In disappointing news for hopelessly nostalgic ‘80s and ‘90s kids: Judith Hoag, the actress who originally played reporter April O’Neil in the first live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, has revealed she was asked to reprise her role in TMNT: The Last Ronin—which was canceled. Bummer.
Speaking at a comic convention this past weekend, Hoag revealed she was approached to join the cast of TMNT: The Last Ronin before the project was suddenly scrapped in 2025 following the Paramount-Skydance merger. Hoag was a guest on a panel alongside Ernie Reyes Jr., who performed as the stuntman for Donatello in 1990’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and 1991’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze.
“Yes, I’ve been approached, and I’d be happy. It would be a great bookend for me. And maybe that happens and maybe it doesn’t. We’ll see,” the actress shared during the panel, according to Collider.
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Sadly, despite Hoag’s optimism and fervent fan support for the dark story arc, it doesn’t look like TMNT: The Last Ronin will happen. The film was going to be based on the comic miniseries of the same name, which follows Michelangelo, the sole survivor of a dystopian future New York City ruled by Shredder’s grandson, as he joins forces with April and her daughter as part of a resistance movement against the Foot Clan.
The live-action movie, which would have been rated R and potentially shared continuity with the first two films from the ‘90s, was first announced back in 2024, with Nobody’s Ilya Naishuller in talks to direct.
During the panel, Hoag praised TMNT: The Last Ronin’s “wonderful story” and expressed that the Paramount executives who killed the movie should “go to a comic con and spend some time with the fans.”
Though many who grew up watching the first live-action TMNT movie fondly remember Hoag’s portrayal of April, the role was recast for its two sequels, with Paige Turco taking over. In 2014, Hoag told Variety she believes she wasn’t asked to return at the time because she had complained to the film’s producers about the lengthy shoots, questionable work conditions, and violence depicted in the film, which was marketed to kids.
“Everybody was beating everybody up. I thought the movie suffered because of that. It was something I spoke to the producers about, I think they thought I was too demanding, and moved on,” she shared, adding, “It was a really challenging shoot. They had all these stunt people who came in from Hong Kong, who had no union protections. They were getting hurt. As soon as they were injured, they were shipped out of there. It was not the safest set to be on.”
As for her absence from the hit movie’s second installment, Hoag said “the kids were upset,” and when the third film was in development, producers approached her to gauge her interest in returning. “I said, ‘Yeah.’ Then they said, ‘Nah. If the kids got confused the first time, they might get confused again,’” she revealed.
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