In what is just the latest in a long line of unfortunate imagery to be associated with the Michael Bay-produced Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Paramount has acted quickly to remove a movie poster that had the Turtles leaping from an exploding skyscraper just above the film’s Australian release date: September 11. The poster made its way to the Paramount Pictures Australia Twitter and Facebook feeds earlier today, where it remained for several hours before being removed. All evidence connecting 9/11 with the Ninja Turtles is now being swept under the rug, all over again.
Nevertheless, this depiction of New York’s destruction at the hands of another radical group (totally radical) did not escape the eagle eyes of the Internet, with many pointing out that falling from a burning Manhattan skyscraper above the date “September 11” could trigger some associations with 9/11. Meanwhile, others have pointed out that these people just need to “get over 9/11 already,” and so Michael Bay’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has at last begun the national dialogue we’ve been waiting for all this time. The healing can begin.
At least one Kotaku user has also pointed out that the poster mirrors the opening of the classic Ninja Turtles arcade game, proving that Konami was helping to plot 9/11 as early as 1989.
Paramount has yet to comment, though the incident does serve as a lesson in maintaining the necessary checks and balances to ensure something this upsetting never gets released. And if it does somehow end up getting through, definitely don’t advertise it with a poster that reminds people of 9/11.