The turtles have taken the world by storm once again with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. The movie follows the four teenagers Raphael, Michelangelo, Leonardo, and Donatello as they struggle to find their place in the world, yearning for life above the sewers. When they meet a teenage girl, April O’Neil, hungry for a new story, they team up to bolster their reputations. However, when they run into Superfly and his crew of mutant animals, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will need to decide which side they’re on and step up to become the heroes New York needs.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is directed by Jeff Rowe and co-written by Rowe, Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Dan Hernandez, and Benji Samit. Rogen, who voices Bebop in the movie, and Goldberg are also producers. The movie features a star-studded voice cast led by Brady Noon, Shamon Brown Jr., Nicolas Cantu, Micah Abbey, Jackie Chan, Ayo Edebiri, Ice Cube, Hannibal Buress, John Cena, Rose Byrne, Giancarlo Esposito, Paul Rudd, and Maya Rudolph.
Screen Rant spoke with franchise co-creator Kevin Eastman about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. He described the 2023 animated reboot movie as “a project of passion” and discussed how his creation continues to capture audiences. He also teased the upcoming Last Ronin video game and the two Ninja Turtles crossovers he still wants to see. Editor’s Note: This interview was conducted during the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, and the movie covered here would not exist without the labor of the writers and actors in WGA and SAG-AFTRA.
Kevin Eastman Talks Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
Screen Rant: I love what you do! Thank you so much for contributing to my childhood directly. Mutant Mayhem has taken the world by storm. How do you feel about your creation’s new resurgence?
Kevin Eastman: It’s amazing when I think back to the very first issue when we thought, “Well, are we going to sell enough copies to pay my uncle back we borrowed the money from to print the first issue?” To here we are coming up on 2024 which will be the 40th anniversary of Turtles and that we’ve been so lucky to have had so many. From the original comic book to the original cartoon series to that original movie. And then we felt like even that was probably going to be the end of it. What a great ride and what a great time! And the fact that it kept continuing on to other adventures of reinventions.
And even with those when you do the best you can to bring it into another era, if you will, it could just as easily fail. It’s all up to the kids. It’s all up to the fans. And that’s what we’re really… when I was a kid, nobody told me what was cool. I decided what was cool and what I wanted to read. So the fact that you put out something like Mutant Mayhem with such love and passion and creativity that went into it. And it’s clicked. And this resonated not only with the original fans, but with this, another younger audience, which is just like [mind-blowing].
Yeah, knowing that I got to watch a Ninja Turtle movie with my eight-year-old stepdaughter, and we both had the same enjoyment from it was incredible. Full circle moment for me. Now, what did Mutant Mayhem do that the Michael Bay movies couldn’t do?
Kevin Eastman: Well, I think that each auteur or, writer, director, I mean, they have a specific vision. That’s what we love about them, especially if you’re adapting something as iconic as say the next Batman movie, or another Superman movie, or whatever. Not that we’re those. Those came before us, but we’ve come up and have 40 years of total history. You’re stepping into shoes where there is an audience base, and some respect to that, but just they had a different approach, I feel like.
Jeff grew up as a fan of the Turtles. Seth is a big comic geek, he’s a forever teenager like I am. So I think there was a different kind of passion that went into it, and a relationship with it. They brought that love, passion, and things that they specifically liked about those characters to it. As opposed to, say, maybe an approach that might have been done before, it was maybe a bit more of a commercial approach. But this was a project of passion, in my opinion, which resonates to what Peter and I initially intended, which was something fun that we dearly loved. And I think that these guys had a lot of fun making this movie for their own personal reasons.
Absolutely. Having teenagers play those roles really gave it a new sense of energy that I’d never heard before. Now, do you foresee the Turtles ever being revisited in the live-action format again?
Kevin Eastman: It’s a great question and I wonder because I feel like after the previous live-action movies they had they’re take and their say. I felt that the spot-on vision for Nickelodeon and Paramount and Viacom to take the approach to do an animated version and take that up. We all love the live-action Spider-Man movies with Mr. Holland, but we also love the animated version. So I feel like they really chose wisely and took an approach that would give you some flexibility and creativity to do it. So in the future, maybe, but right now, I know there’s some really fun plans for more stories in this animated vein.
Now look, I’m a huge fan of Last Ronin, and it’s probably the best dark TMNT story in a while. It spawned many sequels with new Turtles. A big video game is coming out soon. Did you always envision Mikey being the last Turtle? And are you involved with the video games for The Last Ronin?
Kevin Eastman: Michelangelo? Yes. Michelangelo was, for me, the original idea even going back to when Pete and I originally penned the concept in ’87 was that there would be one remaining Turtle, and it always felt, and it was natural that the least likely of who would have to rise to this level. It’s kind of like Ripley or Sarah Connor or the aspect where the complete underdog Luke Skywalker, if you will even, to rise to the level they have to arrive to become the Last Ronin and complete that massive story arc.
But there was never a second choice for me than Michelangelo. And then with the new video game, we’ve definitely had a number of conversations with the team developing it, and they’re just killing it. It’s ripped right from the pages of the comic book. It looks… these guys are huge fans of Last Ronin too. So I’m so proud of what they’re doing. Again much like Mutant Mayhem the passion is there in every way.
That’s incredible! Now the last question I have for you is TMNT has had some epic crossovers from Batman, Power Rangers, Stranger Things, Street Fighter. Is there any crossover you’d personally like to see them brought to life with?
Kevin Eastman: Two, actually. One is Turtles Daredevil. Which of course huge… Daredevil was my jam when I was a kid growing up. There’s some definitely some influence in the Turtles universe, but also there was a Jack Kirby concept called Kamandi: The Last Boy On Earth. That’s where I feel like it was a kind of Planet of the Apes-based concept where animals had risen to the people in control of the planet. That’s where I think my love and passion for mutant animals really came out of. So I’d love to do a Turtles Kamandi crossover as well.
About Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
After years of being sheltered from the human world, the Turtle brothers set out to win the hearts of New Yorkers and be accepted as normal teenagers through heroic acts.
Check out our other Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem interviews here:
- Brady Noon, Shamon Brown Jr. Nicolas Cantu & Micah Abbey
- Ayo Edebiri
- Jeff Rowe
- Ice Cube
- Jeff Rowe at SDCC
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is available to rent or buy on digital now.
