Paramount Pictures
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin is getting an R-rated live-action movie
The Turtles are getting dark and moody, with The Last Ronin story set to be adapted for the big screen through an R-rated live-action movie.
It seems like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are entering a new golden era, as Paramount Pictures has just announced a new project that will be unlike anything that’s come before in the franchise: a live-action, R-rated adaptation of The Last Ronin storyline that will see the only surviving Turtle in a grimdark future looking for vengeance against that wronged them and their family.
After the huge success of TMNT: Mutant Mayhem in 2023, it seems like the studio is betting on the franchise to reach a much older audience, as The Last Ronin is one of the darkest and most popular storylines of the recent wave of IDW comics about the characters. The R-rating announcement comes as a definite surprise, as the mainstream appeal of the IP and its characters has always been a more family-friendly affair. The studio has even revealed that Tyler Burton Smith, co-writer of the upcoming ‘Boy Kills World’ and the 2019 reboot of ‘Child’s Play’, has been brought on board to write the script.
The story it’s set to tell takes place in a future where New York City has fallen under the control of a totalitarian regime. Leading up to the events of the comic, Shredder has managed to kill off basically all of the Turtles and their allies, including Master Splinter and three members of the sibling team. Only one of them survived, with their identity one of the main mysteries of the story, as they vow to take violent vengeance against their enemies by adopting all of the weapons and tricks of their previous allies.
The movie is being produced by Walter Hamada, the former head of DC Films who has previously overseen the Warner Bros. horror movie division under which franchises like ‘The Conjuring’ and ‘It’ were released. Curiously his production company, 18hz, has been focused on the horror franchise as well and is now behind this live-action adaptation.
No further details about the project have been revealed so far, so we’ll have to wait and see what any of the people involved have to say about its development in the future.