During the recent shake-up at Paramount Pictures after David Ellison‘s Skydance merged with the legacy studio, one of the projects that ended up heading to the heap (a common thing when new studio brass take over) was a gritty take on the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” IP with an adaptation of the comic book run, “The Last Ronin,” as action filmmaker Ilya Naishuller (“Nobody,” “Hardcore Henry”) was in the mix to direct.
The folks behind “The Last Ronin” had approached one original cast member from the 1990 film (a young Sam Rockwell played a thief aligned with the Foot Clan) that kicked off the IP’s theatrical footprint. As the violent standalone nearly saw the return of Judith Hoag (“Bad Words,” “Hitchcock”), who played the first live-action version of on-camera reporter and mother figure April O’Neil.
READ MORE: 14 Must-See February Films: ‘Wuthering Heights,’ ‘Pillion,’ ‘Crime 101’ & More
Collider got a direct quote from Hoag, who had appeared at Big Lick Comic-Con in Roanoke, Virginia, alongside Ernie Reyes Jr. (who did in-suit stunt work and played human sidekick Keno in the sequel). “Yes, I’ve been approached, and I’d be happy. It would be a great bookend for me. And maybe that happens, and maybe it doesn’t. We’ll see,” Hoag said of her potential return to the franchise.
This likely was a move to tap into nostalgia for an older demographic, as the R-rated movie would have seen the last remaining turtle on a mission of revenge after the others have been killed. So, bringing back Hoag might have been a good way to get older fans onboard with that standalone project, that’s before “The Last Ronin” was given the axe.
It would have been a long time coming after Hoag was recast in “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: Secret of the Ooze” (oddly enough, returning to theaters from March 13 to 19 with a 4K restoration to honor the film’s 35th anniversary) with actress Paige Turco, and has been working actress ever since.
We wouldn’t be all that shocked if Hoag was approached; Elias Koteas (“Zodiac”), who played Casey Jones, might have been another name they likely wanted to bring back. But until someone asks him, we likely won’t know for sure.
More recently, Neal H. Moritz was announced as a producer for the next live-action feature (we’re still unclear what that one will look like and who the creatives are), and a sequel to “TMNT: Mutant Mayhem” is slotted for release on September 17, 2027.
- Christopher Marc
- Christopher Marc
- Christopher Marc
- Christopher Marc
- Christopher Marc
- Christopher Marc
