Does one say “oh ho!” or “dude!”? Both work here, as news has come that Sean Astin (Lord of the Rings trilogy, 24, Rudy, Goonies) has been cast as the voice of Raphael in Nickelodeon’s CG-animated series reboot of the extremely popular late 80s-early 90s series. The three other Turtles voices have already been cast: Jason Biggs (American Pie) as Leonardo, Greg Cipes (Teen Titans) as Michelangelo; voice artist icon Rob Paulsen (Animaniacs, The Looney Tunes Show) will take on the voice role of Donatello after voicing Raphael in the previous series. The new series is reported to be in production at the Nick Animation Studio in Burbank, Calif., and is currently set to premiere in fall 2012.

The new Raphael spoke with EW about the new gig:

EW: Raphael has typically been portrayed as the grumpiest Turtle. Is that still true in the new series?
SEAN ASTIN: Do you mean to say the coolest?

Well, he was explicitly “cool, but rude” in the original cartoon. Is he still rude?
He’s still working through issues. He’s really good at what he does, and he doesn’t suffer fools lightly. Sometimes that arrogance can get him in a little bit of trouble.

You’re obviously a little biased, but is he your favorite Ninja Turtle?
He’s everybody‘s favorite Ninja Turtle. Raphael’s the coolest, no question about it. Ask anybody.

Clearly he has the right mindset for the part. As SciFi Mafia reported earlier this week, the show’s writing staff has changed, but since word has it that “select fans” will be getting a first look at the reimagined Turtles at next month’s Comic-Con International 2011 in San Diego, it looks like things are starting to really move along. Gnarly!