Live Action Ninja Turtles Sequel Scheduled for 2011

This year marks the 25^th Anniversary of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and what better way to celebrate it than by announcing their long awaited fifth film at the 40^th annual Comic Convention (Comic-Con) in San Diego. According to Kevin Eastman, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' third live action sequel will hit theaters in the spring of 2011. Eastman wants this film to be much darker and possibly more violent than the original live action movie that was released nearly twenty years ago. Producing and directing a film darker than the original might actually receive a PG-13 rating, which coincidentally is what the fans have been hoping for after 19 years of mediocrity. Even though these shelled vigilantes are not as popular now as they were 15 years ago, does not mean they have lost their touch among fans. Michael Bay's Transformers for example, is solid indication that moviegoers/fans still have sentimental feelings towards their childhood heroes. The Transformers were basically a fading franchise with very little pulse left in them, but the live action movie somehow made them much popular than they were when the first animated show aired back in 1984 (also the year the Ninja Turtles were born). One of the main differences between the Ninja Turtles and the Transformers would be the fan base. Apparently the Ninja Turtles had a much higher female fan base than the Transformers did and that is what possibly made them a pop culture phenomenon.

Unlike the last TMNT film that was released in 2007, the 2011 sequel will be mainly live action. There is one catch though, CGI will be used once again, but only be for the faces of the Ninja Turtles. Upcoming movies such as "Where the Wild Things Are" and "Avatar" will raise the bar for the future TMNT CGI crew to get idea on how real the Turtles should be designed. The producers and directors of the 2011 film want the turtles to look as real as possible. Using the original masks from the 1990 movie as a base to create the new faces would not be a bad idea at all, but very unlikely. Going back to the topic, the new film will focus on the origins of both the Shredder and the Turtles. It has not been confirmed if the Shredder will be a Human or an alien (comic explains it all). It would be best if he were to remain a human like the other incarnations most fans are familiar with because the main origin of the Shredder is far too complicated to be added into one whole movie. The turtles on the other hand have two different origins as well, but it only involved the infamous ooze canister that was dropped in the sewers. Using the entire storyline from the comic book would actually attract a whole new fan base and catapult the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles back to superstardom.

If the movie does in fact reflect mainly with the comics, another arch villain will most likely be added to 2011 film. The second villain would be mad scientist Baxter Stockman who also has an interesting back story to his character. Stockman is best known as the mutated fly from the 1987 cartoon, but in the comics and the 2k3 animated series; he is an African American scientist (Caucasian in the 87 cartoon). Not only would the addition of Baxter Stockman to the movie would be an excellent idea, but it will lure fans/moviegoers into an unknown darker side of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I personally believe the film will be a blockbuster hit. If the killer robots can do after 25 years, why can't the heroic turtles?

News regarding the TMNT 2011 film was announced by IGN and the official site of the Ninja Turtles.

Minor details regarding the film were also explained at the Internet Movie Database.

Possibly Storyline for the upcoming movie are based on Eastman and Laird's TMNT comics.