Transformers: Rise of the Beasts

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is a 2023 American science fiction action film based on Hasbro's Transformers toy line, and primarily influenced by its Beast Wars sub-franchise. It is the seventh installment in the Transformers live-action film series and serves as both a standalone sequel to Bumblebee (2018) and a prequel to Transformers (2007). The film was directed by Steven Caple Jr. from a screenplay by Joby Harold, Darnell Metayer, Josh Peters, Erich Hoeber, and Jon Hoeber. It stars Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback as well as the voice talents of Ron Perlman, Peter Dinklage, Michelle Yeoh, Pete Davidson, Liza Koshy, Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, Colman Domingo, Cristo Fernández, Tongayi Chirisa, and returning franchise regulars Peter Cullen, John DiMaggio, and David Sobolov. Set in 1994, the film follows ex-military electronics expert Noah Diaz and artifact researcher Elena Wallace as they help the Autobot faction of the Maximals protect an artifact known as the Transwarp Key from the villainous Predacon faction of the Terrorcons who intend to use it to bring their planet-eating master Unicron to Earth.
Following the critical and commercial success of Bumblebee, Paramount Pictures and Hasbro announced a sequel in early 2019. In November 2020, Caple was hired as director for the film. By 2021, Ramos and Fishback were cast in the lead human roles, and details for the film were revealed that summer in a virtual event held by Paramount. Michael Bay, who directed the first five live-action Transformers films and produced Bumblebee, once again serves as producer. Principal photography took place from June to October 2021, with filming locations including Los Angeles, Peru, Montreal, and New York City.
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts premiered at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore on May 27, 2023, and was theatrically released in the United States on June 9, 2023, by Paramount Pictures. The film received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $439 million worldwide against a production budget of $195–200 million; while not a total bomb, it was considered a financial disappointment, and is the lowest-grossing installment in the franchise.
Two sequels are in development, while an animated prequel set on Cybertron, Transformers: One, is scheduled to be released on September 13, 2024.
Plot
The planet-eating Unicron attacks the homeworld of the Maximals, an advanced race of Transformers. The Terrorcons, Unicron’s heralds led by Scourge, want the Transwarp Key which can open portals through space and time and can help Unicron consume planets faster. The Maximal leader Apelinq sacrifices himself to allow the other Maximals to escape the planet before Unicron devours it. Now under the command of Optimus Primal, the Maximals flee to Earth with the key.
In 1994 Brooklyn, Noah Diaz, an ex-military electronics expert, struggles to find a job to support his ill brother Kris and is convinced by his friend Reek to steal a Porsche to sell only to discover that it is the Autobot Mirage in disguise. Concurrently, museum intern Elena Wallace studies an ancient statue of a falcon bearing the Maximal symbol and accidentally breaks it open to reveal the key hidden inside. The key releases an energy pulse detected by Autobot leader Optimus Prime, who summons the other Autobots. Mirage is contacted in the middle of Noah's attempted theft, and he is roped into the Autobots' mission to recover the key so they can use it to return to their homeworld of Cybertron.
Drawn by the key's signature, the Terrorcons arrive on Earth and attack the Autobots outside the museum, with Elena becoming caught up in the conflict. Scourge deactivates Bumblebee, steals the key, and retreats when the Maximal Airazor arrives. Airazor reveals that the Maximals have been hiding on Earth for millennia, and Scourge only has half of the Transwarp Key, which was split in two to keep it away from Unicron. Optimus insists that the key be reassembled so the Autobots can use it to return home, while Noah secretly plots to destroy the key to keep Earth safe.
Elena deduces that the other half of the key is in a hidden temple in Peru. The cargo plane Autobot, Stratosphere takes them to Peru, where they meet with Wheeljack, who leads them to the temple. However, the other half of the key is revealed to no longer be there. The Terrorcons attack again, and the battle ends with Scourge corrupting Airazor with Unicron's dark energy. Subsequently, the Autobots meet Optimus Primal and the other Maximals, who entrusted the second half of the key to a human tribe they have worked with for millennia. Scourge's corruption overtakes Airazor, whom Primal reluctantly deactivates at her request to save Elena. In the chaos, Noah attempts to destroy the second half of the key, but Optimus convinces him otherwise. Scourge steals it and then reassembles the two halves, erecting a tower and opening a portal above the Earth, which Unicron will soon go through.
Optimus and Noah agree to work together to protect their home worlds from Unicron. While Autobots and Maximals battle the Terrorcon army, Noah and Elena sneak in close to the Key, planning to deactivate it with an access code Elena has uncovered. During the battle, Scourge wounds Mirage, who was protecting Noah, but transforms his damaged body into a powered exo-suit for Noah so they can fight together. Bumblebee is reactivated when the key activates the Energon-infused valley. He helps the Autobots and Maximals turn the tide of the battle. Optimus kills Scourge, but not before the latter damages the control console to prevent the portal from being shut down. Optimus destroys the key and collapses the portal, willing to sacrifice himself, but Noah and Primal save him from being sucked into the imploding vortex, which destroys the remaining Terrorcon army.
In the aftermath, the Autobots, unable to return to Cybertron, proclaim Earth as their new home and vow to continue protecting it alongside the Maximals. Elena receives recognition for discovering the temple in Peru while Noah attends an interview for a security job but finds he is actually being invited to join the secret military organization G.I. Joe, who will cover Kris's healthcare.
In a mid-credits scene, Noah repairs Mirage using junk Porsche parts from Reek who claims it is unroad-worthy, and Noah disproves him by calling to Mirage to transform in front of Reek.
Cast
Humans
Anthony Ramos as Noah Diaz, an ex-military electronics expert who lives with his family in Brooklyn, trying to support them.
Dominique Fishback as Elena Wallace, an artifact researcher and intern at a museum.
Luna Lauren Vélez as Breanna Diaz, Noah's mother.
Dean Scott Vazquez as Kris Diaz, Noah's younger brother who suffers from sickle cell disease.
Tobe Nwigwe as Reek, Noah's friend who talks him into grand theft auto. The character was based on a mutual best friend of Caple's, who died prior to filming in 2021.
Sarah Stiles as Jillian Robinson: Elena's boss at the museum who keeps taking credit for her work.
Leni Parker as Ms. Greene, a hospital administrator that questions Noah about the payment for Kris' appointment.
Aidan Devine as Bishop, a security chief who cancels a job interview with Noah due to having talked with Noah's former commanding officer.
Lucas Huarancca as Amaru. the descendant of a tribe that helped the Maximals for hundreds of years.
Michael Kelly as Agent Burke: an undercover recruiter for G.I. Joe.
Lesley Stahl as herself, she appears on 60 Minutes interviewing Elena about the underground ruins she discovered.
Transformers
Peter Cullen as Optimus Prime, the leader of the Autobot resistance who transforms into a red 1987 Freightliner FLA semi truck. Caple revealed on Instagram that Optimus Prime's unmasked face in the film was designed after Cullen himself.
Ron Perlman as Optimus Primal, the leader of the Maximals who transforms into a western lowland gorilla. The character's beast mode in the film was based on unused concept art that was illustrated for an inclusion in the 2017 film, Transformers: The Last Knight.
Peter Dinklage as Scourge, the leader of the Terrorcons and a trophy hunter who transforms into a black Peterbilt 359 logging semi truck.
Michelle Yeoh as Airazor: A Maximal warrior who transforms into a peregrine falcon.
Pete Davidson as Mirage, an Autobot spy who can project holograms and transforms into a silver-blue Porsche 964 Carrera RS 3.8, and briefly, into a Formula One car, a Lamborghini Countach, a garbage truck, and an exo-suit. Davidson described voicing Mirage as "Jim Carrey's The Mask meets Bugs Bunny", due to his rebellious personality.
Liza Koshy as Arcee, an Autobot sharpshooter who transforms into a red-white Ducati 916 motorcycle. In preparation for the role, Koshy worked out to help her "find the right voice" for the character.
John DiMaggio as Stratosphere, an Autobot Air-Soldier who transforms into a Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar cargo plane, that provides transportation for the Autobots in their global adventure.
David Sobolov as:
Rhinox, a Maximal commando who transforms into a white rhinoceros.
Battletrap, a Terrorcon enforcer who transforms into an orange 1980s GMC TopKick C7000 tow truck. According to Sobolov, he considered voicing him "The most ruthless character he's ever done."
Apelinq, the previous Maximal leader who transforms into a mountain gorilla and sports retractable blades on his arms.
Michaela Jaé Rodriguez as Nightbird: A Terrorcon ninja who transforms into a Nissan Skyline GT-R R33. Rodriguez is the first transgender actor to voice act in the franchise's history.
Colman Domingo as Unicron, a world-devouring planet-sized Transformer who serves as the Terrorcons' master. This marks the character's first proper live-action depiction after previously being teased in The Last Knight.
Cristo Fernández as Wheeljack, an Autobot scientist and mechanic who transforms into a brown and white 1970s Volkswagen Type 2 panel bus, while speaking in a Mexican accent.
Tongayi Chirisa as Cheetor, a Maximal scout who transforms into a cheetah.
Non-speaking characters
Bumblebee, an Autobot scout who transforms into a modified yellow-black 1970s Chevrolet Camaro, later equipped with all-terrain extensions. Due to having lost his voice box, he can only communicate through beeps and pre-recorded film quotes.
The Sweeps, an army of spider-like Terrorcons. Scourge has two built into his body, identified in promotional material as Freezer and Novakane.
The Scorponoks, an army of robotic scorpions, identified as the Predacons in promotional material.
Production
Development
In December 2018, when asked about the future of the Transformers franchise, producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura stated that another big Transformers film "would be produced" and that it would be "different than the ones that we've done before." He described the process as more of an "evolution," saying that there is more freedom to create and what they can do with it. After the success of Bumblebee that year, he said that the series would make some changes in tone and style, inspired by the film. Bumblebee director Travis Knight said his goal was to return to his animation studio, Laika, though he acknowledged that he has a few ideas for a sequel. John Cena expressed interest in reprising his role in a sequel. Writer Christina Hodson said that "[she] knows where [she wants] to go with the next one". In late January 2019, a sequel was announced. In March, di Bonaventura confirmed they were developing a script for a Bumblebee sequel.
In January 2020, Paramount Pictures was reportedly working on two different Transformers films, one written by James Vanderbilt and another written by Joby Harold. In November, Steven Caple Jr. was hired to direct Harold's script. In February 2021, it was revealed that the film was going under the working title Transformers: Beast Alliance, hinting the introduction of characters from the Beast Wars franchise. During a virtual event held by Paramount in June, di Bonaventura and Caple revealed the official title as Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (revealing to be both a Bumblebee sequel and Beast Wars film in one), and confirming that it would feature the Maximals, the Predacons, and a new take on the Terrorcons faction. The film's tone and action were heavily influenced by Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991). Despite the announcement of the Predacons, no such member appeared in the finished film.
In an April 2023 interview, Di Bonaventura stated that the film's story will have a character arc for Optimus Prime prior to the 2007 film, akin to Bumblebee in his self-titled film. In May, Caple said that the events of the 2007 film will be preserved, but also that the story would be standalone and that "Ultimately, all you need to know is that they're trying to get back to Cybertron."
Casting
In April 2021, Anthony Ramos was cast for the lead role in the film. Later that month, Dominique Fishback was cast opposite Ramos. It was also revealed that Darnell Metayer and Josh Peters had been hired to rewrite Harold's screenplay. Ultimately, Harold, Metayer, Peters, along with Erich and Jon Hoeber received screenplay credit, with Harold solely receiving story credit, while Ken Nolan, Tony Rettenmaier, Juel Taylor, and Vanderbilt received "additional literary material" credit off-screen.
In June, actress Lauren Vélez revealed that she has a role in the sequel. In the same month, Peter Cullen was confirmed to return as Optimus Prime for the film, and Ron Perlman was announced to be reprising his role as Optimus Primal from the Power of the Primes web series a week later. In July, rapper Tobe Nwigwe revealed that he had a role in the film, making his film debut. In October 2022, Caple Jr. revealed that Michelle Yeoh and Pete Davidson will voice Airazor and Mirage, respectively, in the film.
On December 1, 2022, additional members of the voice cast were announced, consisting of Peter Dinklage as the film's antagonist Scourge, Michaela Jaé Rodriguez as the female Terrorcon Nightbird, Liza Koshy as Arcee, who replaced voice actress Grey DeLisle from both Bumblebee and Revenge of the Fallen, Cristo Fernández as Wheeljack and voice actors John DiMaggio and David Sobolov from previous installments in dual roles for each actor. DiMaggio voices Stratosphere, an Autobot that originated from the toyline of Revenge of the Fallen and the Dark of the Moon video game from 2009 to 2011, and Transit, a Decepticon that turns into a transit bus. Though the character was omitted from the final film due to poor test screening results. While Sobolov, being the sole cast member from the Beast Wars animated series, voices both the Maximal Rhinox and the Terrorcon Battletrap.
Caple revealed more members of the voice cast would be revealed in the coming months and expressed interest to bring Mahershala Ali to provide voice work. On April 6, 2023, two months before the film's release, Tongayi Chirisa was announced to be voicing the Maximal Cheetor. Cheetor's original voice actor, Ian James Corlett expressed his support to Chirisa in the role later in that same month. On April 27, 2023, after the release of the second trailer, Colman Domingo was announced to be voicing Unicron. Ahead of the film's release in the same week that June, Sobolov revealed he had an additional third role as Apelinq, the Maximal leader before Primal; Apelinq is a post-Beast Machines character that originated in fiction created for BotCon, the official Transformers annual convention from the early 2000s.
Filming
Principal photography began on June 7, 2021, in Los Angeles. Filming also took place in parts of Peru such as Machu Picchu, Cusco, Tarapoto, and San Martín, Montreal, New Mexico, Iceland, and Brooklyn. On October 20, it was announced that filming had officially wrapped.
Post-production
Rather than Industrial Light and Magic from the previous installments, the film's visual effects for the Transformers and Beast Wars characters were provided by Moving Picture Company and Wētā FX.
Music
Jongnic Bontemps provided the film's score, after previously working with Caple on his directorial debut, The Land. Bontemps is the third composer in the series after Steve Jablonsky and Dario Marianelli. Recording sessions for the score began on March 27, 2023, at the Eastwood Scoring Stage at Warner Bros. Jablonsky would later be involved in the film's score. The score references tracks written by Jablonsky for Transformers (2007), namely "Arrival to Earth" and "No Sacrifice, No Victory", as well as Vince DiCola's "Unicron Medley" from The Transformers: The Movie (1986).
To keep the authenticity of the film's setting, Caple confirmed tracks from the rap groups Wu-Tang Clan and A Tribe Called Quest would be featured.
On May 18, 2023, the song "On My Soul", composed by Tobe Nwigwe and Nas and featuring Jacob Banks, was released as a single from the film's soundtrack.
Marketing
Paramount showed a sizzle reel of the film at their CinemaCon presentation in April 2022.
A teaser trailer was released on December 1, 2022. In an interview with BET, Caple discussed his decision to handpick the trailer's song, a remix of "Juicy" by The Notorious B.I.G. He explained it as the "perfect" choice since Notorious B.I.G.'s album "Ready to Die" was released in the 1990s, the time period the film is set in. He further said that Notorious B.I.G.'s "voice and what he meant in that era and time" captured much of what they were doing in the film. The trailer garnered 238 million views on YouTube in its first 24 hours, more than any previous trailer in Paramount's history, and was in fourth place for that 24-hour cycle behind two Avengers: Endgame (2019) trailers and the first Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) trailer. In addition, the trailer also achieved 494 million global, cross-platform views in the first week, more than the view count of other film trailers released that week, such as those for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
A 30-second Porsche advertisement as a TV spot aired during Super Bowl LVII on February 12, 2023. Optimus Prime was featured at the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards on March 4, 2023, for the Lifetime Achievement Award. Over a month later, Prime would then appear at Coachella 2023, presenting Tobe Nwigwe, one of the film's stars.
The trailer was released on April 27, 2023. It uses "Ruff Ryders' Anthem" by DMX. Many commentators highlighted the appearance of Scourge and Unicron as the main villains for the film, though some highlighted that the DMX song used was not released until 1998, four years after the film is set.
Release
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts had its world premiere at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore on May 27, 2023, and was released theatrically in the United States on June 9, 2023 in IMAX, Dolby Cinema, 4DX, and RealD 3D formats. The film was delayed from its initial release date of June 24, 2022. Internationally, the film was released on dates ranging from June 6, 2023 (in South Korea), to June 22, 2023, the film's Australian release date. The film was released in Japan on August 4, 2023.
Home media
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts was released on Digital HD on July 11, 2023, and was released on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray and DVD on October 10, 2023.
Reception
Box office
, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts has grossed $157.1 million in the United States and Canada, and $281.9 million in other territories, for a worldwide gross of $439 million. It has underperformed at the box office and is currently the lowest-grossing installment of the franchise.
In the United States and Canada, Rise of the Beasts was projected to gross $50–60 million from 3,673 theaters in its opening weekend. The film made $25.6 million on its first day, including $8.8 million from Wednesday and Thursday night preview screenings, up from the totals of The Last Knight ($5.5 million in 2017) and Bumblebee ($2.85 million in 2018). It went on to debut to $60.5 million, topping the box office. In its second weekend the film dropped 67% to $20 million, finishing fourth. It then made $11.6 million in its third weekend.
The film broke records in Peru, earning $6,165,943 in its opening week, and as of August 10, 2023, it is the highest-grossing film in Peru of all time, surpassing Avengers: Endgame, with earnings of over 52,6 million soles while also bringing in 3,7 million viewers. Peru was the fourth highest-grossing territory for the film, behind only the United States, China and Mexico.
Critical response
Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A–" on an A+ to F scale, while those polled at PostTrak gave it an 83% overall positive score, with 68% saying they would "definitely recommend" it.
Matt Donato of IGN gave the film a 7 out of 10, stating that "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts proves that Bumblebee wasn't a fluke, and that the Transformers series is finally accelerating in the right direction." Reviewing the film for RogerEbert.com, Christy Lemire gave the film 2.5/4 stars, writing, "But ultimately, Rise of the Beasts does what every Transformers movie has to do: wrap up with a seemingly endless fight sequence in which big, shiny chunks of metal slam noisily into each other. The smaller and more intimate special effects are more impressive than these massive set pieces; Mirage evolves in a multitude of cool ways that look tactile and realistic, for example. But while this climax isn't as dizzying and interminable as they so often are, it's still rather dull compared to the action that came before it." Graeme Guttmann of Screen Rant awarded the film a score of two and a half stars out of five, saying "There are a few bright spots in Rise of the Beasts, but these are largely overshadowed by a lot of generic parts that would not be out of place in any of the previous six Transformers movies."
Chicago Sun-Timess Richard Roeper gave the film two out of four stars, writing "Never fear, though, the old-school adventure soon gives way to yet another fast-cut, murky, CGI-fueled action sequence. The stakes couldn't be lower, the excitement any less palpable. How many times have we already seen these too-long battle scenes in which computer-created machines and/or creatures bang into each other and tear each other apart while proclaiming it all ends today or some such thing?"
Accolades
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts received a nomination for Best Summer 2023 Blockbuster Trailer at the 2023 Golden Trailer Awards.
Future
Sequels
In February 2022, Paramount announced that Rise of the Beasts would be the first of three new installments in the Transformers series.
In May 2023, it was also announced Paramount was also planning a crossover between the Transformers and G.I. Joe franchises. The ending of Rise of the Beasts hints at this being a possible future, with Noah being asked to join G.I. Joe. In July 2023, di Bonaventura stated that while the crossover would not interfere with the continuity of the franchise's first five installments, he believed that "continuity’s overblown, because sometimes you miss a great idea."
Animated prequel
A feature-length animated film titled Transformers: One, starring Chris Hemsworth and Brian Tyree Henry, is scheduled to be released on September 13, 2024. Industrial Light & Magic, who provided the effects for the live-action films, will return to provide the animation for the film.
References
External links
2020s American films
2020s English-language films
2023 action adventure films
2023 science fiction action films
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American action adventure films
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Di Bonaventura Pictures films
Films about ancient astronauts
Films directed by Steven Caple Jr.
Films produced by Don Murphy
Films produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura
Films produced by Michael Bay
Films produced by Tom DeSanto
Films scored by Jongnic Bontemps
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Rise of the Beasts
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