R-Rated 'TMNT' Installment Gets First Official Trailer

There’s no denying that 2023’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, which grossed $180.5M worldwide against a budget of $70M, put the franchise back on the map.

While the TMNT’s popularity hasn’t waned much since its heyday in the late ’80s and early ’90s, the franchise hadn’t seen that much success on the silver screen since the original 1990 live-action film became the highest-grossing independent film of all time (for nine years).

Not only did the latest reboot take a huge pizza-shaped slice out of the box office, but it also impressed audiences and critics. For many fans, though, Mutant Mayhem was bittersweet.

It’s no mystery that TMNT has always had a darker side–that’s how it started in the original Mirage comics in 1984, a trend that has continued through all the various publishers. IDW currently holds the rights to the comics, and it’s been churning out volumes since 2011.

But, in more recent years, fans have been hooked on the R-rated comic book series, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin” (2020–current), a gritty, alternate, and brutal story set in a futuristic and dystopian New York City, in which the last surviving Ninja Turtle Michelangelo embarks on a one-way mission to avenge the deaths of his three brothers, Leonardo, Raphael, and Donatello, his father, Master Splinter, and best friend, Casey Jones.

The comic book was such a huge success that it shot to the top of The New York Times bestsellers list. Not only did it also get a follow-up series titled “The Last Ronin — Lost Years” (2023), but its third series, “The Last Ronin II — Re-Evolution,” which centers on a new team of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, is ongoing, set to end with its fifth issue in April. The series has been so popular that an R-rated live-action film adaptation is now in development.

The film is being produced by former DC Films head Walter Hamada through his 18hz company, with Tyler Burton Smith (2019’s Child’s Play) penning the screenplay. However, no director is attached (although The Conjuring’s James Wan is rumored) and no cast members have been announced.

With that said, TMNT enthusiasts (ourselves included) have been busy fan-casting actors into the project, namely into the role of Michelangelo.

We’re also getting a video game based on “The Last Ronin.” While little is known about the project other than the fact it’s an adaptation of the comic books, it has been likened to the popular “God of War” series by its developers. There’s also an official teaser trailer for the game, which publisher THQ Nordic revealed during August 2023’s digital event showcase.

“TMNT: The Last Ronin” Trailer

Check out the teaser-trailer for “The Last Ronin” below, per PlayStation YouTube:

While we don’t see any cutscene or gameplay footage, we are teased with the deaths of Leonardo, Raphael, and Donatello. It’s not much, but it’s something, and it will have fans of “The Last Ronin” comic books salivating for more.

Related: All the ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ Movies Ranked Worst To Best

“TMNT: The Last Ronin” Synopsis

“The Last Ronin” video game is an adaptation of the comic book series. While the series is  ongoing, Doug Rosen, the Senior Vice President for Games and Emerging Media at Paramount Global, previously said that the game would focus only on Michelangelo. There was no mention of the four new Ninja Turtles who were introduced in the “Lost Years”.

“Who is the Last Ronin? In a future, battle-ravaged New York City, a lone surviving Turtle embarks on a seemingly hopeless mission seeking justice for the family he lost,” the IDW synopsis reads. “From legendary TMNT co-creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, get ready for the final story of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles three decades in the making!”

It continues: “What terrible events destroyed his family and left New York a crumbling, post-apocalyptic nightmare? All will be revealed in this climactic Turtle tale that sees long-time friends becoming enemies and new allies emerging in the most unexpected places. Can the surviving Turtle triumph?”

Related: Fans Call for Christopher Nolan to Helm Dark Superhero Reboot

“TMNT: The Last Ronin” Gameplay

Other than being compared to “God of War,” a third-person action-adventure video game, unfortunately, we don’t know anything about the gameplay for “The Last Ronin.”

However, when it was first announced in 2023, Doug Rosen suggested that Ninja Turtles, Leonardo, Raphael, and Donatello, who are dead at the time of the story, could appear in a playable format in flashback sequences, as well as in the form of Michelangelo’s hallucinations, which is how they appear in the comic book series.

Rosen also added that there are opportunities to make TMNT video games for both young and older audiences, emphasizing that “The Last Ronin” would not be “dialed back to make the game something it shouldn’t be,” referring to the adult-themed nature of the comics.

“TMNT: The Last Ronin” Release Date

“The Last Ronin” is likely “a few years” from release.

Are you excited about “The Last Ronin” video game? Let us know in the comments down below!