NOTE: This is an excerpt from my recent interview with “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” co-creator Peter Laird that is now posted on Splash Page. As always, I’ve provided a link to the full interview at the end of this post.

Earlier this month, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” co-creator Kevin Eastman created significant buzz when he posted on his website that talks were underway for a new live-action film featuring the comic book characters he created alongside Peter Laird back in 1983.

The post was removed a short time later after “Turtles” writer Steve Murphy labeled it as “complete nonsense,” and Eastman offered up an apology to various industry peers for sharing information about the project. The beans had already been spilled, however, and though Eastman had sold his rights to the TMNT property back to Laird and Mirage Studios back in 2000, his connection to the property still generated significant speculation about the future of TMNT on the big screen.

So, in order to get the skinny on exactly what TMNT’s owners have planned for the Turtles, Splash Page spoke with the owner of the property and the Turtles’ main man, co-creator Peter Laird, about the live-action movie rumors, his thoughts on the recent CGI “TMNT” film and what TMNT fans can expect to see when (and if) the Turtles return to theaters.

MTV: Peter, there was a lot of buzz recently when Kevin Eastman posted on his website that there have been trips out to Northampton to talk with you, as well as [original "TMNT" director"] Steve Barron, about a potential live-action “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” film. How serious are these talks?

Peter Laird: I have to say that I don’t know why Kevin was talking about something with which he has no involvement. The blurb he put on his website was very inaccurate. He has not been involved with any meetings in Northampton, nor any others related to a new “TMNT” movie, as far as I know. That being said, I can confirm that we have had several meetings with very interested people, and I think we are pretty close to making a deal. As owner of the TMNT property, I want to be the first to announce it at a time of my choosing (hopefully soon).

MTV: Why another live-action TMNT film, and why now?

PL: As it stands now, there is no intention of doing another live-action film like the first three, with actors and stuntmen in actual Turtle suits, contrary to what was said by Kevin. We have pretty much decided that the next “TMNT” movie should be what we’ve been calling a “hybrid” — that is to say, live-action humans and sets combined with very realistic CGI Turtles (and possibly some other CGI characters).

MTV: If the hybrid “TMNT” film moves forward, what type of story is it going to tell? Will it be an origin story or something in continuity with one of the other TMNT properties?

PL: The storyline for this new “hybrid” movie has not been settled on yet. We’re still batting some different ideas around. The sky’s the limit. My preference would be a story which fits into TMNT movie continuity in some way. But nothing has been decided.