Four characters we hope to see in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

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For many of us, one of childhood’s defining images was of the four shelled warriors that made Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird overnight millionaires. For Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, there are just as many poor adaptions as successful ones. Despite this, and despite the involvement of known goober Michael Bay, longtime fans still look forward to the upcoming film on Aug. 8. If you still haven't seen the trailer, check it out below:

Many of the plot details have been revealed, and we know at least a majority of the characters we’ll see in this film. But the folks behind the movie are known enthusiasts (and even Eastman got involved), and with a few more films in the pipeline, it’s not out of the question to see some figures from the franchise that aren’t present in trailers. Here’s who we’re hoping to see:

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1) Casey Jones
Jones was included in an early draft of the script, but he was reportedly cut, with filmmakers making room for Will Arnett’s Vernon Fenwick. He’s the perfect character to roll out in a post-credits scene — perhaps after the foursome defeat Shredder for the first time. The hockey mask-wearing vigilante is just too much fun to leave out, and although the movie seems to include plenty of humor without him, future installments may need another voice between pizza gags and jokes about Splinter’s senility. Bring in Jones, and don’t forget the golf club.

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2) Krang
I realize how ridiculous it would be to include a live-action talking-brain-inside-a-exo-suit. But I’m selfish, and I don’t care how hard it would be to pull off. Krang wasn’t even in the original comic books; he was cooked up by writers of the first cartoon series. There’s probably a creative way to reinvent his look, like Marvel Studios has done with Arnim Zola, the headless villain whose face is projected onto his torso. Fun fact: Pat Fraley, who voiced Krang in the show, also acted as Casey Jones. If anything, we wouldn’t mind seeing some of these Shredder burns make it to the big screen.

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3) Bebop & Rocksteady
We cheated a bit with this one, as this entry is a pair. But you can’t have Bebop without Rocksteady, and it’d be a shame if this duo didn’t make it into the sequels for the film or some vaguely similar counterparts. Like Krang, the two weren’t part of the comic book series before the cartoon. They were actually created out of a need for more mutants in the toyline. You may not find the classic rhinoceros and warthog pairing in nature, but the villainous duo is one of the greatest, in the context of cartoons about turtles who fight crime.

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4) Triceratons
This one is personal. The Triceratons are an alien race of humanoid Triceratops dinosaurs. I’m not sure what else I can say about them, and they are the least likely to be added to the film’s roster, but it just had to be said. They’re a prime example of the TMNT method of character creation:
“Think of a cool animal.”
“OK, a triceratops.”
“Great. Give it a human body, and let’s go home.”