I know it’s the cool thing to hate on Transformer nowadays, but I’ve always been a fan. However, I was never really interested in the Beast Wars story. So, what the heck is it even about? I tried watching the animated series from the late ’90s and I just couldn’t get into it. I really like the idea of giant robots duking it out and the original Transformers series added a human element to it. Oh, and for the record, I do like the first Michael Bay Transformers movie and I will defend Dark of the Moon. Okay, maybe not the whole movie, but the last hour of that movie is exactly what Transformers fans were asking for. Yeah, the rest of the movies were utter garbage, but I’ll just enjoy the first and third movie.
But what about Beast Wars? Well, it seems that will be what the next Transformers movie will be focusing on. If you ask me, that’s a rather odd choice. The news was announced just recently and I had to do some research on the lore of Beast Wars and how it’s different from the regular Transformers.
So for those who aren’t too familiar with the Beast Wars story, it’s basically set far into the future of the original Transformers storyline. Like in the original Transformers, Beast Wars continues the war between the Autobots and the Decepticons. The two main groups that are at war are actually the descendants of the two factions that have been fighting since the beginning. In Beast Wars, the two new factions are known as the Maximals, who are descendants of the Autobots, and the Predacons, who are the descendants of the Decepticons. The Predacons are led by Megatron (not the one we all know), while the Maximals are under the leadership of Optimus Primal. Kind of corny, right? But hey, what do you expect from a Transformers series?
What really separates Beast Wars from the original Transformers is that it’s not really about big, transforming robots. Granted, these new Transformers are technically the same race as the Autobots and the Decepticons, but they resemble primal animals more than robots. That explains some of the characters, such as Rhinox, Cheetor, Tigatron, Tigerhawk, Scorponok, Terrorsaur, and many more.
The Maximals were meant to be based on mammals and birds, while the Predacons were more based on reptiles and amphibians. But it wouldn’t be Beast Wars without the Dinobots, who sadly had to make their live-action debut in the fourth Michael Bay film. I honestly can’t even remember the title. Perhaps this new movie can give the Dinobots a proper live-action introduction, but there’s still something about this movie that bothers me.
The next Transformers movie will be titled Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. There have been rumors about a Beast Wars adaptation being in the works for a while now, but this confirmation really caught me by surprise. Rise of the Beasts will begin filming right away and already has a set release date for June 24 of 2022. To me, that sounds kind of soon. Maybe it’s just because I’m just not into the Beast Wars storyline like the original Transformers, but there are things I’m hearing about it that do make me interested.
First and foremost, the director of Rise of the Beasts will be Steven Caple Jr., the man who helmed the second Creed movie. That’s the most significant film on his short filmography, but it is a good one. I remember when he was rumored to direct the project, and now that he’s confirmed, I must say, his involvement does excite me. But even so, I wonder if he can work off the momentum the 2018 Bumblebee movie got going for the franchise. That movie was a big breath of fresh air for the Transformers franchise, one that it seriously needed. It’s probably because it didn’t have Michael Bay involved in it, but that’s something Paramount should remember.
Will Rise of the Beasts be a continuation of the Bumblebee movie? Well, according to reports, the film will adapt Beast Wars, but the setting will be in 1994 in Brooklyn, New York. While the Bumblebee movie tackled the ’80s, it looks like Rise of the Beast will have that ’90s setting. Speaking of which, is this still a reboot or a prequel to the Bay films? I’m guessing it’s more of a soft reboot, but then again, does anyone really want to remember the Bay movies? I don’t think so, but this soft reboot, which is what I’m calling it now, can give the live-action movies some redemption. It started with Bumblebee and I hope it keeps going.
However, it looks like Lorenzo di Bonaventura has some different thoughts. According to him, he wishes this new film to adapt the Beast Wars storyline because he feels like the old movies tackled the war between the Autobots and the Decepticons enough times. In my opinion, he’s dead wrong. Yes, the Autobot and Decepticon war was the main plot of the Bay films, but we all know he didn’t exactly crack it.
The Bumblebee movie did touch on it, but it focused more on the relationship between Bumblebee and Hailee Steinfeld’s character. The beginning of the movie dove more into the two factions fighting each other on Cybertron. I think focusing on that would make for a more interesting movie. Will Rise of the Beasts show more of that? I think it will, but if it wants to stay more faithful to Beast Wars, then I reckon it’ll stay much closer to Earth. I’m okay with that, but let’s hope it sticks to with what made Bumblebee worked so well.
While Beast Wars was all about the Transformers, Rise of the Beast will have human characters. Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback will play the two main characters, but don’t fret, because Optimus Prime will return. And to make things better, Peter Cullen will come back to voice him. No matter how bad a Transformers movie can get, the voice of Peter Cullen will always be a light in the dark. Sadly, it’s never enough to fully save the movies, but perhaps Rise of the Beast will have better writers. Again, I’m not a big fan of the Beast Wars storyline. However, I think Paramount is starting to bounce back from the Bay movies, so I believe they’ll keep the momentum going.
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