Michael Bay has been coming in for some stick from fans of the classic children’s cartoon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles since his comments a couple of weeks back about the beloved characters being reimagined as aliens for Platinum Dunes’ upcoming live-action reboot. Bay’s initial response was to tell fans to “chill”, and now he’s taken to the forums of his website Shoot for the Edit once again, this time to address concerns about the name change to Ninja Turtles:
“Paramount marketing changed the name. They made the title simple. The characters you all remember are exactly the same, and yes they still act like teenagers. Everything you remember, why you liked the characters, is in the movie. This script is being developed by two very smart writers, with one of the original creators of Ninja Turtles. They care VERY MUCH about making this film for the fans. Everyone on this team cares about the fans. Just give them a chance. Jonathan Liebesman [Wrath of the Titans] the director, is a major fan of the whole franchise. HE’S NOT GOING TO LET YOU DOWN.“
It’s fair to say that Bay and company haven’t got off on the best of footing with die-hard TMNT fans, but let’s face it – this movie isn’t being made “for the fans”. It’s being made for kids and just like Bay’s Transformers series, it’s surely going to rake in the cash for Paramount when it arrives in Christmas 2013, regardless of how faithful the finished product turns out. At the very least, the new film should see the heroes-in-a-half-shell enjoying a level of popularity unseen since their heydey in the early 90s, even if they’re not the exact same Turtles we all came to know and love.
In another piece of news from the Ninja Turtles reboot, director Jonathan Liebesman confirmed to Latino Review that the Turtles will be created using motion-capture technology akin to Rise of the Planet of the Apes. So then, what price Andy Serkis as Splinter?
Originally published March 27, 2012. Updated December 6, 2019.
