The filmmaker behind the upcoming animated reboot, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, has responded to some of the criticism made towards the movie regarding the portrayal of staple character April O’Neil. Speaking exclusively with MovieWeb, director Jeff Rowe says he is “unconcerned” about the pushbacks against Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem including New York and Black culture and explains why the changes made to April O’Neil were absolutely necessary.

“Yeah, I’m wholly unconcerned with those people who don’t like it. You know, I would ask them to investigate their own thoughts about why they don’t like it. But you really hit the nail on the head, like, it’s a New York film, it needs to feel like New York, and April needs to feel like a real teenager in New York. Historically that character has been like a weird mom / friend / love interest. And we’re like, no, April is one of the kids, she’s a teen like them, she needs to be able to relate to them and she needs to represent New York and what that that means to the turtles, so that was a thing that we decided early on, and you know, no one on the filmmaking side questioned that. We’re like, ‘Great. This is great. This is a great April, let’s go with it.’ And then, you know, the internet does with the internet does.”

So, instead of being the yellow jumpsuit-wearing news reporter version of April O’Neil that many are most familiar with, the April in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem will instead be an intelligent, tech-savvy, Black teenager. Thus, she will hark back somewhat to the first appearance of the character in Mirage comics back in 1984 where she was introduced as a computer programmer. It’s also worth noting that the original April O’Neil’s ethnicity was (and still is) at the center of frequent debate. In any case, Rowe is unmoved by the criticisms, doing what was best for the character and the movie.

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The Bear Star Ayo Edebiri Will Voice April O’Neil in TMNT: Mutant Mayhem
Paramount Pictures

Set to be voiced by Emmy Award nominee and The Bear star Ayo Edebiri, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem will introduce this latest iteration of April O’Neil alongside the heroes in a half shell. After years of being sheltered from the human world, the four Turtle brothers set out on a quest to be accepted as normal teenagers by the people of New York City through acts of heroism. With the aid of their new friend April O’Neil, the brothers go on a hunt for a mysterious crime syndicate, but trouble arises when an army of mutants is unleashed upon them.

Directed Jeff Rowe (The Mitchells vs. the Machines) in his feature directorial debut, and from a screenplay by Brendan O’Brien, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem stars Micah Abbey as Donatello, Shamon Brown Jr. as Michelangelo, Nicolas Cantu as Leonardo, and Brady Noon as Raphael. The rest of the cast includes Seth Rogen as Bebop, John Cena as Rocksteady, Hannibal Buress as Genghis Frog, Rose Byrne as Leatherhead, Ice Cube as Superfly, Post Malone as Ray Fillet, Paul Rudd as Mondo Gecko, Maya Rudolph as Cynthia Utrom, Natasia Demetriou as Wingnut, Giancarlo Esposito as Baxter Stockman, and Jackie Chan as Splinter.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is scheduled to be released on August 2, by Paramount Pictures.