The dark, R-rated version of "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" may still see the light of day.
Several months after reports of the de facto cancellation of the film "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin," the situation looks less clear-cut. Original comic author Kevin Eastman stated in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that the project is not completely shut down, but only postponed.
"I don't think the movie is dead. I think it's just been postponed. Talking to everyone at Viacom, Paramount, and Nickelodeon, who love Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and have really done a fantastic job, whether it's the 2012 series or 'Mutant Mayhem,' I don't think it's not going to happen. Everyone I've talked to at the companies knows that fans love and support everything related to 'The Last Ronin' as much as another group of fans loves everything that Point Grey, Seth Rogen, and Evan Goldberg, and everyone else has done within the 'Mutant Mayhem' film series. We're not discouraged at all."
This concerns the R-rated adaptation announced in the spring of 2024 by Paramount Pictures. Tyler Burton Smith was writing the script, and Ilya Naishuller was being considered as the director. The film was supposed to adapt the eponymous five-issue mini-series, which takes place in an alternate future and focuses on the last surviving Turtle avenging the death of his brothers.
In November 2025, it was reported that the studio had frozen production in favor of more family-friendly projects in the franchise. However, according to the authors, this does not mean a final cancellation—the film based on "The Last Ronin" may still return to development, the only question is the timing.
