The Huge Image
The live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies of the ’90s are nonetheless extremely regarded for his or her realism and comedian component, due to the animatronic costumes created by Jim Henson’s Creature Store. Plans for a fourth movie within the franchise, titled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: The Foot Walks Once more, have been thought of however in the end fell via on account of numerous elements, together with declining recognition and monetary efficiency of the third movie. The fourth movie would have launched new mutations for the turtles, featured the villainous Foot Clan, and included modifications to characters like Casey Jones and April O’Neil, indicating a darker and grittier path for the franchise.
For a lot of, the live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies of the ’90s are nonetheless the very best iteration of the heroes on the massive display screen. Because of the state-of-the-art animatronic costumes created by Jim Henson’s Creature Store, the three movies within the trilogy delivered a realism that CGI merely cannot match (sorry, Michael Bay). The “man in a rubber go well with” side of the costumes solely labored within the movies’ favor, including a comic book component to the motion on display screen that matches the tone completely. Whereas the primary movie was profitable, the 2 sequels could not fairly match up, with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III successfully ending the period on a low word. Had its fortunes been extra favorable, nonetheless, there have been plans for a fourth movie within the franchise: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: The Foot Walks Once more.
There have been reportedly two ideas for a fourth movie. The primary was an concept from TMNT creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, one which concerned the turtles and Splinter mutating even additional. Titled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: The Subsequent Mutation, these mutations would give Donatello telekinetic talents (however take his eyesight), and Leonardo would get impenetrable pores and skin. Michelangelo would have been in a position to flip right into a human, Raphael would turn out to be raptor-like, and Splinter a “tremendous rat.” Whereas some idea artwork exists, there’s little else recognized about it because it did not progress a lot past that preliminary stage.
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It might be Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: The Foot Walks Once more that progressed additional alongside. The title alone makes it clear that the movie would function the villainous Foot Clan, long-time adversaries of the Turtles. Main the Foot Clan can be Tremendous Shredder, final seen in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze as performed by Kevin Nash. Additionally returning can be Casey Jones (Elias Koteas), the hockey-masked vigilante and buddy of the Turtles, and the ever-present April O’Neil, performed by Judith Hoag within the first movie and by Paige Turco within the sequels. Nonetheless, each characters would have seen modifications within the fourth movie. Casey Jones would have had electrical energy, by some means, whereas April would have by some means switched allegiances and turn out to be Evil April, presumably on account of the notorious ooze. These modifications would recommend that the movie, as rumored, would have been far darker and grittier than the earlier installments, taking the franchise in a much less kid-friendly path.
New additions to the franchise would have been launched, together with a fifth turtle. The fifth turtle, Kirby (named after famed comedian ebook artist Jack Kirby), would largely eschew the goofiness of the unique 4, being a much more critical and hardcore member. Different newbies to the franchise we all know of, due to extra idea artwork, can be characters named Fang, Kasey, Talbot, Bugman, Spyder, and Nano Spyder. The final two are probably one and the identical, with Nano Spyder an improve to the unique in an effort to face the Turtle’s new talents, which in flip suggests the film may additionally have tailored the idea of an extra mutation for the heroes from Eastman and Laird’s authentic pitch, a transfer that will have resulted in additional motion figures to promote.
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Work was going forward on a script for what would turn out to be Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: The Foot Walks Once more. First-time screenwriters Christian Ford and Roger Soffer have been employed to draft a script in 1994. That script went via a number of drafts, brought on by conflicting messages between Ford and Soffer, Eastman and Laird, and executives with New Line. Robert McKee was introduced in at one level through the course of to contribute script revision notes. It was all for naught, although, because the venture fell via, which allowed Ford and Soffer to pen Kazam with Shaquille O’Neal (and the world could by no means forgive them for it). The return on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III had fallen considerably from the primary movie’s take, bringing in solely $42.3 million versus the $135 million the unique introduced in.
Whereas it is simple guilty the third movie’s field workplace and significant beating for the demise of The Foot Walks Once more, there have been different elements afoot (no pun meant, simply awesomely unintentional). The TMNT craze had died down from its early ’90s heyday, with the long-running cartoon TV present coming to an finish in 1996 after 9 years on the air. A 1997 live-action TV sequence, Ninja Turtles: The Subsequent Mutation, solely survived one season earlier than being canceled, making it clear that Turtle Mania had certainly run its course, and would not be revived once more till the 2003 animated sequence Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (which launched a Turtles multiverse in a tie-in TV film, Turtles Endlessly).
Some parts from the historical past of the failed Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: The Foot Walks Once more did really see the sunshine of day, albeit briefly. The aforementioned 1997 TV sequence Ninja Turtles: The Subsequent Mutation did not simply jack its title from these failed ideas, it stored Shredder and the Foot Clan as the first antagonists. The sequence additionally launched Venus de Milo (carried out by each Nicole Parker and Leslie Sponberg and voiced by Lalainia Lindbjerg), a brand new, critical, feminine turtle to the crew (and sure, she does have arms). The concept of a fifth turtle-like Kirby was already probably going to be a tricky promote, so for sure a feminine turtle cut up the fan base and, in line with TMNT director Kevin Munroe, was hated “with a ardour” by Eastman, leaving Venus as a one-and-done contribution to TMNT lore (till she reemerged within the pages of IDW’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #127 comedian in 2022). With the discharge of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem on August 2nd, 2023, will probably be fascinating to see if any ideas from The Foot Walks Once more are utilized – purposely or by the way – within the latest entry. Who is aware of – perhaps we do get to fulfill Casey “Electro” Jones in any case.