Kat Graham Has Been Cast As April O’Neil in a New Animated Reboot of “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”
Nickelodeon has given ’90s kids lots to look forward to lately with reboots of its classic cartoons such as Hey Arnold! and Rugrats. The network is now taking on yet another animated blast from the past with a new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon series on the way , and its all-star voice cast is some pretty awesome history in the making.
Vampire Diaries star Kat Graham is set to play the role of April O’Neil in the new series, titled Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, marking the first time that the character has been portrayed by a woman of color in the franchise’s history.
The good news doesn’t stop there, either: Joining her will be Omar Miller (Ballers) as eldest turtle Raphael, Ben Schwartz (Parks and Recreation) as Leonardo, Josh Brener (Silicon Valley) as Donatello, and Brandon Mychal Smith (You’re the Worst) as the fun-loving, skateboarding Michelangelo.
“This incredible roster of voice actors provides a fresh take on these globally recognized characters, and they are going to bring this version of the Turtles to life in a whole new way,” said Chris Viscardi, Nickelodeon’s Senior Vice President of Production and Development, Animation.
As for the story line, we’ll see the four Turtles continuing their work in the sewers of New York City’s underground as they battle evil and munch on (what else!?) plenty of pizza.
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise has seen a number of incarnations over the years, beginning as a comic book series in the 1980s before becoming a huge name across various film, TV, and video game mediums. The most recent live-action theatrical release was 2016’s Out of the Shadows, starring Megan Fox and Will Arnett.
A 3D computer-animated version of the series took flight on the Nickelodeon network back in 2012, but will conclude on November 12 to make way for this latest reincarnation, which will see a return to the familiar 2D animated look of the original late-’80s cartoon series.
Looks like we know what we’ll be doing on Saturday mornings!
Will you watch the Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? Let us know @BritandCo!
(Photo via Ernesto E. Ruscio/Getty)
