Transformers is one of those franchises that will probably live on forever in some way. It’s currently enjoying a new surge in popularity thanks to its strong run on TV in recent years and live-action movies that feel like Saturday morning cartoons. Next up, we have Transformers: Reborn, the first animated film in the series to be made in theaters in decades, so we’ll certainly be hearing more about the Cybertronians’ big screen future.
Collider recently spoke with veteran producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura about what’s next for Hasbro and Paramount Pictures as they make their most reliable money-makers. The full interview contains many generous responses and is worth reading, but we’ve picked out the most interesting parts here, and I’ve included a few of my own thoughts as well.
Manage Cookie Settings
In the summer of 2023, after Rise of the Beasts performed well at the box office (and later had a strong domestic performance), rumors began to heat up that Paramount would confirm at CinemaCon 2024 that the next Transformers movie would be a crossover with G.I. Joe, as previewed at the end of the Anthony Ramos film. Hardcore fans of the Hasbro IP and Paramount had been fantasizing about this idea for years, and the new, less serious Transformers schedule seemed like the perfect time to try it out. There was one major problem, though: After two so-so movies, G.I. Joe never really had the big screen success that Transformers did.
Paramount and Hasbro’s secret weapon? Making the Transformers into characters with agency, capable of carrying emotional weight without much human intervention, and then figuring out how many Joes are too many Joes: “Rather than having them react to the humans or to the human plot, make their dynamics part of the story… The hardest thing about a lot of franchises is how many characters there are, and the more you try to manage, the harder it is to create a group of really good characters. You have to keep going and making it smaller and smaller.” You’d think the rights holders and Paramount would have understood long ago that a franchise still mourning the death of the cartoon robots in the ’80s needed to improve trust in the Transformers, but Michael Bay’s box office bolstered the idea that Cybertron was “America, fucking” first.
Both retro and more sincere, 2018’s often-overlooked Bumblebee feels like something has shifted, and even if Beasts Rise didn’t have the most engaging script, the film managed to up the stakes and scope without losing sight of the robot at the center of the story. Now, Paramount is expecting similar success with Transformers: Dark Knight Rises, a prequel set on Cybertron with an all-star voice cast. While the first trailer was a bit confusing, actual reviews and reactions to the film have been pretty compelling, so the powers that be might have a winner on their hands. “Well, we’re still going to go ahead and, depending on the success, we’re going to do a sequel and we’re going to have an animated version that’s going to be completely separate from the live-action version that we did,” di Bonaventura revealed.
The first Transformers movie hits theaters tomorrow, September 20, so families and Transformers fans seem to have something to watch this weekend. Meanwhile, as we wait for the Transformers x G.I. Joe crossover to hit theaters, we’re also wondering about the current status of Transformers Remastered, the next game from Splash Damage.
