New Live-Action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Movie In 2011

Wow, I feel old. Tomorrow is the 25th birthday of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. To celebrate, a 25th Anniversary "Shell-ebration" is schedules in association with the Tribeca Film Festival. The World Financial Center Plaza will be transformed into a drive-in pizza party screening of the 1990 live-action film complete with glow-in-the-dark manhole covers, a turtle-green colored Empire State Building, an all-new Party Wagon replica, and an appearance by the turles themselves. Click here for details . But the bigger news is that The Mirage Group has officially announced that they will be making a new live-action film for 2011.

The new movie will be a Batman Begins-style reboot, showing the origins of the team of crime-fighting mutant turtles. Legendary Pictures will be producing the film, and co-creator Peter Laird is on board as executive producer. Laird says that the new movie "will remain true to the spirit of the original comic books. " Laird mentions that the new movie might also use a new face replacement technology, which would allow the turtles to be much more expressive. Unless I'm reading the statement wrong, I think this also may confirm that the turtles won't be completely computer generated.

I'd love to see something more along the lines of the original gritty comic book (shown above), but I also understand that the marketplace for a ninja turtle film skews young, especially when merchandising comes into the equation. I was disappointed by the most recent computer animated TMNT film due to the kiddie tone and feel.  I'm hoping that this new reboot will be treated as a comic book film rather than a kids movie.

Discuss: What would you like to see in a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot?

source: Variety