TheTransformersfranchise has endured a difficult life on the big screen. The first five live-action entries carried the corrosive “worst film ever” brand for almost a decade. They were shorthand for soulless, pointless, awful blockbuster entertainment. Travis Knight’sBumblebeeearned some goodwill, though his follow-up fell somewhere between the prequel’s quality and Michael Bay’s trash. After almost forty years, Hasbro and Paramount will wisely return to animation withTransformers One.
Josh Cooley will directTransformers One. Cooley made his feature directorialdebut withToy Story 4. His first film took home the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. He previously worked as a storyboard artist throughout the 2000s, contributing toThe Incredibles, Cars, Ratatouille, andUp. He co-wroteInside Out, leading to his position onToy Story 4. He worked his way up through outstanding success in several excellent projects.Transformers Onemight be his first action movie.
Release Date
May 30, 2025
Transformers Oneis a prequel that will tell the story of the war for Cybertron before the Transformers came to Earth. The concept emerged in May 2015. The tremendous box office success ofTransformers: Age of Extinctionprompted Paramount to redouble their efforts in the franchise. They tagged complicated filmmaker Akiva Goldsman (A Beautiful Mind,Batman & Robin) to assemble a writer’s room for futureTransformerspitches. They’d look at Hasbro’s ideas and write treatments for any that intrigued them. Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari joined the team and ran withTransformers One. Paramount announced the project in 2017. Travis Knight expressed interest in directing, but Paramount gave that role to Josh Cooley in 2020.
Transformers Oneis set to depict the downfall of Cybertron and the breakdown between Optimus Prime and Megatron. The go-to hero and villain will gradually become the robots-in-disguise fans know and love.Bumblebeebriefly touchedon the conflict in a computer-animated flashback.Transformers Onepurports to be the first in a trilogy of explorations of the war for Cybertron. Fans have called for a similar concept since the release of the first live-action outing. Dispensing with human characters and focusing on the fascinating sci-fi details could fix some of the franchise’s long-standing issues. Though theTransformershave inhabited animated TV seriessince the 80s,Transformers Onerepresents the second animated feature film. While the plot remains hidden,Onefeatures a solid premise.
Who is starring inTransformers One?
Chris Hemsworth and Bryan Tyree Henry headline thefilm as Optimus Primeand Megatron. The original Autobot and Decepticon will begin the film with different names before they ascend to their legendary titles. Optimus was born Orion Pax, a civilian chosen by the Matrix of Leadership to become a legendary hero. Megatron was once D-16, a worker who attained glory in gladiatorial combat before mounting a rebellion. Hemsworth takes over for Peter Cullen, the consistent voice behind Optimus since the 80s, with very few exceptions. Megatron has enjoyed a longer list of performers, but Henry primarily follows Frank Welker and Hugo Weaving. Other listed cast members include:
When isTransformers Onecoming out?
Transformers Oneis set to premiere onSeptember 13, 2024. It was previously scheduled for a July 13, 2025 release, but moved back to the fall. Its previous summer release date placed it incompetition withTwisters, possibly prompting the shift. Industrial Light & Magic, who provided visual effects for previousTransformersoutings and will animateOne, announced the project entering post-production this February.
Transformers Oneis the second animatedTransformersfilm. The baffling financial success of every live-action entry discouraged Paramount from deviating, though fans cried out for anything new.Transformers Onecould be the answer to every devotee’s prayers. Theoriginal 1986 classichas its problems, but most would gladly watch it ten times than sit down for one of Michael Bay’s takes on the franchise. AsTransformersenters a new era, fans will have to wait until September 13th to see if the War for Cybertron makes better cinema than its eventual aftershock.
