New Live-Action ‘Ninja Turtles’ on the Horizon

The ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,’ honoring their 25th year in existence this year, are getting the live-action treatment once again.   The Mirage Group has green lit the development of a new live-action feature film that will go over the origins of the foursome.   The film is tentatively scheduled for a release in 2011.

“The original dozen comics created by Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman are some of the best source material one could hope for,” said Scott Mednick, one of the producers on the new film. “We’re excited to bring this story to a whole new generation of moviegoers as well as the legions of fans that have made the Turtles – Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael as well as Splinter, April O’Neil, Casey Jones and, of course, the great villain Shredder – a part of their world for 25 years.”

Mednick has already begun seeking out people who would want to revisit the Ninja Turtles of their childhood and work on the film.   This includes actors, writers, and even a director.

As a “shell-ebration” of sorts, the Tribeca Film Festival is honoring the ‘Ninja Turtles.’   The original, 1990, live-action film will screen at the Tribeca Drive-In tonight (April, no less, 23rd) at 6PM.   The World Financial Plaza where the film is being screenedwill be decorated with glow-in-the-dark manhole covers. Families can climb inside the all-new Party Wagon, a mobile treasure trove based on the original Party Van. Kids can get their faces painted Turtle-style, take pictures at the photo booth, and pick up new moves with karate demos.   Download the invitation right here!