In 2007 the Kevin Munroe-directed TMNT was meant to introduce the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle franchise to a new, younger audience that wasn't around back in the early 90s while also appealing to fans of the original comic by making the tone a bit darker. Though the project moved away from the "guys in big foam suits" approach and featured some pretty cool animation, it was largely panned by critics and, while it made a profit, was fairly underwhelming at the box office. Still, it takes a lot for Hollywood to give up on a brand (just look at the X-Men franchise) so they will be trying again.
Deadline reports that Paramount has hired Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec to script a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot. While the duo has spent their entire careers working in television - writing for shows such as Alias, Fastlane and Happy Town - they are set to make their feature writing career debut later this year when Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol hits theaters. Appelbaum and Nemec also recently did a rewrite on a script called Now You See Me, which Louis Leterrier is set to direct later this year. Michael Bay, Brad Fuller and Andrew Form will produce under their Platinum Dunes banner.
While I'm not entirely sure how I feel about another Ninja Turtle movie, it's hard not to see this as a good sign for the fourth Mission: Impossible. It's hard to imagine that Paramount would hire Nemec and Appelbaum if that particular film was a total disaster. Is it still possible that the film will be as stupid as it's title? Sure, but let's try and be optimistic for once, shall we?
