Everyone’s favorite “heroes in a half shell”, The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, are flipping and kicking their way back to the Big Screen.
The Mirage Group, which owns the property, is moving forward with a live-action film focusing on the origins of the iconic reptilian crime fighters. The film, targeted for a 2011 release, will mark the fifth Big Screen outing for the sewer-dwelling heroes Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, Raphael and their master Splinter.
This news coincides with the Turtles’ 25th anniversary celebration, which kicks off Thursday in New York as the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film plays at the Tribeca Film Festival.
The characters first appeared in a May 1984 comic book before spawning a lucrative line of toys, cartoons and three films released in the early 1990s. In 2003, the Turtles were reintroduced to a new generation via a TV series, the TMNT CGI film and a revamped merchandising program.
“The original dozen comics created by Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman are some of the best source material one could hope for,” said Mednick, whose exec producing credits include the upcoming Where the Wild Things Are. Laird, who bought out Eastman’s share of the property several years ago, said the film will remain true to the spirit of the original comic books, something that none of the previous incarnations has done. He added that the pic may employ face replacement technology, which would allow the turtles to be much more expressive.
The original comics were in black and white, and much more violent and adult than any previous film or TV series has portrayed. Which begs the question who close will that stay to said source material as a true adaptation could potentially garner and R rating.
Today’s 25th anniversary “Shell-ebration” will also include lighting the Empire State Building in “turtle green.”
source: Variety
