz to bring his Sonic formula to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise. The Last Ronin has been shelved for now.
Look out, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fans, because the heroes in a half shell are officially back on the reboot assembly line. According to THR, Paramount Pictures is turning to the Sonic the Hedgehog producer Neal H. Moritz to bring his magic touch to the TMNT franchise. The aim is to inject the franchise with the magic family formula that has made Sonic so lucrative, earning $1.2 billion worldwide across three movies. “If you want Sonic, you go to the guy who did Sonic,” said one insider.
Sadly, the reshuffle at Paramount has forced the new regime to focus on guaranteed returns from its investments. As a result, the live-action adaptation of Kevin Eastman and Tom Waltz’s TMNT: The Last Ronin has been shelved for the time being. The film was expected to be a bold and ambitious R-rated adaptation. But with the studio enjoying strong returns from its family-based IPs, the new regime wants to build a solid foundation for TMNT that can support more ambitious projects later down the line. Therefore, The Last Ronin isn’t shelved indefinitely; it’s just put on hiatus until the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have found their big-screen legs again.
COWABUNGA
The last live-action film in the franchise was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows. The film was released in 2016 to mixed reviews. But sadly, fans didn’t flock to its banner, and the film struggled to turn a profit, grossing $246 million worldwide. However, the franchise is enjoying a recent renaissance, with the animated feature TMNT: Mutant Mayhem hitting the high notes, grossing $180.5 million worldwide. A sequel is already well into development, eyeing a Sept. 17, 2027, release. That being said, the television spin-off, Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, has been dumped in the sewers. “This is not the vision the owners want,” was the reason given to those working on the show.
Thankfully, this means a return to the vintage formula that brought the series to the dance. After all, it was the recent reissue of the 1990 original movie that prompted the studio into action. The film returned to the big screen several months ago, and it was so successful that the sequel, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze, is also getting the reissue treatment for its 35th anniversary.
TRADITION OVER CONTEMPORARY
Personally, as a kid of the 80s, I believe it’s high time the studio revisited the success of the original film and returned to the formula’s basics. While Eastman and Laird’s original comics were dark and edgy, it was the original animated series and its big-screen counterparts that put the franchise on the map. So, it’s time to ditch the random mask changes, quirky gadgets, and gimmicks and return to the glory days of the heroes in a half shell – and that starts with the costumes.
Dan Trachtenberg has expanded the possibilities following his work on Predator: Badlands, which delivered a practical Predator suit with motion-capture face. The result was perhaps the most realistic and emotionally expressive face ever crafted for the Yautja species. If Paramount went down this road, fans could be rewarded with one of the most compelling TMNT projects to date. That, coupled with the production values of Neal H. Moritz, could be enough to catapult our beloved Turtles back to the top of the box office – and that is worth getting the pizzas in for.
Although we’ll have to wait a little longer for The Last Ronin, fans can sleep well knowing that our heroes in a half shell are headed back to the big screen. So grab a slice of pepperoni, fuel up the Turtle van, and get Casey Jones on speed dial, because this could be epic!
Are you excited about a new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot? Drop a comment in the chat below.
Meet Phil Roberts! He’s the dedicated owner, daily content manager, and editor-in-chief of The Future of the Force. Phil is a budding novelist who turned his passion toward writing about the franchises he loves back in 2016. He’s a huge fan of all things Star Wars, Batman, DC, Marvel, Star Trek, Indiana Jones, Ghostbusters, King Kong, and the Ray Harryhausen movies. Phil is a BFI-accredited journalist and a distinguished member of the Film Critics Association UK.
If he’s not catching a movie at the cinema, you can bet he’s streaming something just as awesome!
