The next “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” movie appears to be locked and loaded.
According to reports, Paramount has scheduled a “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” sequel for 2016, with Michael Bay once again serving as producer.
Bay played that part in Friday’s “Turtles,” which earned $65 million at the weekend box office and debuted at No. 1. The live-action film wasn’t adored by critics, but nearly everyone shrugged that it was at least better than Bay’s “Transformers.”
In a statement, Paramount Film Group President Adam Goodman said that “launching a new take on the ‘Turtles’ into the feature film world was a daunting task,” but the enthusiastic response from moviegoers has left the studio feeling positive as they approach another installment.
“We felt a great responsibility to ensure audiences were going to experience everything they loved about the ‘Turtles,’ while also getting to see them brought to life in a way they had never been seen before,” Goodman said in the statement, via Deadline Hollywood. “The result exceeded our high expectations and the response to the film is beyond great, making it all the more fun to get started on the continuation of their story.”
In addition to Bay, “Turtles” screenwriters Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec are also returning to write the sequel. It isn’t clear whether “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” director Jonathan Liebesman will be back as well.
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2” should arrive on June 3, 2016.
