Last we heard about Paramount Pictures' planned reboot of the
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise, the Jonathan Liebesman-directed flick (simply titled
Ninja Turtles, and has Michael Bay attached to produce) was planned to begin production this September in Vancouver. Now,
The Hollywood Reporter reveals that the studio has slammed the brakes on the pre-production. Sources say that the film will be pushed back to May of 2014, a few months after its planned Christmas 2013 release. The primary issue is said to be the script, and another source says that production has been delayed by 10 weeks. THR notes that the studio is
"temporarily laying off pre-production staff and informing those prepping the film that the work stoppage is "indefinite," according to sources."
This isn't the first time that Paramount has recently delayed a blockbuster of theirs. Earlier this year, the studio has pushed their zombie apocalypse tentpole
World War Z from December 2012 to June 2013. Also, they have moved
G.I. Joe: Retaliation (which was slated for released later this month) to March of 2013 for reshoots and a 3D conversion. One must wonder what's going on with Paramount right now. In the mean time, be sure to check back for updates on
Ninja Turtles.
UPDATE: Deadline's article reporting Paramount's move has revealed a couple of new tidbits concerning
Ninja Turtles. The site says that Paramount pushed production back 10 weeks in order to cut the budget down $10-20M to $125 million. Also, the new release date is
May 16th, 2014.