While doing press for the upcoming Wrath of the Titans, Jonathan Liebesman finally had a chance to have his own say about the recent "alien" controversy in an interview with Collider.com. And in doing so, he pretty much confirms that the Turtles themselves aren't going to be aliens. He actually said all the right things that should make any TMNT fan ready to embrace and be excited for this movie.
"Look, it's so funny—if everyone was such a die-hard fan, they would know that the TCRI canisters where the ooze comes from. That is alien ooze. Now I'm not saying what Michael said is exactly what the movie is, because we're sitting in a room now figuring everything out. So we don't know, but we are like Michael said: we're expanding it, and the expansion will be true to the mythology. I promise you: fans will love it."He also commented that this isn't just going to be an action movie.
"We're definitely into the action, but for me what's more important than that is that it's a story about brotherhood and friendship and responsibility. Right now, I'm with the characters because those are what attracted me to the movie. They're the best characters I'll have had a chance to deal with."These comments alone should be enough to satisfy fans that this movie is going in the right direction and that, for now at least, there's no need for nerd rage.
Further details speak to Kevin Eastman's involvement in the film:
"A lot of it is stuff he’s wanted to do for a long time, but just hasn’t had the opportunity [before, but] now we have the budget ... on this film to expand it in the right way."Finally, Liebesman mentions that the film could be filming in Canada sometime around September, and that they're looking at rendering the Turtles with motion capture suits, similar to Rise of the Planet of the Apes.