Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (2023) will be hitting theaters this summer, and it will be the seventh theatrical installment in the long-running TMNT franchise. But is it canon?
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Mutant Mayhem follows a long list of TMNT movies, which are as follows: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993), TMNT (2007), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014), and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (2016).
It's the seventh theatrical film in the franchise, and the second CG-animated, with TMNT being the first. There's yet another live-action films in the works from Paramount Pictures and Platinum Dune, however, we know that will be a reboot and will not follow on from the two most recent Michael Bay-produced films. But what about Mutant Mayhem? Is it a sequel, a prequel, or a reboot?
You'd be forgiven for assuming Mutant Mayhem is a sequel - after all, 2007's TMNT is, in fact, a sequel to the first three live-action films. Yes, TMNT is actually canon with the original trilogy, which is confirmed during a scene in the Turtles' sewer lair, which reveals "items" from those previous three films on a shelving unit, from The Shredder's helmet to the time-travelling sceptre.
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With that said, this doesn't mean that Mutant Mayhem will follow suit just because it's animated. First of all, it's worth pointing out that this is the first time the Ninja Turtles will have been portrayed as actual teenagers, and they're said to be between the ages of 13 and 16 in the upcoming film, which is something producer Seth Rogen previously stated he wanted to lean into.
As such, this would, chronologically speaking, place the new film before the events of any of the previous six films in the franchise. However, it doesn't really make that much of a difference, because Mutant Mayhem is indeed a reboot, which will be the second time (third if you do consider TMNT a reboot of sorts) the film series has wiped the slate clean.
The first reboot came in the form of the 2014 film from Michael Bay, which got its first and last sequel in 2016 with Out of the Shadows. While it might seem that Mutant Mayhem could serve as a prequel to whichever previous continuity, it looks like it will change some TMNT lore anyway, from the fact that April O'Neil is portrayed as African-American, to the fact that The Shredder is seemingly absent from what appears to be a brand-new origin story.
Check out the new trailer for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem below:
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As per Wikipedia, here's the plot for the film:
After years of being sheltered from the human world, the Turtles 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 notorious crime syndicate, but they soon get in over their heads when an army of mutants is unleashed upon them.
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It stars Nicolas Cantu (Leonardo), Micah Abbey (Donatello), Shamon Brown Jr. (Michelangelo), Brady Noon (Raphael), Jackie Chan (Splinter), Ayo Edebiri (April O'Neil), Seth Rogen (Bebop), John Cena (Rocksteady), Hannibal Buress (Genghis Frog), Rose Byrne (Leatherhead), Ice Cube (Superfly), Post Malone (Ray Fillet), Paul Rudd (Mondo Gecko), Maya Rudolph (Cynthia Utrom), Natasia Demetriou (Wingnut), and Giancarlo Esposito (Baxter Stockman).
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (2023) will be released in theaters on August 4, 2023.
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