Beloved Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Star Was Meant to Return in Canceled Movie

A Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise alum just revealed that she was in talks to return for the canceled live-action adaptation of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin.

Published between 2020 and 2022 by IDW Publishing, TMNT: The Last Ronin is a five-issue comic book miniseries set in an alternative future, following the last remaining turtle as he seeks to avenge the death of his brothers by killing the grandson of their former nemesis, the Shredder.

The series was written by TMNT co-creator Kevin Eastman and Tom Waltz, based on a story conceived by Eastman and Peter Laird, the other TMNT co-creator. The Last Ronin was a critical and commercial success, leading to the launch of a shared universe dubbed the “Roninverse.”

In April 2024, an R-rated film adaptation was announced by Paramount, with Tyler Burton Smith writing the screenplay and Ilya Naishuller in talks to direct. However, in November 2025, it was reported that The Last Ronin movie had been put on hold at Paramount in favor of a new reboot that skewed more family-friendly.

Who was supposed to return for TMNT: The Last Ronan?

Now, Judith Hoag, the franchise’s first live-action April O’Neil, has revealed that she had been in talks to return to her iconic role for The Last Ronin before it was canceled. “Yes, I’ve been approached, and I’d be happy. It would be a great bookend for me. And maybe that happens and maybe it doesn’t. We’ll see,” she revealed at the recent Big Lick Comic-Con in Roanoke, VA (via Collider).

Hoag went on to praise the comic version of The Last Ronin, calling it “a wonderful story” before suggesting that the Paramount executives who canceled the project “need to go to a comic con and spend some time with the fans” to fully understand the TMNT franchise.

Paramount approaching Hoag to return as April O’Neil for The Last Ronin suggests that the R-rated movie was going to serve, at least partially, as a legacy sequel to the original 1990 TMNT movie. It was the only movie to feature her in the role. She was replaced by Paige Turco for the sequels — 1991’s The Secret of the Ooze and 1993’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III.

As fans wait for the next live-action TMNT movie, they can look forward to the upcoming sequel to the animated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, which arrives in theaters on September 17, 2027.

Originally reported by Lee Freitag for SuperHeroHype.

Source: Comingsoon.net