Mutant Mayhem 2 Production Update: TMNT Director Shares Progress After Delay

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Despite a delay in its release this year, production on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem 2 is moving forward, according to director Jeff Rowe. The sequel to the 2023 animated comedy was announced before the first film came out, and that movie ended up being the highest-rated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles adaptation so far, performing reasonably well in theaters.

Although the specifics of the story are still secret, the ending of Mutant Mayhem revealed that Shredder will be the main villain in the next movie. The sequel will again be directed by Jeff Rowe, alongside returning co-director Kyler Spears and production designer Yashar Kassai, who will both serve as co-directors this time. Originally planned for release in October 2026, the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film has been pushed back to September 2027.

In a recent interview with ScreenRant’s Grant Hermanns, director Jeff Rowe shared an update on Mutant Mayhem 2 while discussing the upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Chrome Alone 2 — Lost in New Jersey. He said the sequel is progressing well and that a recent work-in-progress screening was very positively received.

Despite recognizing that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles sequel still needs improvement, Rowe believes the movie is heading in the right direction and the team is finally hitting its stride. He says Mutant Mayhem 2 is moving from the planning stages to actual production, and there’s a lot of work left to meet their goals – including refining the visual style to build on the success of the first film.

When asked about the mid-credits scene in Mutant Mayhem featuring Shredder, director Jeff Rowe jokingly offered advice to other filmmakers: don’t include those kinds of teases. He explained that doing so creates unnecessary challenges, admitting his team spent two years figuring out how to address the implications of that scene.

The latest news about Mutant Mayhem 2 comes after the movie’s release was pushed back a year, and during a period of big changes for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise. Paramount has finally decided to move forward with a new live-action TMNT movie, to be produced by Neal H. Moritz (known for Sonic the Hedgehog), with a planned release in November 2028. As a result, the previously announced R-rated Last Ronin movie has been put on hold indefinitely.

As Rowe mentioned, adding Shredder to Mutant Mayhem 2 is a significant step for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise. The story establishes that Shredder was hired by Cynthia Utrom (played by Maya Rudolph) to recapture the Turtles, but because he’s such a well-known villain in the Turtles universe, his introduction as a major threat needs to be handled carefully to satisfy fans.

With both Chrome Alone 2 coming to theaters and significant development on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem 2, fans of the 2023 Mutant Mayhem film can be confident that more animated content is on the way. The extended wait for the sequel might even allow the creators to prepare for faster releases of future installments, similar to how Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles followed a year after the original.

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2025-12-06 17:48