Blog

Oct 29, 2023

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem Cast & Character Guide

Seth Rogen's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot features an impressive cast,

Seth Rogen's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot features an impressive cast, but four relative newcomers will be voicing the Turtles.

The animated movie Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem features a star-studded voice cast, though some of its most iconic characters are portrayed by relative newcomers. Seth Rogen's vision for the Ninja Turtles' origin story emphasized the importance of depicting the four main characters as adolescents, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is the first in the franchise to cast actual teens in the roles of the titular foursome. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem teaser trailer later confirmed that the animated feature strikes a more light-hearted tone, underlining the goofy sensibilities of the "Heroes in a Half Shell" at the center of the movie.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem follows the Ninja Turtles seeking to find acceptance in the human world by performing heroic acts. Enlisting the help of new friend April O’Neil, the Turtles quickly find themselves in grave danger, with an army of mutant monsters on their trail. While the previous animated film in the franchise, 2007's TMNT, skewed more dramatic and the 2014 live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot had action blockbuster ambitions, this project is the first in a while to focus on all-out comedy. This direction for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is reflected in the cast chosen to voice the familiar franchise characters.

Related: One Way Mutant Mayhem Is Different From Previous TMNT Projects Explained By Seth Rogen

Nicolas Cantu leads the cast of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem as the level-headed leader of the group, Leonardo. Sporting a blue mask and twin katanas, Leonardo is typically presented as the most serious, responsible member of the team. Despite his youth, Cantu has been fairly prolific in both animation and live-action, voicing the title character in the final two seasons of The Amazing World of Gumball and portraying the lovable Elton Ortiz on The Walking Dead: The World Beyond. He has also had several smaller roles in high-profile projects, such as Family Guy, The Good Place, and Steven Spielberg's The Fabelmans.

Micah Abbey voices the purple-masked, Bō staff-wielding Donatello, whose expertise with machines often allows him to invent or harness technology for the group's needs. Donatello's chunky glasses are one element signifying his book-smart intelligence. Prior to joining the voice cast of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, Micah Abbey had a starring role on the Nickelodeon series Cousins for Life and a small part in two episodes of Grey's Anatomy season 14.

Shamon Brown Jr. is part of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem voice cast as the character Michelangelo, the slacker among the group and typically the most immature. In an adaptation that plays into the youth of all four Ninja Turtles, it's interesting to see how much the wise-cracking Michelangelo plays into this dynamic. His sense of humor is still intact, as are his classic orange mask and nunchucks. Brown previously played the part of Stanley "Papa" Jackson in Lena Waithe's show The Chi.

Rounding out the main quartet, Brady Noon plays the hotheaded Raphael. Generally the most impulsive of the turtles, Raphael's temper makes him an asset in a fight and a liability almost everywhere else. Sporting his signature red bandana and twin sai, he's known to charge headlong into a room of crooks. Before joining the cast of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, Brady Noon starred as the voice of Greg Heffley in the animated Diary of a Wimpy Kid films, had regular roles on Boardwalk Empire and The Mighty Ducks: Game Changes, and played the main role of Thor in another Seth Rogen project, 2019's Good Boys.

Martial arts icon Jackie Chan is part of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem voice cast as Master Splinter, the mutated Rat who raised the Turtles in the sewer and taught them the way of the ninja. Splinter is the wise, capable, and often admonishing father figure to the main foursome, and here he serves more of a parental role than usual given the immaturity of the team. Jackie Chan previously lent his voice to the role of Monkey in the Kung Fu Panda films and is no stranger to playing a paternal martial arts master, having had such a role in the 2010 remake of The Karate Kid.

Related: Jackie Chan's Hollywood Movies Ranked Worst To Best

Ayo Edebiri plays April O’Neil, the intrepid reporter and human ally to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Usually portrayed as an adult, in this movie April is a teenager, bringing her age more in line with the Turtles'. The empathetic and curious April wears a yellow jacket, which is reminiscent of her classic yellow jumpsuit. In addition to being part of the voice cast of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, Edebiri is one of the main stars of the FX series The Bear where she plays the sous chef character Sydney. She also had recurring roles on the shows What We Do in the Shadows and Dickinson.

The fantastic Giancarlo Esposito voices Baxter Stockman, the mad genius scientist with a tendency to create mutated monsters. Considering Esposito's penchant for playing antagonists in such shows as Breaking Bad and The Mandalorian, and given the absence of any other heavy-hitting villains in the film's character list, it seems that Baxter Stockman is TMNT: Mutant Mayhem's villain. The cavalcade of mutant animal characters appearing in the movie are also likely products of Stockman's mutagenic experiments. Esposito previously lent his villainous voice talents to the role of Lex Luthor in HBO's Harley Quinn andimated series.

In addition to being creatively involved, Seth Rogen is part of the voice cast of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem as the punk rocker warthog Bebop. This is his second time voicing an animated warthog, having portrayed Pumba in Disney's computer-generated "live-action-style" remake of The Lion King from 2019. By far the most popular henchmen in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise, Bebop and his partner Rocksteady were once small-time human crooks before being transformed into a mutated warthog and rhino, respectively. In most iterations, they were transformed by the villain known as Shredder, but Baxter Stockman is their creator in this movie.

Wrestler-turned-actor John Cena voices the hulking rhino-man Rocksteady, partner-in-crime of fellow mutated crook Bebop. This is Cena's second time voicing a TMNT villain, after his role as Baron Draxum in the animated series Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. He is otherwise best known for playing the DC Comics character Peacemaker in the movie The Suicide Squad and his eponymous spinoff series. He also co-stars in the Fast & Furious franchise as Jakob, appeared in the Transformers movie Bumblebee as Agent Burns, and spotlighted his comedic talents in such hilarious films as Trainwreck, Sisters, and Blockers.

Related: Why Mutant Mayhem Is Much Better Off Without Shredder

Ice Cube as Superfly - An original character created for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. Ice Cube is a rapper-turned-actor best known for starring in the Friday franchise, the Ride Along movies, and 21 Jump Street as well as its sequel, 22 Jump Street.

Natasia Demetriou as Wingnut - A humanoid bat creature whose design is often a parody of Batman. The character is voiced by Natasia Demetriou, who plays Nadja in the hit FX series What We Do In The Shadows.

Post Malone as Ray Fillet - Musician and Spenser Confidential actor Post Malone voices the part of Ray Fillet, a mutated stingray.

Hannibal Buress as Genghis Frog - In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles lore, Genghis Frog was created by Shredder as part of "The Punk Frog Gang," a quartet of warriors intended to fight the Turtles. Before joining the voice cast of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem in the role of the ax-wielding mutant frog, comedian Hannibal Buress played Coach Wilson in Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: No Way Home and voiced the character Buddy in The Secret Life of Pets and its sequel.

Rose Byrne as Leatherhead - Seth Rogen's Neighbors and Platonic co-star Rose Byrne voices the mutant alligator called Leatherhead. In many iterations, Leatherhead is a scientist and ally to the Turtles, while in others they are enemies. Byrne is also known for playing Helen in Bridesmaids, Renai Lambert in the Insidious movies, and Moira Mactaggert in the X-Men franchise.

Paul Rudd as Mondo Gecko - A mutated gecko with a passion for skateboarding. The character is voiced in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem cast by Paul Rudd, the titular star of the MCU's Ant-Man movies.

Maya Rudolph as Cynthia Ultrom - Another original character created for the movie, but one whose name carries a special significance. In TMNT lore, the Ultroms are an alien race to which Krang belongs. It is often the Ultroms who are responsible for the mutagenic ooze which created the Ninja Turtles. Before joining the voice cast of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, Maya Rudolph was best known as a former longtime Saturday Night Live cast member, as the voice of the mom, Linda, in The Mitchells vs. the Machines, and for her role as the bride, Lillian, in Bridesmaids.