Paramount Shifts Course, Pursuing Live-Action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Reboot in Line with Sonic the Hedgehog Success
Paramount pictures is pivoting its strategy for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise, shelving previously developed projects to pursue a new live-action/CG hybrid film aiming to replicate the success of its Sonic the Hedgehog movies. The move comes after the cancellation of the Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series and the indefinite postponement of The Last Ronin, an R-rated live-action/CG hybrid project.
The studio’s previous attempt at a live-action TMNT film,Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (2016),underperformed at the box office,leading Paramount to focus on animation with the critically acclaimed Teenage mutant Ninja Turtles: mutant Mayhem (2023). However, a recent shakeup within the TMNT and TV media division has prompted a reevaluation of the franchise’s direction, with the goal of broadening its appeal.
Sources indicate that The Last ronin, directed by Nobody filmmaker Ilya Naishuller, was shelved because the new studio leadership deemed an R-rated entry unsuitable as the first live-action film in a decade. One insider stated the studio wants to “leave the door open to possibly revisit it down the road.”
Paramount’s ambition is to “Sonic-fy” the TMNT franchise, mirroring the success of the Sonic the Hedgehog films – a three-movie (and counting) franchise that has generated over $1 billion for the studio. “If you want Sonic, you go to the guy who did Sonic,” an insider explained, referencing producer Neal H. Moritz.
The sequel to Mutant Mayhem, produced by seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg and directed by Jeff Rowe, remains on track for a September 17, 2027 release. The cancellation of tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a spinoff of Mutant Mayhem, was attributed to a shift in the “vision the owners want,” according to those working on the show. Showrunner Christopher Yost confirmed the cancellation,noting the remaining episodes were ”our best episodes yet.”