At last: A dark, gritty Ninja Turtles movie from the guy who produced Black Adam
Walter Hamada is producing a film version ofThe Last Ronin, a.k.a. "The One Where Most Of The Ninja Turtles Are Dead"
Aux News Black Adam
You could make an argument that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are in as good a position, right now, as they have been all century; the release of last year’s genuinely fun animated film Mutant Mayhem, and its Nickelodeon follow-up, seem to have primed a whole new generation to hook themselves up to Turtle Power. So, obviously, what the franchise needs right now is a super-dark cinematic offering where most of the Ninja Turtles have been murdered, as overseen by the guy “responsible” for one of the most boring runs of superhero films in recent memory. Right?
All of which is to say that THR reports this week that Walter Hamada—destined to go down in entertainment history as the functional placeholder forced to try to put a happy face on the near-complete collapse of Warner Bros.’ DC Extended Universe, after the studio broke ranks with Zack Snyder during the filming of Justice League—is working with Paramount on an adaptation of 2020 Ninja Turtles comic book The Last Ronin. A.k.a., “The One Where All But One Of The Ninja Turtles Are Dead.”
Now, to be fair, The Last Ronin—written by original Ninja Turtles co-creator Kevin Eastman, with Tom Waltz—has been pretty well received in Turtles fandom over the last few years, telling a surprisingly heartfelt and dark story about grief. It follows a sole surviving turtle—whose identity is obscured for the early portions of the story, as he wields his dead brothers’ weapons in battle, and wears a black eye-mask—as he attempts to avenge his family’s deaths.
And, sure, that’s basically just Old Man Logan but with amphibians, but fans have enjoyed its efforts to inject some genuine pathos into Turtles lore. But it’s still going to be a very weird shift for a franchise that’s been building back up its rep as light, silly fun over the last few years, and it’s coming from a guy whose reputation is basically “The guy forced to try to tell you Black Adam is going to be great.” Paramount has tapped Tyler Burton Smith, who wrote the 2019 Child’s Play reboot, to pen the script
22 Comments
Finally.
And, sure, that’s basically just Old Man Logan but with amphibiansSorry, gotta be that guy: turtles are reptiles. Aquatic reptiles, granted, but reptiles nonetheless.
Turtles are fish. Fish is meaningless catchall term anyway, so if it goes in water and I can eat it, it’s a fish. Makes pescetarianism a whole lot easier
Hey, the Catholic Church considered both dolphins and beavers fish for a while for the purposes of Lent. Turtles fit right in.
I really hope they don’t reveal his identity until at least halfway through. That alone can make the script a lot of fun.
“That guy was a Ninja Turtle the whole time?!”
to be fair that trope is great , my favourite being (spoilers for a nearly 40 year old 2000ad storyline) : “That guy was Judge Dredd the whole time “https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dead_Man
Is it Michelangelo? I have a feeling that it’s gonna be Michelangelo.
‘”Is it Michelangelo? I have a feeling that it’s gonna be Michelangelo.”’I remember reading one of the panels from one of the older Ninja Turtles comics. It was spoofing Humphrey Bogart but the turtle in question was Raphael. But let’s see which one it is.(Does Wikisearch)Yep it’s Michaelangelo… Which is unbelievable I might add. He’s the least serious one. Raphael I could see especially given his previous anger issues.
I haven’t read it, but that seems like the point. Grief and loss turns the unserious one into a serious guy (turtle.)
The fakeout is probably why they did it that way. Though really having your family killed would probably make even the most goofy party dude get serious.
So long as there’s pizza!
Only plain cheese, he can’t have too much joy (in the form of toppings) or the story loses its grittiness…
The storyline involves all of his friends and family being killed and him being the last one left, so the writer intentionally chose Michelangelo as the one being messed up to push the edgy factor up. He hallucinates his dead brothers, fights robot foot ninjas in a cyberpunk style fascist dystopia and is the reluctant hero joining the underground resistance.The storyline is actually better than the synopsis sounds, which makes it seem like either something cheesy from the 90s or something way too edgy from the ‘10s.
They reveal it at the end of the first issue, so withholding such information to audiences unfamiliar would be both an unnecessary change and a really annoying thing to write around for a whole movie. He’s not a silent protagonist, he needs a name.
but with amphibians
Dude. Turtles are reptiles. C’mon.
Somewhere in Brooklyn, Jake Peralta freaking the fuck out!
Nine Nine
LAST RONIN is a good comic! And why do people always forget that the original TMNT was never the goofy colour-coded team, but aimed at adults older kids with a bunch of violence. I don’t mind seeing that version again (even if it’s more serious than the original ‘gritty’ tone).
Tyler Burton Smith, who wrote the 2019 -Oh no…
Donatello does machines . . . to death!
please no Rated R Turtles movies. Keep it PG 13. Keep the super-edgy stuff for the comics world.