Stephen Amell’s underrated role inTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadowswas the perfect companion to the superhero seriesArrow.Stephen Amell rose to prominence for playing Oliver Queen in The CW television seriesArrow, which aired from 2012 to 2020 with an impressive eight seasons. With an 86% Tomatometer on Rotten Tomatoes,Arrowkickstarted thecrossovers of multiple TV shows in the “Arrowverse,”and became one of the most popular and longest-running DC shows.
Stephen Amell has done many things since leavingArrow, from professional wrestling to starring in the upcomingSuitsspinoff,Suits: L.A.However,one of Stephen Amell’s most prominent roles in addition to Oliver Queen actually happened during the height ofArrow’spopularityin 2016. Following the success of the 20142014Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtlesmovie, which was produced by Michael Bay, Stephen Amell appeared in the2016 sequelas the vigilante known as Casey Jones.
Stephen Amell Played Vigilante Parody Casey Jones In TMNT: Out Of The Shadows
Casey Jones' Character Is Similar To Oliver Queen
Stephen Amell played Casey Jones inTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows, a hot-headed vigilante (and ally to the turtles) who wears a hockey mask.TMNToriginally started as a dark comicbook series that was both a parody and a love letter to gritty superhero comics like Daredevil. Casey Jones was an example of this, with his penchant for extreme violence and simplistic weapons of choice, which is why it’s interesting that Stephen Amell, who was playing a serious and popular DC Comics vigilante at the time, also played Casey Jones.
Joe Manganiello Was Eyed For Casey Jones Role In TMNT Movie
Joe Manganiello, known for True Blood and Magic Mike, reveals that he almost played Casey Jones in a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film adaptation.
Interestingly,Arrowalso pulled heavily from the same gritty eras ofDaredevilandBatmanthatTMNT’screators were inspired by. Stephen Amell acknowledged the similarities between his characters in an interview withFlickering Mythin 2015, stating that, “Obviously the similarities are right there on the surface,” and that Casey Jones “is almost […] like the Oliver Queen that people know from the older comic books.” Yet there have been many different versions of Casey Jones over the years, asTMNThas oftenventured between animated and live-action mediums.
How Stephen Amell’s Casey Jones Compared To Previous Versions
Amell’s Casey Jones Was Different In A Few Ways
Casey Jones has lead roles in over half of theTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtlesmovies as an ally to the turtles despite his violent vigilante tendencies.Casey Jones has been considered the fifth turtle brotherin some instances. In the films, his motive and hockey weapon of choice are sometimes explained by a previous career as an ice hockey player, while others portray him as just a delivery man. However,there are plenty of attributes that each variation of Casey Jones seems to share, such as his hatred of the Purple Dragons and his love interest, April O’Neil.
TMNT (2007)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows (2016)
Stephen Amell
Stephen Amell’s version ofCasey Jones inTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadowsis older than the usual character, and has a different profession. As a prison guard, Casey Jones in the 2016 movie dreamed of being an NYC Detective but winds up becoming a vigilante when tracking down the Foot Clan. This is a much different character than previously shown in theTMNTfranchise asAmell’s Casey Jones only seems to fight crime alone when he feels there is no other choice, whereas previous versions of the character show little reservation about getting involved with vigilantism.
Why Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows Never Got A Sequel
A Third Film Was Scrapped After 2016’s Box Office Failure
Unfortunately for Stephen Amell, theMichael Bay-producedTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtlesmovies failedwhen the sequel made less than the first movie. On a budget of $135 million,the 2016TMNTsequel only grossed $245 million, making it a box office bomb. In contrast, 2014’sTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtlesgrossed $485 million against a similar budget, which is nearly double what the sequel earned. Therefore, a planned third movie was scrapped. More recently, the turtles returned to the big screen withTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem.
Reviews forTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadowswere more positive than the 2014movie
However, reviews forTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadowswere more positive than the 2014movie. The first movie was heavily criticized for its screenplay and all-over-the-place tone, with the sequel having a more concise story and feeling more like a 1990s TMNT episode. Furthermore,Out Of The Shadowslanded on Netflix’s Top 10 Most Popular Movies chartin 2024, a surprising redemption. With such a mixed response, Stephen Amell’s version of Casey Jones inTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadowsmay have been overlooked when it was originally released.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows
Cast
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows is the follow-up to the Michael Bay-produced Ninja Turtles reboot. This time, Donatello, Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Raphael have a rematch with Shredder, who has enlisted the help of Rocksteady and Bebop, along with the alien Krang to take down his enemies. The film was released in 2016 and directed by Dave Green.
