Today, a short 7-second teaser trailer for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows was released by the official TMNT Movie Youtube Page.
Movies in a half shell! The TMNT franchise has included a number of movies. Here we’ll take you through every movie, from the original 1990 movie to the recent 2016 sequel.
As if it weren’t cool enough that the Nicktoons channel has been airing episodes of the 4Kids TMNT series, it would appear that they are now going to bring the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie to the network. Nickelodeon has plans to air the movie on Nicktoons this Friday, November 13th at 9 PM. They will also air an encore presentation of the film on Saturday, November 14th at 11 PM. The Ninja Turtles might not be the first franchise that comes to mind when you think about Friday the 13th, but somehow I don’t think turtles fans will mind the timing.
For many shellheads, the original TMNT movie is still the best of the bunch. Unlike some of the other titles in the franchise, 1990’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles manages to pay homage to both the animated series and the comic book that inspired the film. It’s so beloved by the fans that it has actually been referenced in Nickelodeon’s TMNT series. Despite the fact that this is not a cartoon, it isn’t too surprising to see them air it on Nicktoons, as they have been putting a lot of retro Ninja Turtles action on this channel as of late.
Unfortunately, there’s no news about whether or not they will be airing the second or third movie anytime soon. They’ve probably got the license to do so, but they haven’t announced any plans as of yet. For those who haven’t seen the movie in a while, this will no doubt be a welcome addition to the channel’s lineup. Will you be watching the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie when it airs this Friday? Let us know in the comments below. We’ll be sure to keep you posted when and if Nickelodeon decides to air the other TMNT movies!
Music has always been an important part of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle film franchise. The songs of the films helped define them as cool, and worked to add something hip and interesting to the ancient art of ninjutsu. Of all the music used in the films, none has been more prominently featured, or become the anthems of the various films, more than rap song. For Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990), it was Partners in Kryme that spun the theme; in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II (1991), Vanilla Ice’s “Ninja Rap” became the favorite track; and in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014), Juicy J, Wiz Khalifa, and Ty Dolla $ign gave fans “Shell Shocked.”
While the music video for “Shell Shocked” was released prior to the film’s theatrical debut, it was also included on the Blu-Ray edition of the film as an extra. Like its predecessors in the Ninja Turtle rap family, “Shell Shocked” is both drawn from and inspired by the film and the franchise. The song speaks about the brothers, about the ways of the ninja, and even mentions Michelangelo and Shredder. It is, at its core, a TMNT rap song. The actual music (put together by Kill the Noise and Madsonik) provides a somewhat EDM feel, giving the song the sense that it could be used as battle music for this incarnation of the turtles as big bruisers that like to hit hard. In that way, it is very reminiscent of “Ninja Rap” from TMNT II. In that film, the song was actually used as fight music versus the Foot, and the music’s beats reflected the action taking place. “Shell Shocked” feels like it could be used in the same way, if that had been the desire.
The music video itself also reflects the nature of the song as a battle anthem. The scenes chosen from the film are those involving hard hits, battles, and climactic actions. The escape down the mountain, the battle with Shredder, and fighting the Foot under the cover of darkness are all used to showcase the turtles and their ninja abilities, as well as provide action-packed scenes to mark the downbeats and bass in the music video. The remaining video content features the rappers each performing a verse in honor of the brothers and their ninja skills. As a whole, the video is a nice addition to the rap music history surrounding the TMNT film franchise, and showcases why this particular genre is so successful for a succinct portrayal of the film as a whole.
As an extra, the music video is okay. As discussed above, the video itself is nice, and the song is certainly catchy. However, it also suffers from some of the same issues as other DVD extras, and from an issue with media platforms. The official video was released online about a week before the film hit theaters. It was a great way to generate some last-minute hype for the film, but it’s still online right now. If it exists on a free media platform like YouTube, then it is actually one less reason to buy the Blu-Ray. After all, there’s no point in owning the extras if some of them are available for free elsewhere. DVD extras are supposed to be those things that cannot be seen anywhere else, and make consumers want to buy the film in a non-digital medium. In that way, this extra feature failed.
The TMNT Blu-Ray DVD release came with a lot of extras for fans. Each had its own positives and negatives, including the “Shell Shocked” music video. While a great way to hype the film, it wasn’t perhaps best served as a DVD extra. Instead, it could have been replaced with something else, or left off entirely in place of extended run times on some of the others. Whatever the case, the video and song were enjoyable, but any future DVD releases, and the ultimately forthcoming release of the sequel, should reconsider the lineup for extra features.
If it seems like things are moving pretty quickly with this sequel, there’s a reason for that: not only is the film set for release in 2016, but it has already started filming and there are still holes to fill in the cast. It is for this reason that we have seen so much casting news over the past few weeks. Here’s a rundown of the new casting decisions that have been made recently.
- Stephen Amell was cast as Casey Jones
- Tyler Perry was cast as Baxter Stockman
- Brian Tee was cast as Shredder
If you can believe it, there is even more to come, as we have yet to see who will be playing Bebop or Rocksteady, both of whom have been confirmed for this movie. There are some speculations as to who might be cast in at least one of these roles, but no official word as of yet. That being said, of those who have been recently cast, they are already starting to show up on set for principal photography and even a few action scenes.
As we revealed earlier, Stephen Amell has already shown up on set alongside Megan Fox as April O’Neil. We don’t know whether or not this scene is a good representation of what to expect from his look during the whole movie, but even if it is, it’s fair to say that he looks enough like Casey Jones to pull off the role.
We’ve also seen Megan Fox wearing a blonde wig and glasses, presumably as an undercover disguise, but we don’t know whether or not this has anything to do with the foot. For all we know, these undercover photos could be part of a simple story she is doing for her job. By the way, does anyone else get that Michelle Pfeiffer vibe (a la Batman Returns) from her when she’s wearing that costume?
As noted in a previous article, Megan Fox was seen running from the foot clan while holding a canister of purple ooze. Being that the original mutagen in the first film was green, fan speculation has it that this could be retromutagen, which would fit in pretty well with the story of the Ninja Turtles.
In addition to the photos of April and Casey, recent leaked pictures reveal our first look at Tyler Perry as Baxter Stockman. To be honest, I think this might be some of the best casting yet, as Perry looks so much like the Stockman we knew from the original comics that it’s almost eerie. He’s even got that nerdy scientist thing going for him, which is always nice for a role like this.
As if that weren’t enough, there were also photos of the chairs being used on set. If you recall the controversy over the title for the first film, these pictures will probably seem somewhat familiar. Although there are some people saying that the film will be titled “Half Shell,” the on-set pictures of these chairs reveal the title “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II.” My suspicion is that we won’t know the official title for the film until we start to see posters and trailers, which is pretty much the same thing that happened with the first movie.
Whatever the case may be, these on set photos of both new and old cast members are pretty revealing. What do you think? Does Tyler Perry fit the role of Baxter Stockman? Will Stephen Amell make a good Casey Jones? Is the title really going to be Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
If it seems like we’re getting casting news and rumors for this sequel on a weekly basis, that’s because they are finally starting to shoot the film. So far, the casting news has all been pretty cool, with Stephen Amell being cast as Casey Jones and Tyler Perry earning the role of Baxter Stockman. If these latest rumors are true, we might be looking at a pretty cool cast for TMNT 2, as former wrestler CM Punk has confirmed that he auditioned for a role in the new movie.
Of course, auditioning doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re going to get the role, but it at least means that he was considered. For the uninitiated, CM Punk was a very talented WWE wrestler who left the business for personal reasons. He is also an outspoken comic book nerd and comic book writer, so it’s fair to say that he would definitely be a good fit for this project. After all, it’s not always easy to find someone who has intimate knowledge of the comic book world and is also an excellent fighter.
Unfortunately, it isn’t clear what role the former wrestler auditioned for, although he probably would have made a pretty good Casey Jones. That obviously isn’t going to happen now, but we still have yet to see casting for two pretty important and confirmed characters in this film – Bebop and Rocksteady. Is it possible that CM Punk auditioned for one of these two roles? Well, he can definitely play the bad guy if he has to, and I’m sure there are a lot of fans out there who would love to see this.
Punk mentioned the audition during a panel at Chicago Comics and Entertainment Expo, but he wouldn’t talk about the role. However, the role is apparently still uncast, so it could be just about any character – well, any character but Casey Jones or Baxter Stockman. In other words, the role could be something as simple as Foot Soldier #47 or as complicated as Krang. Okay, so he’s probably not playing Krang, but fan speculation will allow for any possibility.
Whatever the case may be, chances are that he will continue to fight in the MMA, where he was recently signed after leaving the WWE. What do you think? Would you like to see CM Punk in TMNT 2? What Character do you think he would play? Let us know in the comments below.