Paramount Foolishly Shelves THE LAST RONIN and Aims to “Sonic-fy” TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES Instead

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ride has taken another sharp turn and I am not loving the direction. Today we are talking about Paramount’s latest move to shut down the long awaited The Last Roninadaptation while shifting gears toward a new live action reboot meant to channel the style of the Sonic the Hedgehog movies.

If that makes you squint in confusion you are not alone. The Hollywood Reporter shared that Paramount is developing a new live action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie with Neal H. Moritz, the producer behind the Fast and Furious franchise and the Sonic films.

This would be the first time the Turtles appear in a non animated setting since Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows in 2016. The studio is trying to revive some of its biggest brands and sees this hybrid approach as the path forward.

Meanwhile the animated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem was a hit with critics in 2023. Its follow up series Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was not so lucky as it was recently shelved. People working on the show were reportedly told, "This is not the vision the owners want."

Even with the shakeups the Mutant Mayhem sequel is still heading toward its September 17 2027 release date. But Paramount seems more eager to chase a new live-action direction.

Multiple insiders say the goal is to “Sonic-fy” the franchise. One source summed up the studio’s plan with, "If you want Sonic, you go to the guy who did Sonic."

This is where the groaning come in because the project everyone was actually excited about was The Last Ronin. That darker live-action CG hybrid based on the graphic novel was shaping up to be something badass.

Ilya Naishuller, director of Nobody, had been in talks to helm it. According to the report, "the new regime wasn’t keen on having the first non-animated movie in 10 years be a bloody, adult skewing story. One insider says the studio wants to leave the door open to possibly revisit it down the road."

So instead of a fan favorite story with real stakes and an R-rated edge the studio is choosing a safer family friendly approach. It is a baffling move. We finally had a project that felt fresh and genuinely exciting. Something that embraced the depth and intensity of the Turtles mythos, and Paramount just tossed it aside before it even had a chance.

The Last Ronin is set in a totalitarian future New York City, the story is told of how the Turtles and Master Splinter are killed off one by one by the grandson of the villainous Shredder and synthetic ninjas. One Turtle manages to survive, barely, and vows to exact bloody vengeance.

The first part of the story didn’t make it clear which one of the Turtles lived as the survivor had the weapons of all four. Just in case you’ve never read the comic, I’m not going to spoil for you who that is. The IDW comic was a massive hit, though!

Co-TMNT creator Kevin Eastman and Tom Waltz wrote the comic based on an older story by Eastman and co-creator Peter Laird.

Maybe the studio will eventually circle back to the project. Maybe this choice pays off. But right now it feels like a swing in the wrong direction for a series that finally had a shot at something totally awesome. .