Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem Trailer Hides a Jujutsu Kaisen Easter Egg

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are ready to make a comeback, and the gang are ready to cause some mayhem. Earlier this week, the world got its first look at Paramount Pictures’ Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, and the promo has earned nothing short of praise. The flick, which stars A-list actors like Seth Rogan, unleashed the latest era of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on the world with quick wit and action. And thanks to keen fans, we now know Jujutsu Kaisen wormed its way into the trailer.

And yes, you did read that right. The trailer for Mutant Mayhem pays homage to Jujutsu Kaisen as well as several other anime series. However, it is Gojo Satoru that has the whole fandom geeking out.

As you can see above, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle fans spotted the Mutant Mayhem easter egg after a few dozen watches. The Jujutsu Kaisen anime reference was spotted in a shot featuring Donatello. The hero is seen wielding a staff as usual, and the ninja turtle even gave the weapon some flair with a few carvings. One of them is the magical compact from Sailor Moon… and the other is a painting of Gojo from Jujutsu Kaisen.

So, there you have it. Donatello is a weeb and honestly? We are loving this retcon. Future ninja turtle movies better keep this fact canon, and Jujutsu Kaisen fans are now desperate for the anime to pay homage too Donatello in kind.

Given the popular of Jujutsu Kaisen, it is hardly surprising to see Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles paying homage to the anime. Many of Hollywood’s best animators grew up on anime and still support the medium as it is growing bigger by the week. This influence promises to bring a bit of anime flair to Mutant Mayhem, and if we’re being frank, the ninja turtles could use some shonen spice. We’ll get to see how the movie pays homage to anime when Mutant Mayhem releases on August 4th. But before then, Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 will cause a scene as it is slated to premiere this July. The Jujutsu Kaisen anime will kickstart season 2 with an arc all about Gojo’s past before tackling one of the manga’s most ambitious stories, the Shibuya Incident arc, in its second cour.

Did you overlook this blink-and-miss-it nod to Jujutsu Kaisen? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB.