We finally have a Transformers 7: Rise of the Beasts trailer! Oh, and then there was also some casting news that has us a bit surprised. Not all of the names are odd for the franchise, but one certainly is.
Optimus Prime was seen in action at CinemaCon 2022 (the convention for film distributors), supposedly looking like a blend of the Michael Bay and G1 designs according to a report. Anthony Ramos was shown reacting to chaos and driving Porsches, while being surrounded by six of the same car around him.
As a reward for this long wait, we've learned that this is only the beginning of a new run of Transformers movies. This chapter, though will finally see the growth and expansion of the Transformers Cinematic Universe that fans have been wanted forever. Live-action versions of Optimus Prime and Optimus Primal will meet, as the Terrorcons and the Maximals join the Autobots and Decepticons on the big screen.
The 1987-set Bumblebee was the sixth movie in the long-running Transformers film series and was both a prequel and soft reboot for the series, with Travis Knight directing (Hollywood power player Michael Bay directed all six previous Transformers movies).
Rise of the Beasts, helmed by Creed II director Steven Caple Jr., continues the story that began in Bumblebee, this time taking place in Brooklyn circa 1994. Of course, this being a big, action-packed blockbuster, things won’t stay in one place for too long.
And as Paramount announced, Transformers 7: Rise of the Beasts is the first of three new installments. This sounds like a whole trilogy of movies. Are we going to get the "fall of the beasts," as well?
Here’s everything we know about Transformers: Rise of the Beasts so far.
Transformers 7: Rise of the Beasts trailer
In the second trailer, we saw more of the actual cast, including Pete Davidson and Michelle Yeoh's will voice Mirage and Airazor.
In the first Transformers 7: Rise of the Beasts trailer, the Transformers arrived in the big city. While Optimus Primal gets most of the time, we do see a bunch of other beasts, which Optimus Prime invites with a grim "Let them come!" Anthony Ramos also has a lot of time in the trailer.
Transformers 7: Rise of the Beasts release date
Transformers 7: Rise of the Beasts got pushed back to June 9, 2023, delayed from its original release date of June 24, 2022.
Transformers 7: Rise of the Beasts cast
Two important new additions of the cast were recently reported in Variety.
Michelle Yeoh will voice Airazor, a Maximal (descendants of the Autobots), who transforms into a falcon.
Pete Davidson voices Mirage, an Autobot that historically sees the war between his kind and the Decepticons as beneath him.
Anthony Ramos, who made a splash last month in In the Heights, will lead the human cast as Noah, an ex-military electronics expert who lives with his family in Brooklyn.
Ron Perlman, who voiced Optimus Primal in the animated series Transformers: Power of the Primes, will once again play the leader of the Maximals. Also returning is Peter Cullen as the voice of Autobots leader Optimus Prime.
The full cast includes:
- Anthony Ramos as Noah, the heroic lead human character from Brooklyn, an expert in electronics
- Dominique Fishback as Elena, an artifact researcher whose boss continues to take credit for her discoveries
- Ron Perlman as Optimus Primal, the leader of the Maximals that can transform into a gorilla
- Peter Cullen as Optimus Prime, the leader of the Autobots
- Lauren Vélez as Noah’s mother
Ramos and Fishback go way back, having known each other since college. Fishback posted on Instagram to share the news that they’d be co-starring in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts together.
Many fans want to know if John Cena will reprise his role as Jack Burns from Bumblebee. While there’s been no official confirmation, Cena said he’d be up for returning to the franchise after Bumblebee’s success. “I hope so,” said Cena in 2019 when asked about another Transformers movie. “I really enjoyed working with Travis [Knight], but I love the movie and it looks like it's going to make a lot of money too, so hopefully we'll be able to do it again.”
Hailee Steinfeld, who played Charlie Watson in Bumblebee, is currently not expected to return for Rise of the Beasts.
Transformers 7: Rise of the Beasts robots and more
While voice actors have yet to be announced for many of the robots in Transformers 7: Rise of the Beasts, Paramount has revealed some of the other fan-favorite characters that will appear.
Autobots
- Bumblebee, an Autobot scout that transforms into a yellow 1970s Chevrolet Camaro. Bumblebee was the star of the 2018 film of the same name and voiced by Dylan O’Brien, though he’s not confirmed to be returning.
- Mirage, an Autobot that transforms into a Porsche 911
- Arcee, a female Autobot that transforms into a Ducati 916 motorcycle
Terrorcons
- Scourge, the leader of the Terrorcons
- Nightbird, a female Terrorcon that transforms into a Nissan
Maximals
- Rhinox, a Maximal that transforms into a rhinocero
- Airazor, a Maximal that transforms into a falcon
Transformers 7: Rise of the Beasts plot
Director Caple revealed some story details for Rise of the Beasts during a virtual presentation for Paramount. The action of the new movie will go between New York and Machu Picchu and expand the Transformers universe beyond the Autobots and Decepticons, featuring the Predacons, Maximals and Terrorcons. The Maximals and Predcaons are prehistoric, time-traveling robots.
“In their disguise, they take on animal form,” said Caple during the presentation. “So in our film, they’re these prehistoric animals that travel through time and space, and we find them here on Earth.”
"One of the most important things we were trying to do with this movie is give the audience a lot of 'new,'" added producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura. "Our hope was, 'how do we find a new set of villains?' and 'how do we find a new set of priorities for these villains?' If you've seen and been a fan of the other movies, you're going to see villains you've never seen before, you're going to see Autobots you've never seen before. It's one of the driving decisions we're making. Fortunately for us, Transformers has a lot of tribes so there's a really large base of characters. This movie is bringing a lot of those tribes together."
Ramos, who plays ex-military electronics expert Noah, and Fishback, who plays artifact researcher Elena, find themselves caught up in a conflict between the disparate Beast Tribes.
The two actors gave insight into their characters: According to Ramos “[Noah is] all about taking care of the people he loves ... [He comes] from a lower-income home, so Noah’s always hustling.” Ramos added that Noah is “amazing with electronics” and that “the one thing I love about Noah is his tenacity and his heart, and his will to never quit, in spite of all the crazy things life is throwing at him. Then, it’s amazing to see his journey when we venture out into the world, when the humans meet bots and things start to happen.”
Fishback noted “I’m playing an intelligent artifact researcher who works at a museum. She’s trying to get a leg up in life but her boss keeps taking credit for the work she’s done, so she’s trying to [move out] on her own.”
Looking for something else to watch? Since we've got a long wait til Transformer 7, we thought we'd give you some other ideas. We've ranked the best streaming devices, and found the best shows on Netflix. As for suitable ways to cut the cord? Our guide to best cable replacements has you covered.
