Dave Green Says Out of the Shadows Has ‘Turtle Centered Story’

When Paramount first approached Dave Green to direct the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles sequel, I had a feeling that we were in for something special. If recent trailers and leaked information is any indication, that would seem to be exactly what has happened with Out of the Shadows. For those who are unaware, Dave Green got his start in Hollywood with the movie Earth to Echo, which was something of a loving homage to the kid friendly movies that Steven Spielberg used to direct and produce back in the 80s.

Despite the clear nostalgic references to classic movies like The Goonies and E.T., the movie was also fairly respectful to modern young adult audiences, and it served as an excellent bridge between the two generations. As I said late last year, who better to direct a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie than a guy who has proven his ability to craft films with a sense of both nostalgia and new beginnings?

In a recent interview with Collider, Dave Green and Brad Fuller joined forces for an interview about the upcoming movie Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows. During this interview, Green and Fuller both said a lot of interesting things. One of the most significant statements that Green made came in his response to the first question, when he tried to explain what made this sequel different from the first movie in the Platinum Dunes/Paramount franchise.

Latest poster artwork for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows. Source: Paramount Pictures

“I think we get deeper characters. We have more time to spend with the turtles, just because a lot of the first movie – time was spent on getting to learn who the turtles were through April’s point of view. Since the audience knows who the turtles are, we dive right in with this movie. So it’s really a turtle centered story-line, and we’ve got kind of a crazy palate of awesome villains as well.”

Given that so many TMNT fans spoke out about the lack of time that the first movie spent on exploring who the turtles really were, it’s nice to hear the director of the second movie addressing these concerns immediately. I’m sure we’ve all gotten the sense that this movie will be more about the Ninja Turtles, but with so many villains on display, there has been concern that the turtles still wouldn’t get enough screen time. Thankfully, if Dave Green is being honest in his statement here, it would appear that we don’t have anything to fear when it comes to our time with the heroes in a half shell.

Oh, and can we talk about how this interviewer called the Technodrome the “Terror Dome”? He got one of the best interviews with the director and producer thus far, and he didn’t even know the name of the Technodrome. Good grief! After asking about the appearance of the structure in the trailers, Brad Fuller responded by saying the following:

“We listen to our fans. After the first movie, we heard a lot of things that people were looking for; they wanted Krang, they wanted the Technodrome, they wanted Casey Jones, Baxter Stockman. So in the interim from the first movie to when we started this one, we really paid attention to what the fans wanted and we tried to give them some of those things.”

Given all of the hate that Platinum Dunes and Michael Bay were getting for their involvement with that film, it’s definitely nice to hear Fuller say something like this. Of course, one look at the trailers is evidence that he isn’t lying. After all, the fans were asking for Krang and the Technodrome, and we’ve already seen both in the trailers for the film thus far. This film is shaping up very nicely, and it would appear that the producers and the director have taken an excellent approach to the creation of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows. Fuller went on to echo what Green had said previously:

“We spend more time with the turtles, getting to know them as a brotherhood. Last time, as Dave said, it was about learning who they are. This time, you really get to see them in the present, interacting with one another; they each have very distinct personalities, and in this movie you will get a total handle on who [they are] and what they want to accomplish.”

If you’re a TMNT fan, these are all the things you want to hear. Even if they are just telling us what we want to hear, at least that is indicative of the idea that they have been paying attention to us. The rest of the interview is very enlightening and we recommend that you all check it out as soon as possible. At this point, I don’t think I even know anyone who isn’t excited for this movie, but it’s always nice to see the filmmakers coming out and talking about the movie in great detail like this. Hopefully Out of the Shadows delivers in all of the areas that both the producer and director discussed during this interview.