Yes, we’re still talking about the TMNT reboot. Deal with it. At this point, I don’t think there’s too much more to say about the alien origin fiasco, at least until we get some semblance of a plot synopsis, but that didn’t stop anyone from asking director Jonathan Liebesman for his take at the recent press junket for Wrath of the Titans. As expected, he had producer Michael Bay’s back, reiterating that they are expanding on the original mythology and that co-creator Kevin Eastman is involved. However, he also dropped another little detail that is a lot more interesting than that. When asked whether the Turtles themselves would be CG or live-action, he hinted at a combination of both. Here is the exact quote:

“All I’ll say is that I love how they did [The Rise of the Planet of the Apes]. That was exceptional.”

While that is far from an official confirmation, it certainly sounds like performance capture will be the method of choice for portraying the Turtles on screen. It makes a lot of sense, but it goes against the original idea they had back when the live-action reboot was first announced. At the time, they said they were going to have actors wearing suits, but they were planning on using the same face replacement technology as Spike Jonze’s Where the Wild Things Are.

Although that could have been interesting, both Avatar and Rise of the Planet of the Apes opened a few more doors since then with regards to using motion capture in an action movie. Ninja Turtles is expected to start shooting in September of this year, so we should get the official word on this sometime within the next few months. What do you think, is motion capture the right choice for a TMNT reboot or do you still prefer practical effects?