What would should be done with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Franchise Now?

[The Overlord]

Its been 2 years since the last Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie and it looks like this current movie series is dead in the water.

So what do you think should be done with the TMNT franchise now? Should they go for a darker more noir stories like the early Mirage comics or try to capture the over the top feeling from the 1987 cartoon or something else entirely? Should Paramount just sit on this property for a while?

 

[Teelie]

The main thing they need to keep Michael Bay away from it.

 

[spider-neil]

They made the mistake of aiming the movie at kids when all the kids who watched the 90's movie have all grown up. The movie should be a NINJA movie that 'happens' to have turtles. The weapons of choice are nunchucks, swords, sais and a bow staff and there isn't a drop of blood. The tone in the live action Street Fighter movie Assassin's Fist would be perfect.

I've watched all the ninja turtle movies and the only time I was engaged was the Raphael vs Leonardo fight which was intense. Won't happen though, look how many hoops Deadpool had to jump through to get made.
I'll close by saying the sequel recent Ninja Turtle movie was lighter made less money. That's not a coincidence.

 

[Spider-Aziz]

The 2012 animated series was a hit, they should make another good cartoon, and take inspirations from that show in how to make movies.

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

The 2012 animated series was a hit, they should make another good cartoon, and take inspirations from that show in how to make movies.

That sounds like a reasonable plan.

 

[MadVillainy]

Just wait 5-10 years then reboot. Make it fun b b not stupid

They made the mistake of aiming the movie at kids when all the kids who watched the 90's movie have all grown up. The movie should be a NINJA movie that 'happens' to have turtles. The weapons of choice are nunchucks, swords, sais and a bow staff and there isn't a drop of blood. The tone in the live action Street Fighter movie Assassin's Fist would be perfect.

I've watched all the ninja turtle movies and the only time I was engaged was the Raphael vs Leonardo fight which was intense. Won't happen though, look how many hoops Deadpool had to jump through to get made.
I'll close by saying the sequel recent Ninja Turtle movie was lighter made less money. That's not a coincidence.

TMNT is largely seem as a kids franchise better or worse. I think you can't really go to that blood showing level. MCU is the tone they should aim for

 

[Teelie]

I think they could but definitely will not split the property into the more adult-oriented movies and then the kid-oriented ones. The adult ones would not have to be rated-R bloody necessarily but they don't have to be PG either. Things that are more risque and violent or graphic versus the more or less literal kid-gloves route taken in past movies.


The obvious problem there is how to market a single property to two totally different age groups without ruining it.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

I actually really enjoyed the sequel, and the first movie had its moments too, so I was sad to see it end. But they need to re-boot at some point. Maybe less kiddy humour might be an idea, but kids today love the Turtles as well, not just people who were kids in the late 80/early 90’s.

 

[Kevin Roegele]

I enjoyed both of the new movies, and it's a shame there isn't a third.

Fora reboot, rather than the classic, dark, ninja-heavy vibe of the original comics, or the kiddie-oriented vibe of the new movies, the obvious thing is to go for the Marvel-style middle ground. Family friendly, full of comedy, yet not just aimed at ten year olds.

They made the mistake of aiming the movie at kids when all the kids who watched the 90's movie have all grown up. .

You do know that there have been at least three Turtles TV shows since then, and they've always appealed to young audiences?

 

[P Supreme]

give me a shot by shot remake of the first one and build from there and not make them all "Hulk" sized

AND DON'T MAKE CASEY JONES INTO A COP WANNABE

agreed that the MCU tone would be perfect but i'm afraid the last movie ruined any chance we get for a decent movie for at least 10 yrs

 

[DrCosmic]

Um, I think you guys are mistaken. The recent bay movies were juvenile, but they weren't kid friendly either.



To get a great TMNT film, you need three things
1) 4 loveable (or at least likeable) Turtles
2) A deceptively smart plot (e.g. one good twist on what seemed like a dumb plan)

3) Cool creative martial arts action
4) A tone that is fun for little kids with a bit of fun with the nostalgia, but no plot elements or visual motifs should be aimed at adults



As soon as they can do that, they should start filming. They thought they could do Transformers with TMNT, but no, they're actually too different.

 

[Kevin Roegele]

give me a shot by shot remake of the first one and build from there and not make them all "Hulk" sized

AND DON'T MAKE CASEY JONES INTO A COP WANNABE

agreed that the MCU tone would be perfect but i'm afraid the last movie ruined any chance we get for a decent movie for at least 10 yrs

I liked the designs of the Turtles in the new movies, except for the fact that they were too busy - each of them loaded with gear for some reason - and as you say, they were too big. The Turtles are underdogs, that is part of their appeal. They need to be smaller than the average man, not towering over him. Raphael comes across as a bit of a bully.

Look at the size of Michaelangelo's muscles - and he's the smallest one! If you're this huge, you don't need to be a ninja, you can just plow through people.

That said, I really like the new movies. They get the personalities of the Turtles perfectly, and have some great action set-pieces, such as the truck chase in the first movie and the aeroplane scene in the second.

 

[Kevin Roegele]

Um, I think you guys are mistaken. The recent bay movies were juvenile, but they weren't kid friendly either.

You need to watch them again. They are very much aimed at children, especially the second one.

 

[Teelie]

They were totally kid friendly and only had the occasional adult joke probably unintentionally thrown in.

 

[DACrowe]

Folks want a gritty, adult Ninja Turtles movie? I realize the original comic had that tone but...c'mon. It's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Make it for kids, and if they don't want anymore, let it be what it's always been: a lovable relic of the '90s and late '80s.

 

[MadVillainy]

Folks want a gritty, adult Ninja Turtles movie? I realize the original comic had that tone but...c'mon. It's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Make it for kids, and if they don't want anymore, let it be what it's always been: a lovable relic of the '90s and late '80s.

Exactly

I mean I want it a little darker. Again like MCU tone at worse. I wouldn't mind if Leo and Ralph actually used their weapons. We allow Wolverine to use his claws, the LOTR crew to use their swords, and countless other PG13 heroes use guns.

 

[Teelie]

I agree as I said before. MCU level violence is probably the furthest they would go which is fine.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

I would be happy with them going the MCU route. Make it a little more grounded also. Especially the Turtles themselves, though I didn’t mind them being huge personally.

 

[Spider-Aziz]

You do know that there have been at least three Turtles TV shows since then, and they've always appealed to young audiences?

And I also liked the two weird movies taking more inspirations from the 80s cartoon with elements added from their own minds to the product. Weird mix that I find strangely fascinating.

To get a great TMNT film, you need three things
1) 4 loveable (or at least likeable) Turtles
2) A deceptively smart plot (e.g. one good twist on what seemed like a dumb plan)

3) Cool creative martial arts action
4) A tone that is fun for little kids with a bit of fun with the nostalgia, but no plot elements or visual motifs should be aimed at adults

I like this way of thinking.

 

[Kevin Roegele]

Honestly, I think if the Turtles franchise is rejigged in the near future, it'll be a semi-sequel to the 1990 movie, with CGI versions of the costumes.

 

[Spider-Aziz]

I see some potential in that move.

 

[MadVillainy]

i dont see a point of making it a semi sequel.

They should just do their own thing

 

[Spider-Aziz]

After news of the sequel to the original Halloween movie, I wouldn't be surprised if they choose to go that same route with TMNT.

 

[2kt09]

Honestly, I think if the Turtles franchise is rejigged in the near future, it'll be a semi-sequel to the 1990 movie, with CGI versions of the costumes.

As cost effective as that is, they'll never go back to the swappable headband same body look.

 

[MadVillainy]

After news of the sequel to the original Halloween movie, I wouldn't be surprised if they choose to go that same route with TMNT.

I think that's different.

Halloween actually had the time pass and it makes sense from a storytelling perspective. Making a sequel to the 90s movie...are the Turtles going to be 40+? Or are they going to keep it in the 90s. And I feel like the original Halloween is a lot bigger in terms of pop culture than the specific TMNT90 (of course TMNT as a whole is bigger than Halloween I'm talking about the specific movie). What is the storytelling benefit to making a sequel to the 90s movie.

Again just make a whole new thing. It's silly to make a sequel to the 90s version.

Make the Turtles the main characters, make it good, don't make it too juvenile. No need to go back to the past