Credit: New Line CinemaThe director of R-rated Mortal Kombat content wants to bring the popular comic book series TMNT: The Last Ronin (2020) to life on the big screen.
The Last Ronin might seem like an “alternate” version of the half-shell heroes, taking place in a bleak, futuristic New York where all but one of the Ninja Turtles are dead, but Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael are no strangers to all things dark and brutal.
The idea for The Last Ronin was first outlined by TMNT co-creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird in 1987 when the main comic books — which were already dark — were being published under Mirage Comics. But it took over three decades for the story to hit shelves.
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After becoming a bestseller with The New York Times, The Last Ronin has gone from strength to strength. We’ve already had the sequel The Last Ronin — Lost Years (2023), and another series titled The Last Ronin II — Re-Evolution (2024) is due to start hitting shelves in February. There’s also a video game adaptation in development.
The response to this darker and more brutal take on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which sees an older Michelangelo embark on a one-way revenge mission, has been so positive that many fans are now calling for a live-action television series or a film to be made. One fan, Speedokaggen, has even made an impressive trailer based on the popular comics.
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However, it looks like Nickelodeon is focusing its efforts on the story established in last year’s critical and financial hit Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (2023), which is now being developed into a shared universe.
But even though there’s a Mutant Mayhem sequel, video game, and 2D animated series in the works, that doesn’t mean there’s no room for The Last Ronin to enter the mainstream, too. And it’s not just fans calling for the comic book series to be brought to life on the screen.
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Kevin Tanchareon, director of the action comedy-drama The Brothers Sun (2024) on Netflix, recently told Heroic Hollywood that he would love to adapt The Last Ronin for the screen. When asked if there’s anything new he’d like to work on, the director didn’t hesitate.
“The ultimate dream, though, if I had to pick any comic book property? The Last Ronin,” he said. “I would LOVE to do a darker take on Ninja Turtles. And I know that there’s a large audience for that. Now, whether or not Nickelodeon would ever let that happen, I’m not sure. But I do know Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird always intended for it to be a little bit on the darker side.”
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Tanchareon went on to say how the original live-action adaptation from 1990 “ain’t a kid’s film,” emphasizing his point that there’s room for a darker take on the Ninja Turtles on the big screen, saying:
“And if you rewatch the 1990 movie, that movie ain’t a kids’ film! [Laughs]. It’s so not a kids’ film. The second one is a kids’ film, the first one, though? Pretty dark for what it was, and I thought it worked. I think there’s something beautiful about that story, but yeah.”
Unfortunately, Nickelodeon has no plans to develop The Last Ronin into live-action. During the TMNT panel at last year’s San Diego Comic-Con, Kevin Eastman said the studio “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.”
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Before The Brothers Sun, Tanchareon directed The Book of Boba Fett (2021) episode “Chapter 4: The Gathering Storm.” He also helmed the popular R-rated short film Mortal Kombat: Rebirth in 2010 before returning to direct Mortal Kombat: Legacy, a web series set in the same universe. So a dark TMNT film should be a walk in the park for the director.
While there are many directors who could take on The Last Ronin, such as Chad Stahelski (John Wick) or Matt Reeves (War for the Planet of the Apes and The Batman), hopefully, Tanchareon will keep his hand close to the buzzer should Nickelodeon change their minds.
In the meantime, plenty of TMNT comic books are on the way, both The Last Ronin and beyond, as IDW Publishing recently renewed its deal with Paramount.
Would you like to see a live-action adaptation of The Last Ronin? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!