Cowabunga! Unreleased Concept Art For Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Tease Original Alien Premise

UPDATE: These images have been removed at the request of the studio. Apologies for any inconvenience this may cause.

Jonathan Liebesman’s big-screen take on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was many things; a bold reboot (some may argue), an all-round financial success but ultimately, a missed opportunity. However, when the first draft for the Michael Bay-produced adaptation made its way online, ardent fans of the adolescent fighters kicked up a fuss when it was revealed that the titular motley crew would be introduced as aliens from Dimension X.

Alas, this otherworldly premise didn’t come to pass, but that didn’t prevent artist Tsvetomir Georgiev from drafting up sketches for villainous characters including Bebop, Rocksteady and Krang. You can check out the concept art in full through the gallery below.

Perhaps the most eye-catching artwork is Georgiev’s rendition of Shredder. In Liebesman’s final product, the infamous villain — played by William Fitcher — was exaggerated to resemble a ninja-styled Transformer, whereas the soldier-Shredder glimpsed down below hints at a much more grounded take on the character.

Of course, now that a sequel has been confirmed for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles — hot on the heels of its performance at the international box office, where it accrued over $350 million — Liebesman certainly isn’t short of options for the follow-up’s big bad. We understand that Fitcher has signed on for an additional three TMNT movies, while Noel Fisher confirmed that the motor-mouthed turtles will return as well.

So, with concept art already in the ether for the likes of Behop and Rocksteady, it appears as though Paramount Pictures’ planned sequels will introduce audiences to more of Shredder’s dastardly crew of thugs — namely, the Foot Clan.

Liebesman’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is poised to release on Blu-ray on December 16th. In the meantime, you can feast your eyes on Georgiev’s concept art below.