Jackie Chan’s Absence Hurts Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

summary

• Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a great follow-up to Mutant Mayhem, bridging the gap until the upcoming sequel.
• Jackie Chan's absence as Splinter is noticeable, affecting the series despite clever attempts to overcome it.
• Although some cast members will return, financial considerations are likely what prompted Chan not to reprise his role in the show.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Tales Premiering on Paramount+ on August 12, 2024, it's a great continuation of the film. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant MayhemExcept for one. The hand-drawn animated series is a follow-up to the 2023 film. Mutant chaoswhich rebooted beloved heroes in a half-shell for a new generation. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Tales Bridging the gap between the 2023 film and the upcoming sequel in 2026.

Many of the film's cast members return to reprise their roles, including Nicholas Cantu as Leonardo, Brady Noon as Raphael, Micah Abbey as Donatello, Shamon Brown Jr. as Michelangelo, and Ayo Edebiri as April O'Neil.

However, there is one person who does not return noticeably and that is Jackie Chanwho is the voice of Splinter, the Turtles' father, who is actually a giant rat. Splinter still appears in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles TalesHowever, Chan does not voice the character. Instead, Splinter speaks “bug”, an incomprehensible language also spoken by Scampig. Later in the series, Ralph dubs Splinter's bug dialogue, which ends up being the show's biggest problem.

Here's Why Jackie Chan Won't Return as Splinter and How It Affected Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Tales.

Splinter's role in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles stories

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Tales The movie is divided into two parts, with the first six episodes seeing the Turtles deal with the threat of Bishop and his army of machines who seek to wipe out all mutants. The second half sees the Turtles come into conflict with a gang of aquatic mutants, three from the East River, who were created when Superfly's transforming mud cannon fell into the river during Mutant chaos.

For the first half of the story, Splinter only appears in the first episode. The character speaks in a scum language, which explains why he tries to get close to Scumbug after the events of Mutant chaos.

Splinter plays an active role in the second half of the season.

Splinter takes a more active role in the second half of the series, presenting the events as a story that Splinter tells to April and the Turtles as a way for April to piece together all the events that have happened for a news story. While reviewing the footage, Ralph decides to tell Splinter.

From this point on, all of the bug dialogue in Splinter is dubbed by Ralph, which the series calls a “filter,” similar to the scenes in the Ant-Man movies when Lewis tells a story and Michael Pena narrates to each character. It’s a clever idea at first, but the joke quickly runs out, and you’ll want to hear Jackie Chan return to give Splinter that great chemistry with the cast.

Why is Jackie Chan not in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Tales Several cast members return from Mutant chaosNot only are the four main Turtles and April O'Neil returning, but cast members Rose Byrne as Leatherhead, Natasia Demetriou as Wingnut, and Post Malone as Ray Filet also returning.

The cast also adds some big names to the roster, including Alanna Ubach as Bishop, Timothy Olyphant as Goldfyne, Jillian Bell as Lee the Eel, Danny Trejo as Mustang Sally, and Pete Davidson as Ron Underwood Jr.

Genghis the Frog appears, but Hannibal Burris does not return from Mutant chaos. Instead, Jackson's absence, along with Chan and other members of the Mutant chaos The series raises questions about why certain characters return and others do not.

Jackie Chan was probably too expensive for the series.

The most logical explanation for why Jackie Chan will not return as Splinter in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Tales It's likely to be financial. Jackie Chan is a global superstar, and although he agreed to voice Splinter in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Tales He likely won't have a role in the upcoming film, and he likely didn't sign on to the TV series at first.

That might have happened later, and that would have required the producers to negotiate a new contract, which would likely have cost them money. The creators would then likely decide to find a reason within the story for Chan not to return as Splinter.

Other cast members who are not returning Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Tales The cast includes Seth Rogen as Bebop, John Cena as Rocksteady, and Paul Rudd as Mondo Gecko, all actors more closely associated with the films and likely needed new contract negotiations that the franchise may not have been willing to take on.

Stars like Edebiri and Demetriou are best known for their hit TV series like The bear and What do we do in the shade? Consequentially, it would probably be cheaper to bring him in for voice work. However, Rogen is one of the creative minds behind this Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot and serves as a producer on this season and the upcoming second season.

Other voice actors are also absent.

While the absence of Bebop, Rocksteady, and Mondo Gecko was never explained, the series could largely ignore them and consider them outside the scope of the current story.

However, Splinter is a major character in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cast, and the series wants to build on his story from the first film, so they had to find a way around this. However, the solution they came up with became problematic and highlights the series' lack of Chan's voice work.

Jackie Chan's absence is felt.

Jackie Chan's voice acting as Splinter was one of the highlights of the film. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant MayhemHe was different from every version of the character that came before him.

In contrast to the typically royal martial arts master, Chan brought warmth and humor to the character who seemed more like an older parent who doesn't connect with his children but still wants to connect with them. Chan's performance was a big part of the emotional arc of this film, and that's missing from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Tales.

While the first half of the series finds a good reason for Splinter's absence from the events, with the four turtles being thrown into the streets of New York alone, the second half is so full of Splinter that Chan's absence is really felt. It becomes distracting, especially in episode nine, “Splinter and April Fight a Goldfish,” which focuses on Splinter.

Chan's performance could have impacted Splinter's character development more.

Splinter is given moments of character growth that are meant to build on his story from Mutant chaosBut the decision to add a filter to his voice greatly diminishes the power of those scenes that make the viewer wish he could hear Chan delivering the dialogue.

Splinter is given plenty of jokes and emotional moments in the second half of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles TalesJackie Chan's return to the role could have been a really good thing. The creators had to do their best to overcome his absence, but this solution was not very well received and ended up hurting the series.

This is a shame because Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Tales It's a great follow up to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. This movie offers a unique twist on the classic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles mythos that feels fresh and exciting, and it has fans excited for a sequel in two years. If Jackie Chan had returned, it would have made the series even better.