Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem follows the four Turtle brothers, Raphael, Michelangelo, Leonardo, and Donatello, as they set out on a journey to be accepted by the people of New York as normal teenagers. Their quest sends them and their new friend, April O'Neil, after a mysterious crime syndicate. However, things escalate when an army of mutants is unleashed upon them, making their mission more dangerous than ever before.

This is the first time in the nearly 40-year franchise that the Ninja Turtles have been played by actual teenagers. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is directed by Jeff Rowe from a screenplay penned by Rowe, Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Dan Hernandez, and Benji Samit. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem boasts a star-studded cast led by Brady Noon, Shamon Brown Jr., Nicolas Cantu, Micah Abbey, Ayo Edebiri, Jackie Chan, Ice Cube, Hannibal Buress, John Cena, Rose Byrne, Giancarlo Esposito, Paul Rudd, Maya Rudolph, and Rogen.

Related: TMNT's New Movie Is Setting Up Splinter's Tragic 1980s Origin Story

Screen Rant spoke with Brady Noon, Shamon Brown Jr., Nicolas Cantu, and Micah Abbey about bringing the Turtles Raphael, Michelangelo, Leonardo, and Donatello to life in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. Noon explained how it was quickly decided they would be recording together for the movie, and Abbey elaborates on how that helped them with improvisational banter. All four shared how they wanted to make their versions of the Ninja Turtles stand out from past performances. Note: This interview was conducted before the SAG-AFTRA strike, and the movie covered here wouldn't exist without the work of writers and actors in WGA and SAG-AFTRA.

Brady Noon, Shamon Brown Jr. Nicolas Cantu & Micah Abbey on TMNT: Mutant Mayhem

Screen Rant: I grew up a Ninja Turtles fan, and you guys bring a whole new energy to this franchise that I had never seen before. Now, did you guys get a chance to record together, and if so, how was that vibe? Because that's like a lost art with these big-budget animation films now.

Brady Noon: Yeah, I think that we found out pretty early on, after our first ensemble session, that was going to be the way that we were going to shoot this. We were in the studio for the majority of the entire two years of production altogether, with Seth and Jeff. We were recording, and we just found that that gave us the most realism, and that authenticity of really being in a room arguing, because we literally were.

Nicolas Cantu: Yeah, you get good Turtle banter, which is what you're looking for.

Was there any of that banter that wasn't necessarily on the page that you brought to the movie?

Micah Abbey: 100%, I would say a good chunk of the movie is a lot of improvisation. We literally — and I think we did a good job, especially Nick to bring it back, because we do the scene, and then we do it again, and then Jeff would be like, "Okay, just be yourself. Say it if you weren't even trying to be a character," which was the most important thing, we were bringing life to the character by just saying what was on our mind, saying what a teenager would say, and then Nick would kind of bring it back to the script. But I think we all did a good job of just going off of what we thought would be right.

So, you actually were like Leo in real life?

Nicolas Cantu: I'm realizing it now, yes, I was the leader the whole time, it just oozed out of me. [Chuckles] But yeah, we had a great script, but it was also very fun to just mess around and see what came out, and I think Jeff or Seth said that they were listening to us while we were just hanging out, and not even recording, and they would go back into the booth and they would be like, "Okay, we need to get them to say that into the mic," so it was very realistic, it was just us.

I think that you guys capture the essence of each Ninja Turtle perfectly. Can you talk to me about what you wanted to bring with your own experience to the Turtles, and what you wanted to bring to the film that wasn't actually on the page?

Shamon Brown Jr.: Definitely, I just wanted to be different. One, this is the first time teenagers have voiced the turtles, which is a big deal for the 40-year franchise. I think just looking at the previous versions, it's usually the surfer dude voice. So, the previous version, The Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, I looked at Brandon Mychal Smith's Michelangelo, and he didn't do the Turtle voice, so that's kind of what I pulled off of, and wanted to bring my modern day energy to Mikey.

Brady Noon: Yeah, for me, I definitely wanted to go into Raph with sort of a different approach than I've seen from the other Raphael's. Sometimes, it's hard for characters to relate to Raph, just because he's so angry, right? Even for me personally, I'm yelling all the time, and I'm hearing him and when I see him in other pictures. Just to go in there and just be like, "Oh, I'm trying to make this a little funnier now, and make this character more likeable, give him some heart." That's really the approach.

Micah Abbey: I think with Donnie, they did a good job of bringing the essence of the geeky nerd side, but giving it a fun feel, and not just be like, "Oh, he's a computer geek." He really is a fun guy, and he makes references to anime, and he makes references to K-Pop, which I think is really cool, because it really touches the new generation.

Nicolas Cantu: Yeah, I think for me, it was bringing a quality of nervousness to Leo, because when you're a teenager, and when you're dealing with these high-stakes situations, we're fighting bad guys all the time. There is a level of anxiety that comes with leading the group, and making sure nobody gets hurt, and everybody's okay, so I wanted to bring that. It's something people don't talk about with leaders, right? You get clammy hands, you're like, "Dude, I don't know what to tell you, go fight that guy. Don't punch me. Figure it out."

About TMNT: Mutant Mayhem

The four Turtle brothers, after hiding for years, set out on a quest to win the hearts of New York City and be accepted as normal teenagers. They, with the help of new friend April O'Neil, are on the hunt for an enigmatic crime syndicate, but things get more complicated when they have to face off against a mutant army.

Check out our other Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem interviews here:

• Ayo Edebiri
• Ice Cube
• Jeff Rowe

Source: Screen Rant Plus