"We were trying to figure out a joke" - Jeff Rowe on bringing Post Malone

Get set to witness the magic and nostalgia of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on the big screen this August. Paramount Pictures and Viacom18 Studios are all set to release Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Mutant Mayhem pan India in English and Hindi on Aug 25.

Leading the pack of this motley group of Turtle maniacs are none other than producer and creator Seth Rogen and director Jeff Rowe. The film boasts of a star-studded cast, including Jackie Chan as the voice of Splinter, the vocal talents of John Cena, Post Malone, Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd, Brady Noon, and Maya Rudolph. 

Getting in so many great comedians made for plenty of improvisation and character development in the moment, but one of the filmmakers’ favorite comedic developments came when working with Post Malone, who is much better known as a musician.

“We were trying to figure out a joke for all the mutants,” says Rogen's producing partner James Weaver. “With [humanoid manta ray] Ray Fillet we said, ‘What is the joke?’ We wondered, ‘What if he just sings his name?’ Post was one of the last people to record. We had no idea what that was going to sound like. And then in the first screening you just have Post Malone singing ‘Ray Fillet’ and it just can’t help but make you smile.”

Director Jeff Rowe remembers that process with a broad smile. “We were desperate to have Ray Fillet in this movie because he’s one of our favorite characters,” says Rowe. “But we couldn’t figure out what he would do in the film. I had this idea that he’d be like Matt Damon in Team America, where he just had the one line he’d say over and over. At the same time, there were conversations going on that Post Malone might be interested in doing something in our film. So I said, ‘Would he be interested in being Ray Fillet, and just singing that name really beautifully – as his only line – in the film?’ Unbelievably, he said yes!”