After five years of voicing Michelangelo on Nickelodeon’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Greg Cipes is sad to see the series coming to an end. That being said, it would appear that he’s also very hopeful for the future of the franchise. In a recent interview with Bleeding Cool, Cipes discussed his role and Nickelodeon’s immediate plans for the future of our half-shelled heroes. Although it’s clear that he probably won’t be involved, he took this time to once again express an interest in returning when and if the network decided to produce some kind of reunion special.
“Whatever Nickelodeon wants me to do or to be a part of for the voice, of course, I’m down to be a part of it. I’m always going to support the Turtle franchise and I’m always going to be a part of the Turtle family. So that’s the best part of it, knowing that my Mikey will always live on regardless. If they want me to do something else, I’m down to do that too.”
Cipes also noted that Nickelodeon has already brought back the old-school turtles a few different times during the past 5 years, indicating that they might be interested in continuing with this pattern when Rise of the TMNT is released in 2018.
“Much like the old-school Turtles showed up on our show, I got the feeling that our Turtles are going to show up forever also, and maybe coming back as a series again as our Turtles is the best-looking version that’s ever been and the best one. And I’m not saying that because I’m in it, but because it is so.”
If you’re like me, you’ll probably miss moments such as this. Image Source: Nickelodeon.
Needless to say, Greg absolutely loves this version of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I’m sure many shellheads would disagree with him about this being the greatest iteration of the TMNT, but I’m actually inclined to agree. Regardless of his opinions, he has a point about Nickelodeon bringing back voice actors from the original animated series; if the network is willing to go that far for nostalgia, chances are that they will also be interested in bringing back the current crew several years from now.
In other words, this might not be the end for Greg Cipes, Rob Paulsen, Sean Astin and Seth Green. As Cipes said, they might even come back for a full series at some point! Even though it’s sad to see Nickelodeon’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles come to an end, it’s nice to know that we could see them again someday. The Wanted: Bebop & Rocksteady story arc will represent the final episodes of this series, and they are scheduled to air on November 12th, 2017. If you want to see this tale before it airs, you can actually buy the DVD set right now on Amazon.
