When we heard Platinum Dunes was in charge of the next installment of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise, some of us became a little worried with Michael Bay being associated. Well, it seems out worst fears are coming true. At the recent Nickelodeon Upfront event, Michael Bay graced the state to announce that the upcoming, live-action reboot would not only take the story back to it’s beginning, but it would change the story entirely. Bay announced that the film would be simply titled Ninja Turtles and that the Ninjutsu crew would no longer be mutated by a radioactive ooze, but rather an alien race from another world.
“When you see this movie, kids are going to believe, one day, that these turtles actually do exist when we are done with this movie. These turtles are from an alien race and they are going to be tough, edgy, funny and completely lovable.”
Fan backlash has been very strong the past few days, with some sites garnering hundreds of comments on the subject. Robby Rist, who did Michelangelo’s voice in the first movie, spoke out on his Facebook in an angry response, telling Bay that he was “sodomizing” the series and causing “the rape of our childhood memories.” The backlash eventually fell upon Michael Bay’s ears, to which he put out this response:
“Fans need to take a breath, and chill. They have not read the script. Our team is working closely with one of the original creators of Ninja Turtles to help expand and give a more complex back story. Relax, we are including everything that made you become fans in the first place. We are just building a richer world.”
Needless to say, myself and millions of TMNT fans are not amused. Expect Ninja Turtles in theaters in December 2013.
