? about the TMNT films

[Zorak Masaki]

I have heard that Eastman and Laird will not allow any characters not created for the actual comic to be in any of the feature films (ie, no krang, no bebop and rocksteady, etc). Have they ever explained why they did this, and why they DID keep in the cartoon elements of april o neal being a reporter and the turtles being obsessed with pizza (not sure if they had the surfer accents in the actual comic or not either)?

[Blackstar]

I have heard that Eastman and Laird will not allow any characters not created for the actual comic to be in any of the feature films (ie, no krang, no bebop and rocksteady, etc). Have they ever explained why they did this, and why they DID keep in the cartoon elements of april o neal being a reporter and the turtles being obsessed with pizza (not sure if they had the surfer accents in the actual comic or not either)?

Actually, the characters of Bebop & Rocksteady and Krang were created specifically for the TMNT 1987 syndicated TV series. Krang was based on the Utroms, and alien race from the TMNT comics who resemble living brains. Many fans' 1st exposure to TMNT was the '87 syndicated series, and so they assume that that continuity was the "original" comics, when in fact, the 2003 4Kids series was much closer to the original comics, at Peter Laird's insistance. Peter Laird wanted the movies to be separate continuity from the syndicated TV show, so no Bebop, Rocksteady or Krang. Tokka & Raznor (sp?) were created as last minute replacements for Rocksteady & Bebop, who were originally going to be in TMNT 2: Secret of the Ooze.

As to why Eastman & Laird kept in the other created for television elements, such as April being a TV reporter when in the original comics, she was a computer programmer, I couldn't say.

[Neo Ultra Mike]

There could of been too heavy an instance from the actual executive staff that Eastman and Laird couldn't override about wanting some of the popular and high grossing material from the TMNT show being in the movie. Maybe there was a breach in the contract saying that so long as it wasn't actually adding in a specific TV show character that wasn't in the original comics they could pull stuff from the TV show like April being a reporter and the Turtles loving Pizza. I could see something like that happening espically considering how they movies after the first were toned down to be far more family friendly after the first one aired.

[Old Guy]

Eastman and Laird don't own Krang, Bebop and Rocksteady. They were created by Fred Wolf Productions and owned by them. Hence why we haven't seen them in other adaptations. As for stuff like April being a reporter...that's an interpretation and thus there is no ownership.

[Andrew T. Hingson]

Actually I'm pretty sure any and all TMNT characters are owned my Mirage at least to the extent of being able to use them for merchandise so I'm pretty sure they could have used them in the new show and the movies they simply chose not to. Peter Laird I know for certain didn't particularly care for those characters.

[creativerealms]

Yeah Laird does not really like those characters, the closest the new show got were hints for all three.

And with TMNT even the reporter element was removed from April.