MAXIMIZE! After grossing billions of dollars at the box office since 2007, the Transformers film franchise is now taking things to a new level: A cinematic, live-action adaptation of the 1996-1999 CGI animated series Beast Wars: Transformers. Serving as a sequel to the 2018 prequel Bumblebee, the next film will be titled Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.
Here’s everything we know so far about Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, including its release date, trailer, plot details, and more.
When is the Transformers: Rise of the Beasts release date?
Transformers: Rise of the Beats will be released in theaters on June 24, 2022.
When was Transformers: Rise of the Beasts announced?
On June 22, 2021, Inverse attended a virtual press conference for what was advertised as the first step in the “new era” for the Transformers movies. With producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura and director Steven Caple Jr. (Creed II), the film was announced as Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.
Is there a Transformers: Rise of the Beasts trailer?
There is no trailer yet available for Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. The June 22 press conference marked the beginning of principal photography, which meant there was nothing to preview when the movie was announced.
However, the studio did reveal a logo, which you can see below.
What is Transformers: Rise of the Beasts?
Rise of the Beasts is the next film in the Transformers film franchise that will take after the Beast Wars mythology, which was popularized in the CGI animated series that ran from 1996 to 1999.
In the series, the war between the Autobots and Decepticons continues 300 years later with their descendants, the Maximals and the Predacons respectively. The two factions crash land on a desolate alien planet rich in the Energon resource — later revealed to be a prehistoric Earth.
While Rise of the Beasts will feature Beast Wars characters, the film will instead take place in late 20th century Earth and share the same continuity as the existing Transformers cinematic franchise, which includes both the 2018 prequel Bumblebee and the Michael Bay-directed films.
What is the plot of Transformers: Rise of the Beasts?
Little is known about the plot and premise of Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. However, at the June 2021 virtual press conference, the filmmakers revealed the story will take place in 1994 in Brooklyn, New York. Other key scenes will also take place in Peru.
In a change of pace from previous Transformers movies, the movie will not again stage the usual war between the Autobots/Decepticon war; though both Autobots and Decepticons are confirmed to appear in the movie including the villainous Scourge. Instead, Rise of the Beasts introduces new factions: Maximals, the Predacons, and the Terracons.
What Transformers will appear in Rise of the Beasts?
The virtual press conference confirmed a handful of big-name Autobots and more, including:
- Optimus Prime, sporting a new G1 look; longtime Optimus Prime voice actor Peter Cullen was confirmed to reprise his iconic role for Rise of the Beasts
- Bumblebee, as a new off-road Camaro
- Scourge
- Acree, as a Ducati 916
- Mirage, as a blue/silver Porsche 911 Turbo
- Nightbird, as a Nissan Skyline GT-R
- Airazor
- Rhinox
- And last but certainly not least, Optimus Primal
Who are the humans of Rise of the Beasts?
Filling out the human side of Rise of the Beasts are Anthony Ramos (In the Heights) and Dominique Fishback (Judas and the Black Messiah). At the conference, the actors revealed their characters:
- Fishback plays “Elena,” an artifact researcher who works at a museum where her boss continues to steal credit from her own work.
- Ramos plays “Noah,” a Brooklyn native and ex-military who serves as a “father figure” to his siblings. “He came back home trying to find his way, if you will, when he came back home,” Ramos said at the virtual conference. “They come from a low-income home, so Noah’s always hustling.” Ramos also added that Noah is a tech prodigy who can fix anything. “It’s cool when we see him in his element at a certain point in the film.”
Will this movie be more like Bumblebee or Michael Bay?
When asked by an attendee what tone Rise of the Beasts will have, producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura is a “spectacle ... in the tradition of the [Michael] Bay films.”
“I hesitate because Steven has a different style. But on a scale, we’re going for the full experience that I think our franchise has come to be known for,” di Bonaventura said. “It’s gonna have the spectacle and action you want to have.”
Steven Caple Jr. added that “I want you to feel something” and promised both “spectacle and heart.”
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts will be released in theaters on June 24, 2022.
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