Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) comic book series was a major hit with kids of all ages in the mid ’80s. And, as with all such financial successes, it wasn’t long before a movie was put in development. The irony, though, was that the 1990 movie wasn’t initially desired by the big studios in town. Instead, it was distributed by New Line Cinema, which was “the House That Freddy Built,” but was still just that, a “House,” not a skyscraper. Then, of course, it ended up being a gamble that was quite advantageous to New Line, as it grossed over $200 million against a very reasonable price tag of $13.5 million.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Since then, the franchise has had multiple onscreen phases. The first trilogy of live-action movies, an animated reboot, a live-action reboot phase consisting of two films, and the most recent, animated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. Considering Mutant Mayhem is the best TMNT movie by a country mile, it’s quite fortunate that it led not only into a TV show but a forthcoming movie sequel as well. However, should plans for the movie fall through (purely a hypothetical and not likely), it wouldn’t be the first of the IP’s movies to get scrapped somewhere along the developmental assembly line.
7) TMNT 4: The Next Mutation (or TMNT 4: The Foot Walks)
The time travel-focused Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III was widely considered a step down from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze, and that was already considered a step down from the zeitgeist-capturing first one. In other words, given the third film’s critical and commercial reception, it was clear that the Turtles needed to ride off into the sunset for a while.
Even still, Eastman was working on a fourth movie starting about two years after this 1993 movie’s release. He kept at it until 1997, but ultimately never went anywhere. However, some of its plot elements, like focusing on older versions of the characters as they get new abilities with age, were used in the live-action TV show Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation (which was more or less one of the two potential titles of the fourth movie).
6) A Third Platinum Dunes Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Movie
The 2014 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was a financial hit, but a slog. Neither critics nor fans particularly took to it. Then, two years later, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows opened to a muted response, especially given how it was a summer movie release.
The writing was on the wall that there wouldn’t be a third movie by the end of Out of the Shadows‘ first weekend. Even still, Noel Fisher, Alan Ritchson, Megan Fox, and others had all signed on for three films, so it was definitely the plan. Fortunately for Ritchson, he’s gone on to bigger and better things.
5) TMNT 2
Kevin Munroe, writer and director of the 2007 animated TMNT, initially wanted it to merely be the first part of a trilogy. However, while its $96 million haul against a $34 million investment was commendable, it wasn’t jaw-dropping. Then, when Nickelodeon took over the franchise, plans went away entirely for parts two and three.
The 2007 movie had the Turtles growing distant after having finally defeated the Shredder once and for all, but it was likely he would appear at some point in the following two movies. However, far more interesting is the fact that Laird would have liked for the second film to be a combination of live-action and CGI, with the Turtles, of course being in CGI while Sarah Michelle Gellar and Chris Evans would play their roles in live-action. It’s not entirely likely that would have happened, but Munroe’s plan to have part two follow a downbeat Michelangelo join the Foot Clan very well could have.
4) A Live Action Film Between TMNT and the 2014 Movie
When gears were switched back to live action in light of TMNT‘s underperformance, there were some significant intended changes in store. Not just in terms of leaving animation, but also in terms of taking the IP back to its semi-dark origins (the 1990 movie had parents complaining, after all).
And, given how it was going to utilize animatronic suits with digitally enhanced facial movement, this 2010s version may very well have gotten a new generation of parents upset, too. According to Laird, it was supposed to be “Batman Begins-style” (via MTV) and would have been penned by John Fusco, creator of the Netflix show Marco Polo. Like Terminator: Dark Fate or other such examples, it would have followed the events of just the original live action movie, fully ignoring the events of its two sequels. It was ambitious to go for a legacy sequel before they started to boom in popularity, but it was too dark for Paramount and wasn’t given the go-ahead.
3) Paramount+ Spin-offs of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
About a year before Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem‘s release, it was announced that a series of spin-off films would also come along, all Paramount+ exclusives. Each of them would focus on one of the many villains seen in the theatrical movie.
Those didn’t technically happen, but the two-season Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series did make its way to fans, and we still have the theatrical sequel to look forward to. It would be nice to hear more of Natasia Demetriou’s Wingnut, but it seems as though it won’t be in her own movie.
2) A Roger Corman Version
The most baffling idea for a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles of all time came from none other than schlockmaster Roger Corman. The idea originated in the mid ’80s, when the comics were first becoming popular, and suffice to say it would have ended up going as well as Corman’s The Fantastic Four.
According to /Film, Eastman said “Back in the earliest days…there was a pitch from Roger Corman’s company, New World Pictures, which was like, I think it had a bunch of comedians like Sam Kinison and a couple [of] others that were going to be the turtles’ voice [and] just basically paint their faces green and wear a shell. But it was a really low-budget, crazy idea that Peter and I were not impressed with, so we said no. And wisely so, I guess.” As for who would be joining the iconically shrill Kinison, the idea was to have the similarly loud Bobcat Goldthwait, as well as Gallagher and Billy Crystal.
1) TMNT: The Last Ronin
The five-issue Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin, written by Eastman and Tom Waltz and based on a story concocted by both Eastman and Laird, is widely considered a highpoint in the history of the TMNT franchise and one of the best miniseries of 2022. It was a darker reimagining of the IP that really caught on with critics and fans alike.
So, it was really no wonder that a film adaptation was announced at CinemaCon in 2024. Even better was the fact that it would have been R-rated and live action. Things seemed to be going along well as late as August 2025, too. But then come November 2025 it was nixed when Paramount Skydance tasked Neal H. Moritz with overseeing a different live action reboot. That reboot is scheduled for a November 17, 2028 release date. A The Last Ronin video game is still supposedly en route, but this could have been great, especially with Nobody‘s Ilya Naishuller behind the wheel.
Which of these TMNT movies would you have most liked to see? Is it the Roger Corman version? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
Most Viewed
-
Image courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios -
Image courtesy of Tor Books/Macmillan -
Image Courtesy of MAPPA
