Within the realm of sci-fi movies, the long-running Transformers franchise has been entertaining audiences for almost 20 years at this point. The original five-film run from director Michael Bay kicked things off with a very serialized storyline that built the mythos of the feature film saga pretty strongly. The relevance of that canon has been questioned by fans in a post-Bumblebee world, and the debate has returned in the lead-up to the release of Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. It’s time for an expert to step in, and as luck would have it, producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura has a clear answer for how director Steven Caple Jr.’s movie connects to the Bay-verse.
I was present for the Rise of the Beasts press day, and the veteran producer was on hand to talk about the past, present, and future of the Transformers franchise. As one might expect, the Michael Bay-helmed movies absolutely do play into the events of the more recent narrative throwbacks. Speaking with CinemaBlend, Lorenzo di Bonavenura clarified how Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen) is the key to understanding how everything is connected:
The way we look at it is we don’t look at it as separate universes, we look at it as a timeline: ‘87, ‘94’, ‘07. You know the tricky part of it is for us, but it’s also an opportunity, is to not contradict what we did later on. But one of the fun things I think, for fans, is that Optimus Prime has a character arc in here that explains really, in a way, who he is in 2007 when you meet him. And I think that’s really exciting. … I think that’s an interesting thing, and that’s the advantage of going earlier.
For those of you attached to the journeys of Shia LaBeouf and Mark Wahlberg’s franchise leads, you don’t have to discard those memories when you see Rise of the Beasts. If anything, the accessibility for newbies and trusted loyalists is another one of the picture’s advantages heading into its theatrical release; which sees Paramount's latest competing with Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse as well as plenty of other would-be summer blockbusters.
Knowledge of those past adventures isn’t required, with Bumblebee being the most explicitly referenced chapter in this seventh film. As such, you don’t have to use your Paramount+ subscription to cram seven stories worth of lore into your head; though you’re more than welcome to revisit your favorites without fear that they don’t matter to the plot at hand.
If anything, a screening of 2007’s Transformers might feel a bit more poignant after taking in Optimus Prime’s new arc. Even in that case, it’s a new ballgame that follows fresh human leads Noah (Anthony Ramos) and Elena (Dominque Fishback), as they team up with transforming newcomers Mirage (Pete Davidson), Airazor (Michelle Yeoh), and Optimus Primal (Ron Perlman).
While some may have thought that Rise of the Beasts was looking to distance itself from the Michael Bay era, signs have pointed to the contrary throughout production. Most notably, the fact that Bay is still an executive producer on the franchise helps keep those connections in place.
Also, director Steven Caple Jr. consulted the Ambulance director when it came to the more blockbuster-y aspects of this Transformers jaunt. And there's an unquestionable difference in approach between the original Bayhem era and the more family-friendly era that Bumblebee kicked off.
With that readily apparent, the adventures that came before are still firmly in place down the timeline; and producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura has assured us all that this won’t be changing any time soon. What we know about Transformers: Rise of the Beasts prepared us for yet another fresh perspective in the war between humanity and Transformers.
That’s exciting no matter what side of the fandom you sit on, especially with the Beast Wars crew getting in on the action. You can take part in all of the new twists, turns, and transformations this weekend, as Rise of the Beasts ascends to its place on the schedule of 2023 new movie releases on June 9!
