Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Transformers

  • ‘Invincible’ Creator Robert Kirkman Developing TV-MA ‘G.I. Joe’ & ‘Transformers’ Shared  Universe

    ‘Invincible’ Creator Robert Kirkman Developing TV-MA ‘G.I. Joe’ & ‘Transformers’ Shared  Universe

    Just two years after Robert Kirkman‘s Skybound Entertainment helped Image Comics launch the Energon Universe, the Invincible creator is teaming up with Hasbro Entertainment to develop the concept as an adult-oriented animated series.

    According to Deadline, Kirkman has tabbed Lucifer scribe as showrunner Joe Henderson for the project for Hasbro, who is expected to begin shopping it around shortly.

    Optimus Prime was supposed to have led the Autobots to victory. Instead, the fate of Cybertron is unknown, and his allies have crash-landed far from home, alongside their enemies-the Decepticons.

    As these titanic forces renew their war on Earth, one thing is immediately clear: the planet will never be the same. New alliances are struck. Battle lines are redrawn. And humanity’s only hope of survival is Optimus Prime.

    -Official synopsis for Transformers via Image Comics

    The Image Comics Energon Universe is a shared fictional universe published by Skybound Entertainment (an imprint of Image Comics) in collaboration with Hasbro. It serves as a comprehensive reboot and unified continuity for the franchises of Transformers, G.I. Joe, and a new original property, Void Rivals, all tied together by the concept of Energon, the substance the Transformers need to survive.

    Launched in June 2023, Void Rivals served as the initial cornerstone of the universe. It follows two soldiers, Darak (Agorrian) and Solila (Zertonian), from two warring alien races within the distant space anomaly known as the Sacred Ring. When they crash-land on a mysterious planetoid, they are forced to work together to survive, only to uncover a secret that reveals their two cultures are tied to ancient Cybertronian technology and the origin of the Transformers’ war. The first issue features the surprise first appearance of a Transformer (Jetfire), officially linking the franchises.

    War rages around the Sacred Ring where the last remnants of two worlds have collapsed around a black hole in a never-ending war.


    However when pilot Darak and his rival Solila both crash on a desolate planet these two enemies must find a way to escape together. But are they alone on this strange planet? And what dark forces await that threaten the entire universe?

    -Official synopsis for Void Rivals via Image Comics

    Image followed up Void Rivals in October 2023 with an all-new Transformers ongoing book which focuses on The Autobots and Decepticons’ war expanding to Earth. The story picks up after a contingent of Transformers crash-land and are dormant before being accidentally reactivated.

    At the same time, four, solo, limited series were launched featuring key G.I. Joe franchise characters Cobra Commander, Destro, Duke and Scarlett. In November 2023, Joshua Williamson‘s G.I. Joe #1 hit shelves, telling the story of how the emergence of the Transformers on Earth spurs the formation of G.I. Joe and Cobra as military responses to the threat and the new energy source.

    It’s unclear if one project or several are being developed for streaming.

    Source: Deadline

  • ‘Rise of the Beasts’ Director Steven Caple Jr. In Talks to Return for Next ‘Transformers’ Movie

    ‘Rise of the Beasts’ Director Steven Caple Jr. In Talks to Return for Next ‘Transformers’ Movie

    Transformers: Rise of the Beasts has finally been released in theaters with a surprisingly strong $171M. Early projects believed the film might not even make $40M domestically but it managed to even dethrone Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse in its second weekend. The audience’s are also seemingly enjoying their time back with the Transformers, as it pulled in an AudienceScore A- while critics were quite mixed on the project with a RottenTomatoes score of 51% currently.

    The important thing is that Paramount and Hasbro seem quite happy with the film. In a new interview with director Steven Caple Jr. from Deadline, he seemingly revealed that he’s already in talks to tackle the next film in the franchise. He highlights that he’s also ready to tackle the cliffhanger from the project pertaining to Anthony Ramos and Michael Kelly.

    They definitely had a sequel in mind with that ending, and it seems they aren’t going to waste too much time before jumping into it. It’s unclear though if they already have a script ready before the WGA strike happened, or they might be waiting it out as well before jumping into the sequel. Caple Jr. managed to revive a long-dormant franchise and Paramount is definitely not done to ensure it grows to what it once was.

    Source: Deadline, Rotten Tomatoes

  • ‘Transformers’ & ‘Spider-Man’ to Battle for Top Spot at the Domestic Box Office

    ‘Transformers’ & ‘Spider-Man’ to Battle for Top Spot at the Domestic Box Office

    Transformers: Rise of the Beasts has finally been released in theaters and is surprising quite a bit. While early predictions expected the film to open around $40M, it had a stronger Friday opening and is heading to $60M opening weekend at the domestic box office. Surprisingly though, that might not be enough to dethrone the current box office reign of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Currently, it is slightly edging out the film with $60M against $55.9M but Sunday could still make all the difference.

    The film overall is showing a strong international box office and is going to open north of $160M worldwide. China remains the biggest fan of this robot-in-disguise franchise with an $11.8M Friday. The market has overall shown quite a bit of healing over the last few months. The Little Mermaid struggled quite a bit but it seems Transformers might reignite the excitement before the next major release The Flash.

    It’s a strong jump from the initial expectations. While it didn’t hit the highs of the hopeful $70M, it does give the film a bit more of a chance to make its money back. There’s hoping to build up the iconic franchise again even after Bumblebee underperformed with $21.6M and The Last Knight’s $44.6M. There’s a chance that if they keep pushing it could return to a $100M+ opening again but it’s definitely a hopeful start for the franchise, especially with a decent A- CinemaScore.

    The big question is if the latest Spider-Verse entry will surprise given it already has shown some strong legs. The summer box office is stacked and it definitely has proven that family fare and strong word-of-mouth can carry quite a few projects. Fast X is the only big release that one could say lost any momentum going into its second weekend but we still have a few big releases that will show if people put all their money in early or not.

    Source: Deadline, Deadline (WW)

  • REVIEW: ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’

    REVIEW: ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’

    When the first live-action Transformers film came out in 2007, no one could have imagined that the film would launch a mega-franchise. The first film, directed by Michael Bay, went on to earn an impressive $709.71 million at the worldwide box office and launched a new film franchise for Paramount. There was a total of five Transformers films that, while they performed well at the box office, seemed to take a dive in quality with each new installment. Bumblebee, a standalone film starring Hailee Steinfeld, seemed to bring back a love of the franchise, but only managed to secure $467.99 million at the worldwide box office. With Rise of the Beasts, Paramount hopes to launch a brand-new Transformers franchise. Thankfully, the film is a much-needed new direction for the franchise, one full of promise.

    Transformers: Rise of the Beasts takes place in 1994. The film stars Anthony Ramos (Hamilton) as Noah Diaz, a former soldier who is doing his best to support his family. With a sick brother and a mother trying to make ends meet, Noah just wants to be able to provide some sort of financial stability for his family, but he can’t seem to catch a break. Until one day he stumbles upon a certain car that’ll change his life forever. Right off the bat, it’s hard not to enjoy Rise of the Beasts. Noah is a charming character who wants to do whatever he can to help his younger brother, Kris (Dean Scott Vazquez). It’s his desperation to help Kris that leads to him meeting the Autobots. What ensures after is a chaotic thrill ride that shows there’s plenty of steam left in the franchise.

    Ramos and Dominique Fishback, who plays Elena Wallace, are a hell of a duo. Both young actors are absolutely captivating, and Rise of the Beasts easily proves Ramos and Fishback are worthy of leading more blockbusters like Transformers. (Of course, Ramos is already set for a villainous role in Marvel Studios’ Ironheart.)

    As great as Ramos and Fishback are, though, the robots themselves are better than they’ve ever been. The charm that Bay’s Transformers films lacked is more than evident in Rise of the Beasts. Their character designs are great, the action scenes are absolutely thrilling, and fans will easily find themselves on the edge of their seats wondering what will come next. The CGI is never overdone, and neither are the fights. Rise of the Beasts is everything fans wanted from the first films; it’s thrilling, charming and exciting.

    And the ending? Well, it seems Paramount has a lot in store for fans. Try to avoid spoilers as much as possible because the surprise ending is sure to delight.

    Overall, Rise of the Beasts is everything Transformers fans have been wanting from the films. It’s action-packed, led by two of Hollywood’s most promising young actors and serves as a great new starting point for the Transformers franchise.

  • Summer Box Office May Be Slowing Down With ‘The Flash’ and ‘Elemental’s Soft Forecasts

    Summer Box Office May Be Slowing Down With ‘The Flash’ and ‘Elemental’s Soft Forecasts

    Here’s a surprise but it seems the summer tentpoles are showing quite a bit of a slowdown. The Little Mermaid is heading to a strong $120M+ opening weekend over Memorial Day, which puts it at $100M over three days. That is slightly behind the other Disney releases Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantmania but still a strong opening if the film has legs like the previous Guardians film.

    Yet, the rest of the box office is looking a little lukewarm so far. Fast X made a huge splash internationally but is slowing down quite a bit domestically at $67.5M. Even the return of the former box office champion isn’t really lighting up the box office’s engine with Transformers: Rise of the Beasts tracking for a soft $40M in early projection. Yet, it seems some other hopefuls aren’t showing that momentum many hoped for this year.

    The Flash is currently heading for $70M. It’s quite a bit lower than what Warner Bros. Discovery is banking on given that they used all of Shazam: Fury of the Gods‘ marketing budget on this film that they are pushing as “the best superhero film of all time.” The question remains if it’ll have strong word-of-mouth and legs afterward. If it offers what is promised, it does have a good chance but it’s still far from where you’d want your $250M+ film to open.

    There’s also the depressing development of Pixar’s box office due to the Disney+ releases throughout the last few years. Elemental is looking at a $40M similar to Transformers, which would put it on track with Onward and The Good Dinosaur but even Ratatouille managed to become a success with a soft $47M. They just need to hope that old momentum carries over.

    Source: Variety, Hollywood Reporter

  • ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’ Eyeing a Soft $40M Opening Weekend in Early Projections

    ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’ Eyeing a Soft $40M Opening Weekend in Early Projections

    A long time ago, the Transformers franchise under the leadership of Michael “Bayhem” Bay was one of the biggest releases in theaters. Transformers: Dark of the Moon and Age of Extinction went on to make billions at the box office but started to lose momentum with the release of The Last Knight and Bumblebee. While the latter was a fresh take and much closer to what fans hoped to see from this franchise, the franchise definitely lost quite a bit of momentum as it went on.

    One could argue that the lack of Transformers branding could also have softened its opening, but it still managed to pull in $465M on a softer $102M production budget. The opening weekend at $21M had many concerned that this franchise might run out of steam, but that doesn’t mean production companies will try to keep a potential billion-dollar franchise dormant for long.

    So, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is the next attempt to revitalize the franchise by bringing back Optimus Prime and even introducing the more out-there concept of the Maximals. The promotion has not been shy about showcasing these characters that carry on the introduction of Lockjaw and the dinosaur-based Transformers while also re-introducing the classic characters in familiar designs closer to what Bumblebee offered.

    Yet, it seems early projections aren’t looking too optimistic for the franchise return. Pre-sales at the moment are closer to underperformers like recent releases Shazam! Fury of the Gods and Morbius. Plus, the summer market is extremely stuffed (leaving its scars in the earlier quarter of the year) and may lead to quite a few films cannibalizing each other. June is quite a bit stuffed with Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and The Flash, who shared very similar audiences.

    As of now, the film is tracked for an opening somewhere between $30M and $40M. That would put it lower than 2017’s Transformers: The Last Knight which opened to $44M. Of course, it’s still an early projection and they might push the marketing quite a bit more the closer we get to release. The only issue is that this VFX-heavy release might be another $200M production investment that may not get paid off.

    For now, we’ll have to keep a close eye as projections change but we might be seeing more and more that what some called a “superhero fatigue” is closer to a blockbuster fatigue. There are certain expectations in 2023 that are showing strong patience for streaming offerings due to how it was handled throughout the last few years. Last year seemed less impacted due to a limited release schedule but we’ll have to see how many films actually get lots in the shuffle.

    Source: Box Office Pro, The Numbers

  • ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’ Becomes Paramount’s Most-Watched Trailer Ever

    ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’ Becomes Paramount’s Most-Watched Trailer Ever

    Steve Caple Jr.’s upcoming Transformers film subtitled Rise of the Beasts has become one of Paramount’s most watched trailers. After dropping during CCXP in anticipation of the dangerous Marvel panel later in the day, we got our first look at the latest addition to the Transformers franchise; the first since Bumblebee back in 2018. It’s been 4 years since we last saw one of cinema’s biggest franchises dominate the market and they are back in style with some more animalistic friends joining the fray in June of next year.

    Not only is it making its grand return but also seemingly broke a record for Paramount, as the film’s first trailer pulled in 494M globally in its first week. That beats out even Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3‘s 182M and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’s 77M. 238M checked out the trailer within the first 24 hours, which is above any other theatrical trailer released by Paramount and only behind Avengers: Endgame‘s 268M and Spider-Man: No Way Home‘s 355.5M.

    Supposedly, it’s even the most shared trailer to date beating out Jurassic World: Dominion‘s 185K with 400K. For those wondering if this is a sign that Rise of the Beasts will domiante theaters, it’s not exactly an easy comparison drawn. Solo: A Star Wars Story once drew in massive trailer viewership and had a better first-day ticket sale than Black Panther but lost a lot of momentum, as pointed out by The Wrap. Yet, there’s likely a big curiosity about the return of the franchise, especially since Michael Bay‘s films dominated the box office back in the day and we haven’t seen one in quite some time.

    Perhaps the surprise drop combined with a “oh, this is back” element could’ve gotten word-of-mouth going but its box office will strongly depend on Paramount going all-in with its marketing. Bumblebee didn’t make as much as its predecessors did and it does seem like they are trying to pull back some elements from Bay into this sequel, but perhaps it was simply the insanity of “Bayhem” that truly had people going to theaters back in the day; looking for that thrill similar to Top Gun: Maverick early this year. We’ll know more once the next trailer drops and popularity remains building up into its June release next year.

    Source: The Wrap

  • Leaked Merch Offers First Look at ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’ Maximals

    Leaked Merch Offers First Look at ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’ Maximals

    It looks like it’s the kind of day where the merchandise just keeps giving, as another set has found its way online. This time, however, it’s not for a Marvel Studios production, but rather the long-awaited newest entry in the Transformers franchise. With the subtitle Rise of the Beasts, we were excited to see the live-action dbut of the Maximals and luckily, this new merchandise leak offers just that.

    The mug as shared by Twitter user @rotbtrailer includes our first look at four key members of the Maximals. We can see the inclusion of Optimus Primal, Rhinox, Airazor, and Cheetor. They have been announced to join the film with Primal being voiced by Ron Perlman and Airazor by Michelle Yeoh.

    The designs are definitely great even if we can’t get the best look at them. You can cleaerly see that they are robots in disguise but with a lot of detail highlighting their animalistic designs. It’s quite exciting to see what they’ll do with them in live-action but here’s hoping that we’ll also see if more merchandise finds its way online teasing the deisgns of the others. There’s still the question if the Autobots will be closer to Michael Bay’s design or the ones we saw in Bumblebee. Only time or more leaks will tell.

    Source: Twitter

  • RUMOR: Transformers to Face Unicron in ‘Rise of the Beasts’ Movie

    RUMOR: Transformers to Face Unicron in ‘Rise of the Beasts’ Movie

    We’ve long speculated on who might be the next foe in Transformers‘ latest cinematic release. As the franchise moves away from Michael Bay‘s time with the characters, it’s starting to embrace more elements from the original animated series. The upcoming entry by Steven Caple Jr. will introduce the world to elements from the Beast Wars storyline and act as a sequel to Bumblebee. If a new rumor is to believed, we might also know how exactly they will be facing.

    While there’s no word if Megatron or Starscream might return, we do know that the Terrorcons and Maximals will have a role in the film. Yet, it seems that @ViewerAnon took to Twitter to share that the film will include Unicron as it’s big bad. There’s no word if he’ll potentially have an overarching role or they might use the Lord of Chaos for multiple entries.

    If the rumor is true, it’s certainly quite a step up to have a planet eater as your main bad guy. With his focus on devouring the multiverse, perhaps it’s a concept they want to use to make the new film franchise stand out. Marvel’s quite busy building up their own multiversal storyline as DC hopes to do the same with The Flash. So, it seems fitting that one of the other massive pop cultural cinema franchises also takes its chance into the wider multiverse. Perhaps it’s also their way of establishing their new timeline while keeping the door open to revisit the old franchise in some way.

    Source: Twitter

  • Michael Bay Was Aware of the Quality of His ‘Transformer’s Films From Test Screenings

    Michael Bay Was Aware of the Quality of His ‘Transformer’s Films From Test Screenings

    Michael Bay has quite the reputation for sticking to his guns no matter what. Just recently in an interview, he openly stated that there were CG shots he wasn’t happy with even though it’ll release in theaters just a few days later. His Transformers films were the pinnacle of “Bayhem” when each new entry started to up the ante one after another. Surprisingly, it seems that the director was very much aware of it after witnessing the reaction from test screenings.

    So it’s intense, like Transformers…So two houses, 400 people in each house, starting 15 minutes difference or something like that. I’m now watching it with a whole bunch of families and kids, and I’m like, “Okay, dumb robot movie. Oh my God. It’s just a kids’ movie. Oh, man. Oh, what did I do?” It gets a huge score, and it was unfinished.

    Michael Bay

    While seeing families’ reactions to his “dumb robot movie,” he shared that once he entered a more adult theater he realized the quality of the films he made, but that didn’t seem to bother him too much.

    Then I go to the next theater, and I’ve got the sound thing and there’s an empty seat and there’s a guy, whatever. This is more of the adult kind of room, and I look to the guy and I [ask], ‘Do you like this movie?’ And he goes, ‘[meh hand motion]. And I’m like, “Oh, this is terrible. I just made a terrible movie.” Whatever. Huge matching score, like a 94. That’s a spectacular movie score.

    Michael Bay

    Bay has always been very straightforward with his opinion, and you have to respect how he doesn’t really hold back. Still, the Transformers were quite successful and didn’t stop him from pumping out one film after another. He certainly seemed to have fun with the projects he’s worked on. So, while not critically loved, it certainly found its audience.

    Source: ScreenRant