The Trailer For Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem Kicks Shell And Takes Names

Where have our beloved Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles gone?

The last time audiences saw the iconic "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" on the big screen was when Michael Bay gave the fighting warriors the live-action treatment. Released to mostly negative reception, 2014's "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" managed to boast extremely positive box office receipts, proving that the franchise was still relevant to contemporary audiences. A sequel, titled "Out of the Shadows," was quickly commissioned. Released in 2016 to superior reviews, the second live-action "TMNT" outing failed to make an impression at the box office, ultimately killing the possibility of a live-action threequel.

Of course, "TMNT" is as evergreen as a franchise can go. The multi-media series has consistently been producing content, whether it be video games or TV shows. tFollowing the failure of "Out of the Shadows," Nickelodeon took a step back from the silver screen, focusing their efforts on making the franchise shine with younger audiences.The animated "Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" was an absolute juggernaut of a series, wrapping up in 2020. The Nickelodeon series was then followed up with a popular feature film, released on Netflix in 2022. 

With their flagship "TMNT" series all wrapped up, Nickelodeon is ready to reintroduce local multiplexes to Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, and Donatello — this time in animated form.

There's no live-action reboot in these sewers. Nickelodeon has released the first trailer for "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem" and it's already looking like one of the most promising animated films of the year. The animated flick, which comes from "The Mitchells vs. the Machines" co-director Jeff Rowe, is produced by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg's Point Grey Pictures. 

Unlike previous entries in the franchise, Rogen's latest is set to focus on the titular turtles navigating the ups and downs of teenhood. In an interview with Collider in 2020, Rogen teased that this aspect was the most important for him to explore. "And as someone who loves teenage movies, and who's made a lot of teenage movies, and who literally got their start in their entire profession by writing a teenage movie, the idea of kind of honing in on that element was really exciting to us," he said. 

While the bombastic visuals and action sequences are interesting in their own right, "Mutant Mayhem" boasts an all-star cast that should make the "TMNT" flick a hit at the box office. Iconic martial artist Jackie Chan is stepping into the voice booth as Master Splinter, the surrogate father of the titular mutant ninja turtles. Joining Chan is "The Bear" standout Ayo Edebiri, who voices April O'Neil. Other cast members include Paul Rudd, Maya Rudolph, Seth Rogen, and John Cena. As for the voices our new turtles? Micah Abbey is Donatello, with Brady Noon stepping into the toes of Raphael. Leonardo and Michaelangelo are voiced by Nicholas Cantu and Shamon Brown Jr., respectively.

"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem" slashes its way into cinemas on August 4 2023.