When Bebop and Rocksteady were revealed for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2, fans assumed Krang wasn’t far behind. Soon after, rumblings began that the Dimension X brainiac would indeed be featured in the sequel, and today brings us official confirmation.
Michael Bay was featured in a lengthy profile in Rolling Stone, and if you scroll about two-thirds down the page, there’s an interesting interaction between Bay, who’s producing TMNT 2, and Pablo Helman, the sequel’s VFX supervisor. The article documents how Helman video chatted with Bay to show him the latest version of Krang. According to the conversation, Helman said VFX company Industrial Light & Magic “eliminated the tentacles,” to which Bay replied, “He could have some tentacles. I just don’t want them coming out of the side. He looks like a stupid octopus.”
If you’ve been keeping tabs with your TMNT franchise news, then the inclusion of Krang shouldn’t come as a major surprise. Aside from rumors, the character was featured in a batch of unused concept art from the first film, which paved the way for an appearance later on. Elsewhere, Paramount released the first trailer for the sequel not too long ago, and the footage featured the sky opening up with objects resembling the disassembled parts of the Technodrome bursting forth. With Krang now confirmed for the film, it makes the presence of his vehicle of destruction much more likely, not to mention the whole Dimension X factor.
Krang joins other new characters in TMNT 2 Bebop (Gary Anthony Williams), Rocksteady (WWE fighter Sheamus), Casey Jones (Stephen Amell), Baxter Stockman (Tyler Perry), bureau chief of Organized Crime Rebecca Vincent (Laura Linney), and Karai (Brittany Ishibashi). Meanwhile, Megan Fox (April O’Neil) and Will Arnett (Vernon Fenwick) return in the non-CG department. Much as the subtitle Out of the Shadows implies, the sequel will focus on the world learning of the existence of these half-shelled heroes, while a new threat has global implications.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows drops into theaters on June 3.
