Ninja Turtles Origin Story Due in 2011
Posted 04.24.09 by reelz
It's been 25 years since the inception of the Ninja Turtles franchise, and the Mirage Group celebrated by announcing the fifth big-screen installment of the "heroes in a half-shell" so beloved by children of the '80s. This new movie -- scheduled for release in 2011 -- will focus on the turtles' origins, which are outlined in the original comic book series, created by Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman in 1984.
Other details about the production are sketchy (although we're pretty sure it won't involve Vanilla Ice). We do know that this movie will emulate the first full-length feature, which was released almost 20 years ago. But, unlike the modestly successful but critically panned 2007 CGI movie, this new installment will return to live-action and costumes.
Ninja Turtles represent arguably the most successful franchise of the '80s and early '90s. Three years after the creation of the comic, the cartoon series was born. The first live-action movie was released in 1990, with two sequels to follow over the next three years. Along the away, Mirage released a seemingly infinite line of action figures, collectibles, and video games. As the '90s kicked in, the franchise gradually faded. But the new millenium brought nostalgia: A new cartoon series was launched in 2003, followed by the CGI movie, and now this origin story (not unlike this summer's upcoming Star Trek feature).
As mentioned in the official press release, which can be found on Laird's blog, the Mirage Group kicked off a "Shell-ebration" by screening the first Ninja Turtles movie at the Tribeca Film Festival and lighting the Empire State Building turtle green. Other information and updates can be found on the official Ninja Turtles website.