They’re robots; of course their franchise never dies. After an uncountable number of Michael Bay Transformers movies, the robot series is headed off in a new direction. And it’s historical fiction, too! By which I mean it’s set in the ’90s. (Hey, it worked for Captain Marvel.)
And this trailer wastes no time in getting to its point: Say hello to the beast-transforming Maximals and their leader, Optimus Primal (voiced by Ron Perlman).
This is apparently not a straight adaptation of Transformers: Beast Wars, a series from the mid-1990s, but a new tale that brings in the beastly Maximals to hang out with our old friends Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen) and Bumblebee. They will face a new enemy, the Terrorcons, which director Steven Caple Jr. (Creed II) called a “new threat” to this universe.
Here’s the extremely to-the-point summary:
Returning to the action and spectacle that have captured moviegoers around the world, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts will take audiences on a ‘90s globetrotting adventure with the Autobots and introduce a whole new breed of Transformer – the Maximals – to the existing battle on earth between Autobots and Decepticons.
The human cast is led by Anthony Ramos (In the Heights) and Dominique Fishback (The Deuce); the rest of the robot voice actors include Peter Dinklage (as Scourge), Michelle Yeoh (Airazor), Pete Davidson (Mirage), Liza Koshy (Arcee), and John DiMaggio (Stratosphere). It’s kind of fun how the robot designs are a little retro, and actually look like they’re made out of cars.
The screenplay has five credited writers—Joby Harold, Darnell Metayer & Josh Peters, and Erich Hoeber & Jon Hoeber—though only Harold (Obi-Wan Kenobi) gets credit for the story.
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts stomps into theaters on June 9, 2023.
