Based on one fact about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ ages from the comics, the upcoming TMNT reboot movie has the opportunity to include an interesting science fiction element. In June 2021, Seth Rogen announced that he would be working with Nickelodeon on a new TMNT movie (via Twitter). Rogen’s social media post showed a page of notes and doodles supposedly written by the turtle’s leader, Leonardo, with the date August 11, 2023 in the corner. Since then, the theatrical premiere of the CG animated film has been moved up to August 4, 2023. However, while previous reboots have enjoyed mixed success, this new attempt could have a potential sci-fi-related trick.
Given that there have been so many renditions of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles over the years, the reboot will need new story elements to stand out, and TMNT comics may have already provided one. According to some TMNT comics, the turtles may age at a rate closer to their animal origins, meaning that they may live for a very long time. Due to their mutation, they could even have a longer lifespan than regular turtles. This would potentially affect the turtles not only physically, but psychologically, allowing them to consider themselves “teenage” for a long time.
While most turtle species live 10 to 80 years, some sea turtles and large tortoises can live over 150 years (via AZ animals). If the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles could live over a hundred years, this would create interesting possibilities for the TMNT movie. Due to their long lifespan, the turtles would face unique challenges, affecting both the plot of the film and the turtles’ relationships. This approach could see the series play with timelines, introduce new tech and generally revitalize the franchise in any number of innovative ways.
If the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles aged slower than humans, the TMNT film could feature more science fiction elements in its premise. For example, the TMNT reboot could feasibly take place in the future since the turtles will still be alive for a long time. Similarly, the TMNT movie could take place in the present day but claim that the turtles have been alive since the 1980s, when the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics were created. In this way, today would seem like the future to the turtles. More specifically, a common trope in science fiction stories involves humans searching for a way to achieve immortality through science. If any villains found out about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ slower aging process, they may want to capture the turtles to experiment with their DNA.
On a more emotional note, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ lifespan would also affect their relationships. In contrast to turtles, rats only live about two years. Although Master Splinter, the turtles’ rat teacher and father figure, lives longer than this, he still most likely has a much shorter lifespan than his sons. In addition, some of the turtles’ closest friends are April O’Neil and Casey Jones, who are both usually teenagers. If the turtles age slower though, they will still be teens while their friends have already grown up. In this way, the turtles could lose both their father and their friends simply by outliving them. If the upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot gives the turtles a longer lifespan, this would not only match the TMNT comics’ canon, but refresh the franchise with new science fiction elements and relationship difficulties.
