After taking a trip to the ’80s with the prequel filmBumblebee, the live-actionTransformersfilms appear to be remaining in the past for the next installment. Now,Transformers: Rise of the Beastshas officially wrapped filming, according to the film’s director.
Steven Caple Jr.took to Instagram to officially make the announcement, posting a picture of himself in the driver’s seat of Optimus Prime’s disguise as the 1979 Kenworth k100 semi-truck. The rising director has shared brief glimpses of the 3-month shoot that took place in locations such as Machu Picchu, Brooklyn, and Montreal, uploading behind-the-scenes videos with Michael Bay and presenting first look images at the upcomingTransformersthat will be featured in the film.
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Paramount initially wanted to create two separateTransformersfilms, with one being a sequel to 2018’sBumblebeewritten byThe Amazing Spider-Man’s James Vanderbilt. The other was to be based on the animatedBeast Warsstoryline and would be written byObi-Wan Kenobi’s Joby Harold. The studio ultimately decided to combine the two ideas to form what is now known asTransformers: Rise of the Beasts. In the post announcing the film was concluded production, Caple Jr. included a caption that simply read, “That’s a wrap.”
The upcomingTransformers 7film, based on the famous Hasbro toy line, will center on Optimus Prime in 1994 Brooklyn (7 years after the events ofBumblebee) and sees him teaming up with a pair of archaeologists who become involved with three separate forms of ancient Transformers: the Maximals, the Predacons, and the Terrorcons. For those unfamiliar with theBeast Warsstoryline, instead ofthe conflict between the Autobots and Decepticons(which Caple Jr. plans to still incorporate in the film), their time-traveling descendants (Maximals, Predacons, Terrorcons) will battle it out in prehistoric times where instead of transforming into different model vehicles, they take the form of various animals.
While Bay’s take on the films did provide some worthy action sequences, the bloated stories and dull characters did not resonate as well with audiences. The multi-billion dollar franchise was in desperate need of a fresh voice, and coming off of the worthy sequel inCreed 2, Caple Jr. seemed like the perfect fit to deliver something that has been missing in most of the previous entries: a heart and soul.
Whether the new director can pull it off or not, it’s refreshing to finally see some new stories and perspectives being put into these films. For now, the film’s voice cast includesPeter Cullen returning as Optimus Primeand Ron Perlman joining as Optimus Primal. As for the human side,HamiltonandIn the HeightsstarAnthony Ramos andJudas and the Black Messiah’s Dominique Fishback will star as the two leads.
Transformers: Rise of the Beastsis set to release on June 24th, 2022.
