Jonathan Liebesman in Negotiations for the Live-Action ‘Ninja Turtles’

Cowabunga, dudes! A new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film has been in development for years now, with Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes production company set to shepherd the project into existence. Though most people know the famous heroes in a half-shell as the pizza-loving crime fighters presented in the animated series and previous films, the original incarnation of the Turtles was in comic book form and had a bit darker tone. The newest live-action movie – the first since 1993 – was said to be going back to the gritty roots of the comics, and Jonathan Liebesman (Battle Los Angeles) is now in negotiations to direct. Variety brings word that Bay will produce along with Platinum Dunes co-founders Brad Fuller and Andrew Form. The plot is being kept secret, but the script was written by Ghost Protocol writers Josh Applebaum & Andre Nemec. Let’s face it: in the wake of Batman Begins, …