Transformers One

Transformers One is an upcoming American animated science fiction action film based on Hasbro's Transformers toy line. Directed by Josh Cooley, the ensemble voice cast includes Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry, Scarlett Johansson, Keegan-Michael Key, Steve Buscemi, Laurence Fishburne, and Jon Hamm. The film depicts the origins and early relationship of Optimus Prime and Megatron and how they forever changed the fate of Cybertron, the home planet of the Transformers. It is the eighth installment overall of the Transformers film series, and the franchise's first theatrical animated feature film since The Transformers: The Movie (1986).

In March 2015, following the release of Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014), Paramount Pictures tasked Akiva Goldsman to set up a writers' room to create ideas for potential future Transformers films. By May 2015, the writing duo of Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari had signed on as writers, and they came up with the idea of an animated prequel that would be set on Cybertron. The film was announced in August 2017, and by April 2020, Cooley had been hired to direct. Animation services were provided by Industrial Light & Magic, and Brian Tyler composed the score.

Transformers One is scheduled to be theatrically released in the United States by Paramount Pictures on September 20, 2024.

Premise
An origin story set on the planet Cybertron centering around the history of the Transformers race, and the relationship between two workers named Orion Pax and D-16, going from brothers-in-arms to archenemies as Optimus Prime and Megatron.

Voice cast

 * Chris Hemsworth as Orion Pax / Optimus Prime
 * Brian Tyree Henry as D-16 / Megatron
 * Scarlett Johansson as Elita
 * Keegan-Michael Key as B-127 / Bumblebee
 * Steve Buscemi as the film's main antagonist
 * Laurence Fishburne as Alpha Trion
 * Jon Hamm as Sentinel Prime

Development
Following the release of Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014), Paramount Pictures tasked Akiva Goldsman, who would later serve as a co-story writer for Transformers: The Last Knight (2017), in March 2015 to work with the film franchise's director, Michael Bay, executive producer, Steven Spielberg, and producer, Lorenzo di Bonaventura, in setting up a "writers' room" to create ideas for potential future Transformers films and spin-off films. After setting up the writer's room, multiple writers were hired to write future installments in the franchise. According to Goldsman, the team would look at various Transformers media created by Hasbro for inspiration; if they found one that interested them, they could submit a treatment, which would then be further developed by the whole team. In late May, the writing team of Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari signed on as writers. According to Deadline Hollywood, one of the ideas that came from the writer's room had the working title Transformers One and would serve as an animated prequel focusing on the Autobot–Decepticon conflict that began on Cybertron.

In August 2017, it was reported that an animated Transformers film was officially in the works. Following the release of Bumblebee (2018), di Bonaventura discussed the animated film, clarifying that it was "in the works" and would "tell the whole Cybertron mythology". Bumblebee director Travis Knight additionally expressed interest in the film.

In April 2020, it was reported that former Pixar animator and writer Josh Cooley had been hired to direct the film and was overseeing the script by Barrer and Ferrari. Hasbro Entertainment and Paramount Animation would produce the film. In February 2022, it emerged that the film would be computer-animated. In December 2022, the title was reported to be Transformers: A New Generation, though di Bonaventura later stated in April 2023 that the title had yet to be finalized. Later that month, at CinemaCon, the title was officially confirmed as Transformers One. di Bonaventura stated that the plot will center around the origins of the Transformers, and explore the events that lead Optimus and Megatron to go from being brothers-in-arms to becoming enemies. In May, Deadline Hollywood reported that Steve Desmond and Michael Sherman contributed to the screenplay.

Writing
When Cooley first joined the project, Hasbro gave him a bible that covered the lore for the entire franchise. Cooley wanted to capture an "epic quality" and grand scale for the film and used the 1986 Transformers animated film and the 1965 novel Dune as points of reference. As there are no human characters in Transformers One as they are in previous films in the franchise, Cooley and the team aimed to "inject more comedy and humanity" into the Transformers themselves. They wanted to make sure that the characters had enough humor and emotion to carry the story on their own.

The relationship between Optimus Prime and Megatron and the tragedy of their falling out is the emotional core of the film. For Cooley, it was important to show that Megatron was not just a villain. He wanted people who had no knowledge of Transformers to come into the film and not be able to immediately pick up who was going to be good or bad. The film depicts how the Transformers gained the ability to transform, an idea Cooley found appealing. He felt that there was fun in seeing the characters learn and adapt to their new powers.

Casting and voice recording
The voice cast of the film was announced at CinemaCon in April 2023, consisting of Chris Hemsworth and Brian Tyree Henry as younger versions of Optimus Prime and Megatron, respectively, alongside Scarlett Johansson, Keegan-Michael Key, Jon Hamm, and Laurence Fishburne headlining. In April 2024, Steve Buscemi, who had previously voiced Daytrader in The Last Knight, was cast as the film's antagonist.

Transformers One marks Hemsworth's first animated feature film. The actor joined the project after being impressed with the screenplay. Hemsworth made efforts to not use his regular speaking voice for Optimus Prime. He had consulted with Peter Cullen, who portrays Optimus Prime in various Transformers media, on providing the voice. Many of Hemsworth's lines in the film were "riff offs" from what the filmmakers wrote, bringing his charisma and comedy to them. From a fan's point of view, di Bonaventura felt important to respect Cullen's performance while not bringing him back to ensure the audience felt Prime's youth, leading to Hemsworth's casting, who surprised di Bonaventura with his "very strong sense of story". Cooley's desire to harken back to the chattier version of Bumblebee seen in other Transformers media influenced Key's casting, who he had worked with before when directing Pixar's Toy Story 4 (2019). Cooley requested that Key stay close to his regular speaking voice for Bumblebee.

Animation and design
Industrial Light & Magic, who had provided the visual effects for the first six live-action Transformers installments, returned to provide the animation for the film. Cooley directed the studio to create a visual style for the film that was realistic enough to be believable while still looking like it was crafted by human hands. The designs of the Transformers were heavily influenced by those of the original 1980s animated television series. Cooley said, "They’re really clear and have these great silhouettes. It was important to hit that."

Music
In May 2024, it was announced that Brian Tyler, who had previously provided the score for the animated television series Transformers: Prime (2010–2013), would compose the score for Transformers One.

Release
Transformers One screened as a work-in-progress at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival on June 10, 2024. At the end of the screening, the film received a standing ovation, with audience and social media reactions reportedly being positive. The film is scheduled to be theatrically released in the United States on September 20, 2024. It was originally scheduled to be released on July 19, 2024, but was initially delayed to September 13, before shifting a week later to avoid competition with Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.

Marketing
The first trailer for Transformers One was released online on April 18, 2024. It featured a custom introduction from Hemsworth and Henry, and incorporated the song "Start Me Up" by the Rolling Stones. It made its debut via a spacecraft that was launched 125,000 feet above the Earth. Brian Welk of IndieWire felt that the film looked to have appeal for both younger audiences and longtime Transformers fans. Alex Billington of FirstShowing.net found the trailer amusing and felt that the film had promise, though he opined that it seemed to be more geared towards younger audiences than compared to previous Transformers films. Eric Diaz of Nerdist commented that the incorporation of "Start Me Up" gave the film "a very 2000s DreamWorks Animation vibe."

Future
In April 2023, di Bonaventura stated that there is discussion for Transformers One to become a trilogy of films. By June, he confirmed that the story is mapped out to progress over three movies, detailing the progression of the characters into their depiction in the live-action film series. The producer explained that Hemsworth's depiction will grow into the leader depicted in the previous installments, stating that the transition from Hemsworth's voice to Peter Cullen's will make sense within the story.