Credit: Paramount Animation / Nickelodeon Movies (via YouTube)The new trailer for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (2023) is the latest in a long line to be targeted by online trolls. Like The Little Mermaid (2023) and Peter Pan and Wendy (2023), it features a race-swapped character in news reporter April O’Neil, and, to no surprise, some people aren’t happy, and have taken to Twitter to lambast the film.
Mutant Mayhem is the seventh theatrical TMNT movie, following Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993), TMNT (2007), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014), and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (2016).
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While it isn’t the first CG-animated version of Ninja Turtles, it is the first to adopt the same 2D/3D hybrid animation as Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018). It’s also the first film to focus on the teenage aspect of the titular characters, which is no surprise considering “permanent teenager” Seth Rogen is in the producer’s chair.
Recently, on an episode of The Diary of a CEO podcast hosted by Steven Bartlett, Seth Rogen talked about the effects of negative film reviews. While of course he didn’t call out Mutant Mayhem, seeing as it’s not out yet, he did allude to some of his previous work.
Here’s what he said:
“It’s funny, I was saying to someone I work with the other day, I’m at the point in my career where not a lot of people are in a position to yell at me in my job, but the New York Times will publish an entire article saying I suck at my job. And so like, that’s the trade-off. I’ve worked my way up to not having to deal with that much personal conflict and face-to-face conflict, but I will have a cultural institution tell everyone that I suck. That will add self-doubt, things like that.”
Then, when asked if he takes negative film reviews personally, Rogen explained how hurtful it can be, saying:
“Yes very much so. I think if most critics knew how much it hurt the people that made the things that they are writing about, they would second-guess the way they write these things. It’s devastating. I know people who never recover from it, honestly, years, decades of being hurt. It’s very personal. It is devastating when you are being institutionally told that your personal expression was bad. That is like, devastating, and something that people carry with them, literally, their entire lives. And I get why – It f–king sucks.”
Rogen went on to talk about his superhero remake The Green Hornet (2011), explaining how, at the time, critics seemed to revel in the fact that it didn’t do well, saying, “The reviews were coming out and it was pretty bad, and people just kind of like, hated it. It seemed like a thing that people were taking joy in just disliking a lot, you know what I mean?”
Related: Which ‘Ninja Turtles’ Characters Have Been Gender-Swapped In the Reboot?
Rogen is yet to break his silence on the Mutant Mayhem backlash, but perhaps staying quiet is a good thing. On the other hand, he may not even be aware — it’s not like these trolls are flooding social media, as most people seem very impressed with the new trailer.
Check out the brand-new trailer for Mutant Mayhem below:
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As per Wikipedia, here’s the official synopsis for Mutant Mayhem:
After years of being sheltered from the human world, the Turtles set out to win the hearts of New Yorkers and be accepted as normal teenagers through heroic acts. Their new friend April O’Neil helps them take on a notorious crime syndicate, but they soon get in over their heads when an army of mutants is unleashed upon them.
Related: What Is the New Female ‘Ninja Turtles’ Sequel About?
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem stars Nicolas Cantu (Leonardo), Micah Abbey (Donatello), Shamon Brown Jr. (Michelangelo), Brady Noon (Raphael), Jackie Chan (Splinter), Ayo Edebiri (April O’Neil), Seth Rogen (Bebop), John Cena (Rocksteady), Hannibal Buress (Genghis Frog), Rose Byrne (Leatherhead), Ice Cube (Superfly), Post Malone (Ray Fillet), Paul Rudd (Mondo Gecko), Maya Rudolph (Cynthia Utrom), Natasia Demetriou (Wingnut), and Giancarlo Esposito (Baxter Stockman).
Related: ‘TMNT’ Prequel Follows ‘Ghostbusters’ Reboot, Replaces Beloved Heroes With Female Turtles
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (2023) will be released in theaters on August 4, 2023.
There’s also another live-action Ninja Turtles reboot in the works from producer Michael Bay, however, there’s currently no release date for that film.
Related: “Footage” Surfaces For R-Rated ‘TMNT’ Reboot, Marvel Star Was Set For Lead Role
Do you think Mutant Mayhem will be a success? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!