Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles co-creator Kevin Eastman was on hand at San Diego Comic-Con this year as part of the promotion surrounding Konami’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection. IGN caught up with Eastman and asked him about the upcoming animated incarnation of the Seth Rogen-led team.
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Calling himself a fan of Rogen’s work, Eastman said he was excited about the director’s vision but didn’t want to get in the way of the creative process.
“I don’t want him to feel intimidated or to think that if he asks me a question, I’m like, ‘Well, you should do this,’ that he should do it. It’s his vision and his idea,” Eastman explained. And I think that’s what’s exciting for me personally and I think that’s what’s going to be exciting for the fans when they finally see the movie.”
Eastman said he has loved almost every incarnation of his creation, even if he has had creative differences a few times. For Rogen’s next work, he’s excited for Seth to emphasize the team’s teenage side, which may have faded into the background in other versions.
Rogen’s as-yet-untitled TMNT movie, which Nickelodeon first talked about in February at the Viacom CBS Investor Day, is coming in 2023 and precedes a series of movies centered around the team’s rogues gallery . All of these films will be released on Paramount+, with Rogen’s project and the villain-themed spin-offs existing side-by-side, but with no narrative connection.
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As for Eastman, he’s still heavily involved in the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles production. He is currently working hard on The Last Ronin with TMNT co-creator Peter Laird. Described as a dark knight story for the turtles, it covers the last days of the team in a dark and hard way.