TMNT: Mutant Mayhem Sequel May Bring Back Superfly With Shredder For A Villainous Combo [Exclusive]

Even though "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem" brings in a plethora of characters from the long history of comics, cartoons, and movies (including many of which who have never been seen on the big screen before), there's one major figure who has been intentionally held back: Shredder.

The news of Shredder not being in "Mutant Mayhem" isn't exactly a secret. Director Jeff Rowe was very open in the press about how Shredder was originally the villain in an early version of the movie, but he and his team ended up completely overhauling the story and saving him for the forthcoming sequel. Plus, all the marketing has been focused on introducing us to Ice Cube as Superfly, who leads his own team of mutants on a villainous scheme to dominate humanity by turning all the world's creatures into mutant beings like them. But the mid-credits scene for "TMNT: Mutant Mayhem" sets up a sequel, which has already been greenlit at Paramount Pictures, which will include both Shredder and Superfly, with the potential for a villainous one-two-punch.

The mid-credits scene starts off with a little bit of comedy by showing what Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo are up to as official high school students among the humans. Mikey is doing improv, Raph joined the wrestling team, Donnie is hanging out with the computer geeks, and Leonardo is still pining after April. 

But the meaty part of the credits scene shows background villain Cynthia Utrom surveying the turtles via spy camera footage from afar. She acknowledges that finding the turtles isn't too hard, but capturing them again may prove to be difficult. That's when her lead TCRI goon reminds her that they have a certain option at their disposal: Calling the Shredder.

Though Shredder is the big reveal in this scene, as we only see over the villain's shoulder as he gazes at New York City, there's another little detail you might not have immediately picked up on. There's a little fly zooming around in a sealed jar in front of Cynthia Utrom, implying that Superfly may still be alive, albeit in his non-mutated form. In a recent interview with director Jeff Rowe, we asked about Superfly's potential return, and he basically confirmed that Ice Cube will be coming back. 

When I asked Rowe whether that's Superfly in that jar, here's what the filmmaker had to say:

"That is absolutely, I mean, well ... she has a fly in a hyper secure containment unit, I wonder what that is? [laughs] The thing is, Ice Cube is so compelling in that role, and Superfly is such a fun, memorable, lovable character, you don't want him to be dead. You gotta be able to preserve the ability to bring him back."

Superfly is technically an original character in "TMNT: Mutant Mayhem." Though the character was originally intended to be a mutated form of Baxter Stockman, who turns into a fly in various ways throughout a variety of "TMNT" media, the story was changed so the turtles were forced to confront actual mutants rather than a human who had been changed into a mutant. This allowed them to find common ground with the villains while also allowing audiences to sympathize with Superfly and his mutant gang a bit. Rowe described Superfly:

"He is kind of a victim of his circumstances. He definitely made some mistakes, but he's not ... yeah, I think he's a very sympathetic villain."

Even though Superfly isn't Baxter Stockman (who is actually his father, having created the mutants from the ooze), that doesn't mean the villain can't have the same dynamic Stockman had with Shredder in comics, cartoons, and whatnot. Presumably, Cynthia can figure out a way to get Superfly back into his mutated form. Maybe that's something Shredder will help her with. Then Superfly, Shredder, and Cynthia Utrom (who may or may not become Krang) will become a force of foes to be reckoned with. 

For his part, Rowe is excited to bring Shredder to the table after keeping him out of this first movie, telling us, "Shredder is so cool. I can't wait to introduce that character and figure out that character and design that character and figure out how the camera's going to move for that character." Since Shredder has long been the archnemesis of the turtles, you can bet he's going to have a badass introduction in the follow-up. And considering the change in Splinter's origin story, there's plenty of room to refresh his place in "TMNT" lore as well. 

Plus, let's not forget that there's still a whole ensemble of mutants out there alongside the turtles now. But could any of them end up turning back into villains? After all, Bebop and Rocksteady have traditionally been Shredder's henchman. We asked Rowe if this is something they've considered for the sequel. The filmmaker said:

"We're not sure yet. We're very early, but it's like, we cast all these great comedic performers in these roles and we barely got to scratch the surface of using them in this film. I want to see a whole scene between Bebop and Rocksteady. I want to have a whole scene with Wingnut and Donnie talking about anime. I want to spend time with each of these characters, and I think the challenge will be, how do we do that without taking too much spotlight away from the Turtles in the film and also not making something that feels episodic, making something that's a well-oiled machine that does right by all of the characters?"

Maybe Superfly could go the opposite route and has the potential to become another ally of the turtles. That's something we're also eager to see in the eventual sequel, and we can't wait to see how it turns out. 

"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem" is in theaters now.