According to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles writer Tom Waltz, it would be a major “Cowabunga moment” for fans of the franchise to have the actress who portrayed April O’Neil in the 1990 live-action movie involved in the adaptation of The Last Ronin. With the groundbreaking miniseries serving as the jumping off point for several different projects, the possibility could very well be actualized in the near future.
In an exclusive interview with Screen Rant, Waltz cited the desire to involve actress Judith Hoag in The Last Ronin in some capacity. The author, whose contributions to Ninja Turtles have been pivotal in the franchise’s recent renaissance, specifically called out the adaptation of his and co-author Kevin Eastman’s alternate continuity series as a project he’d like the actress to be part of.
Hoag played April early in her iconic film and television career, and a return to the franchise would be a perfect full circle moment for both her and the Ninja Turtles.
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Ninja Turtles Writer “Dreams” Of Judith Hoag’s Return To The Franchise”
Tom Waltz Suggests Actress Could Join “Last Ronin” Adaptation
Currently, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin has two adaptations in the works; both a video game and an R-rated live-action version of the story are in production. As Tom Waltz told Screen Rant:
My dream is for the lovely and talented Judith Hoag to be a part of something we do in other media for THE LAST RONIN.
While Waltz’ comment leaves the door wide open for how Hoag might appear in a Last Ronin adaptation, he makes it unequivocally clear how meaningful it would be, both to him personally, and to the Ninja Turtles fanbase at large. Immediately, Hoag’s inclusion in the adaptation vaulted to the top of fans’ wishlist for the project.
While the possibility remains that Judith Hoag could reprise her role as April O’Neil from thirty-four years ago in a live-action Last Ronin movie, she could also return in some other capacity. What Ninja Turtles fans hope for is a substantial role for the actress, rather than just a cameo for the sake of it. For much of the Ninja Turtles audience, Hoag’s portrayal of April had a formative impact on their attachment to the series, and her involvement with the franchise to some degree or another remains an exciting prospect.
Hoag’s Return To Ninja Turtles Would Be A Great Nostalgia Boost
A “Cowabunga” Moment
“Talk about what a “Cowabunga!” moment that would be for TMNT fans, am I right?!” Tom Waltz said of the possibility that a Last Ronin adaptation could bring Judith Hoag back to the franchise. Even if she were to lend her voice to a role in the video game iteration of the story, Hoag being involved would add something special to the experience. While it is only speculation for now, the creators of Ninja Turtles across all different mediums should take note of fans’ appetite for Judith Hoag’s appearance in a future Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles project.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) is a multi-media franchise that began with Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird’s comics in the 1980s. Throughout the years, their comic books expanded to movies, TV shows, video games, and toys. Most notably, the animated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ran for nearly a decade and has become a nostalgic staple of the ‘80s and ‘90s. Several other movies have featured the four anthropomorphic turtle brothers (Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael), including the trilogy of live-action films in the ‘90s and the more recent movies Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and its sequel Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows.
