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In 1987, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird developed a story for their creation that never came to fruition. Titled “The Last Ronin,” Eastman and Laird envisioned it as the final story of the Turtles set 30 years in the future. Although Eastman and Laird never got around to creating this story in the original run of their comics under their Mirage Studios company, the idea stayed with Eastman over the years, and decades later, as part of the new life of the franchise with IDW Publishing, he worked. with his longtime collaborator Tom Waltz to bring the idea to the pages of a five-issue miniseries that ran from 2020 to 2022.
The story is bleak and gory, establishing a universe where the four beloved siblings have been eliminated one by one. It’s set in an alternate future where New York has been ravaged by constant battles under the thumb of Shredder’s fascist grandson, Oroku Hiroto. The last remaining turtle, carrying the weapons of the four, goes on a quest to avenge his fallen brothers against Hiroto.
One of the central mysteries surrounding the story is which of the brothers is the sole survivor. Since the miniseries ended in 2022, the answer is obviously out there on the internet, but we won’t spoil it here, although we don’t know if the game will follow the same path as the comic.
The Last Ronin was a surprise hit and, according to Eastman, attracted fans of the franchise from all eras and walks of life. “It opened like a Pandora’s box of many original fans who found it or Maybe fans who were fans back in the day but hadn’t picked up a Turtle in years were coming back,” he says. “It had a snowball effect that people who have never read Turtles or even some of the kids which were introduced to the turtles in the 2012 series […] but they’ve grown past that middle part of the animated series, but they still liked the turtles, but they were looking for something older and edgier. It was the right place, the right time, and it just clicked, jammed, and worked, and we were all like, “Wow!”
Paramount, which now owns the TMNT franchise, wanted to capitalize on the success and acclaim of The Last Ronin taking it multimedia, but concerns arose about the conflict with 2023 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem movie “It was such a smart idea by Paramount and Nickelodeon in the amazing success of The Last Ronin” says Eastman. “They were already well on their way to the incredible mutant chaos project and everything they wanted to do there, and they said, ‘We’d like to do something The Last Roninbut we don’t want to fight each other and get out [Mutant Mayhem].’ I would describe mutant chaos as a movie for children of all ages, like the first turtle movie made by Steve Barron and Jim Henson. [Paramount] he said, “We’re going to adapt it as a video game because we can give it all the edge and all the attitude and intensity that you did in the comic book series and even go a little deeper.”
Officially revealed in 2023 via a cryptic trailer, we know very little about TMNT: The Last Ronin. However, we do know that it is being developed by Black Forest Games and published by THQ Nordic for PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC. While Eastman readily admits he’s not the biggest gamer, he was involved in many of the early games that many consider the pinnacle of the TMNT franchise in video games, and is working with the developers on this title. When I ask him how TMNT: The Last Ronin is coming along, he’s not willing to spill any details, but he’s definitely positive about how the game is coming together.
“Everything I’ve seen, we’ve been interacting with the development team, and it looks like some of the sets and some of the characters have literally come right off the pages of the comic,” says Eastman. “So beautiful. So fantastic. And almost every fan The Last Ronin who I’ve talked to is really, really excited, like, “We’re going to have an earlier version of the turtles just for us as a video game!”
Wrapping up my conversation with Eastman, which focused heavily on TMNT’s video game history, the co-creator once again looks at how impressed he is with TMNT: The Last Ronin’s progress, but through the lens of the ‘last several decades of video games. “Adapting The Last Ronin as a video game that uses the latest and greatest craftsmen, writers, coders and technologies, it’s great to see that the Turtles can adapt to that,” he says. “And if it’s done the way we all hope and how it’s taking . form, then I think we will play in this field for a long time, and that is up to the fans to decide. We will do the best job possible and hope for the best.”
If you want to read more about Eastman and others involved with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles video games over the years, be sure to check out the new issue of Game Informer, which includes a great feature on the history of TMNT within the video games. TMNT: The Last Ronin was officially revealed in 2023 and currently has no release window. However, we do know that it is slated to come to PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
If you want to prepare for this game by reading the source material, TMNT: The Last Ronin is now on sale through IDW Publishing and TMNT: The Last Ronin II – Re-Evolution Issue #1 is out this week.
Source: gameinformer.com