Tweet

Today is the 25th Anniversary of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which were created by Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman as comic book character but have since grown into a worldwide phenomenon spanning comics, toys, cartoons and feature films. Not the least of which is the 1990 Steve Barron directed film that is among the 15 films that I would take to a deserted island with me. And in honor of today, the folks at The Mirage Group have announced that they have begun development on a new live-action TMNT film that has a target release date of 2011.

The film will be produced by Scott Mednick, a former executive at Legendary Pictures and co-producer on films such as 300 and Where the Wild Things Are, and will focus on the origin story of Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo and Raphael. In speaking with Variety, Mednick said that the film will be derived mostly from the first dozen comic books written by Laird and Eastman back in the mid-1980s, as it is “the best source material one could hope for.” He also added that the film may employ face replacement technology to allow the turtles to be more expressive.

If you ask me, there is no such thing as too much TMNT. Therefore I fully support this remake despite any natural inclination to shun another Hollywood attempt at refashioning a prized franchise from my childhood. The advances in technology that we’ve seen — both practical and digital — since 1990 could help deliver a really neat experience for fans and it can’t hurt to bring the Ninja Turtles to a new generation. The CG-animated TMNT film from 2007 that Kevin Munroe was awesome and I’ve got a feeling that with the right director and proper vision, another live-action TMNT will be yet another pleasant experience. Now if only they could get Vanilla Ice to make a comeback and deliver his “Ninja Rap” for the soundtrack.

Are you as excited as I am for a TMNT live-action rebirth?