The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have made plays at mainstream relevance several times since fading away in the ’90s, but the latest grab at coolness might just work: it’s been announced that SNL goof Fred Armisen has been cast to voice Krang, the stomach-inhabiting alien who terrorizes the titular teens.
Historically, Krang is an alien from Dimension X who is stripped of his body when he is banished to Earth, and once here he enlists Shredder to create his humanoid exo-suit. In the comics and cartoon, Krang is a brain-like creature with eyes and opposable brain-tentacles, even though he originally had the body of a large, dino-esque lizard.
Aside from Krang, this new TMNT film is also set to feature Casey Jones, Bebop, and Rocksteady, those last two being the all-star villains: men transformed to reptilian thugs. We think Armisen voicing Krang is a good idea. So do a few other people, specifically comedian Kumail Nanjiani.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows will see the light June 3.