Credit: (L) Paramount Pictures / Nickelodeon Movies (R) Credit: YouTube channel "Speedokaggen" by creator Magnus Edlund / TMNT Copyright owners IDW Publishing, Nickelodeon, and Paramount Pictures This Mutant Mayhem actor wants to return for The Last Ronin movie.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (2023) is the latest iteration of TMNT in film. But unlike previous entries, this time all the focus is on the teenage aspects of the Ninja Turtles, while the film is easily the most family-friendly of all seven.
So, fans hoping for a dark and gritty take on the half-shell heroes, particularly those who are familiar with the ongoing comic book series, “TMNT: The Last Ronin” (2020) from IDW Publishing, may walk away understandably disappointed.
Related: New ‘Mutant Mayhem’ Teaser Could Anger ‘Last Ronin’ Fans
While Mutant Mayhem is heavily marketed towards younger audiences, none of the films, or the numerous television shows, are geared towards adults, save for the original film, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990). But even that is quite cheesy in retrospect.
A genuinely adult-themed Ninja Turtles reboot, whether it’s on the big screen or the small screen, would definitely need to take a page out of the comic books, whether it’s the original run from Mirage Studios in the ’80s, or “The Last Ronin”.
Related: R-Rated ‘TMNT’ Installment Gets First Official Trailer
“The Last Ronin” takes place in a futuristic and dystopian version of New York City, where an older Michelangelo embarks on a quest to avenge the deaths of his three brothers, Leonardo, Raphael, and Donatello, and his father, Master Splinter.
A second series titled “Lost Years” (2023) is currently available, and it was announced at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con that a third series titled “Re-Evolution” is in the works, with the first issue available from December. The Last Ronin game is also now in development.
Related: Marvel and DC Actors Dominate Our New Live-Action ‘Ninja Turtles’ Cast
Recently, in an interview with ComicBook.com, TMNT co-creator Kevin Eastman commented on the possibility of a movie adaptation of “The Last Ronin”, while also sharing some details about The Last Ronin game.
Here are his full comments:
“Nickelodeon, who has always been a great partner and great friend to all the things in letting us do what we do, they really didn’t want to take ‘The Last Ronin’ concept into full on mainstream, like a big live-action movie, something to compete with Mutant Mayhem (which is gonna be phenomenally awesome),” Eastman explained. “They collectively came up with the idea of a video game because we could go all the way there. They could basically take it all the way into all things Ronin-verse. They’ve taken all the different drawings and moments… the stuff we’ve seen so far is goosebump city. It’s really phenomenal. They took stuff right out of the pages of the comic book.”
Related: Dark and Gritty ‘Last Ronin’ Trailer Proves ‘Ninja Turtles’ Is the Next ‘John Wick’
While The Last Ronin game sounds really exciting, unsurprisingly, when it comes to the big screen, Nickelodeon is clearly more focused on building a Mutant Mayhem shared universe. Not only has a sequel already been greenlit, a 2D animated follow-up series will premiere on Paramount+ later this year.
This isn’t great news for fans hoping for a live-action adaptation of The Last Ronin. Fortunately, The Last Ronin game will remedy some of that disappointment when it’s eventually released.
Related: Upcoming R-Rated ‘TMNT’ Installment Could Anger Same Fans Already Hating ‘Mutant Mayhem’
Either way, the popular comic book series is on the tip of everyone’s tongue, even when it comes to conversations about Mutant Mayhem. In an interview with YouTube channel Nerd Reactor, the brand-new Ninja Turtles actors were asked for their thoughts on “The Last Ronin.” Leonardo actor, Nicolas Cantu, who is clearly a fan of the comic books, was the first to respond, saying, “That is sick! That is sick!”
Brady Noon, who voices Raphael in the film, said to the interviewer, “You are the first person who has mentioned ‘The Last Ronin’!” before asking his co-stars, “Did you see the YouTube thing for it?”, referring to the popular fan film that imagines what a live-action adaptation of “The Last Ronin” might look like.
Related: Will One of These Actresses Play April O’Neil In the Live-Action ‘Ninja Turtles’ Reboot?!
The interviewer then put a question to Shamon Brown Jr. who voices Michelangelo, saying, “Let’s say, in the future, people love this [Mutant Mayhem], the reception is well, and people are like, ‘Oh man I want to see older Mikey deal with [the death of his brothers!'”
Here’s what the actor said in response: “I would be open to that, for sure. You know the voice gets deeper a little bit and, you know, has to get a bit more gruesome, but it’s going to be amazing. Hey, we’ll see. It could be five to ten years from now, you never know.”
“Are you going to miss us?” Cantu jokingly asked his co-star. “Cuz we’re gone in that storyline!”
While Leonardo, Donatello, and Raphael are indeed dead at the time “The Last Ronin” takes place, they still appear in the form of flashbacks and hallucinations, so there would certainly be room for Nicolas Cantu, Brady Noon, and Micah Abbey (Donatello) to appear alongside Shamon Brown Jr. They’d just need to be considerably older first.
Check out the interview below:
Even if The Last Ronin movie does eventually happen, it’s unlikely any of the Mutant Mayhem actors will ever end up reprising their roles, as Nickelodeon would likely want to keep the film as far from the Mutant Mayhem universe as possible. But who knows. One day, we could get a CG-animated Last Ronin movie as part of the “Mutant Mayhem-verse.”
Either way, who else could take on the role?
Who could play Michelangelo in The Last Ronin movie?
Keanu Reeves
Keanu Reeves is no stranger to the martial arts, or taking down hordes of bad guys in neon-lit city settings as he sets out to exact vengeance upon a powerful enemy. If you’ve seen the John Wick films, you’ll know exactly what we’re talking about. Reeves’ gruff and somber voice would also be perfect for Michelangelo in The Last Ronin movie.
Michael Shannon
Michael Shannon plays General Zod in Man of Steel (2013) and The Flash (2023), so he has plenty of experience with movies based on comic books. But it’s his role as Mr. Green in the comedy film The Night Before (2015) that oozes those “chilled out” Michelangelo vibes. More importantly, Shannon would bring a ton of grit to the role in The Last Ronin movie.
Chris Hemsworth
Chris Hemsworth also has experience with comic book movies as the God of Thunder, Thor, but we’re looking at his role as Tyler Rake in the Extraction films. Hemsworth also has the physique perfect for Michelangelo in The Last Ronin movie, and he’s also a great comedy actor, which would allow for the more “traditional” Mikey to surface from time to time.
Andy Serkis
Andy Serkis might not be the first actor you think of when casting a character like Michelangelo in The Last Ronin movie, or any Turtle for that matter. However, Serkis is the king of motion-capture performance, whether it’s Gollum in The Lord of the Rings films, King Kong in Peter Jackson’s 2005 epic, or Caesar in the Planet of the Apes reboot trilogy.
Iko Uwais
Iko Uwais is hardly a household name in these parts of the world, but he might just be the most suited candidate for playing Michelangelo in The Last Ronin movie. Uwais is best known for playing Rama in The Raid films, the adrenalin-charged Indonesian actioners. The actor’s mind-blowing fighting skills could prove an absolute game-changer .
Noel Fisher
There’s probably no better actor to play Michelangelo than, well, Michelangelo. It would seem unfair to give the character the motion-capture treatment again without considering Noel Fisher, who portrayed him in the two Michael Bay-produced reboots. The Last Ronin version of Mikey, however, would be very different to what you saw in those films.
These actors could even portray Michelangelo in The Last Ronin game, whether it’s through motion-capture performance or voice work. Unless Mutant Mayhem‘s Shamon Brown Jr. is confident about doing that deeper voice.
While there’s no film based on “The Last Ronin” in development, a trailer for The Last Ronin video game was released on Friday. Check it out below:
There’s no release date for The Last Ronin game. “The Last Ronin” comic books are all on sale now. The third series, “Re-Evolution”, goes on sale in December.
Mutant Mayhem is in theaters now. Check out the trailer below:
Related: Which ‘Ninja Turtles’ Characters Have Been Gender-Swapped In the Reboot?
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: Is the New ‘Ninja Turtles’ Film Canon With Any of the Previous Installments?
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).
Would you like to see Shamon Brown Jr. play The Last Ronin in a future TMNT movie? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!