'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' casts Alan "Aquaman" Ritchson as Raphael

The Michael Bay-produced Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film has finally turned the corner after the initial fanboy uproar, and has moved on to actual casting. Following on the hiatus to retool and rewrite an allegedly horrible script, there seems to be a commitment to depicting the Turtles most are familiar with. The start of this movement began last month when the April O'Neill role was filled by Megan Fox, and now they've cast the first actual Turtle.

Alan Ritchson is taking on the role of Raphael, the red bandana-wearing, sai-wielding turtle who usually has a bad attitude. Ritchson is about to blow up in a major way, and will put his fighting skills to the test as Gloss in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. Smallville fans will also recognize him as Arthur Curry, aka the superhero Aquaman.

Unlike the earlier TMNT films, this one won't have actors in suits, but will instead use a form of performance capture similar to Avatar. With production set to begin next month, expect the other turtles to be cast fairly soon, and maybe we'll get some sort of clarification on Kid Cudi's involvement. Ninja Turtles hits theaters on May 20th 2014. [Deadline]