Forget "heroes" - the Ninja Turtles in Mutant Mayhem really are "ninjas" in a half-shell!
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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (2023) will be hitting theaters this August, marking the franchise's seventh time in movie theaters.
It 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).
The first trailer for the upcoming film was released a few months ago, and promises to be similar to Sony's Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) not just in its mesmerizing CG-animation, but also from a tonal perspective.
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As producer Seth Rogen previously stated, the film will focus primarily on the "teenage aspect" of its titular turtles, making it a first for the franchise.
While previous iterations have of course depicted the Ninja Turtles as teenagers, none have really fleshed out this aspect in full.
Mutant Mayhem, however, promises to be a coming-of-age story, and is the first time the Turtles have been portrayed by actual teenage actors.
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Now, in an interview with Empire, director Jeff Rowe revealed that Mutant Mayhem has been inspired by Stephen King's Stand By Me (1986), which follows a group of four young teenagers in the wilderness.
However, another exclusive reveal courtesy of Empire, that's perhaps even more intriguing than the coming-of-age comparison, is a brand-new image.
The image in question shows the four Ninja Turtles standing atop a New York City high rise in the dark, each of them showing their signature white eyes.
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The Ninja Turtles have sported those creepy, Batman-like white eyes in many iterations over the years, including the 2003 animated series and numerous comic books.
However, the fact that they'll also have them in Mutant Mayhem raises a lot of questions. For starters, is this an ability they'll be able to choose at will?
Do they have a darker side in the upcoming film, one they're able to hone into whenever they go "full Ninja" in order to take down dangerous opponents?
Well, we'll just have to wait and see, but the film is certainly shaping up to be one that will please many different corners of the TMNT fanbase.
Check out the 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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