Like many other beloved properties that first rose to prominence in the 1980s, it appears that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will keep getting rebooted in perpetuity, similar to the likes of Transformers and Terminator. After box office takings fell off a cliff for the Michael Bay-produced film series after the second installment, another feature-length reboot is already in the works with Seth Rogen attached to produce and possibly have a hand in writing the script.
Rogen’s movie will be the second computer-animated effort following 2007’s forgotten TMNT, and the seventh theatrical release in total after the original live-action trilogy, along with 2014’s hit Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and much less successful sequel Out of the Shadows. It isn’t just on the big screen where the heroes in a half shell are seeking a new lease of life, either, as they’ve been the stars of four major animated shows so far as well.
Furthermore, according to insider Daniel Richtman, Netflix could soon be entering the Turtles business, as Nickelodeon are reportedly thinking of teaming up with the streaming giant to develop a new series. There’s already the anime-influenced Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles that’s been airing on the network since 2018, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for another.
“I am hearing Nickelodeon is developing a new TMNT animated show and they are also thinking of airing it on Netflix instead of their channel,” says Richtman.
While we could be in real danger of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles overload if all of these rumored movies and TV shows come together, if Netflix take the reins and handle the material the same way they treated the acclaimed Transformers: War for Cybertron, then the platform could be onto a real winner here. After all, Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo and Raphael are always going to be popular, regardless of where their adventures can be found.