Concept artist Dustin d'Arnault has shared some of his designs for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, and it reveals a number of weird and wonderful characters that didn't end up featuring in the movie.
The Seth Rogen-produced animated reboot introduced new versions of several well-known heroes and villains from TMNT lore, but it seems a few original mutants were also considered early on in the production process.
As d'Arnault explains in his caption, Wingnut is the only established character pictured here (and the only one who appeared in the movie), and she's joined by some pretty awesome-looking fellow hybrids.
"I had the incredible opportunity to come up with some new mutant characters for the film. All of them, save for Wingnut, are unique designs. Dubbed 'Pro-Mutants,' they were envisioned as government-funded mutant soldiers developed by Baxter for the US Military and Nickelodeon Consumer Products complex. Though the script took a different turn, I'm still holding out for the day when my boys—Cmdr. Roy Fin, Suckerpunch, and the rest of the squad—find their place in the TMNT universe!"
The artist also reveals that the movie's ending was originally going to be a little different, with the entire population of New York City mutated into human/animal hybrids (we assume they would have changed back after Superfly's defeat).
"During the initial phases of production, the script envisioned a final act where the entire NYC population was mutated. Here are some rough concepts of animal and hybrid character designs.
Check out the designs at the links below.
“After years of being sheltered from the human world, the Turtle brothers set out to win the hearts of New Yorkers and be accepted as normal teenagers through heroic acts. Their new friend April O’Neil helps them take on a mysterious crime syndicate, but they soon get in over their heads when an army of mutants is unleashed upon them.”
Micah Abbey, Shamon Brown Jr., Nicolas Cantu and Brady Noon will voice the roles of Donatello, Michelangelo, Leonardo and Raphael, respectively. The cast also includes Jackie Chan as Splinter, Hannibal Buress as Genghis Frog, Rose Byrne as Leatherhead, Ice Cube as Superfly, Natasia Demetriou as Wingnut, Ayo Edebiri as April O’Neil, Giancarlo Esposito as Baxter Stockman, Post Malone as Ray Fillet, Paul Rudd as Mondo Gecko, and Maya Rudolph as Cynthia Utrom.
Jeff Rowe (The Mitchells vs. the Machines) directed Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, which is produced by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg.