Once upon a time, after the decent but so-so successful TMNT, it was rumored that a brand new live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles may be on the way with some computer animated turtles instead of guys in suits.
Well, ladies and gentlemen of the ’80s, that dream is now a shiny reality. A press release has been sent out to the masses announcing that The Mirage Group has officially given the greenlight to the development of a new Ninja Turtles movie with the goal of a 2011 release.
The announcement was made as our favorite martial arts-trained turtles are celebrating their big 25th anniversary in New York City, lovingly titled “Shell-ebration.” For the event, the Empire State Building will be going turtle-green and the showing of the first movie outdoors at the Tribeca Film Festival’s Drive-In theater.
The movie has a strong producing team including Galen Walker, who produced TMNT; as well as Scott Mednick, who has a blockbuster resume that features: 300, Superman Returns, 10,000 BC, and the upcoming Where the Wild Things Are.
Mr. Mednick had this to say about the project:
The original dozen comics created by Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman are some of the best source material one could hope for. We’re excited to bring this story to a whole new generation of moviegoers as well as the legions of fans that have made the Turtles – Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael as well as Splinter, April O’Neil, Casey Jones and, of course, the great villain Shredder – a part of their world for 25 years.
This announcement was made even better today, when co-creator Peter Laird wrote on his blog about the new project and how it might be handled.
Woo hoo! So here we go — another live action film! As you may recall from some of my previous comments, our initial discussions regarding the next film had to do with what we were calling a “hybrid” — live action with realistic Turtles rendered in CGI and blended in. This new idea — which, frankly, I am VERY pumped about — will have actors and stunt performers in full Turtle suits for filming in live action. As of right now, there is talk of using CGI to do “face replacement” for the suits so that we can get those great, expressive faces possible with CGI.
We are very early in the development process — no writer or director has been chosen yet. And we’ve just started talking about the story. But I’m really looking forward to getting into it! — PL
This is my favorite bit of all. While I was open and excited for a new live-action movie — even with animated turtles — nothing beats the thought of them going old school with people in actual costumes…except maybe if they made the movie as dark as the comic was. It sounds like they’re really embracing where technology is with the hope of using physical costumes and possibly animating the facial features. The plan sounds very much like how they handled the creatures in Spike Jonze’s Where the Wild Things Are — and wouldn’t ya know it, they have a producer here who worked on that movie as well. Perfect.
No word on writers, directors, or actors yet, but Mednick has already begun talking to many potential talents — including some high-profiles actors who are interested in being cast. It’s amazing what nostalgia can bring us.
Happy Anniversary, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. And Happy Birthday/Christmas/Groundhog Day to us.
[Source: via /Film]
COWABUNGA!!!
Turtles Live!!!
Turtles Live!!!
Turtles Live!!!
Keep true to the comic origins and avoid any “Vanilla Ice” type cameos and I’ll be happy.