TMNT’s Cancelled R-Rated ‘The Last Ronin’ Film Was Set to Star This Original Movie Star

 

A live-action, R-rated adaptation of a fan-favorite comic book, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin was hotly anticipated by fans before its development was shut down last year. Now, we're learning that an original TMNT star was set to star before the hammer came down. The franchise's first live-action April O'Neil, Judith Hoag, recently appeared at Big Lick Comic-Con in Roanoke, VA, where she shared some interesting news about the now-cancelled movie. During a panel moderated by Collider's Maggie Lovitt, Hoag revealed that she had been approached to appear in The Last Ronin before it was unceremoniously shelved.

Hoag revealed her involvement in the film during a panel with fellow TMNT star Ernie Reyes Jr. She expressed hope that the project might eventually be revived, as well:

"Yes, I've been approached, and I'd be happy. It would be a great bookend for me. And maybe that happens and maybe it doesn't. We'll see."

Hoag was emphatic in her praise of the comics series, calling it "a wonderful story," and suggested that the Paramount executives who cancelled the project didn't understand the fans of the property: "Maybe you need to go to a comic con and spend some time with the fans."

What Is 'The Last Ronin'?

Based on a story treatment written back in 1987 by original TMNT creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, The Last Ronin was expanded into a full comic book miniseries in 2020 with Eastman on scripting duties with Tom Waltz; it was drawn by Esau and Isaac Escorza, Ben Bishop, and Eastman. It tells the tale of a future New York City ruled by Oroku Hiroto, the grandson of the Shredder, and his synthetic Foot Clan ninjas. Splinter, Casey Jones, and three of the Ninja Turtles are all dead, leaving only one Turtle to oppose the Foot; it is eventually revealed that Michelangelo is the sole survivor, the onetime "party dude" having become a grim warrior. He eventually joins forces with an aged April O'Neil and her daughter, Casey Marie Jones, who are part of a resistance movement, to avenge Michelangelo's family and liberate the city.

The live-action Last Ronin film was first announced to be in development in 2024, and Ilya Naishuller (Nobody) was in talks to direct. However, following the Paramount-Skydance merger in 2025, The Last Ronin was quietly shut down in favor of a new, more family-friendly Ninja Turtles film. It will be produced by Neal H. Moritz and is said to be more in line with his successful Sonic the Hedgehog films.