Seth Rogen Teaming With Nickelodeon For Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Animated Film Reboot

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are taking another trip to the big screen in animated form, this time Nickelodeon and with Seth Rogen attached to produce. Deadline reports that Nickelodeon is rebooting the franchise for a CG-animated film that will be produced by Point Grey Pictures’ Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg and James Weaver, with Gravity Falls’ Jeff Rowe set to direct. The film will be written by Brendan O’Brien (Neighbors: Sorority Rising, Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates) and will be distributed by Paramount Pictures. Details on plot are not yet known for the new film.

This will mark the second animated feature film for the Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird-created property, following 2007’s TMNT. Of course, the franchise has seen live-action turns as well, with the 1990 film that spawned two sequels and then Michael Bay’s 2014 and 2016 films. The property is most fondly-remembered for the animated series that ran from 1987 through 1996, which sanitized elements of the Eastman and Laird comic book and set the template for the franchise going forward.

Nickelodeon has made good use of the franchise on television in recent years, with a CG-animated series in 2013 and then a 2D-animated series, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which also featured John Cena voicing a character. An original 2D-animated film based on the latter series is also in the works via Nickelodeon and Netflix.

“Adding Seth, Evan and James’ genius to the humor and action that’s already an integral part of TMNT is going to make this a next-level reinvention of the property,” said Brian Robbins, President, Kids & Family for ViacomCBS. “I’m looking forward to see what they do, and I know that Ramsey Naito and her team are excited to take the Nick Animation Studio into another great direction with their first-ever CG-animated theatrical.”