New Transformers Movie Titled ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’ Begins Filming

Paramount Pictures has revealed the title for the upcoming Transformers movie as ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.’ The announcement came by producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura and director Steven Caple Jr. on Tuesday. The studio has also confirmed that the movie has started filming in Los Angeles, CA, earlier this week, which will also later move to Peru.  The production started under a different name, Transformers: Beast Alliance.

The new film will be set in 1994 with Maximals, Predacons, and Terrorcons joining the fight of Autobots and Decepticons. Unlike “Bumblebee,” “Rise of the Beasts” will be a spectacle story as we have seen in the Bay films. The action will move to New York City and will incorporate two new human characters: Elena, an artifact researcher who keeps having credit for her work taken by her boss; and Noah, an ex-military electronics expert who lives with his family in Brooklyn. Bumblebee is also coming to “Rise of the Beasts,” but the movie will primarily focus on Optimus Prime, serving as a kind of origin story as he arrives for the first time on Earth and learns to become a leader.

The battle on Earth is no longer just between Autobots and Decepticons… Maximals, Predacons, and Terrorcons join Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, in theatres June 24, 2022. pic.twitter.com/VtS4CjSxLy

— Transformers (@transformers) June 22, 2021

The title also confirms the fan's speculation of the live-action adaptation of the animated TV series “Beast Wars.” The animated series focused on robots who transform themselves into animals including dragons and dinos instead of vehicles. The film will have prehistoric animals that traveled through time and space, and now on Earth. They include Airazor (who can become a falcon), Rhinox (who can become a rhinoceros), and Optimus Primal, a different character from Optimus Prime who is the leader of the Maximals and captain of the spaceship Axalon, in the beast mode he can transform into a giant gorilla.

“We had somewhat exhausted, I would say, the battle between Decepticons and Autobots,” said director Steven Caple Jr. in the virtual event. “You’re going to see villains you’ve never seen before, you’re going to see Autobots you’ve never seen before, you’re going to see a lot of elements that we’ve never done before.”

As of now, the already confirmed cast of "Rise of the Beasts" includes Anthony Ramos as Noah, Dominique Fishback as Elena, Lauren Velez as Noah's mother, Peter Cullen as Optimus Prime, and Domenic Di Rosa. Bumblebee, Mirage, Arcee, Scourge, Nightbird, Optimus Primal, Rhinox, and Airazor are other Transformers characters that are confirmed for the film.

Michael Bay's Transformers series was launched in 2007 with Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox starring as two humans caught up in a war between the Autobots, led by Optimus Prime, and the Decepticons, led by Megatron. The film became a major box office success. Four direct sequels to the Transformers were produced, two of them had LaBeouf reprising his original role. From the fourth movie, Mark Wahlberg took over the lead role for Age of Extinction and The Last Knight. 

In 2018, the Hailee Steinfeld-led spin-off film "Bumblebee" was released, directed by Travis Knight, the film has the best reviews of the franchise and it made $468 million at the box office. The whole Transformers franchise has made $4.84 billion combined on the box office from a combined budget of $1.107 billion.

“Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” will arrive in the theaters on June 24, 2022.