IDW
Four decades ago , Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird unleashed their sovereign risible book serial , Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles , and took the industry by storm . Eastman and Laird ’s Mirage Studios pulled off a exploit that few other comic Word of God companies in the eighties were able to match . The succeeder of the comedian countenance the TMNT to cut through over into an animated series in 1987 , which only made the Turtles more popular . Toy lines , action mechanism figures , video games , and all manner of merchandise observe before Turtlemania reached its high point in 1990 with the firstTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtlesmovie .
In a way , it ’s been all downhill from there . The Turtles ’ popularity has waxed and wane over the last 40 yr , but they ’ve never quite recaptured the frenzy of Turtlemania . Even the most late alive moving-picture show , Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles : Mutant Mayhem , managed to realize only $ 180.5 million worldwide . Mutant Mayhemreceived dear review , but those are n’t the kind of numbers that scream box office hit .
IDW
Fortunately , there may be some cinematic buyback ahead for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles . ViaThe Hollywood Reporter ( THR ) , Paramount is developing an R - shop adaptation ofTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles : The Last Ronin , which marks a very big leaving from all of the previous films in the franchise . This could also be the turn power point that the TMNT call for to avoid the diminishing counter ofMutant Mayhemand its predecessor .
To bring everyone up to speed , we ’re going to distinguish you whyThe Last Ronincould be the good TMNT movie yet .
The Last Ronin reveals the fate of the TMNT
The closelipped comic book analogy toTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles : The Last Roninis Frank Miller’sThe Dark Knight Returns , which redefined the title part and influencedevery great Batman moviethat issue forth after it . Much likeThe Dark Knight Returns , The Last Roninestablished a vision of the futurity for the TMNT , and it was n’t pretty . Three of the Turtles have been killed in the warfare with the Foot Clan , and only a single warrior lives to carry on their legacy .
Because the comic initially hides the identity operator of the Last Ronin , we wo n’t be spoiling that surprisal here . It ’s enough to say that the last aliveness extremity of the TMNT exert the weapon of all four of them , while he is ghost by hallucination of his dead brothers . To avenge himself and his kindred , the Last Ronin resolves to kill the tyrannical ruler of New York , Oroku Hiroto , who is also the grandson of the Turtles ’ capital enemy : Shredder .
The Last Ronin gets back to the TMNT’s roots
Non - comic book readers would probably be offend by how violent the early TMNT funnies were . Keep in mind that Eastman and Laird were n’t attempt to market the comic to immature children when they make it . All of the thing that irrigate down the Turtles ’ harder bound came subsequently during the first animated serial and beyond . While the modern comics published by IDW are still geared toward elder reviewer , the general world has no musical theme how much the concept was changed to appeal to kids . And the populace would probably reject a much dingy take on the TMNT if not properly prepared for it .
The ongoing shaver - ification of the TMNT only accelerated in 2009 when Nickelodeon purchased the continue rightfulness from Laird and Mirage Studios . render likeRise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtlesmay look flashy and pretty , but they ’re not genuine to the spirit of the original comics . In fact , the fictional character in that show scantily resemble the TMNT as they were first foresee .
THR ’s report thatThe Last Roninis going for an universal gas constant - rating is exciting because it intend that the film wo n’t have to hold back on its action sequences . The Last Ronincan go the fullJohn Wickand actually use his weapons as they were intended . In almost all of the previous movies , the Turtles do n’t slice or dice any of their living opponent .
That may have made it easier to sell TMNT toys to kids , but it made for some dull natural action . If this pic can fork out some great R - rated activeness , it could help suck in the fans who outgrew the enfranchisement a long time ago .
It’s based on the final story by the original creators
Despite their close friendly relationship in 1984 at the start of their journey , Eastman and Laird did n’t always see oculus to middle when it came to their iconic creations . That ’s one of the reason why Eastman sell off his share of the Turtles to Laird in 2000 , who in turn sold all of his rights to Nickelodeon in 2009 . As visit in Netflix’sThe Toys That Made Us , Eastman and Laird have reconcile in late years and renewed their friendly relationship . And that may have led toThe Last Roninbecoming a comedian in 2020 .
Eastman and Laird come up with the level forThe Last Roninin 1987 , before the TMNT dominate the relief of the decennary . Eastman co - wroteThe Last Ronincomic book series with Tom Waltz , and Eastman also lend to the art alongside Esau Escorza , Isaac Escorza , and Ben Bishop . It ’s the closest thing to a reunion of the original TMNT originative squad that we ’ve see in decades , and it was also a breakout hit . The Last Roninmay be darker than all of the former TMNT adaptations , but even Nickelodeon is n’t unsighted to the box place potential difference of add this franchise back to its roots .
The Last Ronin is already being pushed as the next evolution
If there was only aLast Roninmovie , then it might not be the biz changer that the franchise want . However , there are already signs that Nickelodeon has embraced the possible ofThe Last Roninby licensing action figures , statues , and collectibles . But the biggest indication of Nickelodeon ’s support beyond the fresh movie is that there are also plans for aTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles : The Last Roninvideo game .
As announced in August 2023 , Black Forest Games – the company behind theDestroy All Humans!remakes – is developingThe Last Roninas a third - person action - RPG that is said to be a Triple A game for THQ Nordic . In the human race of TV game , AAA game are loosely the ones with big budget and 40 hours or more of content for player to research .
That ’s a major investment that the Turtles have n’t come in year . Even the fan - favorite video game from 2022,Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles : Shredder ’s Revenge , was far from AAA status .
It ’s anyone ’s guess whetherThe Last Roninmovie or video plot will be released first . But taken together , they represent the best chance that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles can once again be more than just a kid ’s property . In the good hands , the dealership could even reform its former glory from the ‘ 80 .
