Michael Bay’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has arrived, and those turtles are big. Really, really big.
In the first trailer for the upcoming movie directed by Jonathan Liebsman and produced by Bay, we get our first look at the turtles in action. The trailer also seems to confirm a terrestrial origin for the heroes in a halfshell, which defuses earlier rumors that had them originating in space. Instead, it appears that they are the product of an experiment overseen by Shredder (William Fitchner) and the father of April O’Neil (Megan Fox).
The trailer also gives us a hint of Shredder’s motivations. Rather than a mustache-twirling villain, he is an extreme crusader that wants to bring order back to New York City.
The most telling reveal from the trailer, and what may be one of the biggest departures from the comic (and the more popular animated show that spawned games and movies of its own) is the turtles’ stature. In most previous outings, the turtles have been fairly average in height, maybe even a little shorter than most. In the new film they tower over others, and even dwarf Humvees. They also have a slightly more human-like facial features, which is a little bit freaky.
The film hits theaters and reboots many of our childhoods on August 8, 2014.
