Who would have thought such uproar could be caused by the rebooting of an old cartoon series? Well, if there is one thing all of this has proven it's that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles still have a very active, and very loyal fanbase. A fanbase not too happy with a certain Mr Michael Bay right now. At a recent press event the director/producer revealed that the MUTANT turtles would be retooled to have an alien origin in the 2013 reboot of the franchise. Many (most?) felt this to be a step too far in reinventing the story. One of those people was the man who voiced Michaelangelo in the first TMNT movie. Yesterday we posted his - admittedly ridiculous - rape and sodomy analogies. But just in case you missed the update to that article, here is Bay's response to the fans..
"Fans need to take a breath, and chill. They have not read the script. Our team is working closely with one of the original creators of Ninja Turtles to help expand and give a more complex back story. Relax, we are including everything that made you become fans in the first place. We are just building a richer world."
This only antagonized a lot of people even further, as Bay isn't exactly well liked in the fan community as it is. But it seems he might have at least one backer in another actor from that first
Turtles flick, the man who provided the voice for the blue masked leader of the team, Leonardo. Brian Tochi said the following to TMZ..
"If Michael Bay wants to do a different take on the turtles origin story ... Mazel Tov!"
Apparently April O'Neil herself, Judith Hoag is also behind the new take on things, telling TMZ she was excited. We await comments by Raphael and Donatello! Seriously though, as much as this seems to be turning into a bit of a three ring circus, the fans' anger is very real. Increased pressure and exposure could lead to perhaps a few more details or have Bay elaborate on what he said. Have you guys "chilled" since yesterday? Or are you still baying for blood?
About The Author:
Mark Cassidy is a writer, photographer, amateur filmmaker, and Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic from Dublin, Ireland.