[dropcap=small]I[/dropcap]f you’re a fan of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles then you should be more than familiar with Bebop and Rocksteady. One might even say you like them a little bit more than the Turtles themselves. Except Mikey (he’s a party dude). But really, how can you not be a fan of a mutant warthog and a mutant rhinoceros?
As beloved as these characters are, Shredder’s two bumbling henchmen were noticeably absent from the latest TMNT reboot. Their inclusion was discussed early on and some badass concept art was developed, but it was ultimately decided to cut down the amount of characters in the final version. Considering the filmmakers were already getting pushback from fanboys about every minor detail as it was, this was likely a smart decision.
However, fans still complained.
Despite the negative reviews from critics (currently sitting at a 22% on Rotten Tomatoes), Jonathan Liebesman’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles went on to gross a little over $477 million worldwide. With figures like that, a sequel was immediately green-lit. With so much unused source material, the floodgates for fresh new ideas have now been opened.
Until recently, all that was known about the follow-up to the reboot was that it was coming. We now know at least one additional detail for sure: Bebop and Rocksteady will definitely be making an appearance.
The confirmation comes from a recent interview that Omelete had with the producers Brad Fuller and Andrew Form:
“We can say that Bebop and Rocksteady are in the film, and Casey Jones is a character that we love and we’re trying to fit him in as well.”
No further explanation about their role in the sequel was given, but one can imagine (hope) that they’ll be playing a major part. Seeing as the first film centered around fights with Shredder and the Foot Clan, the warthog and rhinoceros team would be welcome adversaries to the Turtles. If done correctly, we could be in for some truly great action sequences with a nicely added humor element.
Are you excited about the addition of Bebop and Rocksteady (and possibly Casey Jones)? Let us know in the comments!
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 hits theaters on June 3, 2016.
