Transformers Just Ruled Out The Movie I've Wanted For 6 Years After Seeing This 3-Minute Sequence

Summary Transformers One offers a deep dive into Cybertron's history, exploring the origins of Optimus Prime and Megatron.

The film's animated format allows for visual feats and storytelling that would be too costly in a live-action adaptation.

The positive reception to Transformers One may lead to a potential trilogy, further eliminating the need for a live-action Cybertron film.

While I am looking forward to seeing Transformers One, the upcoming animated film takes away a chance for the movie I have wanted to see since Bumblebee was released in 2018. Since Michael Bay's Transformers debuted in 2007, the franchise has leaned heavily into live-action films. The past 17 years have included five live-action Transformers films directed by Bay, followed by Bumblebee and Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, the first of which was directed by Travis Knight, and the second by Steven Caple Jr.

The franchise is now returning to its animated roots with Josh Cooley's Transformers One, a prequel that will tell the origin story of Optimus Prime and Megatron on the planet Cybertron. Transformers One is an exciting opportunity to explore the history between Optimus Prime and Megatron long before the events of the live-action films, in addition to showcasing Cybertron. As intriguing as these elements are, I am disappointed that Transformers One rules out the possibility of another equally compelling Transformers installment.

Related Transformers One's J.R.R. Tolkien Comparison Makes Me Even More Excited For The Prequel Josh Cooley's comparison to J.R.R. Tolkien's extensive lore of the history he intends to bring to Transformers One is exciting news for the film.

Bumblebee's Opening Sequence Showed How Great A "Live-Action" War For Cybertron Movie Could Be

It Would Be The Ultimate Prequel

Ever since I saw Bumblebee, I have wanted to see a live-action movie about the war between the Autobots and Decepticons on Cybertron. Bumbleebee's thrilling three-minute opening sequence provides a glimpse of this war on Cybertron as Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, and other Autobots fight the Decepticons, until the Autobots are left with no choice but to evacuate the planet. Bumblebee providing a rare glimpse into Cybertron reminded me of the opening scenes on Krypton in Man of Steel, with both films showing what life was like on the heroes' home planets before they were destroyed, and leaving me wanting more.

This left me hoping for a live-action prequel that would show more of the conflict between the Autobots and Decepticons on Cybertron, providing an opportunity to explore more of the history behind these characters and their world. While this would require the entire film to be CGI, Bumblebee's opening sequence proves that this kind of story would be fascinating to watch. It would be a great blend of sci-fi action and world-building, which are some of the franchise's greatest strengths.

Transformers One Is Happening Because A Live-Action Cybertron Movie Would Be Too Expensive

The Concept Can't Logistically Work In Live-Action

Close

When Screen Rant attended the Transformers One panel at San Diego Comic-Con, producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura explained that Transformers One had to be animated because, "If we tried to do this live action, it would probably cost $500 million. We were forced into animation. … There’s no human characters." This not only explains why Transformers One is animated but also addresses why a live-action movie about the war on Cybertron is not feasible. Without human characters and all the CGI needed for the Transformers and Cybertron, such a film would be too costly to make.

Your browser does not support the video tag.

I am grateful that there is going to be a prequel set on Cybertron, but it is still disappointing to know that the live-action prequel possibilities teased in Bumblebee's opening will likely never happen. Transformers' human characters have often been one of the main sources of criticism in the films, particularly in the installments directed by Bay, but once all human characters are removed and the setting is moved from Earth to Cybertron, a live-action movie in this franchise is no longer viable. In animation, Transformers One can feature visual feats that would not have been possible in live-action.

Transformers One Rules Out A Live-Action Cybertron Movie Ever Happening

Transformers One's Story Is Also Too Similar

Image via Paramount Pictures

Along with a live-action Cybertron film being too expensive to create, the story Transformers One is telling is too similar to what a live-action version would cover. Transformers One begins before the war started, when Optimus Prime and Megatron were known as Orion Pax and D-16 respectively, but it is still a prequel about the Transformers' origins. Just as Bumblebee is heard talking in the opening of the 2018 film, the character is also heard talking in the Transformers One trailers, showing his personality before he lost the ability to speak and before his time on Earth.

Bumblebee is voiced by Keegan Michael-Key in Transformers One.

The early reception to Transformers One has been overwhelmingly positive and there have been discussions about expanding the story further into a trilogy. This trilogy can build into the all-out war glimpsed in Bumblebee's opening, further negating the need for a live-action Cybertron story. All these elements mean that I will likely never see the live-action Transformers film I hoped would come to fruition six years ago, but Transformers One and its potential sequels are poised to be a suitable replacement for it.