‘Transformers One’ just got its first trailer — this could be the spark the franchise needs

A new trailer for “Transformers One” premiered, literally, in space today (April 18). It’s one of the most highly-anticipated trailers — along with those that dropped at Super Bowl 2024 earlier this year, of course.

The space thing? Yeah, a branded robot craft reached its peak of 125,000 feet above the Earth just to reveal the latest “Transformers” movie, with Chris Hemsworth and Brian Tyree Henry voicing their characters in the introduction.

Put simply; “Transformers One” could revive the franchise again after — many would argue — its gradual decline over the years.

The first three “Transformers” movies really set up the franchise and marked a popular era for the action genre. After that, the Cybertron crew kept pumping out movies that just didn’t have the same feel anymore, and it was gutting to see. Now, “Transformers One” could give it a fresh start and unique appeal to the new generation.

The Autobots roll out in an animated movie

A surprising reveal about the upcoming “Transformers” movie is the animation. With the other movies being live-action and boasting dramatic digital effects, it’s surprising to see the franchise trying something new. An animated movie means the story itself isn’t limited, which could support the balance between more action and an engaging narrative.

Live comments were mixed on the official live trailer in space, with some people saying they didn’t expect the animation while others were calling it childish, like just another version of “Mutant Ninja Turtles”.

Going from live-action hits to an animated movie is a big difference, but there are advantages to that change. With fewer resources and effort going toward digital effects and physical props, the producers can spend more time building a quality story that works well on the big screen.

New movie trailers will always have contrasting opinions to begin with, but an animated movie is actually a great first step for refreshing the franchise and could set up future spinoffs.

Going back to Optimus in his prime years

“Transformers One” is going to be an origin story of how the friendship between Optimus Prime (voiced by Chris Hemsworth) and Megatron (voiced by Brian Tyree Henry) crumbled. In this movie they’re known as the simple worker bots Orion Pax and D-16 who cannot yet transform. It is primarily set on the Cybertronian homeworld, revealing how all of the Autobots members came to be in the iconic first “Transformers” movies.

When a mysterious plant-like villain wreaks havoc on their homeworld, they must band together to protect the planet, also while navigating their new abilities to transform into vehicles. Of course, the narrative will also shine a light on Megatron and how he rolled out of the team and grew a strong hatred for Optimus.

Other characters include Elita-1 (Scarlett Johansson), Alpha Trion (Laurence Fishburne), Sentinel Prime (Jon Hamm), and of course, Bumblebee (Keegan-Michael Key).

An origin story has been talked about for years, so it’s nice to finally see something unique for the franchise. Plus, Steven Spielberg is an executive producer of the movie, which is even better.

((Image credit: Paramount))

We now have the official trailer, but that doesn’t mean we won’t get more teasers throughout the year. Right now, the movie looks to be comedic and fun for all audiences to enjoy, but it’s possible to see more content on the dark truth behind Megatron’s descent into robot madness.

Director Josh Cooley also created this movie to help people understand Megatron better. He was a classic villain in “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” and “Transformers: Dark of the Moon”, but now it’s time to see him in a different light.

“Transformers One” releases on September 13, so don’t miss out on watching this movie in theaters this year.

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