TMNT sequel

Although Paramount has yet to announce any plans for another sequel, it’s still very likely that we will see a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3. Out of the Shadows may not have performed as well as its predecessor, but it has earned back its production budget. In addition to the box office earnings, reports are that toys tied to the film have sold very well. Merchandising may be just the fuel this franchise needs to keep going, even if many fans don’t want to see it continue.

Regardless of all these concerns, I figured that it would be fun to talk about the potential for a third film. The last time I wrote an article about characters I would like to see in a new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, every single one of them found their way into the script. There are no guarantees that this good fortune will continue for another sequel, but there’s also no harm in hoping for the best. With that in mind, let’s take a look at six characters that would be awesome to see in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3.

Fugitoid

I feel like there’s room in this film franchise to reintroduce some of the concepts that were used in the earliest issues of the comics.

What if April found a strange portal of some sort at the TCRI building which lead the turtles to another dimension? In this dimension, they would of course find Honeycutt and try to save him.

Imagine the bar room scene with Fugitoid in live action! Heck, you could even have some lesser known characters from the Ninja Turtles universe sitting around that bar.

This plot would also provide for the opportunity to meet the next character on the list.

Mozar

Who would be chasing down Fugitoid? Well, among other characters, the Triceratons. This would be an excellent opportunity to introduce Mozar for the first time in live action.

Several fans have noted that they would love to see him make an appearance in the movies, and I think there would be plenty of room for him in a plot that included Professor Honeycutt.

We’ve already seen the Technodrome sucked back into a portal to another dimension, so it’s not too much of a stretch to see the turtles take this leap in a movie. We’ve also seen these characters introduced into Nickelodeon’s TMNT series, so they would already be familiar to the younger audience.

I can easily see both Mozar and Fugitoid making an entrance into the Ninja Turtles movies with this sequel.

Usagi Yojimbo

With the news that Viacom may have acquired the rights to bring this character back to the TMNT universe, it’s entirely a possibility that we could see him in a future movie. I wouldn’t get my hopes up for this, but it would be cool to see him make some kind of an appearance.

Even if he’s just one of the patrons at the bar where they end up with Professor Honeycutt, it would be a nice nod to his involvement in the franchise. Even better, you could have him step up and defend the turtles in that scene, joining them in their escape from the Triceratons! I don’t know about you, but that sounds pretty awesome to me.

Baxter Stockman (Fly)

Of course, if they choose not to go the route described above, there is always a chance we could see more characters from the original animated series.

Out of the Shadows did a pretty good job of setting up the tale of Baxter Stockman, introducing audiences to his desire to be noticed.

What if Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3 found Stockman getting a bit overzealous and transforming himself into a fly? That would be a pretty cool addition that I think a lot of fans would enjoy.

Heck, there might even be room for it in a movie that focuses on the turtles in another dimension, but I don’t think that would work very well.

Leatherhead

In the Nickelodeon series, Leatherhead has established himself as something of a friend to the turtles. They have saved him from the Krang, and he has done whatever possible to help them as well. I would love to see this characterization continue in the film series, with the potential to lead into a Mutanimals movie!

Studios are very hot on the idea of franchises that can branch out, so this would be an excellent opportunity to introduce the character of Leatherhead and prepare audiences for a potential Mutanimals project.

Speaking of which, it would be cool if the next character on this list was also primed for the Mutanimals.

Slash

Yes, I think there is room for Raphael’s pet turtle turned dangerous mutant in this film franchise. He could easily become a member of the Mutanimals, helping the turtles to fight crime and take out big baddies like Krang or Shredder.

What makes this even more fun is that he has taken so many different forms over the years. For all we know, they could make Slash a big, oafish, powerful mutant. Personally, I’d like to see them stick closer to his characterization in Nickelodeon’s cartoon series, but anything is possible.

There are several other characters I could mention, but I don’t want to get ahead of myself. Like I said, the last time I wrote this kind of speculative article, every single character on the list was put into the film! I doubt that was intentional, but on the off chance that someone at Paramount is reading these articles, I’m going to keep things nice and simple. Speaking of which, if anyone at the studios is actually considering any of the ideas above, please don’t combine them all into one huge movie. I think there is room for all of these characters in a TMNT movie, but I’m not sure they should ALL appear in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3.

With that said, let’s hope that we hear something about their plans for this movie franchise sometime soon!

What do you think? Are any of these characters good choices for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3? Is it possible that Paramount/Platinum Dunes would consider adding any of them to their film franchise? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or via facebook/twitter.