If you’re a Turtles fan, there’s plenty to be both excited and worried about in the near future. With a new Teenage Mutant Ninja turtles television series in the works and a purported reboot of the film series coming soon, it is clear that the fans of this beloved franchise have not been forgotten. However, for some fans these new cartoons and films are a harbinger of doom for the shelled super heroes. It all depends on how you feel about the people behind each of the projects, because there are some big names being thrown around in conjunction with the future of this franchise. For one, Michael Bay has been named as a producer for the new films, suggesting that these may in fact be much more action oriented and much less focused on story. If that’s what you’re looking for, then I’m sure Bay and his boys will have you covered. That being said, if you’re like many of the Transformers fans who have spoken out against his treatment of that franchise, this news probably isn’t making you very happy.
To be fair, Michael Bay will most likely produce or be an executive producer of the films, which is a far cry from the directing he is known for. In other words, he won’t have nearly as much control over the whole process as he has had in the past. Unfortunately, two relative newcomers have been chosen to write the script for the new reboot. Josh Applebaum and Andre Nemec both have plenty of experience writing scripts for television, but their first experience writing for the big screen will be with the latest installment to the Mission: Impossible series. Obviously, we have yet to see how this will turn out, but usually it’s never a good sign when they bring on a couple of rookies to handle the job. We can only hope that this is the right decision for the series, but depending on your opinions of the people who have signed on for this project, chances are you’re either going to be very pessimistic or slightly optimistic.
As for the other big news involving the new TMNT animated series, the cast is all but set with each of the well known turtles voiced by a different and talented actor. Jason Biggs will be playing the voice of Leonardo, Sean Astin will play Raphael, Greg Cipes will be Michelangelo and Rob Paulsen will play Donatello. The new TMNT cartoon is set for release on Nickelodeon next year and the word on the street is that this has serious potential. There’s no word yet on when the film reboots will be completed or released, as they are currently in pre-production. So there you have it, with so much going on in the TMNT world, it’s clear that their popularity has not yet waned. We all still love the Turtles, and we want as much of them as we can get. Again, depending on your outlook, some of this could be good news and some of it could be bad. However you take it, this is at least a sign that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles won’t be fading into obscurity any time soon, and that alone is fantastic news.