Meet Baron Draxum, John Cena’s villain from Rise of the TMNT

Nickelodeon has revealed their first look at Baron Draxum, voiced by WWE Superstar John Cena, an original villain in the all-new animated series Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

“I’ve always been a fan of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise, so getting the opportunity to voice a character, especially the villain Baron Draxum, is truly special,” said Cena.

An alchemist warrior mutant from the Hidden City, Baron Draxum is the self-proclaimed protector of all mutant-kind. Using ooze, he plans to mutate all of humanity with his insect-like creatures called Oozesquitoes. Cena’s recurring character will debut in the premiere episode of Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, premiering later this year on Nickelodeon.

Cena joins a voice cast that includes Omar Miller (Ballers) as Raphael, Ben Schwartz (Parks and Recreation) as Leonardo, Josh Brener (Silicon Valley) as Donatello, Brandon Mychal Smith (You’re The Worst) as Michelangelo, Kat Graham (The Vampire Diaries) as April O’Neil, and Eric Bauza as Splinter.

The 26-episode series follows the brothers as they adapt to their new powers as well as a mystical world set beneath the New York City streets. Each character has been reimagined for the new series including Raphael who will be a snapping turtle and wields twin tonfas as his melee weapons, while Leonardo will be a red-eared slider with an odachi sword by his side. Donatello is the soft-shell turtle, wielding a tech-bo staff, and Michelangelo is our box turtle, sporting a kusari-fundo.

Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles follows the band of brothers as they discover new powers and encounter a mystical world they never knew existed beneath the streets of New York City. The new 26-episode series is co-executive produced by Andy Suriano (character designer, Samurai Jack) and Ant Ward (supervising producer, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) at Nickelodeon in Burbank, Calif. Veteran animation industry voice actor Rob Paulsen is voice directing the series.