Cowabunga! The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are set for an earlier-than-expected return to the big screen, as Paramount is moving the pizza party forward by a month. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem 2, the upcoming sequel to the 2023 animated film, will now open in theatres on 13 August 2027, instead of 17 September as originally planned.
Plot details remain under wraps, but director Jeff Rowe previously expressed keen interest in introducing the franchise’s most popular villain, Shredder, albeit with a fresh spin that echoes the way in which the first instalment served as a reimagination of a classic favourite.
“That is exactly what I am trying to figure out and what my next meeting will be about. That is what we are in the thick of now. Shredder is just a great character. He’s an iconic, classic, loved character. He’s like the Joker,” he said.
“You know who he is, even if you’re not a fan of the source material. I think we definitely wanna do a villain-forward film. We’re currently trying to make decisions about that, but those decisions for us as filmmakers are always going to come from the place of what tells the best story, specifically about our main characters, the Turtles.”
Joining Rowe on the project are co-directors Kyler Spears and Yashar Kassai, alongside Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, James Weaver, Josh Fagen, and Ramsay McBean as producers. It won’t be the last fans see of the half-shelled quartet, either — an untitled live-action reboot is currently slated for 17 November 2028, marking the first live-action entry in the franchise since 2016’s Out of the Shadows, but an animated short film titled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Chrome Alone 2 — Lost in New Jersey will premiere first on 19 December this year.
Starring the voices of Micah Abbey, Shamon Brown Jr., Nicolas Cantu, and Brady Noon as the Turtles, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem follows the warriors as they seek acceptance by the human world and face a criminal mutant gang. It would go on to become a critical and commercial success, earning a 95 per cent Certified Fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes and US$180.5 million worldwide to date.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem 2 releases on 13 August 2027.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
Kevin Low
