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Teenage Alien Ninja Turtles? Michael Bay Responds

Michael Bay might be screwing with your childhood again. His studio, Platinum Dunes, and its first-look distributor Paramount, have recently announced and set a release date for a new live-action version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but some recent comments by Bay have put one of those four magical words from the '90s in doubt.

Bay made an appearance at this year's Nickelodeon Upfront on Mar. 14 to discuss the film, as Paramount and Nickelodeon have teamed up to produce it as well as launch a new TV series. Stuff We Like has some video of the presentation, in which Bay described the Turtles as the following:



"These turtles are from an alien race and they are going to be tough, edgy, funny, and completely loveable."

Alien race? Oh no you didn't, Mr. Bay.

You probably already know this news, as Twitter blew up yesterday with scathing remarks aimed at Bay, though he could just be the messenger in this case as he's not the only one making decisions about this potential franchise reboot.

In hopes that Bay mispoke or that the clip out of context blows up this idea of turtle aliens instead of sewer-dwellers mutated by ooze, media websites kept close tabs on Bay's official movie forum, Shoot for the Edit. Sure enough, the director responded last night to the collective fanboy seizure.



"Fans need to take a breath, and chill. They have not read the script. Our team is working closely with one of the original creators of Ninja Turtles to help extend and give a more complex back story. Relax, we are including everything that made you become fans in the first place. We are just building a richer world."

That response won't exactly end the ire toward Bay in general, but it should calm fans down until we know more. Considering the Turtles' origins aren't really fleshed out (they can fit in five seconds of a title sequence), the move actually makes sense in a way given we live in the era of origin stories. In the '90s we could just believe that ooze could mutate turtles into talking anthropoids, but in today's age we have to understand it—I guess.

In general, this whole controversey has drummed up a lot more public awareness of the film, so if that was Bay's goal, nicely done. Certainly it will have to be maintained over a long period of time, as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (directed by Jonathan Liebesman) will not land on our planet until Christmas Day 2013.



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