The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise has made an unforgettable impact on pop culture, captivating generations of fans with its crime-fighting, pizza-loving reptilian heroes. In a recent interview, Seth Rogen, a producer and co-writer of The Turtle's upcoming movie, explained why he prefers projects like Mutant Mayhem and avoids working on Marvel and DC movies, giving us insights into his creative process. As a comedic actor and writer celebrated for his unique storytelling and irreverent humor, he has succeeded in various ventures. However, he expressed a mix of admiration and hesitation when it comes to the colossal world of superhero movies. And honestly, his points make sense.
In a recent interview with Polygon, the Pineapple Express actor opened up about why he hesitates to take on Marvel and DC-produced projects. According to Rogen, much of his reluctance stems from a fear of relinquishing creative control. He candidly shared with the publication:
Honestly, probably fear. [laughs] We really have a pretty specific way we work; me and Evan have been writers for 20 years at this point. It’s a fear of the process, honestly. And I say that knowing nothing about the process. There are a lot of Marvel things I love.
Rogen's concerns stem from how his creative vision aligns with major comic book movie productions. These industry giants have highly successful, well-established machinery and formulas. Adapting to these structures could restrict the Superbad writing duo from exploring their distinctive and occasionally unconventional ideas. Expanding on this, the actor elaborated:
It’s mostly a fear of how would we plug into the system they have in place, which seems like a very good system, and a system that serves them very well. But is it a system that we would ultimately get really frustrated with? And what’s nice about [Mutant Mayhem] is that we’re the producers of this. So we dictated the system, and we dictated the process in a lot of ways. And that’s what’s also appealing for us about The Boys and the other bigger franchise-y type things we’ve done, is that we are creating the infrastructure and process for them, not plugging into someone else’s infrastructure and process. We’re control freaks!
Rogen and Goldberg are no strangers to dictating the creative process and crafting their playground. This approach is evident in their work on projects like The Boys, Invincible, and the critically acclaimed Preacher, which is one of the best shows on AMC's streaming platform. Their passion for shaping narratives and worlds resonates deeply, infusing their signature humor and subversive themes into the projects they take on.
Early reviews for the pair of Hollywood A-list writers' latest venture, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, indicate that their creative process is once again yielding successful results. As of this writing, the latest animated iteration of the Turtle Bros. boasts an impressive 96% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 45 reviews. Cinemablend's Dirk Libbey gave Mutant Mayhem a 3.5-star review, predicting it will win over new fans for the nearly four-decade-running franchise.
If Seth and Evan ever take on a DCU or MCU movie (I vote for Marvel's Generation X or DC's Blue Devil), they would excel with creative control. Nevertheless, as a fan of their previous comic book adaptations, I fully support them forging their path and steering clear of the big two companies if they choose not to venture into those territories.
Teenage Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, hits the 2023 movie schedule on August 2, 2023.
