The Transformers live-action movie series will soon roll out its seventh entry, which has the subtitle of Rise of the Beasts. As its name might suggest, it incorporates not only Generation 1 character, but also robots in disguise from the 1990s series Beast Wars. This makes it somewhat like the current Netflix series and toyline Kingdom, though the cast is a good bit different in comparison.
Optimus Prime and Bumblebee will be joined by Autobots new and familiar, as well as a trio of the classic Maximal crew of the Axalon from Beast Wars. Here's a rundown of every heroic Transformer planned to appear in the upcoming movie and how they might factor into the plot.
The traditional leader of the Autobots, Optimus Prime, will obviously be making his return in Rise of the Beasts. The movie will have him retaining the G1-styled redesign seen in 2018's Bumblebee, which is a positive for fans who wished to see the look in action more, and growing into his leadership role. Given that the movie takes place in the 1990s on Earth, however, Prime's actions there do seemingly further complicate the series' continuity.
Perhaps the franchise's biggest on-screen name, the plucky yellow Autobot Bumblebee is as much of a shoo-in for the film as Optimus himself. Reports say that he will take on a dune buggy version of his Camaro form for an alternate mode, combining the Chevrolet sports car with the classic form briefly seen in his 2018 solo movie.
Mirage is described as an anti-authoritarian Autobot who gets into trouble and won't listen to anyone. However, despite appearing in Dark of the Moon under the name "Dino," he's also being passed off as a "new character." Instead of his usual form of an F-1 race car, his alternate mode is a Porsche 911, which is more reminiscent of the character Jazz. The silver and blue color scheme he will sport does sound evocative of Mirage's typical designs in the source material, however.
Arcee will finally have a major role in the series after appearing briefly in Bumblebee and being horribly portrayed in Revenge of the Fallen. The former film gave her a design that was an exact update of Generation 1, while the franchise's second movie gave her an ugly and bizarre design that made her one of three "Arcee triplets."
Rise of the Beats will see her transform into a Ducati motorcycle, and while this isn't her classic car form, it's somewhat accurate. Arcee was first made into a motorcycle in Transfomers: Energon, and she was going to turn into a bike in early concept art for the first movie before her character was scrapped. Arcee is described as the voice of reason in Rise of the Beats, which evokes her demeanor from Prime.
The Autobots won't be the only transforming robots on the side of good. They'll be joined by the Maximals, who, in the original show's continuity, were the descendants of the Autobots from the future. As in that show, their leader is Optimus Primal, who is named and styled after Optimus Prime and transforms into a gorilla.
Airazor and Rhinox will also appear, and while the latter obviously retains the alternate mode of a rhinoceros, Airazor trades her falcon form for a hawk. These forms are described as being rusty in appearance, suggesting that the organic look of Beast Wars will be rejected in favor of a traditionally robotic one. Unfortunately, Rhinox is described as a dumb rhino who likes smashing things, despite his being a brilliant scientist in Beast Wars and that show's equivalent to Wheeljack and Perceptor. It's still unknown how the Maximals will end up in the '90s, but there's soon to be more to the animal kingdom than meets the eye.
Directed by Steven Caple Jr., Transformers: Rise of the Beasts stars Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback. The film has yet to receive a release date.
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