Transformers One Director On Optimus Prime & Megatron's Origin As Friends: "Most Important Thing Was That Relationship"

Transformers One director Josh Cooley speaks on the relationship between Optimus Prime and Megatron. Transformers One is an upcoming film in the Transformers franchise that is an origin story of Optimus Prime and Megatron, set on the planet Cybertron. Transformers One is set for release on September 13 and features a leading cast including Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Jon Hamm, Steve Buscemi, Keegan-Michael Key, Brian Tyree Henry, and Laurence Fishburne.

In an exclusive interview with Screen Rant, Cooley discusses Megatron and Optimus Prime’s friendship. Check out the full quote from Cooley below:

Great question. I'll say that when I first started on this film, knowing it was an origin story was the thing that really got me interested. I've seen all the live actions, I've seen the cartoons, I've seen everything - but this part has never been seen on screen before. I knew that there was a lot of origin to be told, and when I first started, [Hasbro] gave me the Transformers Bible. I could not believe how big it was. I was like, "This is way more than I ever anticipated."

There's been different versions. There have been comic books, and there's been all sorts of things. Obviously, there's just too much to actually go through and study the entire thing of, but I got the Greatest Hits version. But for me, regardless of the plot and regardless of how every single detail works, the most important thing was none of that would work if it wasn't for the characters. As long as the audience cares about these characters from the very beginning and believes in their relationship, [that's what we need] for this film.

Even if you've never seen Transformers before, even if you've never read the comics, nothing - you can watch this movie and be totally invested. You see these two characters and go, "Yeah, they're great together." Orion and D-16 before they become Optimus and Megatron? They're awesome. You want to see them together, you want to love them together, so that when the relationship starts to fall apart, it's a tragedy. At the end of it, you're just like, "Oh, man, it sucks that they're going to become enemies." Regardless of all the different tellings of the origin, the most important thing was that relationship.