Original 1990 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Screenwriter Explains How Star Wars Influenced the Movie

The worlds of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Star Wars seem pretty far apart, but it appears the latter was very influential on the first big screen outing of the heroes in a half-shell. The 1990 live-action TMNT movie is still loved to this day, and, in the main, stands the test of time thanks to the incredible work of the Jim Henson Creature Shop, and the production values of the film. Speaking to CBR at WonderCon recently, screenwriter Bobby Herbeck shared his influences when working on the movie, including the surprising inclusion of George Lucas’ space opera.

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have seen many iterations, from animated shows to CGI-heavy Michael Bay movies, but the original film continues to hold a special place in the hearts of many children of the ‘80s and beyond. In crafting the story, Berbeck, who wrote the original draft of the script, explained how, even though the movie was based on the Eastman & Laird comics, he did a lot of research into many different areas while writing. He explained:

“The first thing I did was, I watched the Four Musketeers movie with Michael York. When they were out fighting, the Four Musketeers, they’d have that smart-alecky stuff with each other, right? Or, they’d stab a guy, and have some quip to make. You know, it had that smile in it. And, the Marx Brothers were also in my head, the shenanigans.

“I studied Star Wars, because I noticed that there was a template to the confrontations, the battles. Lucas is so brilliant. Every battle scene in Star Wars had a theme. It wasn’t, ‘Jeez, we need to have a fight in this movie now.’ The writing led up to the confrontation. A different theme, if we may. And that’s what I did with [the Ninja Turtles movie].”

“If you ever look at [the Star Wars original trilogy], you’ll see. You know, George wouldn’t go, ‘Okay we need a fight now, we’re 15 minutes without it.’ No. There was always something that led up in the writing to it. The set-up. The confrontation. Something happens, then you have the conflict, and then the showdown.”

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Are About To Go R-Rated

It seems that no matter what form the Ninja Turtles take in their big and small screen adaptations, there is always an audience out there waiting for the return of the foursome in their next adventure. Until recently, it seemed that the franchise was very much heading down an animated route after the success of TNMT: Mutant Mayhem. Although there will be a TV series spin-off from this version of the characters, as well as a sequel, it was recently revealed that fans of the darker comic book iterations of the Turtles are soon to be in for a treat as well.

Despite the TMNT’s being a rather dark and violent affair in some of their comic book appearances, their screen adaptations have always stayed within the kid-friendly realms of PG-13, but that is about to change with the announcement of a live-action R-rated movie heading into production based on the recent The Last Ronin story arc. The project will be produced through former DC Films head Walter Hamada’s 18hz banner, which has become best known for its horror genre releases.

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10 Reasons Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Should Stick to Animated Movies

TMNT’s latest hit, Mutant Mayhem, is only a part of the reason why all projects should be animated going forward.

Following the strange turn of events that has seen R-rated superhero movies Deadpool & Wolverine and Joker: Folie à Deux potentially outshining recent PG-13 entries in the MCU and DCEU, a more mature outing for the Ninja Turtles could be just what the franchise has been crying out for. While there are still few details known about the project, it is just another adaptation for fans of the pizza-loving ninjas to look forward to in the coming years.