Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem hits the big screen on August 4, 2023, with a star-laden cast. However, it was Splinter’s voice actor that was the talk of the town. Seth Rogen revealed the full cast at the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards in March 2023 and it’s all kinds of interesting. An original story, Mutant Mayhem will carry viewers along with how the mutant brothers emerge from obscurity to embark on their quest to save the city.
True to the originality of the plot, actual teenagers (Micah Abbey, Shamon Brown Jr., Nicolas Cantu, and Brady Noon) will be voicing the four main teenage characters (Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael). The rest of the cast boasts a handful of renowned entertainers, including John Cena, Jackie Chan, Post Malone, Giancarlo Esposito, Paul Rudd, and Seth Rogen among others. Disregarding his villainous past, Splinter has built a good reputation as the wise mentor and father figure to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. In all, Splinter is important to the Ninja Turtles’ story and whoever brings the character to life has big shoes to fill.
Who Is Playing Splinter In Mutant Mayhem?
Whoever thought up Jackie Chan to voice Master Splinter in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem deserves a pat on the back. Yes, the legendary action movie superstar is playing Splinter in Mutant Mayhem. Chan is on the star-studded cast list revealed by Rogen to voice the characters in the 2023 iteration of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The actor joins others like Rudd as Mondo Gecko, Esposito as Baxter Stockman, Ayo Edebiri as April O’Neil, Ice Cube as Superfly, Maya Rudolph as Cynthia Utrom, John Cena as Rocksteady, and Seth Rogen who doubles as the producer is voicing Bebop.
As the story follows the Mutant Turtle brothers working hard to warm their way into the hearts of New Yorkers while battling an army of mutants, Splinter remains a positive force in their journey. While he had his stint on the dark side, with a revenge storylines in the comics, Splinter is responsible for raising the teenage turtles to be heroes and he is still a very skillful martial artist. As such, the fact, Jackie Chan is voicing the role of Splinter in Mutant Mayhem has received positive reviews.
Why Jackie Chan Is A Great Choice For Splinter
There is no better choice to fill the role of a respected martial artist like Splinter than a world-class master in the craft who has mentored many to greatness, both on and off the screen. While the Chinese actor is no stranger to voicing characters in animated films about martial arts, having voiced Master Monkey in the Kung Fu Panda franchise, he has become a source of inspiration to filmmakers and actors in the action genre. His action choreography and fighting style have been replicated in many blockbusters, including The Matrix, Black Panther, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and the John Wick film series to name a few.
In Uncharted (2022), Tom Holland admits to channeling Chan’s famous use of odd items in his environment to fight off his enemies. Asides from being the inspiration behind many movies and fight scenes, Jackie Chan is a globally recognized role model for children. He has displayed this trait in a lot of movies in the past, particularly with his good-natured and decent acting style devoid of swear words. Chan also doesn’t play the bad guy. Now he’s bringing that role model trait to life once again as the Turtles’ rodent father figure, Master Splinter and fans of the franchise couldn’t think of a better option to depict the character in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem.