One of the most pleasant cinematic surprises from 2023 was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, the first theatrical movie starring the ass-kicking Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo and Raphael since 2016’s Out of the Shadows, and the first all-animated one to be released since 2007’s TMNT. The latest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie was met with a lot of positive reception from critics, including CinemaBlend’s Mutant Mayhem review stamping it with 3.5 out of 5 stars, and weever ranked it among 2023’s best sci-fi movies and 2023’s best animated movies. Well, now that it’s official that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem 2 is moving forward, I’m here to talk about another character I hope the sequel brings in besides Shredder: Casey Jones.
Before I fall down that rabbit hole, here’s the latest news. Paramount Pictures has dated Mutant Mayhem 2 for October 9, 2026, meaning it will come out a little over three years after its predecessor. Per Variety, Jeff Rowe will resume his directorial duties for the sequel, and Point Grey Pictures will produce. It’s also likely we’ll once again hear Nicolas Cantu, Brady Noon, Micah Abbey, and Shamon Brown Jr. voice the the core quartet of humanoid reptiles, particularly because they’ve already reprised their roles for the upcoming animated series Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which will premiere to Paramount+ subscribers later this year.
While we’re a long ways off from learning specific plot details for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem 2, Mutant Mayhem did set up who the main antagonist will be. Following Superfly’s mutation being reversed and New York City being saved, the mysterious Cynthia Utrom, an executive from Techno Cosmic Research Institute (TCRI), decided to enlist Shredder to recapture the Turtles so that she could extract all of the mutagen (or “ooze,” if you prefer), from their bodies. Since Shredder is the Turtles’ arch-nemesis, naturally he was going to be introduced to this continuity eventually, and Rowe has since teased that this version of the character will need to be “100 times scarier than Superfly.”
I’m certainly looking forward to seeing Shredder in Mutant Mayhem 2, but I’m also hoping Casey Jones also gets some time to shine. A sports equipment-wielding vigilante who wear an ice hockey mask to conceal his identity, Casey is one of the Turtles’ most important allies, and he’s often depicted as April O’Neil’s love interest. He’s previously been played/voiced on the big screen by Elias Koteas, Chris Evans and Stephen Amell, so it’s only right that Mutant Mayhem 2 loop him in… assuming his introduction hasn’t already been set up in Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
The good news is that it’s easy enough to accomplish this without it feeling forced. To emphasize the “teenage” aspect of these characters, Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo and Raphael enrolled at April’s high school at the end of Mutant Mayhem, so this is just a simple matter of having Casey be one of their classmates, as opposed to keeping his traditional adult depiction. This also means the younger Casey could access the sports equipment he uses to fight bad guys at school rather than get them from a sporting goods store, whether he’s already a jock or more of a loner who just needs some improvised weapons.
While I wouldn’t necessarily want the Mutant Mayhem universe’s Casey Jones to be as aggressive compared to previous versions of the character, this would still be a good opportunity to show a Casey who takes a rougher approach to fighting crime. And, of course, his hotheaded and stubborn personality would, as always, make a great foil for Raphael’s similar personality traits. Naturally Casey wouldn’t be anywhere near as good a fighter as the Turtles, but it’d still be nice to have him around for assistance and perhaps strike up a unique relationship with April O’Neil, whether it’s romantic or platonic.
My fingers are crossed that Casey Jones will join Shredder as one of the new additions to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem 2, and if that ends up happening, we’ll let you know about it. Meanwhile, use our 2024 release schedule to keep track of the movies that are coming out later this year.
