Deadline reported on Monday that actor Danny Woodburn has been tapped for the role of Master Splinter in the upcoming film, Ninja Turtles. The 48 year old actor and advocate for the disabled, whose TV and film credits also include The Pretender, She Spies, Seinfeld, Watchmen and Mirror, Mirror, will be joined by Megan Fox who will play April O’Neil. In addition, the main ‘Turtles’ cast will include Pete Plozek as Leonardo, Noel Fischer as Michelangelo, Jeremy Howard as Donatello, and Alan Ritchson as Raphael. Also joining is Will Arnett, whose role has yet to be disclosed.
In the original story, Master Splinter was once the beloved pet of a great and honorable ninja named Hamato Yoshi, whose training inspired Splinter to mimick his movements. Yoshi met his fate at the hands of fellow ninja, Oroku Saki, who would later become the Turtles’ bitter rival known as The Shredder — this is not to say just yet that Shredder will be cast in the film, although it would be a very enjoyable spectacle if we got to see a version of Shredder that actually shredded stuff. Just sayin.
The film goes into production this month in New York City, rebooting the classic comic book, television and film franchise from the late 80s and early 1990s, based on characters created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. The film is produced by Michael Bay, Galen Walker, Andrew Form, Bradley Fuller and Scott Mednick for Nickelodeon Movies and Platinum Dunes with Denis L. Stewart, Eric J. Crown and Napoleon Smith III serving as executive producers.
Ninja Turtles will be released on June 6, 2014 by Paramount Pictures.
Photo Credits: Zimbio, Image Shack