Brad Fuller at the TMNT: Out of the Shadows premiere in Sydney.
Camera IconBrad Fuller at the TMNT: Out of the Shadows premiere in Sydney. Credit: Supplied/Supplied

Brad Fuller talks turtle power about TMNT: Out of the Shadows

Julian WrightEastern Reporter

HOLLYWOOD producer Brad Fuller has gone from terrifying audiences with horror classic remakes to thrilling ankle biters with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) reboots.

Since inadvertently setting the horror remake trend in 2003 with The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, he has had a hand in resurrecting many 1980s horror icons for a new generation throughout the 2000s.

In 2014 he turned his creative attention to the heroes in a half-shell so he had something more age-appropriate to show his children.

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“My kids hate my horror movies but they love superhero movies; they asked if I could do a kids movie,” Fuller said.

The green sewer-dwelling superheroes were the perfect solution, having enjoyed continued popularity since the late 1980s.

TMNT: Out of the Shadows is in cinemas tomorrow and Fuller still cannot put his finger on the reason behind the turtles’ success.

“I’m not sure, but I have two theories,” he said.

“Most of us come from a family and we like to see dynamic, funny and nutty families on screen that we can relate to and I think we can all relate to at least one of the turtles.”

All the familiar faces return in the sequel, with reporter April O’Neil, bumbling cameraman Vernon, the four turtles, their wise rat leader Splinter and arch-nemesis Shredder, but fans are sure to get a kick out of seeing slimy Krang, absent from live action films up until now, and his Technodrome.

“When we made the first one we didn’t know if we would make a sequel,” Fuller said.

“Bee-Bop, Rocksteady and Casey Jones were part of the first one in incarnations, but we felt our hands were full with just the design of the turtles and what they looked like and we didn’t have the opportunity to go any broader with other characters and storylines.”

Anyone looking for a hint of what to expect in any potential part three need to be patient.

“We finished this one a week ago, and it has been all encompassing,” Fuller said.

“If audiences want another one after this I would be delighted.”

With a blockbuster release pending, whirlwind trip Down Under to promote it and two more films opening before October, when does Fuller get to put his feet up?

“I get a break at the end of July; I am going to Italy with my wife,” he said.

“I hope to have a Friday the 13th sequel up and running in the fall and we have two horror sequels coming out soon, The Purge: Election Year and Ouija 2.

“I like that I can do a nice big movie then a small movie which is magical in that after the 35-day shoot we have the movie; we just need to edit it.”