Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Movie Franchise

[Silver Nemesis]

I always got the impression Eastman and Laird weren't keen on the original cartoon show. I remember reading somewhere that the producers of TMNT II: The Secret of the Ooze wanted Bebop and Rocksteady to appear, but Eastman and Laird vetoed it. So instead we got Tokka and Rahzar.

I don't think they'll use Krang in the new film. And if they do they'll change him beyond recognition. Which is a shame, because the original Krang had one of the funniest voices ever.

As far as special effects go, they could always depict a live-action Krang using puppetry, with his body looking something like Goro from the first Mortal Kombat film.

Or they could just hire this guy...

[The Dark Knight]

Aliens makes things "richer"? Is he going to reboot X-Men and turn them into aliens as well?

Exactly. It's a very simplistic concept that can be applied to anything.

If a director is to take on a franchise, do your own thing - but work within the guidelines of the brand.

[The Joker]

I always got the impression Eastman and Laird weren't keen on the original cartoon show. I remember reading somewhere that the producers of TMNT II: The Secret of the Ooze wanted Bebop and Rocksteady to appear, but Eastman and Laird vetoed it. So instead we got Tokka and Rahzar.

Yes!

Laird has also done interviews regarding the '87 toon, and it definately wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. Especially with the Fred Wolf company, where a multi-million dollar lawsuit eventually took place. I think Eastman is more on the fence as far as characters like Bebop, Rocksteady, and Krang are concerned (considering his participation with the IDW comics which definately incorporates elements from the '87 series), but there assuredly seems to be some bitterness on Laird's part when it comes to material originated in that series. Possibly why we never saw those characters, except for really quick cameos as nods to fans, in the 2003 animated series.

[Silver Nemesis]

I haven't read any of the IDW comics, but I'm intrigued to hear they implemented elements from the original cartoon show. I do remember reading some Turtles comics back in the early 90s. And a few years ago I finally got around to reading some of the original Mirage comics from the 80s. I was surprised by just how closely the first movie stuck to those early stories. If we ever start producing movie-to-comic comparisons for other superhero films (I've been thinking about doing that for the Chris Reeve Superman movies, if anyone's interested) then the first Turtles film would be pretty easy to analyse.

The latest news on the movie backlash: Leonardo voice, Brian Tochi, and the first live-action April, Judith Hoag, have both voiced support for the film.
http://www.tmz.com/2012/03/21/michael-bay-april-oneal-leonardo#.T2r7H2I5L-Q

IGN has also published an article defending the new film. It's nice to see so many remarks from old-school Turtle fans in the comments section.
http://uk.comics.ign.com/articles/122/1221505p1.html

[gordonblu]

Take this with the required dosage of sodium...

http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/nailbiter111/news/?a=63183

If these character ARE in the film, that could be somewhat interesting, but I'm not holding my breath.

[The Joker]

With all this stuff about an alien origin and such, going with Krang as the main villain works. We've never seen him fully realized in any of the live action movies, so that would be interesting to see.

Not sure about the idea of adding Bebop and Rocksteady. Always thought of those two more as the Shredder's goons than that of Krang. Stick with the rock soldiers. Krang's got a whole army to shell out.   

[Silver Nemesis]

Evidently the Turtlegate outcry has not gone unheard. The release date has been knocked back from late 2013 to May 2014, with production delayed due to script problems. Some sites are claiming production has halted indefinitely. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Needless to say, I would love to see Krang, Bebop and Rocksteady in the finished picture. I just hope they don't get "reimagined" to the extent we can't recognise them.

[riddler]

I guess the one silver lining if they do become aliens is that it sets up Krang to be a villain better but still does he not realize that aliens are not MUTANTS?

Laird did not like the TV series hence and it was stated that is why there were no characters from the cartoon added to the films. I wish we got a dark crime film like the first film again. Like the batman series the soccer moms moaned about the violence and ruined that series as well leading to a third film (TMNT 3) which rivals Batman and Robin on the silly scale. You'll notice in the second film the turtles never use their weapons to fight bad guys even once.

[The Joker]

I guess the one silver lining if they do become aliens is that it sets up Krang to be a villain better but still does he not realize that aliens are not MUTANTS?

I'm sure he does since he's got Co-Creator Kevin Eastman on board, but apparently Bay and company are taking the 'New Universe, New Rules' approach to this. It's Michael Bay. Go Figure.

Laird did not like the TV series hence and it was stated that is why there were no characters from the cartoon added to the films.

I always considered that a mistake on his part. Not sure if Eastman was just as big of a proponent of excluding characters originated in the Fred Wolf series into the live action films, but it's been revealed Laird had a falling out with the people affiliated with the '87 toon, and it more than likely had a influence on his staunch stance in essentially ignoring them for years until the very entertaining Turtles Forever special a few years back.

[riddler]

I guess the one silver lining if they do become aliens is that it sets up Krang to be a villain better but still does he not realize that aliens are not MUTANTS?

I'm sure he does since he's got Co-Creator Kevin Eastman on board, but apparently Bay and company are taking the 'New Universe, New Rules' approach to this. It's Michael Bay. Go Figure.

Laird did not like the TV series hence and it was stated that is why there were no characters from the cartoon added to the films.

I always considered that a mistake on his part. Not sure if Eastman was just as big of a proponent of excluding characters originated in the Fred Wolf series into the live action films, but it's been revealed Laird had a falling out with the people affiliated with the '87 toon, and it more than likely had a influence on his staunch stance in essentially ignoring them for years until the very entertaining Turtles Forever special a few years back.

There's actually some interesting parallels between TMNT and Batman
-both had TV shows which were generally disliked by the existing comic fans but were extremely popular and attracted many other fans. Now the difference being Bob Kane acknowledged the importance of the Adam west show while Eastman disliked the cartoon.
-the subsequent film made an attempt to be UNLIKE the show
-the soccer moms complained about the violence with the films and both series got two 'kiddy' movies. The difference being Batman got two dark movies before it being dumbed down while TMNT only got one
-both of the final movies in the 90's had sequels planned but both were nixed due to poor reception of TMNT III and Batman and Robin.

I'm hoping saner heads prevail over Michael Bay telling him he can't change the origin but then again somehow the Ang Lee 2003 Hulk disaster squeaked through basically spitting on the source material.