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In the wake of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ 40th anniversary, Paramount+ has released a new trailer for their upcoming animated series, Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The trailer features a brand-new art style, action, and plenty of laughs.
IGN posted the clip on X, formerly known as Twitter, which features a montage of previous iterations of the franchise. There are clips ranging from the original 1990 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film, to the Summer 2023 hit, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. The latter only grossed $180 million, likely because it was released at the same time as box-office behemoths Barbie, Oppenheimer, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
However, Mutant Mayhem was received warmly by critics and fans alike, who relished the new twists and humor of the classic characters. In the film, Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael (voiced by Nicolas Cantu, Micah Abbey, Shamon Brown Jr., and Brady Noon) tentatively return to the outside world after years of hiding in the sewers. They attempt to blend in as regular teenagers –which led to a NYC-slang-filled viral moment– but a group of mutant criminals poses a challenge. The film’s voice cast also features Ayo Edebiri as April O’Neil, Ice Cube as Superfly, and Jackie Chan as Master Splinter, as well as John Cena, Paul Rudd, Giancarlo Esposito and more.
The TMNT Franchise Gets Reinvigorated
The film was hugely popular, and it introduced the turtles to a new generation of fans, which surprised Mutant Mayhem creator Kevin Eastman. "What a gift. It's really such an exciting thing. I feel like so many of the things that have happened to me thanks to the Turtles -- going all the way back to the original concept, where now I got to draw comic books for a living? It's amazing.". "Thinking back to when [the Turtles] first became popular as toys in the early days to the generational aspect of them now, as they continue to be popular -- it's always the kids who decide what's going to be cool and what's not going to be cool."
Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will serve as a follow-up to Mutant Mayhem. Unlike its predecessor, however, the new show will adopt a more traditional 2D animation style. The title of the series is a reference to a 1987 anthology comic of the same name published by Mirage Studios. The Paramount+ series will take place between Mutant Mayhemand the film sequel that is currently in development.
"In the nearly 40 years since Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles launched into the zeitgeist, it has entertained generations of fans and only continues to grow,” Nickelodeon chief Brian Robbins said in a statement when the series was announced. “We are excited to grow TMNT’s legacy in partnership with Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg at Point Grey, and Jeff Rowe, who are innovating the franchise with their singular brand of humor and elevated storytelling for audiences everywhere, across virtually every platform."
Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comes out April 26th,