'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' Sequel Already Being Prepped

Even the most optimistic box office prognosticators probably couldn't have guessed that Paramount and Michael Bay's big screen reboot of "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" would have netted $65 million in its opening weekend (especially given that it was going up against Marvel's sensational "Guardians of the Galaxy"). But that's what you get for dismissing those heroes in a half-shell. And, as with any lucrative re-launch, a sequel is now being planned. It's even got a release date. Cowabunga!



Entertainment Weekly reported that Bay will return for the sequel, as will his Platinum Dune production partners, and that Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec, two of about a dozen screenwriters who lent their prowess to the reboot, will be back to both write and executive produce (cha-ching!) Paramount hasn't stated whether or not Jonathan Liebesman will return to direct, but clearly the studio was happy with his work on this one, so it would seem like a natural rehire.



"To know moviegoers are embracing the Turtles with such enthusiasm is everything that we and all our filmmakers have been hoping for," said Paramount chairman and CEO Brad Grey in a canned statement. "We are thrilled with this weekend's result, the enduring power of this franchise, and the opportunity to make another one."



The release date the studio has picked out is June 3^rd, 2016, the same date as Sony's R-rated computer generated comedy "Sausage Party" and a week after Bryan Singer's mutant mash "X-Men: Apocalypse." Hopefully the two-year head start will allow the animators to refine the design of the turtles so that they don't look like the stuff of nightmares. Turtle power!











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