TMNT: Mutant Mayhem's Connection To Skateboard Icon Tony Hawk

It's never too long of a wait for the next piece of "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles"-related media to come out. Whether it's a new TV series, an epic crossover flick with Batman, or even a retro-styled beat-em-up video game, the heroes in half-shells are rarely dormant for long. However, the 2023 feature-length movie "TMNT: Mutant Mayhem" is nonetheless a special project for the property, marking the titular group's return to the theatrical screen after a nearly decade-long hiatus.

"TMNT: Mutant Mayhem" may revive the classic comic book property for another cinematic go-around, but the film is also ostensibly drawing inspiration from other successful media franchises for this iteration. Fans who watched the first trailer couldn't ignore the "Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse" vibes from the movie's animation style, just as one example. However, it turns out that this latest outing for the Ninja Turtles also boasts a surprising connection to the real-life skateboarding legend Tony Hawk.

Some may be expecting to learn that Tony Hawk makes some sort of surprise cameo in "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem," but that's not how the film is connected to him. Rather, the soundtrack of the movie actually takes cues from the stylistic variety of a popular series of video games centered around the skateboarding star.

As producer and superstar actor Seth Rogen explained during an appearance on Hawk and Jason Ellis' "Hawk vs. Wolf" podcast, the film emphasizes the Turtles' penchant for skateboarding and features a soundtrack reminiscent of that from the "Tony Hawk's Pro Skater" video games. "Our director was like, 'I kind of describe it as what you would kind of hear playing 'Tony Hawk's Pro Skater,” Rogen said. "It's like a random assortment of music, kind of, but it all fits together perfectly. It kind of has that same energy and spirit."

The connection between the soundtracks of "TMNT: Mutant Mayhem" and "Tony Hawk's Pro Skater" isn't just stylistic, however. Rogen went on to note that the movie actually features licensed songs that were also used in the game series. In fact, the song in the first trailer for "TMNT: Mutant Mayhem" is "Can I Kick It?" by A Tribe Called Quest — a track that was previously featured in the "Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2" remaster. All told, it seems like the new "TMNT" movie is oozing with "Tony Hawk's Pro Skater" inspiration.