'Transformers: Rise of the Beasts' Teases Dark 'Threats' in Explosive Debut Trailer
The explosive debut trailer for Paramount's Transformers: Rise of the Beasts has dropped, and it teases dark "threats" in store for Optimus Prime and the Autobots. In the first footage from the new film, fans get a glimpse at a brand new breed of Transformer, one who will pose a much-needed ally in a war against great "darkness." Check out the full clip from the franchise prequel below.
"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," reads the movie's official synopsis, "and introduce a whole new breed of Transformer – the Maximals – to the existing battle on earth between Autobots and Decepticons." The film is directed by Steven Caple Jr. (Creed II) from a story and screenplay by Joby Harold, with Darnell Metayer, Josh Peters, Erich Hoeber, and Jon Hoeber. The Transformers: Rise of the Beasts cast includes Anthony Ramos, Dominique Fishback, Tobe Nwigwe, Peter Cullen, Ron Perlman, Peter Dinklage, Michelle Yeoh, Liza Koshy, John DiMaggio, David Sobolov, Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, Pete Davidson, and Cristo Fernández.
As mentioned, Rise of the Beasts is the second prequel to the current Transformers films — after Bumblebee (2018) — and marks the seventh live-action outing for the franchise. The first five films were directed by Michael Bay, with Bumblebee being helmed by Travis Knight. Notably, in Rise of the Beasts, Perlman is reprising his voice role as Optimus Primal from the web series Transformers: Power of the Primes. The film is reportedly the first in a new trilogy of Transformers movies.
In previous comments published by Coming Soon, Caple Jr. spoke about his vision for the film, saying, "As a fan and watching all the Transformers films, and then stepping into Bumblebee, I love the way he went back into '87." He added, "Again, it adds again to the nostalgia and something that people remember or connect to. So I was curious, when I met Lorenzo [di Bonaventura] and the team, I was like, where are we picking this thing up from? He was like 1994, and I was just like, that's a great era. You know what I mean?"
Capple Jr. continued, "It has a lot of texture. It's rich, its texture is also vibrant culturally. It has classic music and there's a certain energy to the 90s that I'm looking forward to capture. Like we've seen it on screen very few times, sometimes little hokey, you play into it too much, but I think there's a level of realness that I could bring to it. There's a level of grit, but grit that I kinda naturally default to, that we can like really make pop, you know, in terms of our world and the Autobots stepping into the 90s and all the callbacks and fun we can sort of play with there in that era." Transformers: Rise of the Beasts opens in theaters on June 9, 2023.