The question that will decide this election: are we Shredder off today than we were four years ago?

Here's our first look at the new TMNT set, which is available now. When you play with them, you can make them say "cowabunga" to your heart's desire. Future sets are on the way.

Earth to Turtles: apparently "Cowabunga" is like, bodaciously old-fashioned, dudes. You know what's gnarly and rad? "Booyakasha."

Yup, that's the idea for Nickelodeon's new TMNT show -- because if rappers (and Ali G) said it ten years ago, it'll be cool for children starting... now.

The good news? A few early reviews suggest the reboot might actually not suck. See for yourself when it premieres this Saturday morning.

The Michael Bay-produced Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film -- simply titled Ninja Turtles because of the controversial decision to make the Turtles aliens -- is scheduled to start shooting in Vancouver, BC late this summer or early in the fall.

Wrath of the Titans helmer Jonathan Liebesman will direct, with a script by the Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol team of Josh Appelbaum and André Nemec.

Although it hasn't been officially announced, it's expected that the Turtles will be rendered in motion-captured CGI.

The movie has a tentative release date of Christmas 2013.

[geektyrant.]

So, it has come to this: you can now get your '90 nostalgia in sexy tunic tank dress form.

Looks like Zordon's been recruiting new Rangers from modeling websites again. sigh

Even more mind-boggling: There's a Ninja Turtles version, too. And they're both officially licensed.

[geektyrant.]

Michael Bay is continuing his effort to get Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fans to "chill" about changes to the beloved franchise, this time addressing a rumored title change that would drop the "Teenage" and "Mutant" from TMNT.

Bay confirmed the change on his Shoot for the Edit forums, but said the new title is a marketing move that won't affect what's actually in the movie.

He wrote:

Paramount marketing changed the name. They made the title simple. The characters you all remember are exactly the same, and yes they still act like teenagers. Everything you remember, why you liked the characters, is in the movie.

Bay also assured fans that director Jonathan Liebesman is a huge fan of the franchise himself and "he's not going to let you down."

TMNT fanatics may still have a reason to get upset about the Turtles being "from an alien race" in the new film, but it looks like the outrage over the title change was just a false alarm.

[nme]

Last week, producer Michael Bay revealed that the Turtles in the upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film may not be mutants, and now a new rumor suggests that they may not even be teenagers.

Sources have told Bleeding Cool that the new live-action Turtles flick may simply be titled Ninja Turtles, but they didn't provide a reason for the rumored change, so it's not clear what age the new Turtles will be.

It's possible that the title change may not have any bearing on the plot -- one source said it was just a marketing decision, comparable to Disney's dropping of the "Princess" and "of Mars" in John Carter.

And besides, it wouldn't make much sense to keep "teenage" in the title if they're going to drop the "mutant."

[slashfilm]