Veteran producer Neal H. Moritz (“Sonic the Hedgehog,” “The Fast and the Furious”) is reportedly in negotiations to reignite the live-action “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” franchise at Paramount Pictures. Toby Ascher will also act as a producer on the new films.
Paramount fully owns the TMNT brand, and last week came the news that they had cancelled the animated TV series “Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” mid-production. The reason given was that “this is not the vision the owners want”.
Now it seems Paramount’s new owners, Skydance, have figured out what they want to do with the brand, and this new film will mark the first step.
It will be the first live-action or live-action/CG animation hybrid feature since the mid-2010s when “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows” launched and bombed.
The last film was 2023’s animated “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem,” which launched to a lot of critical acclaim. A sequel is in the works, and by all indications, that’s still continuing with its planned September 17th 2027 release.
The plan now, though, is to “Sonic-fy” the franchise – a live-action/hybrid that plays well to the all-ages, four-quadrant crowd.
One project that won’t proceed, though, is the R-rated adult-skewing “The Last Ronin” that had Ilya Naishuller in talks to direct. That title has been put on hold, but the studio reportedly wants to keep the door open to revisiting it down the road.
Source: THR
