Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem: Early versions of the movie included Shredder

When you think of the various villains of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, you likely think of Shredder. Although the leader of the Foot Clan has been the arch-enemy of the Turtles for decades, Shredder won’t be featured in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, but that wasn’t always the case.

While speaking with io9, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem director Jeff Rowe revealed that early versions of the movie included Shredder as the main villain.

“The early version of the film [was] very different from what you’re seeing on screen,” Rowe said. “They were just in high school the entire movie. Shredder was the villain. And then part of the process of making this—and that’s one of the amazing things about animation—is because you don’t have to do a live-action shoot on a compressed schedule, you have a lot of time to make decisions and make sure that you’re making the best decision. And we dropped some of that out. Maybe halfway through we’re like, ‘It can’t be Shredder. He’s a human. It’s too much, too soon. He’s too big of a presence.’“

Instead of Shredder, Mutant Mayhem gives the villain role to Superfly, who seeks to unleash mutant dominance over humans. Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies have already announced that they are developing a sequel as well as an animated series for Paramount+, titled Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which will connect the two movies. Jeff Rowe has previously said that Shredder will pop up in that sequel.

“After years of being sheltered from the human world, the Turtle brothers set out to win the hearts of New Yorkers and be accepted as normal teenagers through heroic acts,” reads the official synopsis for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. “Their new friend April O’Neil helps them take on a mysterious crime syndicate, but they soon get in over their heads when an army of mutants is unleashed upon them.“

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem features the voices of Nicolas Cantu as Leonardo, Brady Noon as Raphael, Micah Abbey as Donatello, and Shamon Brown Jr. as Michelangelo. The film also stars Jackie Chan as Master Splinter, Ayo Edebiri as April O’Neil, Seth Rogen as Bebop, John Cena as Rocksteady, Hannibal Buress as Genghis Frog, Rose Byrne as Leatherhead, Ice Cube as Superfly, Post Malone as Ray Fillett, Paul Rudd as Mondo Gecko, Maya Rudolph as Cynthia Utrom, Natasia Demetrious as Wingnut, and Giancarlo Esposito as Baxter Stockman. Jeff Rowe directed the movie and also co-wrote the script alongside Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Dan Hernandez, and Benji Samit.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem will hit theaters on August 2nd.