Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem Sets Up [SPOILER] As The Sequel Villain
The following contains major spoilers for "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem."
"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem" is a bold new take on the popular Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise, one that builds on previous iterations while adding a fresh new look and focusing on things that previous iterations haven't always paid close attention to. For one, this is a movie that truly highlights the teenage aspect of the turtles, giving them each a unique personality that even reflects in their character design.
Granted, unique looks were a big part of "Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," but "Mutant Mayhem" builds on it by also having actual teenagers voice the characters. In a relatively rare move for an animated film, "Mutant Mayhem" also had its young cast record together, which added a sense of camaraderie and youthfulness to the characters that wasn't there before. And, much like Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg's previous film "Good Boys," the writers and producers have these young characters are constantly talking over each other, which makes the dialogue even funnier.
"Mutant Mayhem" also feels like a rare example of a "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" project that truly highlights the mutant part of its title. In the film, not only are the turtles outcasts just trying to be accepted by the surface world, but they find kinship with mutated adversaries, such as primary villain Superfly and mutant henchmen Bebop and Rocksteady, just to name a few. This poses an interesting challenge for the future of the franchise, as it reduces the number of potential enemies for future sequels.
However, "Mutant Mayhem" has a very clear idea of who the next villain should be, and it is exactly who you think it is.
Say hello to The Shredder
Of course, who else would it be but The Shredder? After all, he is the ultimate villain of the turtles, introduced in the very first issue of Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird's original comic book back in 1984.
Originally, Shredder was the brother of a ninja who was killed by Splinter's owner. Seeking revenge, he joins the Foot Clan and trains to become a ninja, so he could one day punish his brother's killer. In the original comic, Shredder actually dies in the very same issue he is introduced (yeah, things were dark in the '80s). Of course, once "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" became a huge franchise, Shredder returned, time and time again. As the turtle's main antagonist, Shredder is usually human, but he's also been an Utrom alien controlling a humanoid exosuit (like the 2003 animated series) or a literal demon (like in "Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles").
In "Mutant Mayhem," we don't see or hear of Shredder or the Foot Clan at any point throughout the movie's primary running time, with the film focusing on the mutant mayhem part of the title instead. At the very end, however, during a mid-credits scene, Techno Cosmic Research Institute (TCRI) executive Cynthia Utrom (voiced by Maya Rudoph) realizes she's going to need help in capturing the turtles, after her attempts in the first movie didn't pan out. So she puts a call to the Shredder, who is only partially seen looking at New York City from a distance.
The future is turtle
A lot of superhero movies seem to save the most famous villain or characters for the sequel, and while "Mutant Mayhem" does this with Shredder, it works because it still presents a lot of equally popular villains in this first installment. But Shredder is not the only villain being teased in "Mutant Mayhem." The previously mentioned Cynthia Utrom, is named after the alien creatures also named utroms, and the institute she works for, TCRI, is a front for the aliens' activities on Earth. One such utrom is the iconic villain Krang. This means that a team-up or confrontation between Shredder and Krang sometime down the line is inevitable.
Director Jeff Rowe actually said before the release of "Mutant Mayhem" that Shredder was the main villain in an earlier version of the script. But they decided to change it to a mutant because they needed "someone that could relate to the turtles, and that the turtles could also relate to and be somewhat tempted by."
Rowe even mentioned "The Dark Knight" as an inspiration in terms of saving Shredder for a sequel, and wouldn't you know it, that sequel was just announced ahead of the film's premiere. Not only that, but Paramount also greenlit a TV show that will bridge the gap between both movies. This means it is possible the show will see the rise of the Foot Clan before the sequel fully brings Shredder in.
"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem" is in theaters now.