‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ R-Rated Movie ‘Last Ronin’ on Hold at Paramount as Studio Develops New Live-Action Version

Paramount is betting big on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

A new live-action film is in the works from producer Neal H. Moritz, known for the studio’s “Sonic the Hedgehog” series. No other details have been confirmed but Paramount reportedly wants a family friendly take on the turtle brothers known as Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

With the kid-friendly edict in mind, Paramount is putting a pin in plans for the R-rated, live-action adaptation “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin,” which the studio announced in 2024. That project, based on the bloody and intense graphic novel series, was being developed by former Warner Bros. chief Walter Hamada and screenwriter Tyler Burton Smith, with “Nobody” helmer Ilya Naishuller in talks to direct. Sources say the film remains in development as a project to revisit in the future, though it likely won’t be anytime soon.

There hasn’t been a live-action “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” adventure since 2016’s “Out of the Shadows,” which bombed with $245 million against a $135 million budget. Paramount turned to animation with 2023’s “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem,” which was written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. It became a modest box office hit with $181 million against a $70 million budget. A sequel from Rogen and Goldberg, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem 2,” is slated to release on Sept. 17, 2027.

“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” was created as a comic book series in 1984 by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. The franchise has spawned a toy line, a popular animated series, several video games and seven feature films, which have generated over $1.35 billion at the global box office.