Roninverse creatives tease the conclusion to their Roninverse saga, while a new writer takes over the main TMNT comics.
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| ‘TMNT: The Last Ronin III — Return to New York’ first-look exclusive. Credit: IDW |
TMNT: The Last Ronin III will officially arrive next summer. See an exclusive first look at the cover.
Creatives Kevin Eastman and Tom Waltz tease the epic conclusion to their Roninverse saga.
In other news, the flagship TMNT comic series is changing hands as a new writer takes over.
The epic finale to the Last Ronin saga is upon us.
A first look has arrived at
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin III — Return for New York, the long-awaited third chapter to the main storyline of the wildly popular “Roninverse.”
Entertainment Weekly has revealed the cover art featuring Casey Marie Jones, daughter of the now-deceased Casey Jones and April O’Neil.
The artwork, from Isaac and Esau Escorza and colorist Luis Antonio Delgado, is an homage to the cover from the first series.
“When [co-creator] Kevin Eastman and I sat down to write the original TMNT: The Last Ronin, we had high hopes readers would love the story just as much as we loved telling it. Little did we know, that love would be exponentially returned to us and our amazing art teams...From that first volume, throughout all the subsequent prequels/sequels that have followed in what we now fondly call the Roninverse,” co-writer Tom Waltz told EW in a statement. “And, here we are, capping off the main trilogy with TMNT: The Last Ronin III — Return for New York...and we couldn’t be happier!”
The Roninverse — the dark futuristic vision of the
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles — began with a story of Mikey, the titular Last Ronin, losing his own life to avenge the deaths of his brothers Leonardo, Raphael, and Donatello, who were killed by Shredder’s grandson and the new leader of the Foot Clan.
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| ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin III — Return for New York’ cover. Credit: IDW |
The Last Ronin: The Lost Years (2022) told the prequel of Mikey’s transformation into the Last Ronin and the origin of a new group of Turtles — Odyn, Moja, Uno, and Yi — under the guidance of their sensei, Casey.
The Last Ronin II — Re-Evolution (2024) continued the new Turtles’ tale, while The Last Ronin — Training Day (2026) told of Mikey training Casey.
The original creative team — Eastman, Waltz, the Escorza brothers, Delgado, and Ben Bishop — are now back to bring the saga home after the death of April O’Neil.
Waltz says the creative team strives “to produce a grand finale worthy of its predecessors.”
“But the real question is, will Casey Marie Jones, Odyn, Uno, Yi, and Moja be worthy of their TMNT predecessors in this ultimate battle for the heart and soul of New York City?” he adds.
As for Eastman, “It’s hard to believe this journey started nearly 40 years ago with a simple 25-page outline by Peter Laird and myself — finally brought to life with such an incredible creative team, the support of Nickelodeon and IDW, and most of all the fans,” he says. “We couldn’t have done it without you! We all hope this final installment of this trilogy is worthy, we’re all working hard to bring this important part of this next generation of Ninja Turtles to a place we never dreamed we’d be able to when we first started. Thanks a billion trillion!”
The Last Ronin III will officially arrive sometime during summer 2027.
In addition to the comic series, Paramount Games Studio is currently working on a
TMNT: The Last Ronin video game adaptation in collaboration with PlatinumGames. During IDW's Publishing's
TMNT: Shellebrating 300 Issues of Turtle Power & Last Ronin panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2026, Paramount Games Studio's Senior Vice President (SVP) - and writer of the game - Shawn Kittelsen gave a few insights into the upcoming game, including:
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| TMNT: Shellebrating 300 Issues of Turtle Power & Last Ronin Panel at SDCC 2026. Credit: Paramount Games Studio |
- “This is a AAA, narrative, third-person action game. If you ever wanted to save NYC and slice some synjas, this game is for you.” -Shawn Kittelsen
- “Kevin and I can’t wait for everyone to play this game. This is going to be the video game Ronin experience we envisioned.” -Tom Waltz
- “Turtles is family.” -Waltz
- “We are trying to be good stewards of the Turtles so we can hand this story down for generations.” -SK
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| ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ #25. Credit: IDW |
Elsewhere in the larger comics TMNT universe, another major change is upon us. The flagship Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series is changing hands.
With the arrival of issue #25 this coming January, current writer Gene Luen Yang will pass duties off to award-winning writer Matthew Rosenberg (
If Destruction Be Our Lot,
Spawn,
Uncanny X-Men) and artist Juann Cabal (
Daredevil,
Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man,
Elektra).
A description from IDW signals “a thrilling story as the greatest roster of villains, both new and old, have assembled to hunt down the Turtles over the course of a single night.”
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| Matthew Ronsenberg. Credit: IDW |
EW has revealed imagery from the upcoming issue, including a variant cover by Stipan Morian.
In a statement, Rosenberg recalls his first encounter with TMNT comics, purchasing an issue of Eastman and Laird’s run from a local shop as a teen. He credits that moment as the time he fell in love with comics.
“It is truly an honor to not only add to the legacy of four of New York’s greatest heroes, but to follow in the footsteps of so many creators I love like Erik Larsen, Jim Lawson, Sophie Campbell, Tom Waltz, and most recently legends like Jason Aaron, Juan Ferreyra, Gene Luen Yang, and Freddie E. Williams II,” he says. “I hope I can bring even just a little bit of what I love about the Turtles to this book.”
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| ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ #25. Credit: IDW |
He notes they’re making a book with everything he loves about TMNT, including “shells-against-the-wall grittiness, laugh-out-loud humor, non-stop intensity, and some genuine family drama.”
“Working on TMNT has been a dream come true. I’m sad to leave, though I’m also excited about the creator-owned project that is pulling me away,” Yang says. “And I’m super excited to continue with the Turtles as a fan! Matthew Rosenberg is going to knock it out of the park!”
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| 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' #25 | Credit: IDW |
IDW Teases an Exciting New Era for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | Comic Con 2026
We chat with the current and incoming writers of TMNT.
2027 is already shaping up to be a monumental year for IDW Publishing's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles line. The company made two big reveals at Comic-Con. First, current TMNT writer Gene Luen Yang will be ending his story with issue #24, paving the way for new writer Matthew Rosenberg (Astonishing X-Men) and artist Juann Cabal (All-New Wolverine) to take over the series with TMNT #25. Second, they confirmed that the third and final volume in the TMNT: The Last Ronin trilogy will debut in 2027, with the entire creative team returning to wrap up this futuristic saga.
IGN had a chance to speak with both Yang and Rosenberg at Comic-Con, where the duo talked about their shared love of the franchise and how Yang will be handing off the series in the months to come. Read on to learn more.
Rosenberg is coming on board the series at a particularly fruitful time. IDW had a lot of success with the 2024 relaunch, which kicked off with writer Jason Aaron and a rotating team of artists. Rosenberg notes that this assignment is a chance to lend his own take to the franchise while trying to do something genuinely different from what his predecessors did.
"There's a lot of runs I love, but the thing I'm really excited about is that in the past two years, a large group of my favorite comic creators have had the book between Jason Aaron and Juan Ferreyra and Gene's run," Rosenberg tells IGN. "It's so exciting. And I think the thing I love the most was seeing what Jason did was different from what Sophie Campbell was doing or anyone else was doing. And then seeing what Gene did was like a reinvention again, but all still true to it."
Rosenberg continues, "For me, I wanted to study what Gene was doing and then be like, 'But he changed the game, so I have to do that. I can't just run with that.' And that's really fun to me, to be like, ,I want to honor everything he's done because I love it, but also don't want to do a cover band of it.'"
For Yang, working on a book like TMNT means accepting that nothing lasts forever and that eventually he'll need to pass the baton to the next set of creators.
"You know when you're working on a property as big as the Ninja Turtles that it doesn't belong to you," Yang says. "It's sort of a melting pot of creative energy. And I felt really lucky and a little bit intimidated that I was following Jason Aaron's run. I thought what he did was just phenomenal. The amount of energy that came out of his run was incredible. And one of the gifts that he left for me was he brought Splinter back. I think it was the last issue. So that was something that we got to run with, Freddie [Williams II] and I."
Yang also notes that one of the best things about the TMNT franchise is how it allows for such different takes and swings in tone. The original Mirage comics are very different from the 1987 animated series or the contemporary movies, but they're all authentically TMNT.
I'm a huge fan of the Turtles from when I was a kid," Yang says. "And I remember encountering the old black and white Mirage comics in my 6th grade classroom. One of the kids had, I think, maybe a third print of #2 or something. And then I also remember watching the cartoon and seeing that contrast between the grittiness of [Kevin] Eastman and [Peter] Laird's comic and then the colorfulness of the cartoon. And both of those are fundamentally Turtles. I think one of the things that makes the Turtles special is that there are characters that work in nearly any genre. Like you can put them in a sci-fi story or a horror story or martial arts action or like a family comedy and it still can be Turtles. So I felt like with Jason Aaron's run, what he did was he kind of leaned into some of that Mirage energy."
Yang continues, "What I did for inspiration was I read those early Mirage comics. And what I noticed was, I think the energy that Jason Aaron might have been drawing on was in the first few issues. But shortly after that, things get a little bit crazy and a little bit wild. You have talking triceratops and aliens calling out of guns and that sort of thing. So we wanted it to feel a little bit wild and out of control as well. One of the things that I think makes the IDW version of TMNT special is that it ties into Japanese culture and Japanese mythology a little bit more closely. So for my run, I wanted to add the color and the weirdness that kind of happened in those Mirage comics, even though they're black and white. Color in terms of story. And I wanted to do that by kind of leaning into Japanese mythology."
One of the benefits of Rosenberg being tapped to write the series is that he's a native New Yorker. He teases that the city itself is very much a character in his run. We're going to see the Turtles navigate a lot of real-world landmarks in his first arc, which pits the Turtles against a gauntlet of foes in one very chaotic 24-hour period.
"I'm going to start them in the Bronx, start them in Pelham, and they're just going to be in a trip through New York," Rosenberg says. "And the thing about the Turtles that's great is that you can have them fighting in the sewers, fighting on rooftops, but also they're fun. They're teenagers. They're joking and they're distracted and they're not. There are all these things that they're adventurous when they're kids. It's a great chance to show the city as a battleground, but also show the city that they love. And that's what I'm trying to do is in the middle of a fight. My first arc is basically a fight. It's one night. It's the worst night of the Turtles' lives. But in that, there's a lot of who they are. You need to show who they are."
Rosenberg adds, "And so we're figuring out what we can do. There's a lot of stuff that I think is fundamentally New York that we're putting in and fundamental neighborhoods and things like that. But also, we're figuring out how much we can be like, well, here's some weird New York lore and here's some New York myths that we want to do. And it's very fun. I don't think there's been a lot of writers on the book from New York. And I grew up as a kid walking down the streets with these books in my backpack."
Rosenberg has a particular knack for writing teenage characters, as we've seen from books like 4 Kids Walk Into a Bank (the film adaptation of which is hitting theaters in August). Rosenberg will certainly be making use of that experience on TMNT, as the series will really dig into the personalities of the Turtles and their family dynamic.
"I love a family dynamic. I love writing young characters," Rosenberg says. "Being a teenager is an amazing moment in your life as you're transitioning from one worldview to the other. And I think that the contrast of those two things fighting inside of being a teenager is fundamental to the Turtles. I think that they have a heavy burden on them of being these ninja who have to do things, but also they're kids and they're trying to live their lives and figure out where they fit in the world. And I love that. And doing it as brothers is such a gift of a story to be like. It's always a little bit of a coming of age story in everyone, but it's also always a family drama. And I love that. It's amazing."
Finally, Rosenberg teased his upcoming run by saying that he and Cabal plan on tapping into many different characters and eras of the franchise. TMNT's extensive mythology is like a Cheesecake Factory menu - there's almost too much to choose from.
"You don't know who to choose," Rosenberg says. "There's this legacy. We have a legacy of 30-plus years now of just being like, 'Well, where do we go?' I knew that before I had a story. So the story I have is because of that. The story I have is built because I was like, 'OK, That's a big gift. Let's open it. Let's go big with it.' And yeah, you're going to see a lot of folks you don't expect to see or folks you haven't seen in a while. You're going to see some people you've never seen. We're trying to do all of it. I'm trying to at least touch on every era. And for me, that's always something I love. I learned that when I started making superhero comics that every character is someone's favorite and every era is someone's favorite. And so if you can just nod to that or wink to that in some way, it means a lot to the fans."
Look for both Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #25 and TMNT: The Last Ronin - Return for New York #1 to hit stores in 2027.
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TMNT Tuesday #67: Matthew Rosenberg on taking over ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’
Matthew Rosenberg discusses his street-level vision for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, why the Mirage era remains his biggest inspiration, and the challenge of following some of the franchise’s most celebrated creative runs.
Matthew Rosenberg is the next writer of IDW’s flagship Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series, and we recently sat down with him to discuss what readers can expect when he takes over in early 2027. It’s his first interview about the series, which launches in January.
Rosenberg shares how he landed the job, why he’s returning the series to its street-level roots, his love of the original Mirage comics, and how New York City itself will become a major character in the story. Below are highlights from our conversation.
For the complete interview, along with the rest of our discussion, be sure to check out the latest episode of the
AIPT Comics Podcast.
Oh, and want to ask Rosenberg a question about his TMNT take over? Fill out the survey [
here]!
AIPT: Congratulations on landing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. How did it happen?
MR: My former Punisher editor, Jake Thomas, moved to IDW and called me almost immediately. I actually turned it down because I was too busy. A few months later, Gene Luen Yang had to step away from the book, Jake called again, and this time I couldn’t say no. When someone offers you Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, you say yes.
AIPT: What kind of TMNT story do you want to tell?
MR: I kept coming back to the original Mirage comics. The Turtles always felt outmatched and were fighting for their lives. That’s the energy I want. It’s a street-level story and a love letter to New York City, with real neighborhoods, subway lines, and locations woven throughout.
AIPT: Gene Luen Yang’s run ends on some huge ideas. How does that shape your direction?
MR: Gene went cosmic with the afterlife and gods, so I wanted to bring things back down to the streets. At the same time, his finale opens the door for characters from across TMNT history to return. Our approach is basically “no idea is off the table.” We’re pulling inspiration from the comics, cartoons, movies, and more.
AIPT: What can you tease about the threat facing the Turtles?
MR: They’re being hunted by a massive lineup of villains that will test every skill they have. The premise is simple: the Turtles need to cross New York City before they’re taken down. It’s a fight for survival from beginning to end.
AIPT: Why was Juann Cabal the right artist?
MR: I wanted someone who could make every fight compelling even without dialogue and who could draw creatures as well as people. Juan can do all of that. Every artist has their own version of the Turtles, and I think his designs are going to become iconic.
AIPT: What from the Mirage era has stayed with you all these years?
MR: The books balanced humor with genuinely brutal action. They’re funny because the concept is funny, but they never pulled punches. That’s the balance I’m chasing: fun banter and family dynamics mixed with hard-hitting action. There are even a few moments coming up that surprised IDW when I pitched them because they were so intense.
AIPT: How do you keep all four Turtles distinct?
MR: They all fight, so the differences come from their personalities. Leo’s leadership, Raph’s anger, Donnie’s problem-solving, and Mikey’s optimism all shape how they approach every situation. At its heart, TMNT is half action comic and half family drama.
AIPT: Where does TMNT rank for you personally?
MR: Before Spawn and TMNT came along, I’d decided to focus almost entirely on creator-owned work. The only licensed books I still dreamed about were Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and G.I. Joe. TMNT has always been one of my favorite comics and one of the great independent success stories in the medium.
AIPT: What do you hope readers say after the first story arc?
MR: I hope they feel like it belongs alongside the great TMNT stories that came before it. I’m stepping into some huge shoes, and I just want to do right by the characters, the creators, and the fans.
This is an edited version of the conversation. Listen to the full chat on the AIPT Comics podcast!
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