‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2′ Announced for June 2016

Now that the Michael Bay-produced 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' reboot has cleaned up at the box office, the inevitable can be announced: 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2' is officially on the way. Like for real. It has screenwriters and a release date and everything!

As announced by Paramount, the heroes in a half-shell will return for a sequel on June 3, 2016. Michael Bay will once again produce the project and guide it through development through Platinum Dunes and Nickelodeon Films. Original screenwriters Josh Appelbaum and André Nemec will return to pen the script. Considering the first film's $65 million opening this weekend, we're presuming that Megan Fox, Will Arnett and the rest of the cast (including the voices of the Turtles themselves) will return.

What's not clear at this point is whether or not director Jonathan Liebesman will be back. The original production was plagued by reshoots that forced the film to take a completely different form in post-production, so the studio may consider starting fresh with someone else.

Adam Goodman, the president of Paramount’s film group, released this official statement regarding 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2':

Launching a new take on the Turtles into the feature film world was a daunting task because as fans of them ourselves, we felt a great responsibility to ensure audiences were going to experience everything they loved about the Turtles, while also getting to see them brought to life in a way they had never been seen before. The result exceeded our high expectations and the response to the film is beyond great, making it all the more fun to get started on the continuation of their story.

If that June 3, 2016 release date sticks, 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2' will go up against disaster flick 'San Andreas' (starring Dwayne Johnson) and the animated 'B.O.O.: Bureau of Otherworldly Operations' (featuring the voices of Seth Rogen and Melissa McCarthy). Expect at least one of those movies to flee in terror from the newly resurrected and more-powerful-than-ever Turtles.

Learn more about 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' from our interviews with the cast and crew.