TMNT: Out of the Shadows Cast and Crew Tease Krang, Easter Eggs and More!

CS talks Krang, Easter Eggs and more with TMNT stars Megan Fox and Will Arnett as well as director Dave Green and producer Brad Fuller

As part of their CinemaCon presentation, Paramount Pictures brought to Las Vegas Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows stars Megan Fox and Will Arnett, as well as producer Brad Fuller and director Dave Green. ComingSoon.net was able to chat with the whole group backstage and found out where we’ll be catching up with April O’Neill and Vernon Fenwick when Out of the Shadows hits the big screen this summer.

“I’m still chasing a story,” says Fox, “but I’m trying to do it independently of Channel 6.”

“I’ve been forced to take the credit for a lot of the good deeds that the turtles did in the first one,” Arnett explains. “I’m kind of living like a big shot in New York.”

“Yeah,” says Fox with a mock glare to her costar. “Someone had to take the credit and April didn’t want it because she’s a good person.”

Although Out of the Shadows continues the story from director Jonathan Liebesman’s 2014 film, the sequel promises to bring in a lot of fan-favorite characters from throughout the TMNT mythos such as Bebop, Rocksteady, Krang and Baxter Stockman.

“When you have a movie that works, you still hear from the fans,” Fuller explains. “Even though the first movie works, they have thoughts. We, as a company, try to pay attention to those thoughts. That’s why you’re going to see a lot of new characters in this movie. They wanted Bebop and Rocksteady and Krang. Everyone that’s in there. So we wanted to figure out a story that could support all those new characters. That was the biggest challenge: How do you tell a turtle-centric story and still give time to all those other characters?”

“I think seeing Krang is going to be trippy,” says Fox. “He’s a very weird looking character. They’re going to make him real. He’s not a cartoon.”

Although Krang’s cinematic origins have yet to be revealed, we asked if a potential Dimension X reveal could one day pave the way to the new film series existing in the TMNT multiverse. After all, previous animated iterations of the turtles have crossed over with one another on more than once occasion.

“Krang opens up some big options,” says Fuller. “But that’s the challenge of the movies… Everyone comes to it with a different translation of their turtle knowledge. Someone might not know what Dimension X is… You used to make a movie and just think, ‘This is a great movie. I love the characters. I love the setting. Hopefully, it turns out.’ Now, you kind of have to think, “If we open this door, we kind of have to walk through it.’ That may be four movies down the line, but you’ve got to think about it. We definitely have to think more long term than we did before.”

That being said, it might be quite awhile before we see the same kind of TMNT multiverse crossovers on the big screen that we’re used to seeing in other forms of media. In the comics, for instance, a partnership between IDW and DC Comics has led to the currently-running Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles six issue miniseries. If the movies do one day go that route, however, Arnett, who voices the Dark Knight in The LEGO Movie and the upcoming The LEGO Batman Movie, is ready.

“That would be so rad,” he laughs.

“You could play Verne and Batman!” says Fox.

As for Out of the Shadows, Green says that the June 3 release will deliver a turtle-powered adventure worthy of the franchise.

“There’s a warmth to the movie and there’s a warmth to the way they interact with each other as brothers,” says Green of the sequel’s overall tone. “It is a movie that is about brotherhood and teamwork and the connections that family make together. How that makes you a stronger fighting team.”

Devoted franchise fans should also be on the lookout, though, as the Green also promises that eagle-eyed fans will be rewarded.

“We found a cool collection of Easter eggs that are throughout the movie,” Green says, “from all different areas of turtle lore.”

The Out of the Shadows cast also includes William Fichtner, Laura Linney, Tyler Perry, Sheamus, Gary Anthony Williams, Brittany Ishibashi, Stephen Amell and Brian Tee. Alan Ritchson, Jeremy Howard, Pete Ploszek, and Noel Fisher are also reprising their roles as Raphael, Donatello, Leonardo, and Michelangelo.

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