Spinoff ::
Paramount Pictures has hired Iron Man writers Art Marcum and Matt Holloway to reimagine a live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with an eye toward creating the studio’s “next huge franchise, like Transformers,” Deadline reports.
Paramount parent company Viacom bought the rights to TMNT in October from The Mirage Group for a reported $60 million with immediate plans to develop a feature film from Paramount and a CG-animated TV series from Nickelodeon, both in 2012. According to Deadline, the studio is fast-tracking production to meet that target date.
Platinum Dunes, the company run by Michael Bay, Andrew Form and Brad Fuller, is producing the film along with Scott Mednick, Galen Walker and Marina Norman.
Created Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles debuted in 1984 as a parody of Cerebus, Daredevil, New Mutants and Ronin. However, thanks largely to the efforts of licensing agent Mark Freedman, the property soon spawned animated TV series, movies, video games and endless merchandise. In March 2008, Laird completed a buyout of Eastman’s interests in TMNT and Mirage Studios that began in 2000. More than a year later Laird announced the sale of the property to Viacom.