William Fichtner Confirms He’s Playing Shredder In Michael Bay’s ‘Ninja Turtles’
By The Movie God
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Monday, June 24th, 2013 at 10:00 pm
Back when we found out that William Fichtner, the character actor known for roles in movies like Armageddon, Black Hawk Down, The Dark Knight, and upcoming titles The Lone Ranger and Elysium, had joined the cast of producer Michael Bay and director Jonathan Liebesman‘s new take on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, many wondered who he might be playing.
The popular guess was the villain Shredder, even though he was of Japanese descent in the original. Another possibility was Casey Jones, the hockey mask-wearing vigilante. But Fichtner himself, in a recent interview, has confirmed that he is in fact playing Shredder.
The actor spoke to The Huffington Post Canada about various topics, and when asked about Ninja Turtles, he said:
“I play Shredder. It is cool. It’s one of those things that came along where I thought, ‘Really? Let me think about this for a minute.’ [Laughs] Then I was like, ‘Yeah, OK, this sounds like a journey.’ I’m very glad that it worked out, I’m really glad that I’m doing it.”
This might upset some of the purist fans of the franchise, but it wouldn’t be the first time that something like this has happened. And if it’s going to be done, it’s reassuring to see an actor like Fichtner getting the job.
What do you think of William Fichtner playing Shredder in the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?
While William Fichter is a fine actor, this is HORRIBLE and egregious miscasting. Just another egregious example of Hollywood ethic whitewashing; as if making the Mandarin a drunken actor played by Sir Ben Kingsley—who was not Chinese—wasn’t bad enough, Michael Bay tries to pull this shit on Turtles fans! I am convinced that Bay is deliberately trolling TMNT fans with a lot the decisions being made in this reboot. The news of a white American Shredder is just more reason for me not to see this steaming cinematic turd. Be sure to let me know how it turns out.
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While William Fichter is a fine actor, this is HORRIBLE and egregious miscasting. Just another egregious example of Hollywood ethic whitewashing; as if making the Mandarin a drunken actor played by Sir Ben Kingsley—who was not Chinese—wasn’t bad enough, Michael Bay tries to pull this shit on Turtles fans! I am convinced that Bay is deliberately trolling TMNT fans with a lot the decisions being made in this reboot. The news of a white American Shredder is just more reason for me not to see this steaming cinematic turd. Be sure to let me know how it turns out.
Comment by MadMike R5D4 — June 25, 2013 @ 1:24 pm