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| Transformers One |
Transformers One is an animated action-adventure movie that marks the first animated feature-length film for the series in decades. The film will be a prequel to the franchise, and will tell the story of Optimus Prime and Megatron in their early years, how they met, and a closer look at the war on their home planet, Cybertron.
DIRECTORJosh CooleyRELEASE DATESeptember 13, 2024STUDIO(S)Entertainment One , Hasbro , Nickelodeon MoviesDISTRIBUTOR(S)Paramount PicturesWRITERSAndrew Barrer , Steve Desmond , Gabriel FerrariSEQUEL(S)Transformers
Chris Hemsworth As Orion Pax/Optimus Prime
Chris Hemsworth leads the Transformers One cast as the Autobot leader Optimus Prime. However, before he assumed this title, Optimus Prime was an Autobot known as Orion Pax. The fact that Transformers One retains his original name shows that the narrative will delve deep into his origins, to show how he became a tactical and selfless leader in the future. However, this casting decision implies that Peter Cullen wouldn’t reprise the role of Optimus. Regarded as one of the greatest voice actors of all time, Cullen has voiced the Autobot throughout the franchise, including the original series, Transformer: Prime and all live-action movies.
Walking in Cullen’s footsteps, Hemsworth can bring a level of conviction and authority to the character, as can be seen from his emotionally-burdened characters like British racing driver James Hunt in Rush, the huntsman Eric in Snow White and the Huntsman and black ops mercenary Tyler Rake in the Extraction series. The Australian actor, who is best known for playing the valiant and occasionally hilarious Norse thunder-god Thor in the MCU, has also voiced the Avenger in animation in Marvel’s anthology series What If…?. Recently, Hemsworth confirmed in a Collider interview that he won’t be retaining his original Australian accent to voice Optimus though.
Brian Tyree Henry As Megatron
Megatron serves as the primary antagonist in many iterations of the Transformers story. However, Transformers One attempts to humanize the leader of the Decepticons by focusing on how Megatron and his peer, Optimus Prime, had similar origins. However, it’s only the path that Megatron chose later that makes him who he is. Brian Tyree Henry joins the Transformers One cast to play the iconic pop culture villain, joining the likes of Frank Welker and Hugo Weaving who have voiced the character before in animation and movies. Henry himself has proven his dramatic prowess in voice-acting as Miles Morales’ protective father and police officer Jefferson Davis in the Spider-Verse movies.
The comedy-drama series Atlanta was a major career highlight for Henry who appeared as rapper Paper Boi. Earning an Emmy nomination for his performance in Atlanta, Henry also went on to appear in several big-budget movies like Godzilla vs Kong, in which he played conspiracy theorist Bernie Heyes, and Eternals, in which he played the cosmic energy-wielding superhero Phastos. He also starred alongside Jennifer Lawrence in Causeway with an Oscar-nominated turn as auto mechanic James Aucoin. Henry has mostly had a lovable screen presence even when he plays violent characters like the assassin Lemon in Bullet Train. Hence, voicing Megatron can help him charter a new territory of evil.
Scarlett Johansson As Elita-One
Elita-One is a classic Cybertronian Transformer that has somehow been ignored in every Transformers live-action movie. Starting out as the manual laborer Ariel, Elita became one of the leading Autobot resistance leaders on Cybertron. Always siding with Optimus Prime, the Autobot was also his love interest at a point in time. Scarlett Johansoon’s addition to the Transformers One cast as Elita is exciting given her diverse voice acting history. She previously voiced the snake Kaa in The Jungle Book’s live-action remake, the AI system Samantha in Her, the mermaid princess Mindy in The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, and porcupine punk rocker Ash in the Sing movies.
In the superhero genre, Johansson is best known for playing the Russian assassin-turned-Avenger Natasha Romanoff (AKA Black Widow) in the MCU. The actor has also dabbled in emotional roles such as Marriage Story’s Nicole Barber, an actor on the brink of a divorce, and Jojo Rabbit’s Rosie Betzler, a single mother who is rebelling against the Nazi regime. For both of these 2019 movies, Johansson received Oscar nominations for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actresses respectively. Johansson’s richly textured voice and emotional range can redefine Elita’s character in Transformers One.
Keegan-Michael Key As Bumblebee
Bumblebee, the loyal Autobot who later became one of Optimus Prime’s staunchest allies, is much younger and naive in his time at Cybertron. That’s why Keegan-Michael Key is the perfect pick for Bumblebee in the Transformers One cast as Key can bring out a charismatic, wise-cracking energy for the fan-favorite character. Key has previously proven his comedic chops in the funniest Key & Peele sketches with his creative collaborator Jordan Peele. The actor and comedian’s voice acting credits also include the Mushroom Kingdom resident Toad in The Super Mario Bros. Movie and the talking stuffed duck Ducky in Toy Story 4, his first collaboration with Transformers One director Josh Cooley.
Jon Hamm As Sentinel Prime
Sentinel Prime is mostly depicted as Optimus Prime’s predecessor as the leader of Autobots. An older and more imposing figure, he’s often looked up to as an inspirational figure by Optimus (even though Transformers: Dark of the Moon revealed how Sentinel Prime can also be morally flawed). Jon Hamm is another great addition to the cast who can bring out the dilemmas of Sentinel Prime, much like his morally grey antihero Don Draper, the charismatic ad man in Mad Men. The Emmy winner has dabbled in animation before with roles like underwater laboratory captain Hank Murphy in Archer and the villainous inventor Herb Overkill in Minions.
Laurence Fishburne As Alpha Trion
Laurence Fishburne joins the Transformers One cast as Alpha Trion, one of the oldest-living Transformers on Cybertron. In his younger days, he helped the Cybertronians fight off the Quintessons that had enslaved them. With years of wisdom, Alpha Trion must serve as the voice of reason as an ideological clash brews on his planet. Fishburne is cherished among sci-fi fans for playing the Machine-fighting rebel Morpheus in The Matrix franchise. He also played Bill Foster in the Ant-Man and the Wasp, a scientist who had earlier taken the mantle of Giant-Man, and voiced the space-traveling humanoid alien Silver Surfer in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.
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