The Director Of The Ninja Turtles Short Running With The SpongeBob Movie Explained Why They Went So Obscure With The Villain

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The 2023 film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem was a hit with critics, so it’s no surprise Paramount Pictures quickly approved a sequel. While Mutant Mayhem 2 isn’t due out until 2025, fans will get a sneak peek at the Turtles soon. A new short film, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Chrome Alone 2 – Lost in New Jersey, will be shown before The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants hits theaters. The director of the short, Kent Seki, recently explained to TopMob why he chose a lesser-known villain for this story.

Without giving away any plot details, Chrome Alone 2 finds the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles traveling to New Jersey after spotting a commercial for fake toys based on themselves, called the Tubular Tortoise Karate Warriors. At the headquarters of the toy company, Authentic Imitations, in Newark, they encounter the robot Chrome Dome, voiced by Zach Woods of The Office. Chrome Dome isn’t as well-known a villain as Shredder or Krang, so when I asked the filmmaker why he chose this character for the short, he explained:

We felt he was a great choice for the role because the character isn’t widely known, meaning fans don’t have strong preconceived notions about how he should be portrayed. The character, Chrome Dome, originally appeared in the 1987 cartoon series, which gave us the freedom to update his personality for a modern audience. The idea to use Chrome Dome actually came from screenwriter Andrew Joustra, who’s a huge Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fan, so we knew we’d get an authentic take on the character.

Chrome Dome first appeared in the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon series as a robot working for the Foot Clan, and he made a few more appearances in the 2012 series (both are available to stream on Paramount+). Many viewers might not be familiar with this villain, which the creative team behind Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Chrome Alone 2 – Lost in New Jersey actually saw as a good thing. As Kent Seki explained, it allowed them to make changes to the character without worrying about how longtime fans would react. While we haven’t seen what Chrome Dome looks like in the movie yet, a clip from a Chrome Alone 2 toy commercial released in October gives us a preview.

I won’t reveal any specifics about the encounter between Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Zach Woods’ character, Chrome Dome. However, when I asked the director what he was most proud of regarding the short film, he told me this:

Chrome Dome’s design is really impressive. Woodrow White, the character designer for Mutant Mayhem, created it, drawing inspiration from several sources. He looked to Radu Molasar from the 1983 film The Keep, the robot TARS from Interstellar, and even the original 1987 cartoon version of Chrome Dome. He also included a subtle nod to Patrick Nagle in the face, using vector graphics reminiscent of classic arcade games like Asteroids and Tempest. The combination of all these influences results in a truly unique and memorable robot character.

The director praised Zach Woods’ performance as hilariously funny, suggesting his version of the character in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Chrome Alone 2 – Lost in New Jersey could become the most popular. However, this doesn’t guarantee he’ll appear in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem 2. The first Mutant Mayhem film already hinted at the arrival of Shredder, the Turtles’ main enemy, in the sequel.

As a huge animation fan, I’m already marking my calendar! Once The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants hits theaters on December 19th, I’m definitely planning to catch Chrome Alone 2 on the big screen. And looking further ahead, Mutant Mayhem 2 is slated for September 17, 2027, which feels like a long wait! But the biggest news this week was hearing that a live-action TMNT reboot is coming out on November 17, 2028 – I’m already excited for that one!

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2025-12-06 03:08