Posted in: Movies, Paramount Pictures | Tagged: Jeff Rowe, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: Shredder Needs To Be 100 Times Scarier

The sequel to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem will feature Shredder as the villain, and he needs to be "100 times scarier than Superfly."

Published Tue, 26 Dec 2023 14:02:06 -0600

by Kaitlyn Booth

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Article Summary

Shredder to be the new villain in TMNT: Mutant Mayhem sequel, vows director.
Director Jeff Rowe calls for a "100 times scarier" Shredder than Superfly.
Rowe hints at darker challenges, shaking the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Fans anticipate a scarier sequel, building on the first film's underdog success.

2023 was an excellent year to be an animation fan, but with so many entries, some are falling between the cracks. One of those movies that was released during the strikes and didn't get nearly as much love as it deserved was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. However, it seems that Paramount and Nickelodeon took the strike into consideration when looking at the box office, and the sequel and television show appear to be moving forward. We don't know much about the new film besides that it will be "villain forward," but director Jeff Rowe revealed to Empire that Shredder was supposed to be the villain for the first film, describing it as "they saved the Joker for The Dark Knight." Now that they have Shredder showing up in the second film and expectations being so much higher with the first film being so good, they know they have to step it up, which means making their villain much scarier.

"The one thing I can say without spoiling anything is, [Shredder] needs to be 100 times scarier than Superfly – who is a credible villain, he's dangerous, he's strong, he seems like he could mess the Turtles up," the director explains. "Shredder needs to be that, just significantly more."

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: Shredder Needs To Be 100 Times Scarier — L-R, LEO, MIKEY, RAPH, DONNIE and SUPERFLY in PARAMOUNT PICTURES and NICKELODEON MOVIES Present, A POINT GREY Production "TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: MUTANT MAYHEM" ©2023 Paramount Pictures. All Right Reserved.

If you think the series leans into the "teenage" part of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, it means that everything will always work out for our heroes, but it sounds like that isn't the case. If Shredder really is as scary as Rowe is teasing him to be, then he isn't going to be a one-and-done type of villain. Rowe described it as "It'll be really interesting to see these fun-loving characters go up against something that maybe they can't stop." If there is any justice in the world, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem will get some of the awards love it so deserves this year, and people will check out the movie since it seems like a lot of people decided to skip it in favor of the Barbenheimer craziness.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem – Summary, Release Date, Cast List

In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, after years of being sheltered from the human world, the Turtle brothers set out to win the hearts of New Yorkers and be accepted as normal teenagers through heroic acts. Their new friend, April O'Neil, helps them take on a mysterious crime syndicate, but they soon get in over their heads when an army of mutants is unleashed upon them.

Starring Nicolas Cantu (Leonardo), Sharon Brown Jr. (Mikey), Micah Abbey (Donnie), Brady Noon (Raph), Jackie Chan (Splinter), Ayo Edebiri (April), Ice Cube (Superfly), Seth Rogen (Bebop), John Cena (Rocksteady), Paul Rudd (Mondo Gecko), Rose Byrne (Leatherhead), Post Malone (Ray Fillet), Hannibal Buress (Genghis Frog), Natasia Demetriou (Wing Nut), Maya Rudolph (Cynthia Utrom), and Giancarlo Esposito (Baxter Stockman)! It was released in theaters on August 2nd.