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Scrapped TMNT Sequel Further Disappoints Fans With Latest Announcement

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Michelangelo (Shamon Brown Jr.) reaching out for help during the car crash in 'Mutant Mayhem'

Credit: Paramount Animation / Nickelodeon Movies

TMNT fans have had quite a bit of news to keep up with over the past few months. No one was all that surprised when Paramount announced it had canceled Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the 2D animated companion series to 2023’s box-office hit Mutant Mayhem, after just two seasons. But what came next left us all completely shell-shocked.

The Turtles battling giant Superfly in New York in 'Mutant Mayhem'
Credit: Nickelodeon Movies / Paramount Pictures

The Last Ronin Canceled

The planned film adaptation of The Last Ronin, the hugely popular IDW Publishing comic book series, was also shelved, despite being officially announced in April 2024. The project was said to be produced by former DC Films head Walter Hamada through his 18hz production company with a screenplay by Tylor Burton Smith (2019’s Child’s Play reboot).

The Last Ronin, co-written by Tom Waltz and franchise co-creator Kevin Eastman, follows sole surviving Turtle Michelangelo as he sets out to avenge the deaths of his three brothers in a dystopian future, aided by an older April O’Neil and her daughter Casey Marie Jones.

The first series was published in 2020 and it has since been followed by two more runs. There’s also a video game adaptation in development with Black Forest Games.

Michelangelo fighting the Synjabots in 'TMNT: The Last Ronin' game trailer
Credit: Nickelodeon / THQ Nordic / Black Forest Games

Related: Paramount Confirms 3 New TMNT Movies, First One Releases in Theaters This Month

It Gets Worse for TMNT Fans

While things had gone strangely quiet on the film adaptation front following its early 2024 announcement, it seems it had made some progress developmentally, as news it had been canceled packed an extra punch as it added that Nobody (2021) director Ilya Naishuller had been attached to the project.

Like that film, The Last Ronin was going to be R-rated, which would have been a first for the franchise. Naturally, this had longtime fans beyond excited.

However, not only were fans excited to see a big-screen adaptation of the comic, and an R-rated one at that, but there was also growing speculation that the film would have doubled as a sequel to the original film, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990). This came after The Last Ronin writer Tom Waltz said he’d love to bring back Judith Hoag, who played April O’Neil in that film, to reprise her role as the older version of the character in The Last Ronin movie.

April O'Neil in TMNT 1990
Credit: New Line Cinema

The Last Ronin Wasn’t Just a Reboot

Hoag also fueled those rumors when she made some cryptic comments during a round of comic con appearances. Now, the film’s cancelation comes with another kick in the guts, as Collider has reported that Hoag was indeed expected to return in the now canceled project.

According to the report, Hoag recently appeared at Big Lick Comic-Con in Roanoke, VA, where she revealed that she had been approached to reprise her role as April in The Last Ronin before it was scrapped by Paramount Pictures. However, she also expressed hope that the project would be revisited in the future.

“Yes, I’ve been approached, and I’d be happy. It would be a great bookend for me. And maybe that happens and maybe it doesn’t. We’ll see.”

Unsurprisingly, the news isn’t going down well with TMNT fans, with many taking to X (formerly Twitter) to share their disappointment. Check out some of the responses below:

This would’ve been a FULL CIRCLE moment. Judith Hoag as April again? Instant chills. Absolute miss by whoever pulled the plug.

One fan says that The Last Ronin would have been the TMNT franchise’s answer to X-Men’s Logan:

Another writes that the film would have been a “full-circle nostalgia bomb for fans”:

Megan Fox as April O'Neil spying on the Turtles in 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' (2014)
Credit: Paramount Pictures

Other Upcoming TMNT Movies

The cancelation came following the Paramount-Skydance merger last year. But for some fans, news that The Last Ronin had been shelved wasn’t all bad, with Paramount at the same time revealing that a new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film was underway; a family-friendly reboot with Sonic the Hedgehog‘s producer Neal H. Moritz attached.

That project has since been given the theatrical release date of November 17, 2028.

Mutant Mayhem 2 is also currently in development and is scheduled for release on September 17, 2027. So there’s plenty of Turtle action coming up; unfortunately, it just won’t be R-rated or have anything to do with the beloved 1990 film.

Whether or not the project will be revived someday remains to be seen. It’s possible we’ll get a fanmade film similar to the incredible YouTube shorts by Emmy Award-winning director, designer, and animator John Likens.

How do you feel about this news? Are you disappointed we’re no longer getting an R-rated TMNT movie that would have also served as a sequel to the original 1990 film? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

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