Dave Green in talks to direct TMNT 2

[Bitsy83]

Siiiiigh....I knew the minute I saw this on Tumblr, this place would be on fire. Well, I guess I might as well add my share of kindling, but if I repeat anything, it's because I just skimmed over a lot the previous posts. I'm not going to call anyone out, but I can sense a lot of repeated messages of why this is a good/bad/horrific idea, so it's only fair that I add my two cents:

So. I guess the best way is to sum this news up into "Good News," "Bad News" and just...."News." In my honest opinion, anyway.

First the Good News: Liebesman is GONE! I know people weren't exactly singing his praises when he was signed on for this project, but I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. That's just me being positive, though. I can see why now so many people were against it. He may not have been BAY, but he was definitely Bay-ISH. His previous movies very much fall into the "Adrenaline pumping, action-packed" category and left little room for character development or plot. He didn't care what the writers gave him, so long as something blew up or there was chasing involved.

I know in an interview he said he was a TMNT fan, but if you ask me, it felt like he had more of an appreciation for the franchise than being an actual FAN. Like he knew it was huge in the 80s, he was aware of the basic story (turtles mutated into ninjas, trained by a rat, villain is Shredder) and knew the basic level of each Turtle: Leo was leader; Raph was the rebel; Donnie was smart; Mikey was wacky. This was why he didn't bother delving more into their personalities and just put them as token stereotypes.

So, I won't be losing any sleep for him being sent packing.

The Bad News: Bay is still on board. Yeeeup, I figured the movie made enough of a profit to let the studios keep this hack around, despite the fan base wanting his

Spoiler:

dick

on a pike. He may not be the best person to work with and could care less about a character or plot so long as SOMETHING blows up, but he must be doing something right if he can pull audiences in every time he produces action crap. Honestly, I don't hate his action stuff. His visual direction is pretty decent...I just want him staying away from directing people. This includes people in mo-cap outfits.

Which brings me to my last bit:

The News-News: Dave Green to direct sequel: Uuuuuumm.....good? Actually, better than good. This really fills me with hope.

While I haven't seen "Earth to Echo," I heard it was a decent enough movie. While it looked like the lovechild of "E.T." meets "Cloverfield," I can honestly say it looked sort of intriguing. Heck, I won't be ashamed to admit I want to see it, even if it is sort of cheesy. I remember the trailer how it looked kind of part cutsey and part action-y. The scene with the mack truck being ripped apart, then put back together was pretty for me.

EtE looked like it had something that the first movie didn't have: Heart.

That's what I really, really, REALLY wanted to see in the Bay movie guys. In fact, this is why I love TMNT in general. Whether it was the cartoons, the comics, or the movies (previous movies), TMNT had a lot of heart while still giving us good action. This isn't some team of random superheroes like X-men or Avengers. These are four brothers who share the same backstory, but have different personalities and character. They're a family who have to struggle with being outcasts and are forced to hide in the sewers instead of living it up in a mansion or fortress of solitude. They have no secret identities or superpowers and the world (for the most part) will always see them as monsters, but they still want to protect the city and the world.

I really hope Green can see this and want to make the Turtles more than just their basic stereotype persona. Donnie should still be the smart one, but maybe have insecurities about his role on the team. Mikey should still be the joker, but maybe want to use other means of solving problems instead of just fighting. I know this is corny, but I'm just trying to make a point. The first movie helped show a LITTLE of their character, but thanks to Bay and Libesman, they figured the tokens were enough and didn't need to focus on them as much as April and Sachs.

I know what you're all thinking: But Green isn't a big-name director. He's just a nobody who Bay can push around and make his bitch puppet.

Ok, two things people. (Again, this is my personal belief. I don't care if it sounds naive, but if you guys can argue your right to voice negative assumptions, I have the right to voice positive ones. So )

1) Steve Barron wasn't exactly a "big name" director either. Before he directed the first movie (you know, the movie the ENTIRE fan base declares to be the absolute best of the entire franchise?), he was doing short films and music videos. Let's not forget the original movie is still depicted as an INDEPENDENT movie. No big studios wanted to direct this. When it came out, kids ate it up like Mikey does with pizza. Adults, too! It was well written (though cheesy), depicted the characters well enough, and had a lot of memorable scenes with awesome puppetry. Maybe we NEED a "no name" director for this, only this time we have a "no name" who has worked with big studios.

2) Variety said how the studios want to take this in a "different direction." Even though the movie made a profit and the studios want to keep Bay on board, something tells me they won't give him AS MUCH freedom as he had before with Libesman. Bay may have the bucks, but in order to continue this franchise, he needs the studios to WANT to work with him. I may be getting my hopes up too high, but I have a feeling the studios REALLY didn't like how the fans reacted to the first movie. Maybe Hollywood is started to (slowly) understand that you need more than just car chases and buildings blowing up to make a good action movie. I think they might be finally putting a muzzle on Bay and just keep him around enough to get people invested.

I don't know how much of a fan Green is of TMNT, but if he's good at making action movies with heart, then we might get a good sequel. I just feel bad that he has to work with that mess Libesman and his crew left behind. Still, if he's willing to put his foot down whenever the script needs a rewrite or to cover up a plothole, then we can get some promising stuff for the sequel. I just hope we get more TURTLES and less APRIL. Plus, we might finally get a Dimension X story. I have a feeling that Shredder won't be back for THIS movie, but instead back by the third movie where Kraang and Shredder team up.