It was only a matter of time before Nickelodeon felt the need to once-again capitalize on the veritable money-printing nature of the beloved nostalgia-inducing heroes, known as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT). Since the debut of the Ninja Turtles in the ’80s, the fictional amphibious martial arts heroes have been a marketing dream, with a hugely successful line of action figures, breakfast cereals, kid’s juice drinks, five live-action movies in total, and now four iterations of an animated children’s television series.
Collider reports that Nickelodeon unveiled new trailers and a voice cast for the network’s newest TMNT attempt, titled Rise Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The debut occurred earlier at San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC).
The trailer can now be viewed on YouTube for those anticipating the TMNT return.
Voice cast talent for the upcoming series includes Ben Schwartz ( Parks and Recreation ), Kat Graham ( The Vampire Diaries ), John Cena, Lena Headey ( Game of Thrones ), Josh Brener ( Silicon Valley ), and Brandon Mychal Smith ( You’re the Worst ). Kat Graham will be taking on the role as the first ever African-American iteration of April O’Neil.
Also of interest to many will be the inclusion of punk rock icon Johnny Rotten of The Sex Pistols, who will be portraying a mutated pig who goes by the uncomfortable-sounding name of Meat Sweats.
The original animated series, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles , debuted in 1987, running for 10 seasons. The series was revived by Fox Kids in 2003 for a series with the same title, which ran for seven seasons. Then in 2012, TMNT found its new home at Nickelodeon where it ran until 2017, before ending last November.
Some of the vibrant and gorgeous Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles backgrounds revealed at the @tmnt #SDCC2018 panel! ?? #SDCC pic.twitter.com/ovAogAYu4g
— Nickelodeon Animation (@NickAnimation) July 19, 2018
Rise of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was announced in March of 2018 via a press release from Nickelodeon and is expected to run for a minimum of 26 episodes for its debut season.
All four original turtles, Leonardo, Donatello, Michaelangelo, and Raphael, will be returning, each retaining their signature color for their respective bandannas. Splinter, a mutated sewer rat, is also in the show’s synopsis, as well as hordes of the ninja thieves known as the Foot Clan.
The most notable exclusion from the series is the villain most synonymous with TMNT, Shredder. Instead of working for Shredder, the Foot Clan now works for the John Cena-voiced Baro Draxum who is described as an alchemist and “maker of mutants.”
Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will preview its first episode on Nickelodeon at 9:30 p.m. EST tonight. Additional episodes will be available later on Nick.com
