With an article published by The Hollywood Reporter this morning, we now know the core voice cast of next year's "Rise of the TMNT" series, as well as a few more details about the show.
From left to right, Kat Graham is April O’Neil, Josh Brener is Donatello, Omar Miller is Raphael, Brandon Mychal Smith is Michelangelo and Ben Schwartz is Leonardo. Additional talent in the cast includes Eric Bauza as Splinter, and Omar Miller and Ben Schwartz in unnamed roles.
While April, Donatello, and Michelangelo are described familiarly to how we've seen them before, an interesting detail from the article is the statement that "Raphael, the oldest and physically biggest brother ... is now the Turtles' leader" and "Leonardo [is] the self-professed "coolest" brother."
We can expect to see 26 episodes of "Rise of the TMNT," which is described as a "reimagining that follows the band of brothers as they encounter new allies and villains and discover a mystical world they never knew existed beneath the streets of New York City." Chris Viscardi, senior vp production and development, animation, at Nickelodeon, adds, "We have reimagined the series to be filled with humor, loads of action and a dynamic look, and it's packed with all-new heroes, villains and cityscapes for the Turtles to explore."
One really neat detail provided is that Rob Paulsen, previously Raphael in the original cartoon and Donatello in the 2012 Nickelodeon series, will be directing this new series.
"Rise of the TMNT" is co-executive produced by Andy Suriano (character designer, Samurai Jack) and Ant Ward (supervising producer, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles).
