Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is releasing in just a couple months. To prepare fans for the upcoming animated movie, Paramount Pictures released a second trailer. The first trailer gave us a taste of what to expect, but this new one dives a little deeper to let us know more of what the film is actually about. Let’s take a look at all the sewer-surfin’ details in this latest trailer for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. 

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem | Official Trailer (2023 Movie) – Seth Rogen

Jackie Chan as Master Splinter

We got a glimpse of Master Splinter in the first trailer, but much more is seen of him here. Splinter, voiced in this film by the legendary Jackie Chan, gets some lines in this trailer which gives audiences an idea of how he’ll be as a character. He seems wise and yet older and more relaxed, which feels on-brand for the character. Jackie Chan being a well-known martial artist in real life makes him a perfect candidate to play the master who teaches the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Plot

This trailer reveals some of the actual plot of the film. The movie’s premise appears to be that the Turtles think that humans will be more accepting of them if they stop Superfly and save the city. This reveals an emotional and grounded motivation for the heroes, as well as sets up the primary conflict of the story. Telling the audience what the movie is about without showing too much is exactly what a trailer should do, and this trailer excels at that. 

More April O’Neil

Like Splinter, there’s also more of April O’Neil seen in this trailer. It’s still not entirely clear if she’ll be a reporter like in the classic cartoon or a scientist or student like in others. She’s been keeping up with the crime activity in New York City, so she’s probably either a reporter, trying to become one, or is running a website or blog of some sort. She delivers some important exposition, but also seems like she will be the more mature character to balance out the Turtles’ shenanigans, which perfectly fits April. Her research into Suerfly’s crimes makes one wonder why she’s so interested in it. Perhaps she’s been personally affected by it.

Superfly’s Crimewave

April tells the Turtles about Superfly’s crimewave. It seems like this new character, played by Ice Cube, will also be the primary antagonist of the movie. He says that humans are never going to like mutants, so he wants to punish humans and take over the city. Are humans aware of the existence of mutants already, and if so, is it because of him? Perhaps he has used his way of thinking to convince other mutants to work with him even if they’ve been good guys in previous versions.

Superfly’s Mutant Team

There’s finally a good look at more of the mutants that will appear in the movie. Mondo Gecko, Wingnut, Ray Fillet, Genghis Frog, Bebop, Rocksteady, Leatherhead, and a couple others are shown to be working for Superfly. Some of these characters, like Genghis Frog and Mondo Gecko, are usually on the side of good. It’s certainly interesting to see them working for the bad guy here, but it’s not too much of a stretch. Characters like Leatherhead have been either good or evil depending on the version. These may be newer versions of them, but TMNT often uses very different versions of characters, like when Tokka was a space kaiju in the 2012 animated series. 

Having a group of mutants in a gang is a good way to represent a lot of characters in one movie. It’s especially exciting to see some of these characters make their big screen debut.

Mutants Grown in a Lab

In one of the most intriguing shots of the trailer, some of those mutants are seen being grown inside of test tubes. Usually, mutants in TMNT are humans mutated into animals or animals mutated after being exposed to mutagen/ooze. Here, it looks more like they’re being created, which would definitely be a new spin on things. It’s also worth noting that these baby-form mutants in the tubes are absolutely adorable. There better be plushies of these sold.

Giant Mutant

There’s a ginormous kaiju mutant attacking New York City. It’s fly-like in appearance, so could this be Superfly pumped with more mutagen? It’s a little strange looking, so could this be multiple mutants blended together or even something else entirely? Either way, humans will definitely be aware of the existence of mutants once that battle takes place. A fight between the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and a kaiju sounds like an incredibly fun time.

Mutant-Hunting Task Force

The trailer reveals there’s either a special task force for capturing mutants, or the police at least got some upgraded gear that allow them to do so. What could this mean for the story, though? There’s potentially now three sides in the conflict. The Turtles are the good, Superfly and his henchmen are the bad, and this task force is somewhere in the middle. This could greatly spice up the action and the suspense.

The Turtles’ Greatest Strengths

Master Splinter points out each of the Turtles’ greatest strengths. He says that Michaelangelo has heart, Donatello has wisdom, Raphael has bravery, and Leonardo has honor. Where the theme song to multiple TV series mentions their personalities, it’s not hard to get them right, but some versions have missed the mark in that department. It’s reassuring that they’ll be spot on here. The way Splinter’s line is read in the trailer also makes it seem like it’s said during an emotional scene. Because of this, it certainly seems that there will be plenty of heart throughout. Emotional weight can be important for a movie like this.

The Party Wagon

The Turtles take a joyride in a pizza delivery van. This could very well be the origin of how they get their iconic Party Wagon in this version. Maybe we’ll get to see some cool upgrades be made to it, whether it be in this film or a sequel. It’ll be a lot of fun to see more of their classic gadgets as well as new ones that Donatello cooks up.

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