Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (film)

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So for now, let the battle be here, on this strange, primitive world. And let it be called... Beast Wars!

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts

Production info Production companies Skydance Media Entertainment One di Bonaventura Pictures New Republic Pictures Bay Films Distributor Paramount Pictures Release date June 9, 2023 Story by Joby Harold Screenplay by Joby Harold Darnell Metayer Josh Peters Erich Hoeber Jon Hoeber Directed by Steven Caple Jr. Edited by Stuart Levy Brett M. Reed Cinematography by Enrique Chediak Music by Jongnic Bontemps Producer(s) Lorenzo di Bonaventura Tom DeSanto Don Murphy Michael Bay Mark Vahradian Duncan Henderson Executive producer(s) Steven Spielberg Brian Goldner Brian Oliver Bradley J. Fischer Valerii An David Ellison Dana Goldberg Don Granger Continuity Live-action film series Running time 127 minutes [1] Budget $200 million Box office $438.9 million[2]

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is the seventh film in the live-action film series, serving both as a sequel to Bumblebee and a tribute to Beast Wars. The film is directed by Steven Caple Jr. and written by Joby Harold, Darnell Metayer, Josh Peters, Erich Hoeber, and Jon Hoeber. Originally expected to be released on June 28, 2019,^[3] the film was delayed multiple times until finally being released on June 9, 2023.^[4]

When Noah Díaz, a struggling young man trying to provide for his family, is roped into a conflict between the marooned Autobots and the recently arrived Terrorcons, he must learn to work with weary Autobot leader Optimus Prime so they, with the help of the wise Maximals and the unadventurous researcher Elena Wallace, can stop the arrival of the planet-eater Unicron.

Synopsis

This is one unusual planet... whatever it is.

Somewhere in time and space, the dark god Unicron and his minions invade a jungle world populated by Maximals. Unicron, seeking a way to cross galaxies, sends his Terrorcon herald Scourge to retrieve the Transwarp Key, an advanced device that can open portals in space-time. Although the Maximals attempt to fight back, their leader Apelinq entrusts Optimus Primal and a small group of Maximals—Airazor, Cheetor, and Rhinox—with the Transwarp Key and orders them to keep the artifact from Unicron. As Primal and his followers use the key to escape their doomed planet and flee to prehistoric Earth, Scourge kills Apelinq after a brief fight and takes his insignia as a trophy.

Thousands of years later, in June 1994, ex-military electronics expert Noah Díaz attempts to find a job to support his sick brother Kris. However, after another failed interview, his friend Reek convinces him to steal an expensive car from a nearby hotel. However, the "car" turns out to be the Autobot Mirage in disguise, who takes the terrified Noah on a joyride through the streets of New York City. At the same time, a museum on Ellis Island comes into possession of an unusual stone falcon with a Maximal insignia. After closing hours, museum intern Elena Wallace investigates the statue and accidentally breaks it open to reveal half of the Transwarp Key. The artifact releases an energy pulse that attracts the attention of Optimus Prime and the other Autobots, who have been stranded on Earth since their evacuation of Cybertron seven years prior. Prime summons the nearest Autobots—Arcee, Bumblebee, and Mirage, who arrives at the meeting spot with Noah in tow. Although Optimus distrusts humans, he believes that they can use the Transwarp Key to return home and liberate their homeworld; eventually, Mirage hatches a scheme to sneak into the museum and have Noah steal the key for them.

A treacherous, underhanded sneak attack! I like you, pussycat, yes.

Unbeknownst to the Autobots, the accidental activation of the Transwarp Key summons the Terrorcons to Earth. Noah meets Elena inside the museum, but cannot convince her to turn over the relic before the Terrorcons attack; despite Prime's best efforts, Scourge successfully overpowers the Autobot leader, steals the Transwarp Key, and mortally injures Bumblebee before Airazor arrives to help drive the villains away. Airazor explains that the Maximals have been on Earth for millennia, and deliberately split the Transwarp Key in half to prevent Unicron or his followers from using it. The loss of Bumblebee only further galvanizes Optimus's resolve that they must reassemble the key and return home; Noah, fearful of Unicron's arrival, tells Elena that they must destroy the key to protect their own homeworld.

Moderate your conflict circuits, Maximals.

Elena deduces that the other half of the key is located in a hidden temple in Peru, and Prime recruits the airborne Autobot Stratosphere to take them there. Near the city of Cusco, the Autobot Wheeljack guides them to the temple, located beneath a local monastery. A festival prevents the Autobots from moving through the city inconspicuously; as a result, Noah and Elena must make the journey on foot. The pair discover a hidden mechanism that leads to a hidden temple with a stone sarcophogus but find that the other half of the key is no longer inside it. The Terrorcons attack again, and although the Autobots are able to evade the villains, the conflict ends with Scourge infecting Airazor with a portion of Unicron's dark energy. On the other side of the temple, Noah and Elena encounter Optimus Primal and the other two Maximals, who, after a brief standoff that was defused by Airazor, agree to join forces with the Autobots. Optimus Primal explains that they entrusted the Transwarp Key to a tribe of humans who live near the energon-rich valley that Primal and his followers inhabit—while Optimus Prime distrusts humanity, Primal has lived among them for millennia, and has come to view them as friends and even allies.

The next morning, however, Scourge's corruption finally overtakes Airazor; in the ensuing battle, Primal is forced to crush her spark to save Elena, while Noah makes an attempt to destroy their half of the Transwarp Key until Optimus convinces him to stand down. However, Scourge and the Terrorcons take advantage of the chaos to steal the other half of the key and relocate to a nearby volcano, which they reshape into a massive portal that will summon Unicron to Earth.

Across the galaxy, it has come to this, Optimus Primal. Face to face, tooth to claw, yes... have you anything to say?

Having found some common ground between their two races, Optimus Prime and Noah agree to work together; while the Autobot-Maximal alliance battle Unicron's minions, Noah and Elena attempt to sneak into the Terrorcon base and deactivate the transwarp device with a manual shutdown code based on Elena's studies of the Maximal language. Mirage attempts to distract Scourge so that the humans can complete their mission, but the Terrorcon leader gravely injures him; with the last of his strength, Mirage reshapes his body into an exosuit for Noah. As Unicron begins pushing his way through the portal to Earth and sending down reinforcements in the form of Predacon Scorponoks, the energy pulses released by the key ignite the nearby energon deposits and restore Bumblebee to life. As Bumblebee joins the fight, Optimus Prime gains the upper hand and finally kills Scourge, but not before the Terrorcon damages the console and leaves the heroes unable to close the portal. With no other options, Prime destroys the key and triggers a devastating implosion, but Noah and Primal successfully rescue the Autobot leader from falling into the collapsing vortex.

In the aftermath, the surviving Maximals remain in Peru, while the Autobots return to America. Elena is recognized for her archeological discovery, while Noah applies for another security job—but discovers that the job opportunity is actually a front for a clandestine government organization codenamed "G.I. Joe," who promise to cover his brother's treatment going forward.

Some time later, Noah has used spare Porsche parts to cobble together a new body for Mirage, and reveals his existence to a bewildered Reek.

Cast

Quotes

"There’s a legend that precedes the dawn of our civilization: a vile god so large, so powerful, that it consumed entire planets as fuel. Few believed such a thing could be true, until the day we saw Unicron with our own eyes…"

—Optimus Primal's opening narration.

"I'll hold him off, buy you some time."
"Then I'm staying with you."
"This is my fight. Listen, if Unicron were to get the key, he could open a portal through time and space, with no end to the worlds he could destroy. It is now your time to lead the Maximals... Optimus Primal."

—Apelinq passing the torch to Optimus Primal.

"So you're this planet's... great warrior. You have such a beautiful world, filled with an abundance of life. Savory."

—Scourge waxes poetic to Apelinq.

"Okay, what are the rules?"
"Bros before hoes."
[Noah glares at Kris]
(sigh) "Don't be a problem. Don't go looking for a problem—"
"Or else we're gonna have a problem."

—Noah and Kris clarify the rules.

"I ain't breaking into a museum for some space robots."
"But what about for friendship?"
[Noah stares at Mirage incredulously]
"Uh, uh—or or or, what about for cash?"

—Noah wants out. Mirage wants him in.

"You can't handle the truth!"
"I do not want you going to that drive-in theater anymore."

— Bumblebee's references grate on Optimus Prime.

"Stop following me!"
"I'm not following you, I'm just escaping in the same direction!"

—Elena and Noah run from the pursuing Sweeps.

"And you call yourself a Prime...Primus would be ashamed."

—Scourge isn't too impressed with Optimus Prime.

"I'm going to take back Scourge's key, and then...take off his head."

—The origins of Optimus Prime's "GIVE ME YOUR FACE" phase.

"I love your fire, Prime, but you're going to die on this speck of dust."
"I can think of no better place to bury you!"

—Scourge has gotten on Optimus Prime's last nerve

"He is not the Optimus Prime I imagined."
"Well, he has lost so much."
"Many more will perish if the key falls into the wrong hands."
"If you had another chance to save our home, would you act any differently?"

—Optimus Primal and Airazor

"I am sorry, Noah."
"You were looking out for your own. I can't even be angry at you for that."
"On my homeworld, we believe that the battle with darkness will continue 'til all are one. I lost sight of that. You fought for yours as I fought for mine, when we should've been fighting the darkness together."
"Well, I ain't done fighting yet."

—Optimus Prime and Noah have a moment as Unicron approaches.

"I have come here to kick ass!"

—Bumblebee announces his return with a clear message.

"Time to show you the real power of a Prime!"

—Optimus Prime lays the smackdown on Scourge. An ass kicker cometh.

"Don't, Prime. I can give you everything you want."
"Then DIE!"

—Unicron's temptation falls flat in Optimus Prime's face.

"I am Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots. We have lost the Transwarp Key, and with it, our ability to go home. But we have gained an ally in our battle against the forces of evil. Forces too powerful for any of us to defeat on our own, but together, we might just have a chance."

—Optimus Prime's closing narration. We missed them.

"I am Noah Díaz. What is there to know about me? I was raised out in Brooklyn. I got a little bro who calls me Sonic, and if I gotta help save the universe in order to help save the people I love, well then that's what I'm gonna do."

—Noah does his own closing narration.

Continuity notes

Rise of the Beasts is a direct sequel to 2018's Bumblebee film, taking place seven years after its events, in 1994. The plot of the film has little impact on this one, beyond it being established that the Autobots have been stranded on Earth since arriving at its end. While waiting for Noah to infiltrate the museum, Optimus Prime and Bumblebee have a conversation that alludes to Bee's time with Charlie Watson.

More notably, Rise of the Beasts serves to continue the heated debate among fans over whether or not the Transformers live-action film series has been rebooted, after reshoots to Bumblebee that served to distance it from the earlier films directed by Michael Bay introduced some significant discontinuities with Bay's films (2017's The Last Knight in particular). Though fans were quick to jump on the idea that this meant the film was a total, hard reboot of the movie universe, Paramount has not committed to that idea; Rise of the Beasts was not promoted as a reboot any more than Bumblebee was, and many reviews of and articles about the film have casually referred to it as a prequel. Some web outlets would even run articles commenting on Paramount's hazy stance on the movie's (and Bumblebee's) place in continuity.^[5][6]

In-keeping with this, in the run-up to the film's release, like Travis Knight before him, director Steven Caple Jr. was reluctant to declare the film a full and total continuity reboot; notably, in one particular interview, he called the film "a reboot for sure," only to walk the statement back ten seconds later, instead saying that one "could call it a reboot" in terms of starting point, reframing it instead as a "refresher" and a "new direction," that nonetheless preserved many elements of the earlier films.^[7] Longtime producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura has taken a more explicit stance, repeatedly denying that the film is a reboot and stating that it is a prequel that shows how Optimus Prime grows to become the character seen in the Bay films.^[8][9] At the same time, di Bonaventura has also conceded that they were "kicking the can down the road" when it came to continuity concerns, preferring to worry about it in the future, and that the films "maybe have" contradicted Bay's movies despite efforts not to.^[10] These particular claims line up with statements made by Caple after the film's release, in which he stated he is "not worried" about continuity, and is just focused on making the best choices for each individual movie's story. He cites 2007's Transformers and Dark of the Moon as "his classics," and says he would "love to stay within that line," but does not feel compelled to adhere much to Age of Extinction and The Last Knight, since he views their stories as the result of creators "freestyling," and doubts that "anyone knew exactly where they were going with [them]."^[11] And that's... probably about as good an answer as we're going to get right now.

Whichever approach you subscribe to, it's pretty clear the decision to set the film in 1994 was one primarily made to avoid having to directly deal with the timeframe of the Bay movies in any capacity, and tell a new story free of their immediate baggage — the "can-kicking" Lorenzo spoke of. For what it's worth, the film takes some steps to preserve the broad continuity of at least the first Bay film; the Transwarp Key's energy is explicitly stated to operate on a frequency that humans cannot perceive, meaning that they literally cannot see the huge sky-beam, while massive storm clouds appear to hide the appearance of Unicron from public view. As such, the film ends with the general population of Earth (beyond secret forces within the US government) still entirely unaware of the Transformers' existence, as was the case when the 2007 film began. As the time-gap between these "prequels" and the first movie narrows, though, it becomes increasingly difficult to imagine them fitting together without a lot of hand-waving away of specific details, unless future movies actually start making active attempts to address this.

In terms of active contradictions to established continuity, Rise of the Beasts appears to take the same approach as Bumblebee and ignores the events of The Last Knight by depicting Unicron as a separate planet, rather than the Earth itself, as he appeared in that film. However, it's probably important to note that the film lightly implies that the Maximals are time-travellers from the future (see "Transformers references" for more details), which would mean that the Unicron who appears in this film is also from the future. Thus it could be argued that his appearance here doesn't technically contradict The Last Knight—but of course, that would mean he was trying to eat his own past self.

Transformers references

• The Maximals are broadly depicted the same as they were in the Beast Wars cartoon: as a "highly-advanced race" of beast-mode Transformers who use transwarp technology to travel to other planets and interact with their native species, whose travels bring them to ancient Earth. Steven Caple Jr. has noted that earlier drafts of the screenplay explicitly depicted the Maximals as time-travellers from the future, as they were in the cartoon, and while the concept is so toned down for the finished movie that it probably won't even occur to general audiences, several references to the idea are still made on-screen. Transwarp technology is stated to open portals in time as well as space; Airazor states that the Maximals are "from both [the Autobots'] past and future"; and Optimus Primal says that he is named after the "legendary" Optimus Prime, which all combine to suggest that the Maximals originate from the future.
• The idea of the Maximals hailing from a jungle planet originates in IDW Publishing's comic books, which depicted many Beast Wars characters as the residents of the planet Eukaris. The planet is implied to be one of many colonised by Transformers in ages past using space bridges generated by the Transwarp Key, before the planets became separated and the key "lost." This concept of a great era of Cybertronian expansion that led to the foundation of lost colonies on other planets where Cybertronian life evolved in new and different directions dates back to 2005's Cybertron cartoon, and became a recurring element in Transformers series in the 2010s and beyond after it was incorporated into the lore of the Aligned continuity.
• Unicron's armies being named the "Terrorcons" hearkens back to both 2004's Energon and 2010's Prime, which both featured the power of Unicron being used to create armies of warriors known as Terrorcons. In particular, the corrupted Airazor's rusted appearance resembles the Prime Terrorcons, which were also rusted, dilapidated, shambling bots controlled by the will of another.
• Though not identified by name onscreen, Unicron's army includes multiple duplicates of a robotic scorpion identified by the movie's toyline as "Predacon Scorponok." The idea of "Scorponok" being a mass-produced "species" of robots has recently been seen in the War for Cybertron cartoon, where both Generation 1 Scorponok and Beast Wars Scorponok were treated this way.
• The Maximals vow to keep the Transwarp Key hidden and safeguard life "no matter the cost," evoking Optimus Prime's iconic line from The Transformers: The Movie: "Megatron must be stopped, no matter the cost."
• Optimus Prime's design features alterations from his earlier Bumblebee appearance that are influenced by his appearance in the first three Bay films; he has silver hands, feet, sun visors, angled chest windows, retractable orange Energon swords, a handheld orange Energon-axe (which transforms out of his arm, coincidentally similar to the Earthspark version), and a mask-less face sporting similar details.
• Arcee transforms into a Ducati motorcycle, like her Revenge of the Fallen incarnation, and the design of her arms and deployable cannons seem to be directly inspired by her Prime counterpart.
• Scourge combines aspects of his Generation 1, Robots in Disguise and Cybertron namesakes; he's a herald of Unicron and has an army of Sweeps like G1 Scourge, transforms into a black Optimus Prime-like truck like RID Scourge and hails from a colony world like Cybertron Scourge. The various insignias he wears as trophies include the symbols of the Decepticons, Autobots, Maximals, Predacons, Terrorcons, Mercenaries and Wreckers. His designer Eddie Del Rio also admitted on his Instagram to pulling inspiration from Animated Lockdown for his robot mode (and stealing insignias like trophies is well in character for the old bounty hunter as well).
• More obscure characters appear such as Apelinq, who originates from a BotCon 2000 toy and tie-in 3H Productions comics, and Stratosphere, returning from the Revenge of the Fallen toyline and last seen in the Dark of the Moon console video game, albeit with a new, original design and characterization.
• When Nightbird lands at the Museum following the carnage, she makes some very familiar warbling noises when she moves.
• The two music tracks used in Unicron's scenes feature segments taken from Vince DiCola's "Unicron's Theme" in The Transformers: The Movie.
• Scourge stands and talks to Unicron's face from inside his body, similar to a scene with their characters from the Generation 1 episode, "Ghost in the Machine".
• The symbols Elena studies are Maximal Cybertronix, from the Beast Wars cartoon. The access code Elena assembles doesn't translate to anything, and simply reads "XQB," but the text on the side of the Transwarp Key (written in a combination of mirrored and upside-down symbols) reads: "He Who Opens The Door."
• The authors of the paper Elena reads about Peru's unexplained glyphs are Asahi Takara and Daniel H. Tomy, a reference to TakaraTomy, Hasbro's longtime business partner in Transformers toys.
• After meeting Optimus Prime for the first time, Noah incorrectly calls him "Optimal". "Optimal Optimus" is the name of the original Optimus Primal's Transmetal 2 body.
• When proposing different alternate modes to Noah, Mirage briefly turns into a F1 car, a reference to his Generation 1 counterpart's alternate mode. He also turns into a Lamborghini Countach, which wasn't just a really cool car, but also famous in Transformers lore for being the alternate mode of Generation 1 Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, and Red Alert, as well as Breakdown, in the same colors no less. He then turns into a Ferrari off-screen, the alternate mode of Dark of the Moon Dino, whose name in media outside of that movie was "Mirage". Doing so off-screen could be a poke at the difficulty Ferrari caused in getting their car on screen for Dark Of The Moon.
• Mirage is incredulous over the news that musician Mark Wahlberg is leaving his band, the Funky Bunch, and going into acting—a good-natured jab at the actor's leading role in the earlier Transformers movies, Age of Extinction and The Last Knight.
• Scourge name-drops Primus as he taunts Optimus Prime, the first reference to the Transformers' creator god in any of the live-action movies.
• Scourge injures Prime's left flank in the museum battle, which mirrors the injuries Megatron gave to the original Optimus Prime in The Transformers: The Movie. Prime even grasps the wound in the same way his predecessor did.
• Airazor explains that Unicron imbues his heralds with a "dark energy," which increases their power, but also has a corrupting effect—almost certainly a reference to Dark Energon, the life-energy of Unicron introduced in the Aligned continuity. This was confirmed on the special features for the blu-ray of the movie.
• Unicron psychically tortures Scourge from afar in the same way he did Galvatron in The Transformers: The Movie.
• When Optimus Primal talks to Optimus Prime about how the Maximals trust the humans, he says there's "more to them than meets the eye".
• Optimus states the Cybertronian belief that "the battle with darkness" will continue: "'Til all are one." This phrase, and the idea of a day prophesied in Cybertron legend when it will come to pass, originates with The Transformers: The Movie, and is here used to thematically connect with the shared struggle of the Autobots, Maximals, and humans.
• When the heroes are lining up for the final battle, brown fins briefly pop out of the sides of Wheeljack's head, evoking his Generation 1 design.
• As the heroes charge towards the Terrorcon army, Optimus Primal commands Rhinox and Cheetor to "Maximize!", which was the Maximal activation code from the Beast Wars cartoon.
• Optimus Primal briefly fights with his double bladed scimitar from his original toy.
• In the final battle, when Unicron sends an army of Sweeps to reinforce his minions on Earth, they make their descent in the form of yellow-and-black orbs, which appears to be a nod to Unicron's Mini-Con from Armada, the yellow-and-black sphere, Dead End.
• The armored suit Mirage forms over Noah is conceptually an homage to the Generation 1 exosuits, while its overall design hews closer to Kicker Jones' battlesuit from Energon.
• In a glorious homage to the 2007 movie, the musical highlight of Steve Jablonsky's "Arrival to Earth" plays as Optimus, Noah, and Primal escape the collapsing transwarp portal's suction.
• Optimus Prime's final speech is set to a remixed version of the track "No Sacrifice, No Victory" from the 2007 movie's score, which was also reprised for the endings of Revenge of the Fallen and The Last Knight.
• G.I. Joe and Transformers have frequently crossed over in comics and the occasional toyline over the years, though this marks the first time the two have co-existed in a feature film. Notably, the G.I. Joe insignia on Burke's business card is the version introduced in the film G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.

Real-life references

• When Noah is getting a cable box working, he tunes in to the 1992 film Juice.
• A TV screen briefly shows news coverage of the O. J. Simpson white Ford Bronco car chase, which places the events of the film near June 17, 1994.
• Throughout the film, Noah and Kris use the codenames "Sonic" and "Tails" (and in one instance, Mirage is referred to as "Knuckles"), a nod to the characters from the Sonic the Hedgehog videogame series.
• Kris wears a shirt of the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers, another property owned by Hasbro. A poster of said series also appears on his wall.
• Kris is heard playing Super Mario Bros. on his Game Boy. However, see "Anachronisms".
• Noah gives their address as 974 Wilson Avenue in Brooklyn. While the avenue in question exists in reality, the street numbers only reach the 600s.
• Kris attempts to comfort Noah after his unsuccessful interview by relating his struggle to Superman's difficulty finding a job before being hired by the Daily Planet.
• When Mirage compliments Noah after the car chase, he quotes the line "I like it a lot" from Dumb and Dumber. However, see "Anachronisms".
• Also in the aftermath of the chase, he refers to the 1988 movie Big during his impression of Optimus Prime.
• Noah calls Mirage E.T. for obvious reasons. He also makes a reference to Indiana Jones when discovering the hidden temple in Peru.
• Bumblebee drops various voice lines from famous real-life films throughout the whole movie, including Die Hard, Spaceballs, They Live, A Few Good Men and Scarface.
• While fleeing in the museum, Elena sings Zhané's song "Groove Thang" to try to calm herself down.
• As they rendezvous with the other Autobots for the trip to Peru, Mirage announces that "Wu-Tang is in the building."
• Elena sings the TLC song "Waterfalls" to herself during the flight to Peru. However, see "Anachronisms".
• The Inti Raymi festival taking place when the Autobots arrive in Peru is a real festival that takes place on June 24, further tying the film's events to that month.
• During the mountain road car chase at Peru, the shot of Scourge's insignia-covered grille reflected in Prime's rearview mirror homages a famous shot from Steven Spielberg's 1971 film Duel.
• When meeting Primal, Elena brings up the Nazca Lines and the archeological site at Tikal, asking if the Maximals were responsible for creating them. In this case, however, Primal takes no credit for human ingenuity.
• Mirage calls Optimus Primal "Donkey Kong".
• At the end of the film, Elena appears on the CBS news program 60 Minutes; host Lesley Stahl makes a cameo appearance as herself during the segment.
• The award on the wall that serves as the hidden switch to access the G.I. Joe base reads "Real Hero Award" with the image of an American flag, referencing the subtitle of the 1980s G.I. Joe franchise: "A Real American Hero".

Errors

Filming, animation, and technical errors

• When Scourge kills Apelinq, he welds his Maximal insignia to his right shoulder, but throughout the rest of the film, Apelinq's insignia is gone. In the same scene, Scourge says "They never learn...", but his mouth is not moving.
• A recurring error sees the CGI models for Freezer and Novakane, which were supposed to have unique head injuries for each character, being switched around at random at various points in the movie. A very noticeable example of this happens when Scourge deploys a single Sweep in Peru whose model has an intact head with just a pair of scars on its forehead, but is moments later replaced by the model with a much bigger wound and a missing left antenna. Several other Sweeps of varying sizes also reuse these models during the final battle, completely taking away the intended uniqueness of each head design.
• When Reek yells down the street as Noah and Kris depart, his dialogue does not match his lips.
• When Optimus Prime is about to throw his axe at Scourge, there is some distance between the two. However, in the next shot they are within just meters of each other.
• When Scourge says "Now, to add a Prime to my collection", his claw is both folded in on his arm and deployed at the same time.
• When Mirage attempts to eavesdrop on Noah and Kris' conversation, he is barely tall enough peer into the balcony while standing on a car. However, a minute later when Kris promises him to keep Noah safe he is somehow tall enough to comfortably look into the balcony without anything to stand on.
• The doors that go onto Wheeljack's back are unmarked brown in the scene of him transforming from van mode, but feature text on them in the very next cut where he is in robot mode.
• When Wheeljack audibly gasps at Noah assuming he can speak Spanish, his mouth is not moving.
• When Mirage and Optimus Prime turn into a street in Cusco, there is another Optimus Prime truck in the background. This can only be seen if you pause at the right moment.
• As Optimus decks Scourge during the Peru chase, Scourge seems to suffer a wardrobe malfunction as a rogue wheel not located anywhere on his torso springs out of his right armpit.
• Additionally, there are times when vehicles just disappear during the Switchback chase;
  • Scourge's truck conveniently takes a lot of time to round a corner Optimus has just turned, despite being only feet behind him
  • Mirage is no longer visible next to Nightbird when Battletrap pulls his 180 turn stunt.
• When Wheeljack is recovering from being attacked by Rhinox, his mouth is not moving as he says "Ay-ay-ay."
• As the heroes are walking through the jungle, the scene cuts to Elena while she is saying "So, what are you?", which does not match her lips.
• During the final battle, the line where Primal declares "We'll clear the way!" accidentally uses the scratch track recorded by David Sobolov rather than Ron Perlman's final VO. This led to some confusion among fans, who thought the line might have been spoken by Rhinox (who, despite Sobolov being credited for the role, is silent in the finished film), but Sobolov himself clarified the mix-up at a later convention panel.
• As Optimus Prime looks up at Unicron arriving at the mouth of the portal, Arcee can be seen scuttling about blasting Sweeps; except her blasters produce no laser effects.
• From the time Bumblebee acquires his offroad Camaro, his wheels are inconsistent between his robot and vehicle modes, with some shots showing his normal Camaro's wheels instead of the offroad ones. It is most visible for the wheels on his shoulders.
• Scourge's mouth is not moving as he proclaims "Unicron will prevail!" before shooting the transwarp control panel.
• Elena audibly whimpering in Bumblebee as he drives through hoards of Sweeps does not match her lips.

Continuity errors

• The fight between Optimus and Scourge outside the museum has some very inconsistent physics:
  • Scourge slams Optimus against a nearby obelisk, the impact somehow doesn't make the structure collapse although the Autobot leader is made of materials much harder than stone or bricks and having much more physical mass. Scourge then punches Prime in the face, again, against the obelisk which might suggest the structure is durable enough to hold a full blow thrown by a highly-advanced mechanical being.
  • Yet Scourge breaks it with his bare hands with little effort shortly after in order to hit Optimus again.
  • Yet the obelisk is still heavy and hard enough to beat Prime to the ground.
  • Yet the impact doesn't leave any visible damage to Optimus while the object itself crumbles like being made of LEGO bricks.
  • Argh.
• After Scourge incapacitates Bumblebee, he plucks his Autobot badge off with a normal left hand. In the following shot, however, his left hand is transformed into his giant claw and he is no longer holding the badge.
• During the chase out of Cusco, when Optimus Prime reaches the bend, the Terrorcons are very close behind him. However, when he transforms into robot mode, they are suddenly much further back.
• When Stratosphere transforms in Peru, it starts with him facing away from Optimus Prime. However, in the next shot he's now facing towards him.
• When Scourge walks away with the second half of the key, his left arm switches from the claw to the cannon between shots.

Geographic discontinuities

• There is a museum on Ellis Island... however, it's a museum that documents the turn-of-the-century immigrant experience, and not the generalized natural history museum shown in the film. Notably, the actual museum is composited out of the movie's establishing shots so that the made-up museum setpiece can replace it.
• Elena states that she has never left New York. Ellis Island, her place of work, is almost completely owned by the state of New Jersey, discounting a small portion that was the island's original size that is still a part of New York. Even discounting that, the waters surrounding the island are wholly owned by the Garden State.
• When the Autobots arrive at Cusco, they land at the citadel of Sacsayhuamán, an Inca fortress on the northern outskirts of the city, and the site is deserted. Even on a normal day, it should be crawling with tourists, but the Autobots are specifically said to arrive during the Inti Raymi festival... whose central activity is a recreation of an Inca ceremony at Sacsayhuamán.
• The fight with the corrupted Airazor takes place at Machu Picchu, which nobody is witness to, as again it is completely deserted. It should be crawling with tourists, the staff that works at the site, the guests and staff of the lodge located right next to the complex, or the population of the town of Aguas Calientes at the base of the mountain.

Anachronisms

• Though the "you died!" music and mention of Bowser imply Kris is playing Super Mario Bros. on his Game Boy, that game wouldn't see a release on the system until 1999's Super Mario Bros. Deluxe on the Game Boy Color (which was incompatible with the original monochrome model anyway). The only Mario platformers released for Game Boy by 1994 were the Super Mario Land games, which featured different antagonists and music.
• The F1 car which Mirage briefly turns into is based on a design chassis that would be introduced at the very end of the 90s (at least 1998/1999).
• Elena sings "Waterfalls" by TLC to calm herself down. Assuming the film takes place in June, it would still be a few months until the November 1994 release of the album CrazySexyCool, which the song first appeared on.
• Similarly, Mirage quotes a line from Dumb and Dumber, a film that would not release until December 1994.
• A green car that was smashed and thrown in the Museum scene was a B5.5 Volkswagen Passat which would not be released until 2001.
• The promo for 60 Minutes uses the program's contemporary imaging, including the use of the current CBS News logotype above that of the show.

Music

During the runup to the movie's theatrical release, star Tobe Nwigwe, who portrays Reek in the film, collaborated with hip-hop mainstay Nas and Nigerian R&B artist Jacob Banks on the single "On My Soul", and released on May 19, 2023. A remix of the song is featured during the climactic battle, though this particular mix has (sadly) not been released officially. Paramount also released a Spotify-exclusive playlist featuring most of the 90s rap needle drops, including Wu-Tang Clan, The Notorious B.I.G., and once again Nas, to name a few.

A score album, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (Music from the Motion Picture), was released to music streaming services on June 9, the same day as the film. An expanded vinyl edition of the score was later released on December 15, featuring five bonus cues. Then, to celebrate the one-year anniversary of Rise of the Beasts, a collection of pre-production music suites was compiled onto an album entitled Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (Music That Inspired the Score), which was released on June 9th, 2024.

Home video releases

Main article: Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (film)/home video

Just a month after its theatrical release, Paramount released Rise of the Beasts to digital storefronts on July 11, with the DVD, Blu-Ray and 4K Ultra HD Blu-Ray releases following a few months later on October 10. Bonus features include cast and crew featurettes and deleted/extended scenes.

Reception

Coming off the back of the generally well-received Bumblebee, Rise of the Beasts received mixed reviews. While critics largely praised the old-school adventure film sequences and the performances of the human leads, most criticism was directed at the film's protracted final battle scene and its overuse of computer-generated imagery—in particular, some critics juxtaposed the film's tamer action scenes against the madcap, sometimes over-the-top practical effect-based destruction employed by Michael Bay during his time in the director's chair. As of writing, the film holds a 51% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, although the audience score sits at a much higher 91%.

In the US and Canada, Rise of the Beasts opened to a strong $60.5 million start—higher than both The Last Knight and Bumblebee ^[12]—but suffered a brutal 66.1 percent drop in its second weekend, where it lost out to other June releases; The Flash, Elemental, and Across the Spider-Verse.^[13][14] A week later, the film took in a comparatively dismal $11 million.^[15] The film's domestic theatrical run came to a close in August 2023 with approximately a $439 million worldwide gross, marking the lowest-grossing instalment in the franchise.^[16]

Despite the lower-than-expected box office performance, Hasbro seems to regard the film as an overall success and noted it as one of the top box office performers of the year in a subsequent investor presentation.^[17] This optimism might come down to the fact that the summer 2023 movie slate was particularly packed; this, combined with a post-COVID shift in media demographics, means that pretty much every summer movie that wasn't Barbie or Oppenheimer underperformed to some degree. Paramount Pictures CEO Brian Robbins described the film's performance as "not great, but good" and blamed its financial woes on an increasingly fractured global box office less receptive to American movies—especially in China, the franchise's biggest overseas market, where Rise of the Beasts' gross of $90 million was only half of what Paramount had projected it to earn.^[18] It should be noted that Rise of the Beasts was a huge hit in Peru, where the film's third act is set; it surpassed Avengers: Endgame as the highest-grossing movie ever in the country,^[19] and Peru ranks as the fourth highest-grossing territory for the film, behind only the United States, China and Mexico.^[20]

In 2024, Rise of the Beasts received no nominations for a Golden Raspberry Award. None whatsoever, including a Razzie Redeemer Award.^[21] Although Jimmy Kimmel wasn't too fond of the movie as he even poked fun at its questionable state during the opening monologue at the 96th Academy Awards.^[22]

Development details

This guy's got bearings of chrome steel.

• March 27, 2015 — Paramount Pictures negotiates with Akiva Goldsman, hiring him to create a "writer's room" with the intention of building a cinematic universe.^[23] Goldsman goes on to hire a number of writers over the next few months: Steven DeKnight (Daredevil),^[24] Robert Kirkman (The Walking Dead),^[25] Art Marcum and Matt Holloway (Iron Man),^[25] Christina Hodson (Shut In, The Fugitive),^[26] Lindsey Beer (Dig),^[26] Zak Penn (Pacific Rim 2),^[25] Jeff Pinkner (The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Lost),^[25] Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari (Ant-Man),^[27] Ken Nolan (Black Hawk Down), and Geneva Robertson-Dworet.^[28] Involved in the pitching process are Steven Spielberg, Michael Bay, Brian Goldner, Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Mark Vahradian, and Don Murphy.^[29]
• October 3, 2015 — During his keynote speech at the MIP Junior Conference, Allspark's Stephen J. Davis notes that the writing team has come up with film concepts for Transformers 5, 6, 7, and 8.^[30]
• February 12, 2016 — At Toy Fair 2016, Hasbro reveals the projected release date of Transformers 7, along with the dates for the two preceding films.^[3]
• September 23, 2017 — At Licensing Europe 2017, Hasbro announces Transformers 7 will have an "entirely new, exciting storyline".^[31]
• February 16, 2018 — Hasbro clarifies at Toy Fair 2018 that the film will be a reset of the franchise and has been delayed indefinitely until a new creative team is in place.^[32]
• May 24, 2018 — Paramount drops the film from their release schedule.^[33]
• March 15, 2019 — di Bonaventura states a sequel to Bumblebee is in development.^[34]
• March 18, 2019 — di Bonaventura claims that the next main Transformers film will be a reboot closely tied to the Bumblebee sequel, rather than a direct sequel to The Last Knight. Either way, Paramount will pick the best script for Transformers 7 and release that first.^[35]

Hey, you think that's speed? You ain't seen the Golden Rocket.

Then we will create alternate forms, based on the most powerful local creatures!

• January 27, 2020 — Variety reports two Transformers films are being penned, to be produced simultaneously: one written by James Vanderbilt, another to be written by Joby Harold.^[36] Deadline reports that Vanderbilt's script is for a spin-off film based on Beast Wars, while Harold's script continues the story from the Bumblebee film.^[37]
• May 2, 2020 — Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner confirms that a new Transformers live-action movie is slated for release on June 24, 2022. However, only one between Harold's Bumblebee sequel and Vanderbilt's Beast Wars film will make it to production first.
• August 21, 2020 — New Republic Pictures is announced as a new co-financier for Paramount in a ten-picture deal in the wake of the success of 2019's Rocketman.^[38]
• November 16, 2020 — Steven Caple Jr. is announced as the director.^[39]
• April 1, 2021 — Anthony Ramos is in talks for a starring role.^[40]
• April 29, 2021 — Dominique Fishback is in final negotiations to star in the film.^[41]
• June 13, 2021 — A casting call sheet for filming in Montreal reveals that the film is set in 1992.^[42]
• June 22, 2021 — A Paramount virtual event is held in which the movie's title, premise, and few of the characters and cast are unveiled (revealing it to be both the Bumblebee and Beast Wars films in one).^[43][44] The film's logo and official premise are also unveiled on official Transformers social media accounts.^[45]
• June 28, 2021 — Ron Perlman is announced to be reprising his role as Optimus Primal from Power of the Primes. Darnell Metayer and Josh Peters are confirmed as writers, inspired by Joby Harold's earlier draft.^[46]
• July 11, 2021 — Rapper Tobe Nwigwe announces on Instagram that he's been cast in the movie.^[47]
• October 6, 2021 — Caple Jr. reveals the vehicle modes for the Autobot and Terrorcon cast through his Instagram account.^[48]
• October 20, 2021 — Filming is completed.^[49]
• October 21, 2021 — Cuscopolita reports on the vehicles with the film's Peru crew, confirming the unidentified vehicles as Wheeljack and Battletrap.^[50]
• October 22, 2021 — Ramos makes a guest appearance on Hasbro Pulse Con 2021, confirming Cheetor, his favorite Beast Wars character, will be in the film.^[51]
• November 10, 2021 — Paramount announces the film has been delayed to June 9, 2023.^[4]
• February 15, 2022 — Paramount confirms that Rise of the Beasts will be the first entry in a trilogy of films.^[52]
• October 11, 2022 — Caple Jr. reveals through Instagram that Pete Davidson is the voice of Mirage, and Michelle Yeoh is the voice of Airazor.^[53]
• October 21, 2022 — Tobe Nwigwe states on an Instagram post that they are doing some re-shoots for Rise of the Beasts, including featuring his character in additional scenes.^[54]

I'd say that's PRIME! Let's do it!

• December 1, 2022 — The official teaser trailer is released by Paramount Pictures in conjunction with São Paulo's CCXP convention, giving audiences a first glimpse of the film and its various characters, including Mirage, Arcee, Scourge and the Maximals. Multiple voice cast members are also announced.^[55]
• December 2, 2022 — Jongnic Bontemps is announced as the film's score composer.^[56]
• December 16, 2022 — Caple Jr. shares a clip of Peter Cullen performing on his Instagram account.^[57]
• December 26, 2022 — Optimus Prime and Optimus Primal make a "guest" appearance on the 2022 Nickelodeon Nickmas NFL game, showcasing both modes and their transformations.^[58]
• January 31, 2023 — Sam Smith reveals toy concept art for a new character from the film, Freezer.^[59]
• February 12, 2023 — Paramount airs a 30-second TV spot detailing Mirage's Porsche 911 vehicle mode for Super Bowl LVII in collaboration with Porsche.^[60]
• April 2, 2023 — During the 2023 NCAA Division I Men's Final Four on CBS, Paramount aired a first-of-its-kind mixed reality TV spot that showed off Optimus Prime and Optimus Primal appearing on a 90s basketball court that transformed from the court the actual basketball match was being played on. A few brief clips from the first trailer were also shown.^[61]
• April 6, 2023 — Actor Tongayi Chirisa announces on Instagram that he is the voice of Cheetor.^[62]
• April 14, 2023 — To promote the film, Optimus Prime introduces Tobe Nwigwe's performance of "On My Soul" at Coachella.^[63]
• April 27, 2023 — The official trailer is released by Paramount Pictures, revealing more of the movie and Unicron's role in the plot, as well as delivering a first, brief look at the Predacons.
• May 6, 2023 — The first clip is showcased at the 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards, showing the Autobots' first interaction with the Maximals.
• May 12, 2023 — The website Puliwood reveals the film's Hungarian dub cast...including the voice of Apelinq, a character that had not yet been announced to be appearing in the film.^[64]
• May 27, 2023 — The film's world premiere is held at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.
• June 5, 2023 — David Sobolov confirms on Instagram that he is also voicing Apelinq in the film.^[65]

Changes before, during, and after production

I prefer to beat my enemies the old-fashioned way: brutally!

• An early cut of the film opened with a different prologue, in which a Decepticon named Transit, dispatched from a Decepticon-controlled Cybertron to hunt down Optimus Prime, battles and is killed by Optimus, who dumps his body in the Hudson River alongside numerous other Decepticons who have tried to do the same in the past few years. The scene was dropped due to test audiences finding it too dark, but John DiMaggio remains credited as the voice of Transit even in the finished film. Most of the visual effects for the scene were completed, and it was included (sans the river-dumping part) as a bonus feature with the movie's home media release.
  • The scene was replaced for the finished film with Unicron's attack on the Maximal homeworld, which in the earlier cut was recounted by Airazor with hologram visual-aids during the scene when she meets the Autobots mid-movie.
• Cheetor and Rhinox were initially intended to be introduced slightly earlier, encountering Elena and Noah in the underground cavern. In scenes interspersed with the Autobots' and Terrorcons' running battle on the hilltop road, Cheetor was to be the one who took down Freezer as he menaced the two humans, after which Noah's gauntlet would accidentally fire a shot at the Maximal, causing him and Rhinox to chase them through the cave. Cut in favor of making the Autobot/Terrorcon battle one unbroken scene, the alternate version was included as a bonus on the home media release.
• According to concept artists Eddie Del Rio and Shane Baxley more Predacons other than Scorponok were considered to have a role in the movie; known characters include: Waspinator, Ramhorn, Spittor and Rampage.
  • However while development on the first three of them only got as far as rough sketches, it appears Rampage went pretty far into production before being scrapped, to the point where he was originally supposed to appear as a deceased corpse during the underground cavern sequence of the movie and a full 360° CGI model was even animated for the character.
• Multiple changes were made to the film's ending, which originally had a much darker tone like the scrapped opening. Originally, Mirage wasn't planned to survive the final battle, and Optimus would have been sucked into the portal after destroying the Transwarp Key and wind up floating in space before Unicron in the post-credits scene. Reactions by the audience in test screenings convinced Caple to change the ending to something a bit more hopeful, wanting to let the good guys get a solid win.^[66] The scene of Prime and Unicron was included as an extra with the home media release.
• Two versions of the final scene were filmed: one in which Agent Burke's business card reveals him to be part of Sector Seven, and the version used in the film, in which he's part of G.I. Joe. According to Caple, the Sector Seven version was filmed only as misdirection, and the G.I. Joe version was always the one he intended to use.^[67]
• Other deleted/extended scenes included on the home media release include: Elena's moment of panicked disbelief (prominently showcased in the movie's trailer) shortly after the museum battle; Noah speaking with his mother when he returns home after the museum battle; a wholesomely cute moment between Elena and Airazor before Mirage and Noah join the group to depart for Peru, in which Airazor explains the Maximal insignia; and a short scene of Optimus Primal about to hand the Transwarp Key over to Optimus Prime, before they are interrupted by Airazor's rampage.
• Additional cuts not represented in the extras from throughout the film included: a scene of Bumblebee showing a polaroid of himself and Charlie Watson to Optimus Prime as they wait outside the museum, to emphasise that some humans are trustworthy; innuendos between Arcee and Wheeljack that hint at a romantic attraction between the two; some dialogue from Scourge emphasising that (not unlike Galvatron in the original animated movie) he is an unwilling servant of Unicron; a scene of Wheeljack lending his glasses to Optimus Prime to use like a telescope; and an alternate plan to destroy the Transwarp Key in the final act that involves using the deceased Airazor's spark as a bomb, only for the bomb to be lost, leaving Elena to figure out the codes.
• During production, the Scorponok drones initially had a troll-like robot mode, and dozens of them would have merged into a massive Scorponok combiner that towered over the Autobots and Maximals in the final battle. Although their 3D models were made, they were ultimately cut out.
• Concept art was created for a fourth Terrorcon who ultimately never made it to the final film. This character was referred to with the working name “Bloodhound” ^[68] and would have transformed into a demonic-looking Oldsmobile 442. ^[69]

Notes

• In a first for the franchise, the lead human actors, multiple writers, the composer, and the director are all people of color.
• This is the first movie in the series not to be worked on by Industrial Light & Magic; this time around the CG effects were done by Moving Picture Company and WetaFX.
• Steven Caple Jr. was initially sceptical of working on a Transformers movie, which at that point in development was being called Bumblebee 2, because he was uncertain about jumping right into another sequel after directing Creed II—however, the incorporation of elements inspired by Beast Wars, which Caple Jr. had been a fan of, helped sway him. Upon joining the project, he pitched several revisions, drawing from his enthusiasm for The Transformers: The Movie by adding Unicron (and the Terrorcons) and Noah's exosuit, along with a prologue on the Maximals' homeworld and a new arc for Optimus Prime centred around his initial misanthropy.^[70]
• Tobe Nwigwe's character of Reek was based Steven Caple Jr.'s friend Tarik Jackson, who passed away before shooting began in 2021.^[71]
• The fourth-wall-breaking Mark Wahlberg namedrop was ad-libbed by Pete Davidson.^[72]
• During the production of the film, Ramos had to acquire a driver's license at Caple Jr.'s behest.^[73][74]
• During an interview with a fan, voice actor David Sobolov revealed that Caple Jr. would create storyboards using Transformers toys. Awesome!^[75]
• According to Caple Jr., Optimus's unmasked face was modeled after Peter Cullen's.
• As a result of Transit's removal, this is the first live-action film to not feature the Decepticons in any capacity.
• To keep the secret of the G.I. Joe tease at the end of the movie, most copies of the script and the version of the scene shot for test screenings all used Sector Seven instead. Michael Kelly also didn't know the big twist with his character until he arrived on set. Caple Jr. even had only a single G.I. Joe business card printed, on the day of filming, and took it from the set himself afterwards for safekeeping!^[67]
• This is the first live-action Transformers movie where the Japanese dub wasn't sound directed by Keiichirō Miyoshi. Instead it is directed by Yoshikazu Iwanami, who had been responsible for the dub of the original Beast Wars cartoon.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Transformers/Beast Kakusei (トランスフォーマー/ビースト覚醒 Toransufōmā Bīsuto Kakusei, "Transformers: Beast Awakening")
• Cantonese: Bin³jing⁴ Gam¹gong¹: Kwong⁴sau³ Gwat⁶hei² (變形金剛：狂獸崛起, "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts")
• French: Transformers : Le Réveil des Bêtes (Canada, "Transformers: The Awakening of the Beasts")
• German: Transformers: Aufstieg der Bestien ("Transformers: Rise of the Beasts")
• Hungarian: Transformers: A fenevadak kora ("Transformers: The Age of the Beasts")
• Italian: Transformers: Il Risveglio ("Transformers: The Awakening")
• Mandarin: Biànxíng Jīngāng: Wàn Shòu Juéqǐ (Taiwan, 變形金剛：萬獸崛起, "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts"), Biànxíng Jīngāng: Chāonéng Yǒngshì Juéqǐ (China, 变形金刚：超能勇士崛起, "Transformers: Rise of the Beast Wars")
• Portuguese: Transformers: O Despertar das Feras (Brazil, "Transformers: The Awakening of the Beasts")
• Spanish: Transformers: El Despertar de las Bestias ("Transformers: The Awakening of the Beasts")
• Russian: Transformery: Voskhozhdeniye Zverobotov (Трансформеры: Восхождение Звероботов, "Transformers: Rise of the Beastbots")
• Ukrainian: Transformery: Chas Zvirobotiv (Трансформери: Час Звіроботів, "Transformers: Time of the Beastbots")

References