Before landingReacher,Alan Ritchson tried to quit the live-actionTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtlesfranchise after having a miserable experience making them. After years of stealing scenes in movies and shows likeTitans,Ritchson’s casting asReacherproved to be his big breakthrough.
In addition tothe upcomingReacherseason 4(which adapts the 13th novelGone Tomorrow) and appearing in the spinoffNeagley,Ritchson has multiple movies likeRunnerandMan with the Bagon the horizon. He’s busier than ever, basically, and all the hard work he put into his early career is paying off.
Ritchson’s biggest franchise role beforeReacherwas in the Michael Bay-producedTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtlesmovies, where he provided the mo-cap and voice for resident tough guy Raphael. Ritchson revealed toColliderin 2019 that he took the role as he felt it could expand his career, only for the film to be a nightmare experience.
Alan Ritchson Hated Making The Teenage Mutant Turtles Movies
The Ninja Turtles experience made Ritchson “hate life so much”
Ritchson used hisColliderinterview to really vent his feelings on theTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtlesduology, and how poorly he and his fellow Turtle actors were treated.Ritchson was initially reluctant to accept the gig, since the pay was bad and despite the work it would involve, he wouldn’t be seenonscreen.
I’m going to waste years of my life, the best years of my career, on something that nobody’s going to even know I’m a part of.
Producers managed to smooth-talk Ritchson into accepting a three-picture deal, claiming he and his co-stars would be part of the publicity machine and attend premieres. They also pointed to the success of Andy Serkis in theLord of the Ringsmovies as proof that mo-cap performers could go on to major careers.
Finally, he madeTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtlesas he wanted to do something his young son could see. Ultimately,making the 2014 blockbuster was a chore for Ritchson, resulting in long, grueling work hours, while various loopholes in his contract forbade extra payfor overtime or meals.
I hated life on that show. They were so bad to us. They broke so many promises. It was rough.
Ritchson points to a particularly bad moment on the production where, after filming for a long day and facing a big ride back home, he and his fellow mo-cap actors were forced to wait in a car park for hours. Since the production didn’t have to pay them any overtime, they prioritized getting the crew home first.
I’m calling my team in L.A. like ‘They won’t give us a ride home, what the f*** kind of production is this?! Get us home! We shot for 14 hours today, I wanna go home!’
WhenTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtleswas released, Ritchson learned that not only were he and his fellow turtles performersnotallowed to give interviews, the studio informed the press the actors were refusing to grant them. Needless to say,Ritchson wasn’t excited about making sequels.
Ritchson Tried To Get Out Of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows
More promises were broken in the TMNT sequel
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadowswas generally considered the better of the two movies, though it still only scored 38% onRotten Tomatoes. Since the production broke every promise it had made on the original, Ritchson tried his damndest to get out of the film.
I was contractually obligated to come back for three, and I tried so hard to get off coming back for the second one.
Producers made more promises to the star, claiming he would receive backend pay and would be part of the publicity machine, but as Ritchson predicted, none of those things materialized. Ritchson doesn’t go into particular details about life onOut of the Shadows, though he didn’t appear to enjoy making it any more than the original.
Ritchson Was Thankful That Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3 Was Canceled
Ritchson felt nothing but relief that Turtles 3 didn’t happen
While there were plans for three live-actionTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtlesmovies,Out of the Shadowsonly grossed a tepid $245 million(viaBox Office Mojo). For context, the 2014 original nabbed $485 million, making it clear that audiences had already checked out of this would-be franchise.
… it feels like the odds of a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3 happening now are close to nil.
In theColliderchat,Ritchson stated he knew the series was cooked followingOut of the Shadows' opening weekend. He was so disinterested in the franchise’s future that he couldn’t even remember if the studio called to say a third film wasn’t happening.
The next theatrical entry came with the 2023 animated adventureTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, co-written and produced by Seth Rogen. That film has zero canon ties to the live-action Bay movies, and it feels like the odds of a third entry happening now are close to nil.
It’s a shame Ritchson’s gamble on theTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtlesfilms didn’t pay off. He went into them hoping they would introduce him to a wider audience, but between promises being reneged and the production having little respect for his work, it was an experience he’d rather forget.
Alan Ritchson Finally Found His Perfect Action Franchise With Reacher
Jack Reacher has turned Ritchson’s career around
There was endless controversy overTom Cruise’s casting as Jack Reacherin the original movie, who was the opposite of the imposing, muscle-bound brute from the novels. Ritchson had to jump through many casting hoops to land the role in the Amazon adaptation, which changed his career instantly.
Ritchson couldn’t have been better casting, conveying the charisma, intelligence and toughness of Reacherright from his first scene. SinceReacheris one of the biggest shows on the platform, Ritchson is unlikely to move on from the character anytime soon.
Despite the popularity of the show, Alan Ritchson has said he has no interest in making a movie version ofReacher.
In terms of his career, it has also given him everything theTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtlesexperience didn’t. His face is front and center, he’s out there doing interviews to promote it, and the role feels tailor-made to his skills. In addition to providing some job security, it gives him the freedom to work on movies in between seasons.
Ritchson’s prediction that nobody would know he was part of theTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtlesmovies largely came truetoo, since his name is rarely connected to them. He was always a much better fit for a more grounded action hero likeReacher, as his subsequent success has proven.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Cast
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a 2014 film that follows the emergence of four mutated turtle warriors in New York City. As they surface from the shadows, they unite to protect their home from a daunting threat posed by a criminal kingpin.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) is a multi-media franchise that began with Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird’s comics in the 1980s. Throughout the years, their comic books expanded to movies, TV shows, video games, and toys. Most notably, the animated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ran for nearly a decade and has become a nostalgic staple of the ‘80s and ‘90s. Several other movies have featured the four anthropomorphic turtle brothers (Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael), including the trilogy of live-action films in the ‘90s and the more recent movies Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and its sequel Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows.
Jack Reacher
TheReacherfranchise is a crime-action universe adapted from Lee Child’s best-selling Jack Reacher novels. It includes two theatrical films and a streaming television series, each centering on the titular ex-military investigator, Jack Reacher, known for his strategic mind and brute strength. The franchise also features the upcoming spin-off seriesNeagley, which focuses on one of Reacher’s closest allies.
