Cowabunga, dude. It looks like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are here to stay. On the heels of a $65 million opening weekend, Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies on Sunday announced plans for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2, with a release date of June 3, 2016.

Michael Bay will return to produce with his Platinum Dunes partners, and Turtles writing team Josh Appelbaum and André Nemec are on board to pen the sequel script and executive produce. The statement did not specify whether or not Jonathan Liebesman would return to direct.

“To know moviegoers are embracing the Turtles with such enthusiasm is everything that we and all our filmmakers have been hoping for,” said Paramount chairman and CEO Brad Grey in a statement. “We are thrilled with this weekend’s result, the enduring power of this franchise, and the opportunity to make another one.”

“Launching a new take on the Turtles into the feature film world was a daunting task,” added Adam Goodman, president of Paramount’s Film Group, “because as fans of them ourselves, we felt a great responsibility to ensure audiences were going to experience everything they loved about the Turtles, while also getting to see them brought to life in a way they had never been seen before. The result exceeded our high expectations and the response to the film is beyond great, making it all the more fun to get started on the continuation of their story.”

The 2016 slate is still filling out, but Paramount’s June release date would put TMNT 2 up against Sony’s raunchy animated comedy Sausage Party. But, perhaps more important, it’s one week after the scheduled arrival of X-Men: Apocalypse.

Source: Insidemovies.ew.com