Washington,
Apr
23
(ANI):
Get
ready
to
welcome
the
Teenage
Mutant
Ninja
Turtles
on
the
big
screen,
for
a
fifth
film
in
the
series
is
all
set
to
be
released
in
2011.
The
Mirage
Group,
which
owns
the
franchise,
is
working
towards
making
a
live-action
film
focusing
on
the
origins
of
the
iconic
crime
fighters.
Targeted
for
release
in
2011,
the
film
would
mark
the
fifth
bigscreen
outing
for
the
sewer-dwelling
heroes-
Leonardo,
Michelangelo,
Donatello
and
Raphael
as
well
as
their
master
Splinter.
The
news
comes
to
coincide
with
the
Turtles'
25th
anniversary
celebration,
which
kicks
off
on
April
23
in
New
York
with
the
first
'Teenage
Mutant
Ninja
Turtles'
film
showcased
at
the
Tribeca
Film
Festival.
Scott
Mednick,
former
chief
marketing
officer,
Legendary
Pictures,
is
producing
the
new
project
alongside
Galen
Walker,
who
produced
the
2007
computer-animated
'TMNT'
film,
the
most
recent
instalment
in
the
franchise.
Peter
Laird,
Gary
Richardson,
Frederick
Fierst,
Eric
Crown
and
Napoleon
Smith
III
are
exec
producing
the
film.
Lightbox
Prods
is
producing
the
latest
project,
based
on
the
characters
created
by
Laird
and
Kevin
Eastman.
"The
original
dozen
comics
created
by
Peter
Laird
and
Kevin
Eastman
are
some
of
the
best
source
material
one
could
hope
for,"
Variety
quoted
Mednick,
as
saying.
Laird,
who
bought
out
Eastman's
share
of
the
property
several
years
ago,
said
the
film
would
remain
true
to
the
spirit
of
the
original
comic
books.
Also,
he
said
that
the
movie
might
use
face
replacement
technology,
which
would
allow
the
turtles
to
be
much
more
expressive.
(ANI)