‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ Reboot Won’t Feature Bebop Or Rocksteady

Fans of the 90s cartoon version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are in for a serious shock and some crushing disappointment when the flick hits theaters next year.

During their numerous animated adventures, the turtles often squared off against Shredder and the Foot Clan. Two of the characters that caused the most trouble for our heroes were Bebop and Rocksteady, two mutant animals with questionable fashion sense.

According to star William Fichtner, the upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles flick won’t feature the heroes’ arch-enemies. Although their involvement in the story was never openly discussed, many fans hoped the characters would make some sort of appearance in the Michael Bay-produced reboot.

Fichtner confirmed his portrayal of Shredder (aka Eric Sachs) in flick earlier this year. During his recent interview with the folks at The Hollywood News, the actor revealed a few vague details about his character in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

He told the publication:

“What I read about Eric Sachs in the script was great, and then how the character has been molded and changed when we started filming has become something really quite remarkable in terms of what we’ve seen before of the character.”

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fanatics are still a little concerned about what Michael Bay and Wrath of the Titans director Jonathan Liebesman have cooked up with the reboot. Some detractors are very upset that Shredder is no longer of Japanese descent.

Backlash set in immediately after the project was first announced. Shortly after news of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot started to spread, producer Michael Bay released several statements about the movie he and Liebesman are putting together.

“When you see this movie, kids are going to believe one day these turtles actually do exist when we are done with this movie. These turtles are from an alien race, and they are going to be tough, edgy, funny and completely loveable,” the Transformers 4 director explained.

In response to the backlash, Bay said:

“Fans need to take a breath, and chill. They have not read the script. Our team is working closely with one of the original creators of Ninja Turtles to help expand and give a more complex back story. Relax, we are including everything that made you become fans in the first place. We are just building a richer world.”

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot is presently scheduled to hit theaters in the US on August 8, 2014. Are you disappointed that Bebop and Rocksteady won’t appear in the flick?

[Image via New Line Cinema]