Jonathan Liebesman in final talks to direct TMNT reboot

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I still have fond memories of watching the first live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie on the big screen. Wore a Hypercolor t-shirt, Zubaz, and an onion on my belt to the theater — style at the time, of course. It’s surprising how well that movie’s held up after all these years. The less said about the sequels, the better.

Jonathan Liebesman is in final negotiations to direct a live-action reboot of the franchise for Paramount and producer Michael Bay. Liebesman’s filmography leaves a lot to be desired. The director of the forthcoming Wrath of the Titans, his previous movies include Battle: Los Angeles, Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, and Darkness Falls. (Are there no reliable journeymen available?)

On the plus side, the reboot script was written by Josh Applebaum and Andre Nemec, the same duo that wrote Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol. Also on the plus side, at least it’s not Brett Ratner.

Raphael reacts to the news after the cut.

[Via THR]

Ninja Turtles - Raphael DAMN

As another post-cut bonus, below I’ve included a a track from the TMNT Coming Out of Their Shells album, which coincided with a live stage show of the same name in 1990. My brother and I got the cassette from Pizza Hut and still have it. (Still not as kooky as the four ALF hand puppets from Burger King which came with an accompanying song on a cheap cardboard record.)

This song somehow makes Vanilla Ice’s “Ninja Rap” sound less embarrassing.

Hubert Vigilla
Brooklyn-based fiction writer, film critic, and long-time editor and contributor for Flixist. A booster of all things passionate and idiosyncratic.