Variety has confirmed the latest addition to the second installment of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film franchise, due out in June 2016. Tyler Perry has signed on to play the villainous Baxter Stockman.
Perry joins fellow series newcomer Stephen Amell, who will play Casey Jones. Megan Fox and Will Arnett, who played April O’Neil and Vernon Fenwick in the first film, are set to reprise their roles.
Upon news of Perry’s casting, fans took to Twitter to express shock and—what else?—outrage.
I have to say this now…#TMNT fans, stop giving Tyler Perry money!http://t.co/h2nUoDT14w
— DigiRanma (@DigiRanma) April 23, 2015
https://twitter.com/John0fTheDead86/status/591369786040418304
In TMNT lore, Stockman was a scientist whose invention of the “Mousers” rat-munching machines attracted the interest of Shredder. In the 1987 animated series, Stockman was transformed into a human-fly hybrid, hellbent on destroying both the Turtles and Shredder, who had turned his back on him.
While Perry is best known for a series of self-referential film series, he has occasionally branched out into other projects. He played lawyer Tanner Bolt in Gone Girl and the head of Starfleet in the 2009 Star Trek reboot.
H/T Variety | Photo via US ARMY/Wikipedia (PD) | Remix by Jason Reed
