Johnny Knoxville & Tony Shaloub Will Voice Main Characters In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Ummmmm…one of these men will voice Splinter, while the other will be one of the four turtles. 

So this is weird.

We know voice actors are sometimes cast at the last minute. Or at least announced at the last minute. Think about how long it took to get actual confirmation on Groot and Rocket Raccoon for Guardians of the Galaxy. But, the Michael Bay-produced Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles already had its turtles cast.

Alan Ritchson is Raphael, Jeremy Howard is Donatello, Pete Ploszek is Leonardo, and Noel Fisher is Michaelangelo. Seinfeld‘s Danny Woodburn was playing Splinter.

So why has Johnny Knoxville just been cast as the voice of Leonardo with Tony Shaloub as the voice of Splinter? (That really kind of sucks for the original actors who actually wore the suits on set.) Um, because reasons? Deadline writes:

Insiders tell me they were always open to changing the voicing component of the Jonathan Liebesman-directed film that Paramount releases August 8, and those actors were only guaranteed to physically perform the roles in costume. But as it has proven with World War Z, G.I. Joe: Retaliation and Noah, Paramount also is a studio that isn’t reticent to adding ingredients to the souffle after it has risen, and right up to the point where it’s ready to be served.

Well ok then.

Not that Knoxville and Shaloub don’t have great voices of course, but this was an unexpected announcement so late in the game. The first trailer has already been released. What do you think of the new additions?

(via Geekosystem)

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