Ice Cube Says Jackie Chan Deserves an Oscar for TMNT: Mutant Mayhem

According to Ice Cube, Jackie Chan is not only the heart and soul of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, but he also deserves an Academy Award for his role in the film. Chan voices Splinter in the picture, the always-wise mentor of the eponymous group. When asked by ComicBook.com’s Chris Killian if Ice Cube shared any funny Chris Tucker stories during the production given both of the actors have starred in iconic films with the comedian, the former revealed he’s never met the master martial artist. Still, Chan’s role in the animated feature is one of his favorites.

“I haven’t met Jackie Chan yet. But I think he deserves an Oscar for this movie,” Ice Cube tells us. “He’s like the heart and soul. I always want to hear him talk and hear his instructions to the Turtles and I really enjoyed his performance.”

Though little is known about the plot itself, Mutant Mayhem director Jeff Rowe has compared the film to a couple of iconic coming-of-age stories.

“We wanted it to be like Stand By Me and Lady Bird. But, you know, with Ninja Turtles,” director Jeff Rowe described. “They’ve got a lot of that inauthentic confidence that teenagers have: when you’re a teen, you don’t know any better, so you operate with this hyped-up sense of, ‘We can do anything!’”

“That’s something that [they] are great at,” he added, “that Superbad thing where they’re best friends, but they’re kinda losers who make fun of each other, but you never doubt for a second that they truly love each other.”

The confirmed cast for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem includes Micah Abbey as Donatello, Shamon Brown Jr. as Michelangelo, Nicolas Cantu as Leonardo, Brady Noon as Raphael, Ayo Edebiri as April O’Neil, Jackie Chan as Splinter, Seth Rogen as Bebop, John Cena as Rocksteady, Hannibal Buress as Genghis Frog, Rose Byrne as Leatherhead, Ice Cube as Superfly, Natasia Demetriou as Wingnut, Giancarlo Esposito as Baxter Stockman, Post Malone as Ray Fillet, Paul Rudd as Mondo Gecko, and Maya Rudolph as Cynthia Utrom.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem opens in theaters on August 4th.

What other characters do you hope to see pop up in the feature? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section!