The famous heroes in half-shells return to theaters this weekend in director Jonathan Liebesman’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and the latest clip from the film offers some evidence that the new iteration of the team hasn’t forgotten its roots.
The clip debuted at Yahoo Movies, and features all four Turtles — Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Donatello — racing through a building in pursuit of their arch enemy, Shredder, who’s engaged in some sort of diabolical shenanigans at the very top of the skyscraper. After avoiding a crowd of bad guys, the Turtles end up in an elevator, slowly ascending 50-plus floors. Michelangelo begins tapping out a beat on his nunchucks, and his brothers eventually join in, forming an impromptu beatbox circle. The elevator reaches its destination, the doors open, and the Turtles suddenly switch to attack mode and rush out.
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The scene then shifts to their confrontation with Shredder, and the Turtles form up around Leonardo. Raphael asks Michelangelo to say “that thing you used to say when we were kids.” Telling his brother that he’s been “holding it in for years,” Michelangelo screams “Cowabunga!” and the quartet charges toward Shredder.
The brief clip is clearly intended to serve as notice to nervous fans who have voiced concern that the latest iteration of the Turtles may be departing too much from the characters they’re familiar with and the source material — both in comics and cartoons — that made them popular. There’s already been some confirmation of changes made to the Turtles’ origin story, so it remains to be seen if the balance of new elements vs. classic elements will win over audiences.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles opens August 8.