Heads up, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fans! It has been confirmed that TMNT: The Last Ronin is being adapted into a video game. This, according to the folks at Polygon, who explain that the acclaimed graphic novel is currently being adapted for consoles by an unnamed studio. The news was confirmed to the outlet by Doug Rosen, senior vice president for games and emerging media at Paramount Global.
Paramount controls the license to the franchise, and are distributing this year’s movie Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. But they are looking to do more with the license, particularly as it relates to gaming. As the outlet noted, “Rosen likened the upcoming third-person action role-playing game to Sony’s recent God of War titles and said it will be authentic to the story of The Last Ronin arc.” Rosen also explained that Paramount can have “multiple approaches [to the franchise], and not dial back to make the game something it shouldn’t be.” Unfortunately, he also said that the game is a “few years off,” so don’t expect to see it any time soon.
The Last Ronin was the brainchild of TMNT co-creators Kevn Eastman and Peter Laird. The book hit shelves in 2020 and became a gigantic success, selling hundreds of thousands of copies. It was also a critically heralded success. Eastman and Laird teamed with writer Tom Waltz, who penned the first 100 issues of IDW’s ongoing TMNT series, artists Esau and Isaac Escorza (Heavy Metal), and Ben Bishop (The Far Side of the Moon) on the book.
Here is the synopsis for TMNT: The Last Ronin.
“Who is the Last Ronin? In a future, battle-ravaged New York City, a lone surviving Turtle embarks on a seemingly hopeless mission seeking justice for the family he lost. From legendary TMNT co-creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, get ready for the final story of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles three decades in the making! What terrible events destroyed his family and left New York a crumbling, post-apocalyptic nightmare? All will be revealed in this climactic Turtle tale that sees longtime friends becoming enemies and new allies emerging in the most unexpected places. Can the surviving Turtle triumph?”
This is, obviously, not the first time the heroes in a half shell have been brought to life in video game form. Turtles in Time is a classic example for ‘90s kids. More recently, we’ve had games like the retro-feeling Shredders Revenge. The difference here is that it sounds like it’s going to be more of a AAA title that can play on modern consoles, such as the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series x.
The Last Ronin video game does not yet have a release date.
What do you think? Are you excited about the game? Do you like the approach they seem to be taking? Join in on the conversation over on Facebook or Twitter!
