R-Rated 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: the Last Ronin' Live-Action Movie Is in Development

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will soon be getting an R-rated reinterpretation.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the $180.5 million global box office success of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem was just enough for Paramount Pictures to develop an adult-oriented film as an addition to the TMNT franchise.

The studio is currently working on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin, based on the five-issue IDW Publishing comic book series of the same name, which will be live-action. Writing the script is Tyler Burton Smith (Child's Play, Boy Kills World), while Walter Hamada, who oversaw past thrillers like A Quiet Place and Overlord, will be producing The Last Ronin through his production company, 18hz.

"Who is the Last Ronin? In a future, battle-ravaged New York City, a lone surviving Turtle embarks on a seemingly hopeless mission seeking justice for the family he lost," reads the The Last Ronin synopsis.

It continues, "What terrible events destroyed his family and left New York a crumbling, post-apocalyptic nightmare? All will be revealed in this climactic Turtle tale that sees longtime friends becoming enemies and new allies emerging in the most unexpected places. Can the surviving Turtle triumph?"

Co-written by Kevin Eastman and Tom Waltz, The Last Ronin became a massive hit following its 2022 debut, being the second-highest selling graphic novel of 2023. Last Oct., IDW published the debut issue of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin II–Re-Evolution, which received more than 140,000 orders.

Next in the TMNT franchise is a Mutant Mayhem sequel, slated to premiere on Oct. 9, 2026.