Paramount Shared Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Future, But The Last Ronin Reveal Has Me Shell Shocked

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise doesn’t look bad for over four decades of action. However, even with that mindset on the table, the current state of the series has been a bit dicey. We’re only a couple months past Paramount’s surprise cancellation of The Last Ronin’s cinematic adaptation, with last December’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles short being the most recent effort to keep the pizza hot. 

Which leads us to today, in which we find two new updates filling in the gaps of what’s going on with Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael. Personally, it’s the massive detail pertaining to The Last Ronin’s scrapped R-rated film that sticks out – as it would have been a huge move in the name of proper nostalgia. 

Get Ready For A Lot Of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Products On The Horizon

Let’s talk about what is happening with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles first. Obviously, the biggest slices of the pie are the animated Mutant Mayhem sequel, as well as a new live-action/CGI reboot, respectively set for 2027 and 2028. To compliment those projects, a recent update from THR has shown just how hot Paramount is on boosting the profile of both of those films; via some promising tie-ins. 

Everything from Mattel toys to a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles pizza chain similar to Chuck E. Cheese are in the works. Plus, the YouTube animated series Teeny Mutant Ninja Turtles will be arriving later this year, offering young children a chance to get in on Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird’s iconic creation.

Last, but not least, is a series of books that run the table when it comes to the Turtles fandom. One of those titles coincidentally set to arrive this June is a prose novel adapting Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin. Which leads me back to that other piece of news we’ve learned; as a potential cast member from that discarded project revealed a franchise return long in the making.

Judith Hoag Still Has Hope For Returning In The Last Ronin

When Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ original 1990 movie became a smash hit, progress on the sequel moved pretty quickly. Unfortunately, due to producers supposedly not asking actor Judith Hoag to return as April O’Neill, the saga would see a major recasting with Paige Turco.  

Save for a deleted cameo in 2016’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, Ms. Hoag hasn’t returned to the role. Prepare for the antithesis of cowabunga, dudes; as this was supposed to change in The Last Ronin. That was revealed (via Collider) in this quote from the Halloweentown star Richmond’s recent Big Lick Comic-Con appearance:

Yes, I’ve been approached, and I’d be happy. It would be a great bookend for me. And maybe that happens and maybe it doesn’t. We’ll see.

I love the enthusiasm the OG April O’Neill is bringing to the table, as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin‘s concept of Splinter’s surviving son avenging his murdered brothers is an even hotter prospect. Judith Hoag’s series return couldn’t have found a more fitting vehicle to appear; and I too hope that this “great bookend” can find new life. Sais crossed that we’ll see this picture somehow uncancelled; but as it stands the Turtles will return later this year, with YouTube’s Teeny Mutant Ninja Turtles. 

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