Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014 film)

Ninja Turtles is a fifth film in the film series and also a reboot that is targeted for release in 2013 The film will be produced Scott Mednick, Galen Walker and Michael Bay's production company Platinum Dunes. It is being funded through Lightbox Productions, LLC.

Following the buyout by Viacom/Nickelodeon, the film, once slated for release in 2011, was pushed back one year, and the studio for the film was confirmed to be Viacom's Paramount Pictures. Late March saw the film pushed back again to 2012. Currently, Paramount is shooting for a 2013 release. Furthermore, the name of the film has been shortened to just "Ninja Turtles".

Production
According to Deadline, Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon have brought Michael Bay and his Platinum Dunes partners Brad Fuller and Andrew Form on to produce Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the live-action film that reboots the film series launched by New Line in 1990. Bay, Fuller and Form will produce with Galen Walker and Scott Mednick. The studio originally hired Matt Holloway and Art Marcum to write the film for close to $1 million dollars but they left the project. The Studio hired Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol writers Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec to write the script for the film. According to Variety, Jonathan Liebesman is in talks to direct the film. Deadline reports that Paramount has a Christmas 2013 release date set for the film. Michael Bay revealed at the 2012 Nickeloden Upfront on March 14, 2012 that the film will be titled "Ninja Turtles" and that the Turtles will no longer be mutants, but instead be members of an alien race. However, considering that Bay is not part of the creative process of the film, this remains to be seen. News of Bay's creative change was met with negative criticism from within the fan community. In response to the announcement, actor Robbie Rist who voiced Michelangelo the first three films, wrote to Bay accusing him of "sodomizing" the franchise. Rist later remarked that he could have been out of line since Bay makes more money then he does. In response to the feedback, Bay issued a statement asking fans to calm down since a script had not been revealed, his team was working closely with the creators, and would include all the elements that made them fans to begin with. Both Brian Tochi, who voiced Leonardo in the first three films, and Judith Hoag, who played April O'Neal in first film, have voiced their support towards the creative change. Co-creator and former rights holder Peter Laird expressed his thoughts on the change asking fans to take Bay's advice and wait until more of Bay's plan is made available. Laird also stated that he felt the "ill-conceived plan" was a "genius notion", as it would allow fans to have the multitude of bipedal anamorphic turtles that they have been asking for. He would point out that while the concept of a turtle planet back story made for a great run of the mill science fiction story, but it had no real place in the Ninja Turtles universe. Co-creator Kevin Eastman stated that he had been invited behind the scenes of the film, and concluded that he was official on board with the project and that, although he couldn't say much, he believes it to be "awesome". Via Twitter, Corey Feldman, who voiced Donatello in the first and third films, voiced his support for the film saying that he loves Bay's remakes and he is eager to reprise his role. In response to the backlash, Liebesman stated that he was glad to hear about the fan's response, since He and Eastman had been locked in a room working on ideas that, from his own perspective as a fan, everybody will love. If anything storywise were to be expanded upon, it would fit in perfectly with mythos. While he wouldn't confirm whether or not Bay's comment did represent the film's premise, he did stress on the ooze itself and its background in the original comic, reminding that the ooze was the product of alien technology. In regards to how the Turtles would be rendered, Liebesman would not say exactly what visual direction would be taken, but he did state that he did enjoy Weta Digital's work in Rise of the Planet of the Apes. He also pointed out that the film would not be exclusively about action but will also focus on brotherhood, friendship, and responsibility. In late March Michael Bay posted on his website explaining the title change and stressing that nothing had changed regarding the Turtles. He stated the reason the title was shorten was at a request by Paramount to make the title "simple". He continued that the Turtle were the same as fans remember and regardless of the title change they still act like teenagers. He urged everyone to give everybody who was involved a chance, as they had the fans interest at top priority and would not let anybody down.

First Showing are reported that Krang could be the villain of the film.

An April fools day joke from Screen Rant that Taylor Lautner is cast as Leonardo in the film. Hip-Hop artist Kid Cudi is rumor for a role in the film.

Peter Laird suggested that it might be CGI Turtles with Live Action Actors there was the idea of having Chris Evans and Sarah Michelle Gellar reprise their roles as Casey Jones and April O'Neil, but this was before Nickelodeon bought the rights to TMNT.

Trivia

 * Casting for Foot Clan roles were held when the Ninja Turtles 25th Anniversary Shell-Ebration stopped at Los Angeles. The people being casted were ordinary people on the street.
 * Producer Michael Bay stated that the Turtles in this film would be presented as having an extraterrestrial origin. This statement caused a great furor and was met with harsh criticism from much of the fanbase. However, the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" creators Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman have expressed their support in the alien concept; Laird said it enabled the fans to "get the army of anthropomorphic turtles they have been asking for", and Eastman said he believes the concept to be "awesome!" and pointed out that the ooze that created the Turtles was in fact an alien substance.
 * From the cast of the 1990s Turtles films, Robbie Rist (the voice of Michelangelo) accused Michael Bay of "sodomizing" the Turtle saga with an alien origin. However, Rist's co-stars Brian Tochi (the voice of Leonardo), Corey Feldman (the voice of Donatello) and Judith Hoag (April O'Neill) have placed their support on this direction.
 * The filmmakers chose Weta Digital to do the VFX based on their work on Rise of the Planet of the Apes.
 * This will be the first time the alien villain Krang will appear in a live-action film.