TMNT: Mutant Mayhem Director Teases Shredder's Role in Sequel

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem shied away from introducing Shredder in any meaningful matter, instead of choosing to pit the eponymous quartet against Ice Cube's Superfly. The iconic villain, however, was introduced in a post-credits stinger, officially setting him up for the animated hit's sequel. According to Mutant Mayhem director Jeff Rowe, Shredder's exclusion was entirely by design.

 "Shredder used to be the main villain before we pivoted away from that," Rowe said in a new chat with Empire Magazine. "They saved Joker for The Dark Knight."

Though Rowe wouldn't add much about Shredder's exact role in the follow-up, the filmmaker says the baddie will be much scarier than anything seen in the first film.

"The one thing I can say without spoiling anything is, [Shredder] needs to be 100 times scarier than Superfly – who is a credible villain, he's dangerous, he's strong, he seems like he could mess the Turtles up," Rowe added. "Shredder needs to be that, just significantly more."

Is there going to be a sequel to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem?

Shortly before Mutant Mayhem hit theaters, Paramount announced both a sequel and television show had been greenlit, further expanding on the revamped IP.

"In the nearly 40 years since Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles launched into the zeitgeist, it has entertained generations of fans and only continues to grow," Brian Robbins, CEO of Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon, said in July. "We are excited to grow TMNT's legacy in partnership with Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg at Point Grey, and Jeff Rowe, who are innovating the franchise with their singular brand of humor and elevated storytelling for audiences everywhere, across virtually every platform."

Furthermore, Turtles co-creator Kevin Eastman told us earlier this month he hopes to see more fan-favorites included in the second film.

"Through the experience of the Nickelodeon 2012 animated series, which just wonderfully brought in some original concepts from the original cartoon series to all the elements, the Tricetons had such a big role in there," Eastman told ComicBook.com. " So we've been lucky enough to experience this in so many ways and so many opportunities. I look forward to seeing where the sequels to Mutant Mayhem are going to go; not just the series, but the next movie because, you know, you've got Casey Jones waiting in the wings. You've got Krang out there, and you've got the Rock Soldiers and Neutrinos. So I'm, I'm pretty pumped."

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is also available to purchase or rent wherever digital movies are sold in addition to streaming on Paramount+.