Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, directed by Steven Caple Jr., is slated for a summer 2023 release. Caple Jr., who has previously helmed The Land and Creed II, will bring a fresh perspective to the Transformers franchise, departing from the style of the previous blockbuster films.
The film will succeed Michael Bay’s five Transformer movies, which had mixed reception, and Travis Knight’s Bumblebee, which was more of a spinoff than a homage to Bay.
It will also take the franchise in a new direction, as it will introduce Hasbro’s Beast Wars storyline, featuring animal Transformers, and alter the established continuity in significant ways. The film will also be set in an earlier time period than the previous movies.
In other words, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts will be a franchise reboot, sequel, and prequel all at once.
The impact of Caple Jr.’s creative choices on the franchise will be revealed in June 2023, but the film’s role as a reboot, sequel, and prequel may revitalize the Transformers brand.
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is a Sequel
Travis Knight’s Bumblebee was a prequel that aimed to reboot the franchise by exploring the origin story of Bumblebee in the ’80s, before the events of Michael Bay’s Transformers movies.
The film was well-received, as it contrasted with Bay’s final installments, which focused on the intense battles between the Autobots and Decepticons, but neglected the bond between robots and humans, the quality of the plot, and the charm of Bay’s first Transformers movie – all elements that Knight’s Bumblebee restored.
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts will be a sequel to Bumblebee. The film will be set in the 1990s, following Knight’s approach to subtly reboot the franchise and reset the Transformers timeline to allow for new films that will not depend on Bay’s formulaic direction. The film could revitalize Transformers for loyal fans and the box office if it succeeds.
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is a Prequel
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts will be set in the 90s, before the events of the first Transformers movie and the adventures of Sam Whitwicky (Shia LaBeouf).
Whitwicky’s involvement with the Autobots spans over several years and movies, until it is transitioned to Cade Yeager (Mark Whalberg) and Bay’s final Transformer films. However, Rise of the Beasts will precede all of that and tell a different story.
Caple Jr. will introduce new robot factions – the Maximals, Predacons, and Terrorcons – and a new villain to the franchise, thanks to the temporal gap and the distance from Bay. The prospect of seeing new species of Transformer and the planet-devouring antagonist, Unicron, is exciting after years of the repetitive conflict between Earth and Megatron.
The impact of Caple Jr.’s prequel on the franchise’s continuity is unclear, but these character changes are promising and suggest that some changes might be beneficial.
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is a Reboot
Bay is still involved in the production of Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, but there are some signs that the franchise is trying to start anew.
There is no definitive evidence that Transformers: Rise of the Beasts aims to break away from Bay’s films, but the movie’s thrilling trailer and brief synopsis hint that Caple Jr. is not concerned about continuity. The biggest clue is Caple Jr.’s Unicron retcon in Rise of the Beasts.
Bay’s Transformers: The Last Night revealed Unicron as the planet Earth, where the evil entity was encased by the Earth’s crust, but Rise of the Beasts’ trailers show Unicron as an imminent threat that seeks to destroy Earth.
Caple Jr.’s retcon is one indication that Rise of the Beasts will disregard Michael Bay’s franchise input and the magnitude of the change suggests that the new movie could be a more decisive move toward a franchise reboot.
It would be good to see Transformers: Rise of the Beasts acknowledge some elements of Michael Bay’s films, but its role as a franchise reset would be more satisfying.
About Transformers: Rise of the Beasts
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is an upcoming American cybertron fantasy film and the seventh movie in the Transformers franchise, which started all the way back in 2008.
Rise of the Beasts is set in 1994, with the story evolving out of Brooklyn, New York City. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts will take audiences on a ’90s adventure and introduce the Maximals, Predacons, and Terrorcons to the existing battle on Earth between Autobots and Decepticons and the big bad Unicorn.
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