In the wake of the success of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, it felt like Paramount was unsure of the hit on its hands for the venerable heroes in a half shell. Plans were made up for a sequel, a spinoff show, and even other big ideas like a live-action Last Ronin movie—but then along came the Skydance acquisition. And while plans are changing a bit, they’re coming with a renewed focus that the studio wants to make the TMNT a high priority.
We already knew that Paramount was priming to bring Raph, Leo, Donnie, and Mikey back to the big screen again for a new live-action/animated hybrid project in 2028, after the Mutant Mayhem sequel drops next year. But speaking to the Hollywood Reporter this week, Paramount president of global products and experiences, Josh Silverman, laid out a series of new plans for the studio to push the TMNT franchise even further.
Announced in time for New York Toy Fair later this week, Mattel will now be the global master license holder for TMNT toys—taking over in 2027, after the shocking news late last year that longtime TMNT toymaker Playmates would be losing the license. As well as general action figures, playsets and accessories, vehicles, games, collectibles, and roleplay items, Mattel will also spearhead the toylines for both Mutant Mayhem 2 and the aforementioned 2028 movie. Paramount will also make a more concerted effort for licensed tie-in fiction as well, with a floated middle-grade book series coming from Scholastic and a Last Ronin novelization from Abrams.
In the meantime, Paramount is also preparing to launch a new kids-focused CG web series for the franchise, Teeny Mutant Ninja Turtles, a 30-episode short series designed for YouTube that follows the quartet as young ninjas-to-be. And if that was simply not yet enough Ninja Turtles? If you’re based in Santa Monica, California, Monterrey, Mexico, or Sao Paulo, Brazil, you will be able to check out one of three new TMNT-themed pizzerias that are being opened up to turn the turtles’ favorite foodstuff into a series of licensed restaurants. Today, chain restaurants; tomorrow, the world?
One interesting aspect of these plans left unmentioned, however, is a potential new TV series for the franchise. After Tales of the TMNT, the Mutant Mayhem interquel series, was cancelled late last year after two seasons, there doesn’t appear to be another Ninja Turtles show on the horizon for the first time since 2018’s Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. But these are early days in Skydance-Paramount’s renewed focus on the TMNT, so maybe a new show is as much of an inevitability as toys and pizza slices are.
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