Ever wonder what a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie would be like if Seth Rogen was involved creatively? Well, we’re going to get that chance, because he has recently confirmed a 2023 released date for his Ninja Turtles movie. Along with the release date, he posted a note “written” by Leo, which involved a lot of details. We saw a drawing of his sword, what subjects his brothers would be good at, and a supposed reminder to apologize to April. This is all very interesting stuff, but what exactly does it all mean? As a big fan of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, I can only surmise that Leo, despite being the leader of the four, is still acting like a teenager would. I mean, it’s basically a list of things that are very random, something you would expect from a guy (or turtle) his age.
It actually reflects on something that Seth Rogen himself said while describing his vision for the film. Rogen, being a lifelong Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fan, said that there was one particular aspect of the shelled heroes that stood out to him the most. For me, it was the fact that they were anthropomorphic turtles with ninja abilities. I mean, if that doesn’t satiate your interest, then come on, have some appreciation for outlandish creativity. The whole talking animals schtick can be easily cliched, but the turtles represent the best of that idea. Plus, ninjas are awesome.
Seth Rogen, on the other hand, fell in love with them from a different angle. For him, it wasn’t the fact that they were ninja turtles, but teenagers. I’ll admit, I sometimes forget that about them. I mean, the “Teenage” aspect is the first word that describes them. They all have teenage tendencies, even though they each have distinct contrasts in their personalities. Now some act more like teenagers than the others, most notably Michelangelo, since he’s the youngest. And as well all know, Donatello is the brains and nerd of the brothers, Raphael is the reckless hothead brother, and Leonardo is the most mature of the brothers, which is why he was chosen by Master Splinter to lead them.
They all have different personalities, but if they have one thing in common, it’s their love of pizza. I mean, who doesn’t love pizza? However, when these turtles have some downtime, pizza brings them together like kids at a sleepover. I guess pizza brings out the teenagers in all of them. I actually couldn’t tell you how old Leonardo was until I watched the animated 2019 Batman vs. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie. Near the end, Leo specifically says that he’s sixteen. Boy, he was even younger than I thought he was. I will say, however, it did explain how he was acting throughout that very awesome movie.
If the teenage aspect of the turtles is what stands out to Seth Rogen, then he would be the person to use that for a movie. If you’re a fan of Seth Rogen or not, you have to consider that he’s a great choice to be behind the creative process of another Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie. Okay, so first of all, can he possibly be any worse than Michael Bay? The Bay movies weren’t exactly hot garbage, but they still suffered from that severe case of Michael Bay-ism. We recognize that all too well from the Transformers movies, don’t we?
So what’s going to make Seth Rogen’s movie any different? First of all, he won’t be directing it. He will, however, be in the producer’s spot, along with his partner Evan Goldberg. This is exiting news, because this all connects to Seth Rogen’s history of writing and producing, along with his reason for loving the ninja turtles.
As Seth Rogen himself pointed out, he was a lover of teenager movies. He has a a history of writing and producing teenager movies and he got his start in his profession by writing a movie centered around teenagers. For the record, that movie is Superbad. If you want a comedy that shows how teenagers act, or at least in a somewhat exaggerated way, watch that movie again.
Hearing Seth Rogen talk about his love for making teenager movies gives me hope that he does at least get it. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are first and foremost, teenagers who aren’t the most mature people around. They even have a father figure, but even he gives them rules. They have to work together, they have to be back in the sewers at a certain time, stuff like that. We didn’t exactly get that vibe with the Michale Bay movies. Much like the Transformers movies, Bay made his ninja turtles movies all about style over substance. Oh, and he certainly couldn’t leave out a few scenes where Megan Fox is just looking sexy. I mean, the turtles are meant for kids, and that doesn’t mean show off a hot actress for the teenage fanboys who are just hitting puberty. There are better ways to connect to the young crowd.
The best way Seth Rogen can do that is by having the turtles just act like the teenagers they are. He has no problem doing that, but he and Evan Goldberg are pretty much comedy writing geniuses. They get the humor, but they also understand how to handle superhero properties. Just look at their work on the live-action Preacher series, or The Boys, and the most recent animated series, Invincible. Invincible is especially up Seth Rogen’s alley, given the main character’s life and struggles as a seventeen-year-old teenager. Add some superpowers into the mix and you got yourself a unique kind of character that Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg can work with. They can do the same with the turtles.
So for those of you who are skeptical of another live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle movie, what are your thoughts? Can Seth Rogen finally deliver on a ninja turtle movie that we all deserve? Again, he’ll do a much better job than Michael Bay, but we want something that’s just better than that. I think he can deliver and given his excellent work behind the camera, I think the turtles are in good hands.
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