'TMNT: Mutant Mayhem' Post Credit Scene Explained

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem brought everyone’s favorite turtles and their rat father back to the big screen on August 2. The film serves as a reboot of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film series and brings the turtles to life in a new way with gorgeous sketchbook-style animation. It brings viewers back to the roots of the franchise, which follows our favorite mutant turtles who are just like regular teenagers and want to be accepted by society.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem sees brothers Donatello (Micah Abbey), Michelangelo (Shamon Brown, Jr.), Leonardo (Nicolas Cantu), and Raphael (Brady Noon) living in a sewer with their adoptive father Splinter (Jackie Chan), after being brought into existence by a mad scientist’s experiments with mutagens. Despite being taught to mistrust humans, the brothers just want to be normal teenagers and experience high school. So they decide to become heroes to earn the trust of humanity. Things get complicated, though, when their first major villain, Superfly (Ice Cube), is a mutant just like them. Embittered by humanity’s rejection, Superfly constructs a plan to have mutants overrun humanity and become the dominant species.

The film serves as the perfect origin story for the turtles, delving into what inspired their heroism and giving them an amateur villain to contend with. Mutant Mayhem has received stellar reviews from critics, who enjoyed the film’s heart, vocal performances, animation style, and direction. As a result, fans might be wondering what the future of the franchise looks like. Fortunately, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem comes with a post-credits scene that teases an exciting continuation.

***Spoilers for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem ahead***

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem has one mid-credits scene. In line with the film’s ending, the scene starts on a happy note. We see a video diary of the turtles and April O’Neil (Ayo Edebiri) that catches up with them after the events of the film. The turtles are seen experiencing high school and finding their niches. Donatello has found his “people” with the school’s computer whizzes, while Raphael is enjoying wrestling and Michaelangelo has joined the improv team. Meanwhile, Leonardo opted to stick close to journalist O’Neal as they work on finding her next big story.

O’Neal has set her focus on the Techno Cosmic Research Institute (TCRI), the organization behind the creation of the mutants. Following Superfly’s attack with his mutant family, though, it appears the organization has disappeared. However, O’Neal vows to find them. After stopping the video chat, Leonardo builds up the courage to ask O’Neal to prom, and the turtles are seen enjoying the high school dance. But the sweet moment soon takes a dark turn.

It turns out that the turtles are being surveilled at prom by Cynthia Utrom (Maya Rudolph), a TCRI executive. We find out that Utrom hasn’t changed her tune from the film. She still wants to find and capture the turtles to steal their mutagens. But she needs help. Enter her last option, which is summoning the Shredder. As the scene pans out, viewers get a glimpse of the silhouette of a terrifying villain watching New York.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem‘s post-credits scene teases the introduction of the turtle’s most iconic and enduring villain, Shredder. In the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise, Shredder is the archnemesis of the turtles. He is a master of ninjutsu and a powerful crime boss who wears a suit of armor with samurai blades protruding from its knuckles. Shredder seeks vengeance on a fellow ninja, Hamato Yoshi, but his feud gets passed along to Yoshi’s pet Splinter and his four ninja turtles. Across comic books, TV shows, and films, Shredder has consistently returned as the franchise’s main villain.

So it’s no surprise that the post-credits scene seems to set up Shredder as the main antagonist in the sequel. The scene also teases the sequel’s major story arc, which will likely be a deep dive into the shady TCRI organization. Fortunately, the sequel has already been greenlit, so viewers can expect to see the turtles return alongside their most terrifying villain and the TCRI.

This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the work being covered here wouldn’t exist.

(featured image: Paramount Pictures)

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Rachel Ulatowski is an SEO writer for The Mary Sue, who frequently covers DC, Marvel, Star Wars, YA literature, celebrity news, and coming-of-age films. She has over two years of experience in the digital media and entertainment industry, and her works can also be found on Screen Rant and Tell-Tale TV. She enjoys running, reading, snarking on YouTube personalities, and working on her future novel when she's not writing professionally. You can find more of her writing on Twitter at @RachelUlatowski.