The Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Movie Just Dropped, Ending the Series

Today, Netflix released Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie, the official wrap-up of the series of the same name, which ran from 2018 until 2020 on Nickelodeon. The series, which stars Josh Brenner as Donatello, Ben Schwartz and Lonardo, Omar Benson Miller as Raphael, and Brandon Mychal Smith as Michaelangelo, is one of the most visually distinctive takes on the Turtles ever to come to TV, with unique character designs that differentiate the characters by more than just their weapons and the color of their bandanas.

The movie comes just a day after the official title and release date announcement for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, which will be in theaters next August from executive producers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg and the team at Nickelodeon. Today’s release technically means that there will be two feature-length TMNT movies released within one calendar year of one another.

Fans, as you might expect, are feeling excited to see the new movie, but it’s bittersweet given that it’s bringing with it the end of a popular take on the franchise.

Just finished watching the #RiseoftheTMNTmovie and loved it so much! I missed the banter, the badassery, and the brotherly love! Thank you so much to everyone who had a hand in its creation, and to everyone who hasn't seen it yet – go give it a watch! <3

— Axis – BLM – he/him (@Ekihane) August 5, 2022

well I finished the #RiseoftheTMNTmovie and that was fucking amazing and put me into insane amounts of distress. please for the love of all that is holy #SaveROTTMNT it’s so good it’s unreal

— bee! (COMMS OPEN) | inactive mostly (@ricecaqes) August 5, 2022

“Leo and his journey is very much front and center,” executive producer Ant Ward said in a recent interview. “He’s on quite the arc, as it were.” Ward and Suriano revealed how Nickelodeon approached them during the production of Season 2 to pitch a Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles story that could be developed into a feature film. Along with introducing the alien Krang, who were intent on invading Earth, another of their ideas featured Raphael passing the leadership mantle over to Leonardo, and how that changes things for the Turtles.

“The movie definitely was our opportunity to do that storyline justice,” added executive producer Andy Suriano. “It bleeds into everyone else’s role. Raph was the leader for the series. Raph was the oldest. When that shifts to the younger brother suddenly in charge, that shifts everybody’s relationship.”

The movie seemingly puts a pretty definitive end on this version of the franchise, with numerous fans on social media talking about how emotionally draining it was to watch. Still, most seem to love the end result. And with a TMNT mutliverse out there, there’s always the possibility of seeing this version of the Turtles at least one more time down the line.

Here’s the synopsis for the Netflix movie: “When a mysterious stranger arrives from the future with a dire warning, Leo is forced to rise & lead his brothers, Raph, Donnie, & Mikey in a fight to save the world from a terrifying alien species…the Krang!”

Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie is streaming now on Netflix.