How would you make a live action TMNT TV series?

[ninja-zero]

I can picture TMNT going into a line of Arrowverse & Gargoyles. With a touch of IDW.

Feature the turtles: Leo, Raph, Donnie & Mikey & later Jenny (Jennika).

April & Casey be the first humans.

Splinter is sensei until Leo later on. As Splinter, he and Shredder would be reincarnations of their past lives in feudal Japan - Hamato Yoshi & Takeshi Tatsuo. Krang (like Ch'rell) would not only be prince of the Utrom, but also the Utrom Shredder in feudal era until passing onto Saki, his new apprentice, as he continues his own agenda.

Bebop & Rocksteady are Purple Dragons converted into mutants as punishment for their schemes.

Shredders:

Krang: Utrom Shredder -> Cyber Shredder
Takeshi Tatsuo/Oroku Saki: Human Shredder -> Super Shredder -> Demon Shredder


New mutants to serve Shredder and countering the turtles:

Hunter Owl vs Leo
Anglerfish vs Raph
Chameleon vs Donnie
Tasmanian Devil vs Mikey


Mighty Mutanimals can also appear with Old Hob as leader. Slash - alligator snapping turtle starts off a villain until later an ally. Leatherhead, Rockwell & Mondo Gecko as its members.

There'll be seasons when the turtles are finally revealed to the public, and they'll fight to gain mankind's acceptance and respect. That's when they'll face Demon Shredder & even deal with the multiverse.

[Powder]

One about The Foot. Here's an old post of mine I still stand by.
Not sure about the name but this is what I want most of all, even more than a Casey Jones series.

Use the Ninja Assassin formula, to cut between the past & modern day. Show both the Foot Clan's origins (& Saki/Yohi's arcs) as well as what they're up to now, as a Yakuza crime syndicate with home base in JP (where we occasionally cut to see Karai's dealings) & an American outfit in NY led by Shredder. You can tie in themes of mysticism & spirit quests in the days of old, gun-running & business fronts in the present, & in both feature staples like extortion, training montages, espionage, etc. across the ages. You could have an episode where one of their missions is nearly thwarted by Casey Jones, another where they overtake a neighborhood previously run by Purple Dragons. Toss in the occasional turtle tease along the way with a small appearance in the season finale or something. Like perhaps an over the shoulder view of them on a roof-top, seeing The Foot for the first time, or conveying that they've been monitoring them for a while now.

No Bebop & Rocksteady, no Krang, no meddling about in matters of science, just purely Japanese ninja/Yakuza badassery.

[newfan]

One about The Foot. Here's an old post of mine I still stand by.

I would be very interested in something like this too!

So far as a TMNT show, I'd still not have a massive number of mutants with like, 2 humans left.. and as for Shredder...Oroku.Saki! and not others taking up the mantle. Desired tone would be older, which I think is safe to say most would want.
Of course, I will want to see Karai too :)

[Andrew NDB]

Yeah, no bunches of mutants. Bottom line. Make it a huge deal when Leatherhead shows up in like season 2 or something.

[AquaParade]

One about The Foot. Here's an old post of mine I still stand by.

The general concept is so good, man. I love the idea of buffing out the backstory and only hinting or giving us small glimpses of the turtles until the finale. I think that type of long-form storytelling would work well with current television trends.

And, say the show is a success, it really gets people excited for season 2, knowing we get to know the turtles more now.

Really great idea for a grounded, modern series. I still love the more "out there" aspects of TMNT, but for television, this seems most appropriate.

Here's where I'd throw a wrench in your plan: I think IDW is the origin to adapt, for a few simple reasons:

A. It's more cohesive than the Mirage origin, and arguably easier to digest.

B. There's a lot you can do with the mystery and debate over whether they are really reincarnated or not (Alan Moore Swamp Thing, anyone?). IDW could have done more with this angle, I believe.

C. It's fresh, fun, and it works.

Just the reincarnation angle though. Nothing else lifted from IDW. I love the Mirage origin, and no, I'm not just trying to "shake things up!". I just think it'd be an awesome way to mix some of the most exciting elements of TMNT.

Anyways, love your outline either way, Powder.

[mikey0]

A CGI live action TMNT show based on all three of the FW cartoon shows or 1984 comic book series would be interesting.

[Andrew NDB]

Here's where I'd throw a wrench in your plan: I think IDW is the origin to adapt, for a few simple reasons:

A. It's more cohesive than the Mirage origin, and arguably easier to digest.

B. There's a lot you can do with the mystery and debate over whether they are really reincarnated or not (Alan Moore Swamp Thing, anyone?). IDW could have done more with this angle, I believe.

C. It's fresh, fun, and it works.

Agreed. Though I don't care about C. There's a lot in the reincarnation angle that lends itself well to like a movie, or any kind of live action thing.

Plus, you get to have flashbacks to Feudal Japan.

Just the reincarnation angle though. Nothing else lifted from IDW.

Also agreed.

[ninja-zero]

If no Bebop & Rocksteady, the turtles could use new mutants to match them.

http://www.hawkquest.org/mews/Great_horned2full.jpg

https://cff2.earth.com/uploads/2019/05/21190400/deep-sea-anglerfish-730x410.jpg

https://zoomed.com/wp-content/uploads/Jackson-Chameleon-13894.jpg

https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/sites/default/files/2016-09/animals_hero_tasmaniandevil.jpg

[Andrew NDB]

If no Bebop & Rocksteady, the turtles could use new mutants to match them.

https://media.giphy.com/media/i1JSXl0MfeRd6/giphy.gif

[ninja-zero]

https://media.giphy.com/media/i1JSXl0MfeRd6/giphy.gif

Seriously!? Okay Bebop & Rocksteady, plus those four mutants I suggested.

[AquaParade]

https://media.giphy.com/media/i1JSXl0MfeRd6/giphy.gif

Lmao.

Those are creative animal choices, but I have to agree.

[newfan]

All personal views but if I am imagining a serious, lightly dark live action series, some things just aren't going to work there. Not for me anyway.

[Dejablue]

https://media.giphy.com/media/i1JSXl0MfeRd6/giphy.gif

Can you give any intelligent response outside of a smarmy gif you found?

[Powder]

Spoiler the giant animal pics, yo.

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

These are the characters I consider every TMNT universe should have.

Donatello

Leonardo

Michelangelo

Raphael

Splinter

April O'Neil

Casey Jones

Leatherhead

Shredder (Human)

Purple Dragons

Baxter Stockman

Rat King

Triceratons

Utroms

[ninja-zero]

Lmao.

Those are creative animal choices, but I have to agree.

How can you turn me down on something like this!?

[Andrew NDB]

Seriously!? Okay Bebop & Rocksteady, plus those four mutants I suggested.

That's even worse.

Can you give any intelligent response outside of a smarmy gif you found?

How about two smarmy GIFs?

https://media2.giphy.com/media/8mgR8ceoMDrq3oyPFq/giphy.gif

https://tenor.com/view/baconisgoodforme-idontlikethiscrap-graycdav-curtis-crap-gif-3674387.gif

TMNT work best to me in the manner they were created... to be unique. When they start tripping over a bunch of other, different mutants who all have their own backstories and such it dilutes everything and it doesn't serve anyone. They should for the most part be alone, isolated, the last of their kind. No freaking Bebop, no Rocktsteady, no Armadillo Man or Platypus Girl.

If/when they finally run into Leatherhead, that should be a big deal. It should be like, "WHOA, another mutant is out there!" and not, "*yawn* oh look, another mutant."

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

TMNT work best to me in the manner they were created... to be unique. When they start tripping over a bunch of other, different mutants who all have their own backstories and such it dilutes everything and it doesn't serve anyone. They should for the most part be alone, isolated, the last of their kind. No freaking Bebop, no Rocktsteady, no Armadillo Man or Platypus Girl.

If/when they finally run into Leatherhead, that should be a big deal. It should be like, "WHOA, another mutant is out there!" and not, "*yawn* oh look, another mutant."

I'd say Leatherhead and Old Hob. That's it. Still keeps the mutants' numbers super low.

And a live-action TMNT series wouldn't be hard except for cost... it's called Mirage Volume 1. (Cutting out most of the wacky guest era issues.)

[Andrew NDB]

(Cutting out most of the wacky guest era issues.)

Yeah, like 80% of them for sure.

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

Yeah, like 80% of them for sure.

Keep the River trilogy, Sons of the Silent Age... Masks... Leatherhead, Too... am I forgetting anything good?

Also the 7 issues of Tales, naturally.

[Andrew NDB]

Keep the River trilogy, Sons of the Silent Age... Masks... Leatherhead, Too... am I forgetting anything good?


Hall of Lost Legends and Twilight of the Ring.

[Dejablue]

different mutants who all have their own backstories and such it dilutes everything and it doesn't serve anyone. They should for the most part be alone, isolated, the last of their kind. No freaking Bebop, no Rocktsteady, no Armadillo Man or Platypus Girl.

If/when they finally run into Leatherhead, that should be a big deal. It should be like, "WHOA, another mutant is out there!" and not, "*yawn* oh look, another mutant."

Good job expressing how limited your imagination is.

I can only agree that there would NEED to be a lack of mutants due to the mere costs of costume design and robotics blasting the budget through the roof.

But I find this demand for mutant exclusivity to be asinine. You'd have to have a good reason for why this happens. Like a very limited amount of mutagen. But if the bad guys have mutagen then they are going to use it.

Besides the turtles, 4 more mutants to ever appear throughout the series wouldn't break the bank. As its still just 8 mutants on the entire planet. And more than likely some of those other 4 are going to die in a dark series.

[Andrew NDB]

Good job expressing how limited your imagination is.

Oh, I can imagine a great many mutants. Wombat mutants and mice people and others. I can also very much imagine how ghastly that would be.

But I find this demand for mutant exclusivity to be asinine.

Then you're disagreeing with what Kevin and particularly Peter describe about what the TMNT is supposed to be all about. You know. Before it got warped into a kids/toy thing.

[AquaParade]

Oh, I can imagine a great many mutants. Wombat mutants and mice people and others. I can also very much imagine how ghastly that would be.



Then you're disagreeing with what Kevin and particularly Peter describe about what the TMNT is supposed to be all about. You know. Before it got warped into a kids/toy thing.

Peter for sure, but less so Kevin.

Personally, I think it can work either way. I used to lean more towards Peter Laird's views that being unique is what made their story special, but there is also a lot of potential fun to he had by introducing other mutants.

It depends, but it can definitely become too much for me. I don't like the TMNT to be running around in a Pokemon-mutant world, but the occasional back-alley, midnight brawl between the turtles and another occasional mutant is appealing.

[ninja-zero]

There's gotta be a way to introduce new animal mutants who each have their own fighting style/martial art(s).

The turtles are all ninjutsu after all.

[Andrew NDB]

Peter for sure, but less so Kevin.

True. To be fair, that's is very much what Peter said. Kevin hasn't really said anything about it at all. But he wasn't ever disagreeing with Peter on that.

There's gotta be a way to introduce new animal mutants who each have their own fighting style/martial art(s).

No, not really. They can fight humans who have different martial arts just the same.

[Dejablue]

Animals come with abilities only an animal would have like a Cheetah's speed or flight etc.

Then you're disagreeing with what Kevin and particularly Peter describe about what the TMNT is supposed to be all about. You know. Before it got warped into a kids/toy thing.

Hot take: They really aren't the ones who made this franchise as timelessly popular as it is. I respect them but I don't consider their opinions to be holy text.

[TommyT]

1. Chet has to drop them, from a fishbowl. No stupid Lab experiment BS

2. Yoshi should be our point of view character.

3. The Shredder is defeated by the end of episode 1.

4. Hire the fight choreographer from Daredevil.

5. Hire the production designers from ‘Chernobyl”

6. Bring on the writers from Succession.

7. Weapons cut, guns kill, violence has permanence. Do the exact opposite of tmnt2, violence is gratuitous similar to game of thrones, but not frequent.

8. Mutants are rare. No monster of the week BS.

9. No GD theme song.

10. Cast this little dude
https://www.instagram.com/p/B5q8ozCjVFt/?igshid=qot7jjz124jp

[Dejablue]

So grounded in "reality". No magic?

Original stories or just comic adaptation?

[Andrew NDB]

So grounded in "reality". No magic?

Original stories or just comic adaptation?

Definitely room for certain episodes with magic. And time travel. And fantastical stuff. But the day to day should be down to earth, with the weirdest thing in the episodes being the TMNT themselves.

[AquaParade]

So grounded in "reality". No magic?

Original stories or just comic adaptation?

I love the line that IDW was towing for, like, three issues. The debate between magic, science, and reality. Donatello and Leonardo debating over whether Master Splinter was a psycho rat, talking out his ass about reincarnation, was compelling. I've said it before, but I think they were too quick to tell us "Yup. They're definitely reincarnated." I'm not arguing for extreme decompression, I just feel there was a lot to be mined there. Hell, if I had it my way, it might never be confirmed, and instead be open for constant debate, with each new wrinkle thrown into the plot.

Of course, at the end of the day, we are already accepting something quite fantastical, and I can't imagine the show going for more than a couple seasons without embracing that more and more. There is a lot to play with when it comes to grounded tmnt stories - The Foot, The Mob, The government, slice-of-life, etc...

But I think the temptation to dip into some of the best outlandish source material would prove strong, eventually. And it's not like that's automatically a bad thing by any means. I like the idea of starting small and growing more fantastical/supernatural over time.

[pferreira]

My dream idea for a TMNT TV series would be too unrealistically expensive to work.

Then you're disagreeing with what Kevin and particularly Peter describe about what the TMNT is supposed to be all about. You know. Before it got warped into a kids/toy thing.Not to be THAT guy but wouldn't that be like only two or three years after the first issue was published? :ohwell: