The heroes in a half shell are on the 2023 new movie release schedule and finally headed back to the big screen in a Seth Rogen-produced animated reboot. The funny man and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem’s producer has been dropping subtle details on his flick. Now, he’s revealed the totally tubular connection between the newest iteration of everyone’s favorite pizza-loving reptiles and the legendary skateboarder Tony Hawk. And it’s probably not what you would guess.
The This is the End actor recently joined hosts Tony Hawk and Jason Ellis on their Hawk vs. Wolf podcast to hang out and share some hilarious stories. As the show began to wrap up, the sport-defining skateboarder asked Seth Rogen whether or not the newest incarnation of Turtles would skateboard like they have been known to do in other versions of the property. The An American Pickle star confirmed that the four brothers would skate while also revealing a very specific link to Hawk that plays into that extracurricular activity:
They do skate, actually, and what’s funny is we were having a call with the music supervisor because we were pretty far along on it, and there’s a lot of music in it, and they’re like, ‘The music doesn’t go together. It goes together but in a weird way. How would you describe it?’ And our director was like, ‘I kind of describe it as what you would kind of hear playing Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater.’ It’s like a random assortment of music, kind of, but it all fits together perfectly. It kind of has that same energy and spirit, but it’s like very similar, and there are literally some songs that are from like the original Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. It’s amazing, it’s really cool, and it’s fully animated, and it comes out in August, and it’s incredible. I’m really psyched about it.
This is exciting news for anyone who is a fan of the Tony Hawk Pro Skater video game series, because one of the most popular aspects of the game — besides its revolutionary gameplay — is the iconic soundtrack. While none of the series’ soundtrack playlists are comprised of one genre or artist, they are related via intensity and feel — a nostalgic energy that should pair nicely with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles property.
The plot of the latest flick to center on the world’s most fearsome fighting team is still relatively under wraps. However, what we know for sure about the TMNT movie (amongst other details) is that it is being directed by at least one-half of the team that helmed the critically acclaimed Netflix feature The Mitchells vs. the Machines. It’s time to get pumped because the Sony-produced animated movie was one of the best movies of 2021, in my humble opinion.
If skateboarding and a musical connection to Tony Hawk Pro Skater aren’t enough to get you excited for the Turtle Boys’ upcoming flick, perhaps Seth Rogen’s vision of the reboot will. While the last Michael Bay reboot was fairly polarizing amongst fans, Rogen is a self-proclaimed lifelong TMNT fanboy and has said that he wants to focus on the “teenage” aspect of the franchise, which is an exciting new direction and also seems oh-so-fitting coming from one of the writers of Superbad. Needless to say, this Turtles fan is excited to see what Rogen has in mind for the franchise.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is scheduled to hit theaters on August 4, 2023.