Credit: Inside the MagicLast week, TMNT fans were left shell-shocked when The Hollywood Reporter broke the news that Paramount Pictures had shelved the highly anticipated live-action film adaptation of the hugely popular IDW Publishing comic book, The Last Ronin, which follows a lone Ninja Turtle in a dystopian future where he sets out to avenge the deaths of his three brothers.
Announced early last year, the project had former head of DC films Walter Hamada attached to produce and Tyler Burton Smith (Boy Kills World) on board as screenwriter. The film was also said to be R-rated, which would have been a first for the long-running TMNT franchise.
However, except for the odd tease from TMNT co-creator Kevin Eastman, who co-wrote The Last Ronin alongside Tom Waltz, there had been next to no information about the project, which left many fans nervous. Now, it has been confirmed that the film has been put on ice to make way for a live-action film that appeals more to the “four quadrants” of cinemagoers.
This news comes as part of a wider shake-up at Paramount, and it’s not the first time the heroes-in-a-half-shell have become casualties of that restructure. Recently, it was confirmed that the studio had canceled the 2D animated series, Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the spinoff of 2023’s 3D animated box-office hit Mutant Mayhem.
Season 2 will air on Paramount+ and Nicktoons in December, but it’s the last one. Mutant Mayhem 2 is still due out in theaters in September, 2027, but The Last Ronin is no longer expected to happen.
The Last Ronin would have been another live-action/CG animation hybrid similar to the two Michael Bay-produced films. The report also revealed that Nobody filmmaker Ilya Naishuller was in talks to direct. But it seems the studio is no longer keen on having the TMNT’s first live-action film in 10 years since Out of the Shadows (2016) to be R-rated.
It’s understandable that they got cold feet — after all, despite being critically favored over its 2014 predecessor, Out of the Shadows grossed just $246M worldwide against its $135M budget. Clearly, Paramount wants to take a bit more care.
It’s also worth pointing out that The Last Ronin is hardly as mainstream as one might think. Sure, it’s an awesome series, but if you ask the average TMNT fan if they’ve read it, the odds are that you’ll get a few shrugs.
But what’s deeply frustrating is why the studio isn’t confident enough to give us a family-friendly film and an R-rated one. The latter approach worked incredibly well for films like the MCU’s Deadpool & Wolverine, which grossed well over $1 billion at the global box office.
Related: Original TMNT Character Officially Replaced With LGBTQ Ninja Turtle
The move is also unashamedly corporate. According to the report, Neal H. Moritz, the producer behind the Fast and the Furious and Sonic the Hedgehog franchises, is in talks to restart the live-action side of the Ninja Turtles film series. Multiple sources say that Paramount wants to “Sonic-fy” the TMNT franchise, which obviously means they hope to capture the same success as the three Sonic movies, which also combined live action with CG animation.
But since when have the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ever needed to take advice from the blue rodent, who has only recently found success on the silver screen?
“If you want Sonic, you go to the guy who did Sonic,” one insider said.
While it makes sense that they want to bring back live-action TMNT films, it’s baffling when you consider we already have the Mutant Mayhem-verse. It’s not like the Turtles will even be practical in the new live-action film — they’ll still be CG animated. So what’s the point?
But is there any light at the end of this dark sewer tunnel? The TMNT franchise has certainly endured. It started way back in 1984 in the form of the grungy Mirage Comics, and quickly evolved into a monster-sized multimedia franchise, spawning cartoons, films, video games, more comics, and, of course, toy lines that continue to dominate shelves year by year.
Sadly, it seems The Last Ronin might be too big a risk — and perhaps they’re right. But there might be some hope yet. Call this a stretch, but US President Donald Trump — a name you probably only expected to pop up in an article about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles because of the headline — might actually wield the power to have the project reinstated.
But it might all depend on whether he’s a fan of the anthropomorphic, pizza-munching reptiles.
Well, it seems he certainly likes the Rush Hour films starring Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan. Earlier this week, Semafor reported that Trump had been pressurizing the studio behind the franchise into making a fourth film. And yesterday, Deadline confirmed that the long-awaited sequel in the buddy-cop action-comedy series is now in the works with director Brett Ratner attached.
According to Semafor, Trump wants to bring back “raucous comedies and action movies” of the late ‘80s to late ‘90s. Whether or not he’s an actual fan of the Rush Hour films is unclear.
In 2017, Brett Ratner, who directed X-Men: The Last Stand, was accused of sexual misconduct and was forced to exit the Wonder Woman franchise. However, recently, he directed Amazon’s upcoming 2026 documentary about First Lady Melania Trump.
But what does all of this have to do with The Last Ronin? Well, Rush Hour falls under Paramount. We’re not suggesting that Trump is a Turtles fan, or that he will even catch wind that the R-rated project has been shelved by the same studio responsible for Rush Hour, or that he would even care, but it sounds like he has the power to push studios to make films he wants to see in theaters.
For now, it looks like The Last Ronin won’t happen (at least not anytime soon), but there’s nothing stopping ordinary fans from launching an online campaign like #RestoreTMNTTheLastRonin. It worked for Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021).
Still, there’s no harm in asking the US President himself, either, like this fan on X (Twitter):
Can Trump please pressure paramount to make The Last Ronin movie
Can Trump please pressure paramount to make The Last Ronin movie 🙏 https://t.co/SC67sXT6Lt
— Leonardo1984 (@StrikeHard1984) November 25, 2025
But they aren’t the only one wondering aloud whether Trump can help:
Can we get Trump to greenlight Tron 4 and The Last Ronin? Asking for a friend.
Can we get Trump to greenlight Tron 4 and The Last Ronin? Asking for a friend. 👀
— Put Mai Back In DOA5 Last Round (@majikdewd) November 25, 2025
Tell Trump about the Last Ronin
Tell Trump about the Last Ronin
— Veta Cena (@VetaCena) November 25, 2025
Are you disappointed about the news that The Last Ronin has been shelved? Share your thoughts with us in the comments down below!