The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise has been active for a very long time now. One of the original creators of the iconic characters expressed his excitement that audiences still enjoy his work given the success of the most recent animated film.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem made its theatrical debut last month and has been lauded as one of the best Turtles films ever. The animated film received a lot of positive reviews and critics noted the screenplay and stylized animation of the movie as being exceptional, falling in step with the Spiderverse films as being beloved animated entries in nostalgic franchises.

Kevin Eastman, one of the creators of the original comic book characters, gushed over the longevity of the franchise. In an interview with ComicBook, the author recounts his experience with partner Peter Laird in making the first issue. According to Eastman, they thought that the first issue would not sell enough copies to pay back the loan they took.

"You know, as much as this franchise has mind-blowing in every sense of the word as you can imagine," Eastman said. "And I always go back to, you know, Peter [Laird], and I originally thought we would never sell enough of the first issue to pay my uncle back."

He continues, "We borrowed the money to print. It went from having the comic series work to see it evolve into the cartoon series and the early movies to, you know, in each year, we felt, well, what an incredible ride. We've had a great ride. The Turtles has just been just the greatest gift. It's fantastic."

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is a coming-of-age film that reboots the Turtles franchise. The movie sees the brothers Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo venture into the world after years of being hidden in the sewers. The team eventually started fighting crime, winning public support which allows the Turtles to move freely without disguises.

The most recent Turtles movie had a massive twist at the end and introduced a female Turtle. Eastman remarked that the timing of the introduction was right and it did not feel forced. "The timing was right, and I think it works real good," the author shared. "It feels story-first, organic, and not forced. It feels like it was meant to be that way."

Eastman also discussed the potential for a sequel to Mutant Mayhem. The author has a few characters that he would want to see appear in the next film - and if anyone is an authority on the subject, surely its one of the Turtle's dads.

"Through the experience of the Nickelodeon 2012 animated series, which just wonderfully brought in some original concepts from the original cartoon series to all the elements, the Tricetons had such a big role in there," he stated. "So we've been lucky enough to experience this in so many ways and so many opportunities. I look forward to seeing where the sequels to Mutant Mayhem are going to go; not just the series, but the next movie because, you know, you've got Casey Jones waiting in the wings. You've got Krang out there, and you've got the Rock Soldiers and Neutrinos. So I'm, I'm pretty pumped."

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is out now.