This week, Paramount announced the release date for a brand-new, live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film. One that promises to change the entire scope of the franchise. What that news didn’t mention was that, a year before that happens, the sequel to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is also coming to theaters, and thankfully, that film’s director doesn’t see one impacting the other.
Recently, io9 spoke to Jeff Rowe, the director of Mutant Mayhem as well as its upcoming 2027 sequel. He didn’t know much about this new Turtles film that had just broken in the news, but he didn’t seem worried. “No one’s called me and told me anything yet,” Rowe said. “It seems like we’re moving into a world where maybe multiple things can coexist. And, you know, there was a time when there were live-action Spider-Man movies being made at the same time as Spider-Verse. I love these characters and welcome as many takes on the franchise as people are willing to put out there.”
Rowe recently completed work producing a short film set in the same universe, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Chrome Alone 2 – Lost in New Jersey, which dictated that he split his time between the short and the feature. “Sometimes it would be like ‘This week is all about the short.’ And other times it’d be like, ‘All right, short, you’re on your own. Here’s $20 for pizza, and I’ve got to go deal with the feature,’” Rowe said.
With the feature film’s release still almost two years away, though, it sounds like things are in very good shape. “There are a lot of parts that are now going into animation,” Rowe said. “And I think the film will be fully animated by the middle of next year. Then we’re going to be lighting and comping and just working every day to put as much quality on screen as we can.”
As for when we might learn more about the film, like what it’s called and what it’s about, Rowe didn’t know. “We’ll see what the marketing department thinks is best,” he said. “But I think there’s some internal excitement about it. And I’m excited for the world to see it.”
Us too, Jeff. Us too. Thankfully, we do get to see a brief glimpse of the Turtles in the world set up by the ending of Mutant Mayhem in Chrome Alone 2, which is in theaters on December 19, attached to The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants. You can read much, much more about the short here.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
