TMNT Co-Creator Peter Laird Clarifies He Thinks Michael Bay's Planet of Turtles is Awful

I apologize, the other day I and many other people misinterpreted Peter's response to Michael Bay as though he thought the alien race idea could be good, but that was inaccurate. Since then Peter has received many comments that verify the miscommunication. And that is when Peter felt compelled to clarify what he meant and end the confusion for good.


Peter's reply to a commenter that felt Peter was in favor of a planet of turtles.

"Did you really get out of what I wrote that I in any way, shape or form LIKE the idea of a planet of Turtles? If so, I guess I have to re-think how I express myself."

"Just so it's absolutely clear -- I think a planet of turtles is not, in and of itself, a bad idea for some kind of science fiction/fantasy story. But as a way to explain any aspect of the backstory of TMNT, I think it is awful and unnecessary."

"Of course, we have no idea at this point if the plan is to have a planet of Turtles. It's probably a good idea to wait and see." -- PL

Peter responds to a commenter that said, "Michael Bay has a terrible habit of taking franchises and properties (IE Transformers) and turning them into utter crap."

"I don't think anyone outside of Michael Bay and the people working on this premise know exactly what he meant when he said "these Turtles are from an alien race"... and until we DO know exactly what that means, it is hard to get behind a specific argument against it."

"Also, I have to take issue, gently, with the notion that you and others have expressed, a notion summed up in your quote."

"He may have made "Transformers" movies which are not to your taste, but he hasn't turned the properties themselves into "utter crap". I have no particular interest in "Transformers", but it seems to me that -- like TMNT -- it will be around for a long time, well after Michael Bay's involvement with it is done." -- PL

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I asked Peter if he could give his opinion on the rumor that Krang might be the villain in Michal Bay's film. More specifically, if he thought Krang could work in live-action.

"Almost anything can be made to "work" in a movie... the more important question is whether it can be made to work WELL. I have a pre-exisitng antipathy toward the character of "Krang" -- I felt he was overused in the original cartoon -- so I am probably not the best person to ask this question of... because even if "Krang" could be made to work well in a new movie, I wouldn't really want to see him." -- PL