'Ninja Turtles' Director Promises To Keep 'Essence Of Each Character'

It's been a hard week for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fans. First, we learned that the Turtles would have an "alien origin" from producer Michael Bay. Then the "Teenage Mutant" part got bashed with a pair of nunchucks.

With those gone, what else is there to take away from passionate fans? Is Michelangelo still going to be a party dude?

Jonathan Liebesman, the director of the upcoming reboot and the focus of a lot of fan wrath, is certainly aware of the fan reaction, and when we spoke with him while promoting his new film "Wrath of the Titans," he started off by expressing his gratitude for the passionate fans. "Firstly, as a filmmaker, it's awesome to have such an impassioned fan base that this is so important to, because that's your audience," he said.

Liebesman wants to assure you that the characters we know will remain. More specifically, he told us that with this new film, he wants to honor fans who have loved the franchise and to retain the creator's vision.

"What's important to me are the characters that Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird created. The essence of each character is preserved. We're true to that, and everything that's near and dear to fans will still be there," he said. "Every new thing that we think of is tied into the mythology. Again, I'm sitting in a room with Eastman, the guy who created this."

So despite the changes already made to the next "Turtles" movie, Liebesman insists that he's keeping the hardcore fans in mind. "We're not going to betray anything that has been there before," he said. "I'm a fan myself. It is important to us that the people paying to see the movie, who are the fans, are satisfied."

What do you think of the changes made to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? Let us know in the comments below and on Twitter!