Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows

Hey, remember when they released a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie this past summer? Crazy, right? No hard feelings if you forgot: the second movie in the franchise hit theaters the first weekend in June and promptly tanking, making less than $100 million at the domestic box office despite a nine-figure budget. It’s the sort of showing that could stop a franchise in its tracks; and according to the film’s producers, that might be exactly what happened.

This may have been one of the weakest weekends at the box office this summer, with audiences seemingly avoiding movies new and old like the plague. Even the victories feel a little half-hearted, with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows taking number one at the box office while not even coming close to matching the business of the first film. With Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping simply bombing, the only new release to show promise was Me Before You.

Here’s a question: Why do the Ninja Turtles wear masks? What could they possibly have to hide? Are they worried people will discover their secret identities as mutant turtles who work as, like, electricians or tech support?

Turtles skydiving, and fighting living brains housed in massive robots. They definitely ain’t lying with that whole “out of the shadows” subtitle.

Not long ago it was rumored that SNL vet Fred Armisen would be the voice of Krang in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (they really couldn’t go with a shorter title there, huh?). We’ve seen the beloved brainy villain in the trailers for the sequels, but we haven’t heard him speak just yet — and there may be a reason for that, as Armisen has apparently been replaced.

I like that this video explains who the Ninja Turtles are, for the benefit of those people who have been living in a cave (or maybe a sewer) since the late 1980s and have somehow avoided one of the six previous movies, five television shows, hundreds of toys, comics, and video games about these characters. “Oh Donatello is the purple one, ohhhhhh. For the last 30 years, I thought that was Raphael! My bad.”

It took a couple of trailers before we were introduced to Krang, the fan-favorite Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles villain who will make his big screen debut in Out of the Shadows. And while we’ve gotten a sneak peek at the squishy pink baddie, we haven’t heard him speak just yet. For those curious about what Krang will sound like in the upcoming sequel, look no further than former SNL star Fred Armisen.

If nothing else, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows certainly looks wacky. The newest trailer doesn’t offer much in the way of “new,” but it is a solid reminder that Tyler Perry and Laura Linney are actually in this movie, and that is a thing we will never forget. On the more serious side of things (as if), Arrow’s Stephen Amell makes for a pretty cool Casey Jones. So there’s that.

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 Super Bowl trailer had to do something to stand out among some of the other movies with Super Bowl commercials (like Captain America: Civil War, Jason Bourne, The Jungle Book and 10 Cloverfield Lane), so they pulled out all the stops and revealed our first look at the classic Ninja Turtles villain Krang.

With Shredder, Bebop, Rocksteady, Baxter Stockman, Casey Jones and all the rest of the new additions to the lineup for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, many have been wondering if they’d be able to squeeze in fan favorite villain Krang — a character whose name has been conspicuously absent from marketing materials and casting announcements. Don’t worry, Krang fans (all five of you), because Michael Bay says we’ll see our favorite bad brain appear in the TMNT sequel.