Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: What is Next?

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles first made their way into our living rooms and hearts on Dec 14th, 1987. It didn’t take long for these four loveable turtles to win America over, with Leonardo’s leadership and bravery, Donatello smarts, and tinkering, Raphael being a sarcastic hothead and the party animal Michelangelo. There was something everyone could relate too, which is what made the Ninja Turtles so famous in the 80’s and 90’s. The show had action, comedy, and lessons to teach, and had just about every kid in America was glued to the T.V on Saturday morning with this cartoon.

But as with pretty much, everything in the cartoon world the Ninja Turtles fizzled out, around the let 90’s. Only to re-emerge in a comic book series that continued the story of the original cartoon series. They created a live-action version of the show, but the show only survived 26 episodes before being canceled. Costumes were cheesy, and acting was sub-par making the cancelation reasonable.

After a long absence from the TV in early 2000, the CW got their hands on franchise rights. And set to reboot the animated series, with new animation and darker themes. It became a fan favorite for many, focusing more on the comic book run of the same name. The series debuted on Fox in 2003 and ran for many years before being canceled. Nickelodeon produced a TMNT series in 2012 from 4kids entertainment, launching the third animated series of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which was a CGI version of the turtles. This was a lot less dark than its predecessor, but many fans and newcomers loved the more comedic take.

After the success of both series, Paramount Pictures worked with Michael Bay to bring our Ninja Turtles to big screens. A massive fan backlash took place when rumors of the Turtles being aliens instead of mutated creatures. CGI was also used instead of the animatronics seen in the 90's movies, lacking the fluidity seen in different media appearances of the Turtles. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles hit screens around the world on August 8th, 2014 and made $493 million.

Despite strong backlash the film received, Paramount began quick work on sequels. All planning to bring together iconic characters from the show, including Bebop, Rocksteady, and Krang. Dave Green was the man for the job and began work on the mediocre Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows. It received a critical panning and bombed at the cinemas with a measly $245.6 million^.

Nickelodeon has announced a new 2D TMNT series to air in 2018. The rise of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is set to debut in autumn next year with 26 Scheduled episodes. The turtles go on adventures while tapping into mystic ninja powers they never knew existed. Well, that sounds interesting I for one will be looking to check this out when it airs.

This was due to some familiar faces making their way back to the franchise. Bebop and Rocksteady were the most famous villains of the show, and their addition steps things up a notch. But then he also included Krang, the inter-dimensional super villain of the 1987 original series. But still, the turtles don’t look like the turtles we have all come to love. So, no matter if you’re a fan of the Original 1987 series or the newer 2000’s series, the Turtles have made it through three decades, and it doesn’t look like this franchise is going anywhere anytime soon.

Party on dudes, Cowabunga!