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How Mutant Mayhem’s Raphael & Michelangelo Are Different From Previous TMNT Adaptations Detailed By Reboot Stars-TGN

Summary

  • The cast of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem brings a fresh perspective to the iconic characters, giving them a new voice and personality. This is the first time teenagers have voiced the turtles in the 40-year franchise.

  • The chemistry between the teenage voice actors is evident and helps make their performances feel organic in the film. The script was even rewritten to better match the actors’ personalities and strengths.

  • With the young actors and the vision of creatives like Seth Rogen, the upcoming film has the potential to deliver a fun and innovative new take on the pizza-loving heroes. Fans can look forward to a fresh version of Raphael, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Leonardo.

Two Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem stars gave insight in a recent interview about how their versions of Michelangelo and Raphael differ from previous adaptations. The movie follows the four turtles as they first begin venturing into New York City, looking to find their place in the world above ground. The heroes are played by The Chi‘s Shamon Brown Jr, The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers‘ Brady Noon, Cousins for Life‘s Micah Abbey, and The Walking Dead: World Beyond‘s Nicolas Cantu alongside other talents that include producer and writer Seth Rogen, Jackie Chan, and Ice Cube.

In a recent interview with Screen Rant, Shamon Brown Jr. and Brady Noon (who play Michelangelo and Raphael respectively) discussed their approach to bringing the iconic characters to life. The two talked about making changes to things like the characters’ voices and personalities, meaning the turtles will resonate differently with fans than they ever have before. Check out the full quote below:

Shamon Brown Jr.: Definitely, I just wanted to be different. One, this is the first time teenagers have voiced the turtles, which is a big deal for the 40-year franchise. I think just looking at the previous versions, it’s usually the surfer dude voice. So, the previous version, The Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, I looked at Brandon Mychal Smith’s Michelangelo, and he didn’t do the Turtle voice, so that’s kind of like what I pulled off of, and wanted to bring my modern day energy to Mikey.

Brady Noon: Yeah, for me, I definitely wanted to go in to Raph with sort of a different approach that I’ve seen from the other Raphael’s. Sometimes, it’s hard for characters to relate to Raph, just because he’s so angry, right? Even for me personally, I’m yelling all the time, and I’m hearing him and when I see him in other pictures. Just to go in there and just be like, “Oh, I’m trying to make this a little funnier now, and make this character more likeable, give him some heart.” That’s really the approach.

Why Mutant Mayhem’s Turtles Changes Will Work

In this interview, Shamon Brown Jr. makes a great point about how this particular cast has the opportunity to represent the turtles in a way never seen before due to their age and perspective on the characters. The chemistry between the teenage voice actors in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is evident, and in turn helps each one come off more organically in the film. In fact, the way the cast connected with each other led to much of the TMNT: Mutant Mayhem script being thrown out and rewritten to better match the actors, which fits in perfectly with what Brown Jr. and Noon bring up here.

Related: Ice Cube On Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem & Learning From Seth Rogen

Over the past 40 years, audiences have seen many renditions of the pizza-loving heroes, and to find a fresh take on them after so long is an overall good thing for the franchise. Between the perspective of the young actors being brought into the characters and the vision of creatives like Seth Rogen, the upcoming film has the potential to deliver a fun and innovative new version of the quartet. Fans will get to see what’s in store for Raphael, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Leonardo when Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem releases.

Key Release Date

  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem