While Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (2023) was a mixed bag for lifelong TMNT fans, there’s no denying that the 3D-animated reboot put the franchise well and truly back on the map where the theatrical side of things are concerned, after taking a huge slice out of the global box office in the form of $180.5 million (against its $70 million budget).Mutant Mayhem was yet another reboot for the long-running TMNT franchise, most recently following the two Michael Bay-produced films, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014) and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (2016).The latter, despite being superior to its predecessor, grossed only $245.6 million worldwide against its $135 million budget, which was viewed by the studio as a financial failure.Consequently, Out of the Shadows‘ underwhelming box office performance rendered that live-action series as defunct as the original series that’s made up of the cult-classic 1990 film and its two sequels, The Secret of the Ooze (1991) and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993).Credit: Paramount PicturesBut while it seems that Mutant Mayhem has replaced those previous timelines, with its untitled sequel set for release on September 17, 2027 (after recently being delayed by a year), there’s another TMNT film in the works (yes, it’s a great time to be a Turtles fan).If you’ve been keeping up to date with “the world’s most fearsome fighting team,” you’ll know that a live-action adaptation of the hugely popular and ongoing IDW Publishing comic book series “TMNT: The Last Ronin” is in development from producer Walter Hamada (former head of DC Films) through his 18hz company, and screenwriter Tyler Burton Smith (2019’s Child’s Play reboot). There’s also a video game adaptation in the works.Announced in April last year, the film is said to be “R-rated”–a first for the franchise–which set the fanbase ablaze with excitement. Unfortunately, there hasn’t been much news on the project since it was announced. But recently, that all changed thanks to TMNT co-creator Kevin Eastman, who co-writes “The Last Ronin” comic book series alongside Tom Waltz.Credit: IDW PublishingRelated: ‘TMNT’ Film Series Officially Dead in the Water as New Reboot Takes OverIn an interview with IGN while discussing the latest issue of “The Last Ronin II: Re-Evolution,” Eastman and Waltz explained where the story, which is an alternate take on the half-shell heroes in a dystopian, futuristic New York City, fits into the wider TMNT universe.“When we approached Last Ronin, we both said, ‘Look, we have all these Turtle universes, let’s make this our Dark Knight universe. Let’s touch on a few of the other universes, but mainly lean heavily into the Mirage universe.’” Eastman said, referring to the original Mirage comic book run he co-created with Peter Laird.“So we dismissed Bebop, and Rocksteady, and Mutants, and that kind of stuff,” he went on. “So this story was one unto itself, and it created a happy space that we didn’t have to stick with storylines, or logic, or history, or just different things that Tom had set up. Again, we’re talking about, when he wrote a hundred issues, that’s like 10 years, almost 11 years of stuff.”Credit: Nickelodeon / THQ Nordic / Black Forest GamesRelated: Dark, Gritty TMNT Film Geared Towards Adults Gets 2025 Release“Yeah, I call it Mirage-adjacent,” Waltz added, pointing out that “The Last Ronin” isn’t necessarily connected to the original Mirage Comics. “It’s the dimension right next door to the project. I think what Kevin and I realized early on, I think early on we were looking at Mirage, specifically. And we knew we were veering off that course when Karai became Shredder’s daughter, as part of this story.”Waltz continued: “And then at that point, we started saying the term Ronin-verse. I think we’re creating our own universe here, but I call it very Mirage-adjacent. The Dark Knight Returns, for me, works so well, because if somebody really wants to say, ‘It’s Adam West’s future,’ it could be Adam West’s future, because all the basic elements are there for a Batman story… I think it works so well in a generic sense, because there’s just certain elements of Turtles that you have to hit, and everybody knows those things by now. Most people know what those things are, where they come from, that you can write this kind of story and let people fill in the blanks as they want.”So, essentially what Eastman and Waltz are saying is that “The Last Ronin” is whatever you want it to be in terms of a sequel or continuity. Provided the source aligns with the direction the comic book series takes, then “The Last Ronin” could be your sequel to the original live-action film released in 1990 (there’s a solid case to be made here anyway), the main and ongoing IDW Publishing series that is otherwise of no relation, the two Michael Bay movies (again, there’s nothing in those films to suggest that “The Last Ronin” couldn’t happen much further down the line), or even the family-friendly (ish) Mutant Mayhem.As for an update on the progress of The Last Ronin movie or game, Eastman told IGN that both projects are moving ahead, although there are no release dates for either as yet.Are you excited about The Last Ronin movie? Let us know in the comments!The post R-Rated TMNT Movie Could Be a Sequel to ‘Mutant Mayhem’ appeared first on Inside the Magic.