Skip to main content

Latest TV spot for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles hints at turtles’ rebooted origin

fx teenage mutant ninja turtles explored 17 minute featurette
Image used with permission by copyright holder
In the run-up to next month’s release of the new, live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, there’s been no shortage of speculation regarding what changes (if any) will be made to the title characters’ origin stories in this reboot of the long-running franchise. For those who don’t mind a spoiler or two, the latest television spot for the film offers up a few hints about the events that turned a quartet of turtles into ninja heroes.

“We were created as weapons,” begins the narration in the latest preview. The unidentified Turtle’s voice can be heard over scenes of a green fluid (likely, the “ooze” originally associated with the Turtles’ origin) being pumped into a tank, and the scene changes to one of a miniature turtle shattering the glass of his enclosure. The preview then shifts to a scene of the now-juvenile turtles practicing martial arts, and eventually growing into the characters seen in prior trailers and clips.

Recommended Videos

“We knew the world would never accept us, but one day it would need us,” the voiceover continues.

The preview then offers up a mix of previously seen footage and quite a bit of new material, including some fresh footage of Shredder in action, new footage from the mountain sequence glimpsed in earlier trailers, and some additional material featuring the human cast of the film — specifically Will Arnett and Megan Fox. Fox plays intrepid reporter April O’Neil, while Arnett plays her cameraman, Vern Fenwick.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is directed by Jonathan Liebesman and hits theaters August 8.

Topics
Rick Marshall
A veteran journalist with more than two decades of experience covering local and national news, arts and entertainment, and…
All the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies and TV shows, ranked
April O'Neil and the TMNT in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

In 1984, Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird created the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as a one-off comic book that found extraordinary success despite being self-published by two unknown comic creators. Three years later, Turtlemania was born when the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series hit the airwaves. And while the franchise has waxed and waned over the following 36 years, it's never completely gone away. There have been multiple animated shows, two different live-action film series, and several reboots. It seems like every generation gets its own TMNT.

For this generation, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem may be the definitive TMNT. It's a film that actually focuses on the Turtles' youth and their desire to live openly among humans. And while we can't judge that film until we actually see it, we can revisit all of the previous adaptations. That's why we've put together this list of all of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies and TV shows while ranking them from worst to first.
12. Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation (1997)

Read more
Where to watch all the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies and TV shows
The four TMNT brothers enjoy a lighter moment in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

This week, the TMNT are back in theaters with a new animated movie, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. This is actually the seventh time that the TMNT have had their own film in theaters. Beyond that, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has had four different animated series, a handful of direct-to-video animated flicks, and even a short-lived live-action TV show. That's a lot for any franchise!

Ahead of the new film, you may want to revisit some of the Turtles from years past. The good news is that the vast majority of these shows and movies are available to stream. And the few that aren't are still on digital outlets for rent or purchase. To make things easier for you, check out our list of where to watch all of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies and TV shows.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987)

Read more
5 movies you need to watch in August 2023
The Turtles eat pizza and look shocked in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem.

Last year, the movie industry was on shaky ground. The COVID recovery was still in its earliest stages, and while there were hits like Top Gun: Maverick, there were fewer movies actually showing in theaters. Worst of all was the month of August, when only one big Hollywood movie, the mediocre action comedy Bullet Train, was released.

What a difference a year makes. In August 2023, Hollywood has packed the slate with a diverse selection of movies ranging from a comic book movie (the sure-to-fail DC Comics movie Blue Beetle), a video game adaptation (Gran Turismo), and the usual mixture of action movies, thrillers, and comedies. Here are the five best movies you should check out in August, and why they are worth going to the movies to see.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (August 2)

Read more