The next movie in the Transformers franchise is set to be a crossover with G.I. Joe that, while exciting, will only make the timeline more confusing. This movie was first teased in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts' ending, teasing a crossover that fans have been desiring for many years. Naturally, this only raised the anticipation for upcoming Transformers movies by providing the franchise with a future that is more exciting than anything set up by the many Michael Bay movies.
The G.I. Joe/Transformers crossover movie is expected in either 2025 or 2026 and is expected to see the return of Anthony Ramos' Noah Diaz as the alliance between the Autobots and G.I. Joe is built. Although the possibilities of this movie are endlessly exciting, there is one potential issue that could be raised by it. This issue is in connection to the live-action Transformers timeline, which has long been unclear. Now, the Transformers and G.I. Joe movie has the potential to make the timeline even more confusing than the Bayverse did previously.
The main issue with the movie is its placement in the Transformers timeline, or, more aptly, the lack thereof. As of the end of 2024, the movie's placement on the timeline is yet to be confirmed, meaning there are several different points the film could take place. For one, the film could be set in the 1990s and be a direct sequel to Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, featuring the aforementioned Noah Diaz. Another possibility is that the film jumps to another decade, as has been common in recent years with the Transformers franchise.
The Transformers/G.I. Joe movie could be set after the other Michael Bay movies. After all, the ending of Transformers: The Last Knight teased a sequel involving Quintessa and Unicron. Given Unicron's involvement in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, the G.I. Joe crossover could tie these two stories together by being set after The Last Knight and retconning the timeline. The final possibility is that the Transformers/G.I. Joe movie is not connected at all to any past movies and is simply a standalone crossover adventure. Regardless, whichever scenario the studio chooses needs to be confirmed sooner rather than later.
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| Bumblebee |
Unfortunately, this confusion with when the Transformers/G.I. Joe movie is set is more evidence of how confusing the franchise's timeline has been since 2018. The first five live-action Transformers movies were easy enough to understand; the first three focused on Sam Witwicky's story and were set a few years apart from each other, with Transformers: Age of Extinction acting as a soft reboot. This film was set a few years after Transformers: Dark of the Moon yet focused on new human characters.
Transformers: The Last Knight continued the storylines teased in Age of Extinction, making those five movies fit nicely as an overarching story. However, things became confusing with 2018's Bumblebee. The film was simple enough as a prequel to the Bayverse as Bumblebee was confirmed to be on Earth before the other Autobots in 2007's Transformers. That said, the ending of the film shows Optimus Prime and other Autobots reuniting with Bumblebee on Earth in the 1980s, making one of the best-ranked Transformers movies simultaneously one of the most baffling.
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts only furthered this confusion. That film was a continuation of Bumblebee yet had the Autobots on Earth in the 1990s. The involvement of Unicron then clashed with the villain's story in 2017's Transformers: The Last Knight, seemingly confirming that the two prequels were, in fact, not prequels at all. To top this all off, 2024's animated Transformers One was even labeled a prequel to the Bayverse.
Distinction Was Needed Yet Not Provided
Overall, this confusion was a result of one thing: Transformers clinging onto the Bayverse. Bumblebee was dubbed a standalone prequel to the Bayverse movies which, at first, was all well and good. It was only the ending of the film that clashed with the events of the Michael Bay films, making Paramount's insistence that Bumblebee was connected to them even stranger.
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If Paramount had let go of the Bayverse, the former scenario of a new timeline would be much easier to understand and much less confusing...
Upon the release of Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, there was still not a clear, definitive answer as to whether this film served as a sequel to Bumblebee in a completely new timeline or was simply a second prequel to the Bayverse, detailing the early stories of the characters from 2007's Transformers. If Paramount had let go of the Bayverse, the former scenario of a new timeline would be much easier to understand and much less confusing. This would then make the timeline issues of the Transformers and G.I. Joe crossover nonexistent, allowing the film to overcome the biggest obstacle it currently faces.
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