Last week, Michael Bay announced a few pieces of information about the upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film, including the fact that the turtles will be aliens, and last week, we discussed the finer points of it. Since then, there's been an outcry in the TMNT fan-community, all over the net.

Since then, Super Hero Hype reported that not only is the film being renamed to the simply put NINJA TURTLES, but Michael Bay has released another statement about the upcoming film:

Paramount marketing changed the name. They made the title simple. The characters you all remember are exactly the same, and yes they still act like teenagers. Everything you remember, why you liked the characters, is in the movie. This script is being developed by two very smart writers, with one of the original creators of Ninja Turtles. They care VERY MUCH about making this film for the fans. Everyone on this team cares about the fans. Just give them a chance. Jonathan the director, is a major fan of the whole franchise. HE'S NOT GOING TO LET YOU DOWN.
MICHAEL

So now that the film is being named Ninja Turtles, does that make a difference for fans? Although it may be coincidence more than anything, maybe the public outcry pushed Paramont to make a change quick.

Ninja Turtles is set to release on Christmas Day, 2013. What do you guys think about the name change?

Hrm.

My original comment was a swear word, but not sure if it is a swear in America.

So, I shall simply say - Crap, is what this is.

If you wanted to shorten it, just call it TMNT. Fail!

I honestly don't know what to say at this point.

@TheGreyOutcastX said:

If you wanted to shorten it, just call it TMNT. Fail!

They already did a TMNT but now it would be TANT so they just made it NINJA TURTLES.

Paramount marketing changed the name. They made the title simple. The characters you all remember are exactly the same, and yes they still act like teenagers. Everything you remember, why you liked the characters, is in the movie. This script is being developed by two very smart writers, with one of the original creators of Ninja Turtles. They care VERY MUCH about making this film for the fans. Everyone on this team cares about the fans. Just give them a chance. Jonathan the director, is a major fan of the whole franchise. HE'S NOT GOING TO LET YOU DOWN.

MICHAEL

you already letted us down by getting involved. nobody there cares about us, the fans, only your pocket books. you just dont going around renaming movies that are near and dear to us all. thats like repainting the mona lisa to look like lady gaga. some things should be left alone.

Well calling it Ninja Turtles is really that bad considering most people call it that any way, it will only be a problem if the try to take the teenage mutant out of the story, if they keep it there I can live without it being in the title

im wondering why he keeps mentioning that it is being worked on with one of the original creators but wont say which one.. the whole thing seems iffy..

@MOONGREY: its Kevin Eastman

@TheMess1428: Animated CGI titles don't mean a thing when a Live-action movie is involved so it still could have been used. And you are jumping the gun on the Alien thing consider the director stated the mutagen was made by aliens in the comics. They would still be Teenage MUTANT Ninja Turtles.

This is not a movie for the fans, it is a movie for profit. Hence them putting Michael Bay in charge, because for whatever reason he makes a profit and creates new fans. You think the mass herds of young Transformers fans liked the 90's cartoon when they were 1 or 2 years old????? NOT about what the true fans want in the slightest!

my crappy movie sense is tingling. crap.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a long title for this fast paced world.

I'm fine calling them Ninja Turtles.

I will not be fine if they change them to aliens and they "act like teens" but aren't teens.

But I am keeping hope that the alien thing just means that their origin is heavily connected to the Utroms in the comics.

Until I hear otherwise I am assuming the aliens thing is a rumor and I am assuming that if its not it will be connected to their origin and they wont be aliens themselves. Because if you change them aliens thats like changing Spider-Man to Batman.

Michael Bay need to pull out of this movie NOW! He's destroying my childhood. And just for the fact that Bay is tell people to clam down and he won't let us down makes me have the feeling that this is a horrible idea. I don't trust Bay on this at all, plus I disliked all his other movies too. Like Robot Chicken puts it, "EXPLOSIONS!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7ssUivM-eM

@feargalr said:

Thank you, sir. When I thought about this, this image was in my head. xD

So, they shortened the title so they didn't have to put "Alien" instead of "Mutant?" #NotPleased

@ArtisticNeedham: You said Spider-Man to Batman, and I remember this pic:

Calling it 'Ninja Turtles' just makes it sound like some Chinese bootleg version of one of the various TMNT movies already out. It certainly does not give me more confidence in the film, as it means they're set on this whole 'the turtles are aliens' angle.

And look, I'm all for changing/updating the origin- hell the new TMNT books by IDW had a severely altered origin that was done really well, but making the turtles aliens just seems lazy and throws out any logic the existing franchise had.

Why would aliens know ninjutsu? Ninjutsu exists on other planets? If they're technologically advanced enough to arrive on Earth, why would they use weapons made of steel and wood? Is Splinter an alien, too? Does this alien planet they come from consist of beings that resemble anthropomorphic versions of Earth animals? Are they like Transformers in that they just took the appearance of Earth animals so as not to scare *HEAD ESPLODE*

I thought Monday's Gutters summed it up quite nicely:

http://cdn.the-gutters.com/comics/ee5a789d43e6835ebc4b65a9406e9aace5459eee.jpg

@TheGreyOutcastX:Thanks. Thats funny. I just meant they are different characters. What comic is that from?

@ImperiousRix:How did the recent TMNT comics change the origins? Because in the early origins the aliens came to Earth and their Mutagen was what changed the regular earth turtles into teenagers.

I think it's pretty obvious they changed the title because the turtles won't be mutants but "from an alien race""and yes they still act like teenagers."

So they won't be teenagers then, it's just a bunch of aliens who look like giant ninja turtles and act like teenagers...

Probably what all the TMNT fans are thinking right now. I don't see how this news can reassure fans. It just seems stupid and it looks like they are only confirming our worst fears.

@ArtisticNeedham: I don't remember. It was among my old pics for when I used to roleplay Spider-Man.

My "Who cares, this movie will suck" sense is tingling but at the same time my "This is all stupid internet speculation ripping every statement apart" sense is also tingling. So I will be patient and hope that this movie will be like the comics or 2003 tv series and not the other movies or 80s tv series. The release date is so far off that nothing released now matters at all

@pspin said:

My "Who cares, this movie will suck" sense is tingling but at the same time my "This is all stupid internet speculation ripping every statement apart" sense is also tingling. So I will be patient and hope that this movie will be like the comics or 2003 tv series and not the other movies or 80s tv series. The release date is so far off that nothing released now matters at all

Agreed.

@TheGreyOutcastX said:

@TheMess1428: Animated CGI titles don't mean a thing when a Live-action movie is involved so it still could have been used. And you are jumping the gun on the Alien thing consider the director stated the mutagen was made by aliens in the comics. They would still be Teenage MUTANT Ninja Turtles.

How can they be mutants if there is a planet out there somewhere with an entire race of human-sized turtles? That is what Michael Bay is making them into. An entire alien race of them but somehow four of them just ended up on Earth.

This is f**king hilarious.

He is literally begging the fanbase.

@TheMess1428: You didn't hear what the director said about the aliens thing, did you? He more or less told fans that they shouldn't forget that the Mutagen was of alien origin. That very well could be the extent of the aliens thing. Forget what Michael Bay says and worry only about what Laird, Eastman, or the film's director says.

can they really be counted as ninjas if they're from another planet, I mean what's the likelihood that 2 completely different planets created a group with the same purpose in mind and called it the same thing too?

I wanna know how Alien Turtles are going to work, and will the main villain be Shredder or Dregg

@TheGreyOutcastX said:

@TheMess1428: You didn't hear what the director said about the aliens thing, did you? He more or less told fans that they shouldn't forget that the Mutagen was of alien origin. That very well could be the extent of the aliens thing. Forget what Michael Bay says and worry only about what Laird, Eastman, or the film's director says.

Well, have you been reading the new comic from IDW? That should be what the movie should be about.

@GothamRed said:

can they really be counted as ninjas if they're from another planet, I mean what's the likelihood that 2 completely different planets created a group with the same purpose in mind and called it the same thing too?

They're probably going to study certain aspects of Human culture and then imitate them. Most likely teenagers and ninjas.

Sidenote: Why doesn't Paramount realize the worst thing they could do is have Michael Bay do the talking?

@TheMess1428: You realize Eastman is involved with that, right? And who is working with the writers on the film? Eastman.

Oh...2013? Well, that's fine then...we'll all be dead anyway.

Unless hell is watching Michael Bay's Ninja Turtles on loop for eternity...in which case, man that blows. I should probably go to confession or something...

It's michael bay so it will suck.

@hectorsquall said:

I think it's pretty obvious they changed the title because the turtles won't be mutants but "from an alien race""and yes they still act like teenagers."

So they won't be teenagers then, it's just a bunch of aliens who look like giant ninja turtles and act like teenagers...

Probably what all the TMNT fans are thinking right now. I don't see how this news can reassure fans. It just seems stupid and it looks like they are only confirming our worst fears.

I busted out laughing upon seeing that picture

I'm not a fan of Michael Bay but anyone who even took a minute's break from their screaming fanboy rage to listen to what these people are saying would see that they aren't making the turtles aliens who swoop in from another planet. They are still turtles. They are still mutated (by a mutagen that comes from an alien planet, as in the original comic). They are still ninjas. Calm down. And besides, even if that was a change, which it is not, change is never a bad thing. Bad change is bad. Good change is good. Change is change. The intolerance for changes is the absolute worst trait of the comic book community.

sounds like fox wanted to make this first.

@BuddyBulson said:

sounds like fox wanted to make this first.

Oh god! You just made me think what if Fox and Bay team up for a movie! THE HORROR!!

That will not make much difference here on Brazil because they are commonly called "Tartarugas Ninjas" literally Ninja Turtles. Hell, even the full title is Tartarugas Mutantes Ninjas and not even in the translated movies they are called like that :-P

Um...is everyone forgetting that the title has been changed before?

The title of the live action show was simply "Ninja Turtles" with the subtitle "The Next Mutation"

This isn't anything new, guys.

Michael Bay seems like a man with little imagination. If it can't be a legit thing on earth it must come from SPACE! Sooner or later he'll get his hands on every single toy brand everyone enjoyed and loved as a kid and have them come from the unknown vacuum of space.

I don't really see how making the Turtles aliens changes the characters that much. Everyone remembers Galaxy Quest, maybe these aliens happened to watch old episodes of Saved by the Bell and they really took to the teenage lifestyle.

As for the alien angle, perhaps they were ordinary turtles that were taken from earth and geneticly bred to be warriors. How many sci-fi stories are there where aliens culture has mimicked ancient humans after visting them in the past? They could still be mutants, they'd just be mutated from turtle and alien DNA(instead of human DNA).

No way am i defending Michael Bay, i'm just open to this possibility. I used to love the TMNT franchise as a kid but sometimes changes like this can help re-vitalize an old franchise.

This movie will bomb badly. I say let him do it and everyone just sit back and let the numbers say how bad it is as in he won't make half the money it cost him to make it, and the movie reviewers tear this movie apart.

Teenage Alien Intergalactic Ninja Turtles!

I'm fine with the title simply being "Ninja Turtles."

A lot of people are jumping the gun with this fanrage, imho. Was it foolish for Bay to vaguely say "they're from an alien race?" 100% yes. But since then, there have been more than a few comments that have helped me believe there isn't going to be a planet full of turtles and it is indeed just stemming from the fact the ooze is created from alien technology (which is what I was praying for all along).

Director Jonathan Liebesman:

“Look, it’s so funny. If everyone was such a die-hard fan, they would know that the TCRI canisters where the ooze comes from... that is alien ooze. Now I’m not saying what Michael said is exactly what the movie is, because we're sitting in a room now figuring everything out. So we don’t know, but we are like Michael said: we’re expanding it, and the expansion will be true to the mythology. I promise you: fans will love it.”

The key part there is "we're sitting in a room now figuring everything out." They saw the outrage over the assumption there would be a planet full of turtles. So, unless they're trolling us for fun, that idea (if it even existed in the first place) is in the garbage bin.

Also from the director:

“Whatever mythology we’re building on or expanding is coming from that guy, Kevin Eastman’s head, who created the Turtles in the first place. And so everything will tie in with the mythology; fans will be extremely excited with what we’re coming up with. A lot of it is stuff he’s wanted to do for a long time, but just hasn’t had the opportunity because now we have the budget and things on this film to expand it in the right way. And so, I’m happy that everyone is extremely passionate, and they will not be disappointed. It’s all coming from the best possible place for this franchise”

Am I saying this is going to be a good movie? Absolutely not. I can't make that call yet, nor can anyone else. We can't jump to conclusions based on early statements that don't even give any solid facts surrounding the film.. and that my friends, is pretty much the point I've been trying to make. Wait until the trailer or some pics, then release the e-kraken ;)

@inferiorego: Heard the news, hope you're feeling better and welcome back.

@k4tzm4n: I was gonna post link to that thread. Looks like you beat me to the punch, friend. lol

The title, Ninja Turtles suggests they are not teenagers and mutants. Isn't that sorta confusing?

And this, my friends, is just another reason why Michael Bay is right at the top of my "Celebrities who deserve the most painful of deaths ever conceived by mankind" list, way ahead of everybody else.

He's just saying this so we go watch the film and spend all our monies on it.

@TheGreyOutcastX said:

@k4tzm4n: I was gonna post link to that thread. Looks like you beat me to the punch, friend. lol

:D

It amazes me that people are blaming Bay for this, yet the very first sentence is "Paramount marketing changed the name."