As many of you may or may not know, there is a new live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie coming our way from Platinum Dunes, Michael Bay’s Production Company. Over the past few days, some new information has come about regarding the new version and some of it is likely to cause quite a stir among the loyalists out there.
Deadline is reporting that Paramount has set the release date for the Live-Action / CGI film for Christmas next year, while also shaking up their current release dates for a few other movies:
Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies are proud to announce the release of TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLESon December 25, 2013 (wide).
And please note the following updates to Paramount’s release schedule:
ONE SHOT,previously scheduled for February 8, 2013, will now open on December 21, 2012 (wide).
WORLD WAR Z,previously scheduled for December 21, 2012, will now open on June 21, 2013 (wide).
Everything there seems like it’s on the up and up. They have moved their zombie apocalypse movie from Christmas 2012 till Summer of 2013, putting it in direct competition with Zack Snyder’s MAN OF STEEL which is set to hit theaters a week earlier on June 14, 2013.
The controversial part actually comes into play from an article over at Stuff We Like. In their article, they have a video of Mr. Bay speaking at the 2012 Nickelodeon Upfront on March 14, 2012. In this short clip, you hear him speak about the upcoming film:
“When you see this movie, kids will believe one day that these turtles do exist, when we’re done with this movie. These turtles are from an alien race, and they’re going to be tough, edgy, funny, and completely lovable.” – Michael Bay.
Did you catch that? Yep, it appears that they are going to go the alien route as opposed to the mutant route. No word on if the title will remain the same (if they are aliens, then the Mutant part doesn’t seem to fit anymore), if Splinter will be from the same alien race, what supporting characters like April O’Neal or Casey Jones will play into the movie or if they will still have their pizza fixation. We will keep you posted as we find out more.
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES will be directed by Jonathan Liebesman (BATTLE: LOS ANGELES, WRATH OF THE TITANS). No cast has been announced yet.
SYNOPSIS: The Mirage Group, which owns the property, is moving forward with a live-action film focusing on the origins of the iconic crime fighters. The project would mark the fifth big screen outing for the sewer-dwelling heroes Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael as well as their master Splinter, based on the characters created by Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman. Laird said the film will remain true to the spirit of the original comic books. He added that the film may employ face replacement technology, which would allow the turtles to be much more expressive.
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES is set to hit theaters on December 25, 2013.
Jim is an avid movie enthusiast, representing the general movie going audience, looking at movies for their entertainment value as opposed to their critical weight. He enjoys the escapism that movies provide. He is a fan of all genre's of movies, but gravitates toward comic-based movies, summer "popcorn" flicks and over-the-top comedies as his preference. 
While in the original comic they were created from alien technology, making them aliens would be boring and take away all the fun of them being normal EARTH turtles and a rat that have been radically evolved into sentient beings. I hope the studio changes their mind on this.
Good point. Makes one wonder if Krang will factor into this version…
No way, I wont take my kids to see this movie if they change things like that !