Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fans are in for quite the treat as The Hollywood Reporter has broken the news there’s a live-action R-rated version of the iconic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin story in the works.
THR notes that the film is going into “gritty, R-rated territory.” This film will mark the first-ever mature-rated TMNT project. Walter Hamada is producing through 18hz as part of his multi-year deal with the studio. While there’s no director attached, The Last Ronin will be penned by Tyler Burton Smith, who co-wrote the upcoming R-rated action movie Boy Kills World.
Co-creators Kevin Eastman and Tom Waltz wrote the comic based on early works by Eastman and co-creator Peter Laird. Artists included Esau and Isaac Escorza, Ben Bishop, and Eastman.
The synopsis for the comic reads: “Who is the Last Ronin? In a future, battle-ravaged New York City, a lone surviving Turtle embarks on a seemingly hopeless mission seeking justice for the family he lost. From legendary TMNT co-creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, get ready for the final story of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles three decades in the making! What terrible events destroyed his family and left New York a crumbling, post-apocalyptic nightmare? All will be revealed in this climactic Turtle tale that sees longtime friends becoming enemies and new allies emerging in the most unexpected places. Can the surviving Turtle triumph?”
The Last Ronin was followed by Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin – Lost Years and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin II – Re-Evolution in 2023.
IDW will also relaunch a mainline Ninja Turtles comic series timed to the franchise’s 40th anniversary.