Transformers as a movie franchise is about to live up to its name, by transforming from a live-action series into an animated one. With the upcoming Transformers One, we get a more kid-friendly version of the forty-year-old story. This story showcases the origins of Optimus Prime (Chris Hemsworth) and Megatron (Brian Tyree Henry), back when they were friends named Orion Pax and D-16. These lowly worker bots can’t even transform yet, but would eventually find themselves as the leaders of the Autobots and Decepticons, respectively. You can check out the first trailer for Transformers One down below:
This trailer actually debuted in a place most Transformers characters are familiar with—outer space. Not on the distant world of Cybertron, but in orbit around our little mudball called Earth. The unique launch of Transformers One debuted the trailer for the film some 125,000 feet above the planet. It featured a custom introduction video from the film’s stars, Chris Hemsworth and Brian Tyree Henry. Among the other notable voice actors in this film are Scarlett Johansson as Elita-1, and Keegan-Michael Key as B-127/Bumblebee. Jon Hamm plays Sentinel Prime, with Laurence Fishburne as Alpha Trion. Steve Buscemi plays an undisclosed role.
The use of the Rolling Stones’ classic “Start Me Up” definitely gives the whole thing a very 2000s Dreamworks Animation vibe. Transformers One seems to be going for a much younger audience than the live-action films ever did. But a kid’s cartoon on weekday afternoons and a toy line at the same time? That is how a generation of kids became hooked on the “More than Meets the Eye” robots. Paramount is probably hoping for something more kid-friendly than the last several Michael Bay-produced films. Hopefully, it will make younger audiences fall in love with the franchise.
Transformers One hits theaters on September 20.
