TMNT Sequel Likely?
Source Estimates a 70% Chance of a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II
(Source: www.darkhorizons.com)
Last spring's TMNT became a modest hit by virtue of its low ($35 million) price tag and little animated competition to steal its lunch; only Disney's Meet the Robinsons came out around the same time. The CGI rendition of the 1980's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles toy franchise made $54 million in North American theatres, 300 times its budget internationally, and is expected to do well when the flick finally comes out on DVD on August 7th.
This of course begs the question: will Warner and Imagi make another TMNT movie? Certainly in these franchise-obsessed times, any movie that makes any sort of profit will instantly generate questions of "Can we get a sequel out of this sucker?" from studio executives.
Well, with any Interweb rumour, it's always best to go to the source to get your information. This means looking at Mirage Studios, the guys who created and own the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
"As of two weeks ago, Imagi Entertainment (who animated TMNT) informed Mirage Studios that there was a 50-50 chance of a CGI film sequel," said Mirage Studios writer Steve Murphy (The Puma Blues). "Last week they upped the odds to 70-30 in favor of a sequel, as talks between Imagi and their distribution partners Warner Brothers and the Weinstein Group seem to be heading in a positive direction . . ."
So there ya go. Not a lot of meat on that quote, but it claims a 70% chance of a TMNT 2. Given the massive international love out there for TMNT, there's a solid chance that (a) that sequel will get a green light, and (b) it'll come out in theatres.
That said, Imagi and TMNT director Kevin Munroe have a couple of projects on their plates before they try for a TMNT 2. First the studio has to work through movie adaptations of two classic animes: 2008 sees the feature film version of Gatchaman (aka Battle of the Planets in North America) while classic Japanese cartoon Astro Boy will take up most of 2009.
Unless Imagi takes the plunge and starts multi-tasking its animators (or hiring a ****load more artists, storyboarders and animators), we probably won't see a TMNT 2 before 2010.
Extra Tidbit 1: Reviewers on Suite 101 were unanimous when it came to TMNT's virtues and vices. Both John Douglas Baird and I dug the visuals, but hammered the movie for its lack of story.
Extra Tidbit 2: Right now, all this talk of movie franchises has made me wonder how could put together a sequel to one of 2007's biggest hits so far, Zack Snyder's 300. I can see it now . . . "300 II: The Spartans are back! But this time, they've already dined in Hell!"
