Transformers Oneis the first animated feature-lengthTransformersmovie in decades, andScreen Ranthas new information about the film straight fromSan Diego Comic-Con 2024. The movie is set before the events of the hit live-actionTransformersmovies, and is said to be a canon prequel to that series. The story revolves around a young Optimus Prime and Megatron, and dives into what would ultimately prove to be a doomed friendship between the robots.
TheTransformers Onecastis an especially exciting piece of the movie, with comedic legends, action movie icons, and Marvel Cinematic Universe staples all involved. Optimus Prime will be played byThor: Love & Thunderstar Chris Hemsworth, and Megatron will be played by Brian Tyree Henry, who starred inEternalsand is known for his work onAtlanta. Other cast members include Scarlett Johansson, Keegan-Michael Key, and Laurence Fishburne.
Transformers Onewas brought to life under the guidance of director Josh Cooley. It’s the second feature-length directorial effort by the filmmaker, whose first was the hit Pixar sequelToy Story 4.Cooley also helped write the story forToy Story 4, and worked on the screenplay for the firstInside Out.Screen Rantcaught up withTransformers Onedirector Josh Cooleyon the floor at San Diego Comic-Con 2024 to learn more about the upcoming Cybertron-ian epic.
Transformers Is The Ultimate Sandbox For A Filmmaker Like Josh Cooley
“It was great to dive into that and just see what we can play.”
Screen Rant: This is the ultimate toy box for a filmmaker, I can assume. What was it like stepping into theTransformersfranchise?
Josh Cooley: Oh, wow. Well, the franchise is enormous. I mean, there’s been so many movies, video games, comics, everything. We’re starting so much earlier than what’s been really shown before. So working on this film, I got to work closely with Hasbro.
They shared with me all their information, which was a ton, and it was great to dive into that and just see what we can play with because there’s so many different continuities, Transformers, so many different versions that we can grab what we needed to tell the story.
Looking back at all the other versions of the franchise, what was the cardinal rule that you kept for the core of this film?
Josh Cooley: For the core, it was all about Optimus and Megatron. What we know they’re going to become enemies. This film, we’re seeing them as brothers, basically. And so for me, every single decision was about that relationship.
Speaking of Megatron, I feel like this is the most vulnerable we’re going to see the character and at least the most vulnerable we’ve seen the character on screen yet. Can you talk about how you wanted to foreshadow his eventual role in the franchise and bringing empathy to that character?
Josh Cooley: Yeah. One of the goals from the very beginning was I wanted the audience, people who have no idea what Transformers, let’s pretend there’s somebody who doesn’t know what Transformers is, that they can go into this movie completely fresh and not even know he’s going to be the villain. I thought that would be really cool to just see this relationship and to kind of fall in love with it.
And then to see what, there’s something that happens where all of a sudden they have two different worldviews on how to solve this problem, and you understand it. So it’s not just a bad guy being bad. It’s like, well, I kind of get what he’s talking about, which makes it real. It makes it feel believable. And so that really was like, I want that challenge. And I talked to Brian Tyree Henry who plays D-16 [Megatron] about that, and he loved that and really got into it. I mean, all the performances are just unreal.
Getting To Introduce New Versions Of Beloved Transformers Characters & Locations
Chris Hemsworth “understood it from the very beginning and really helped develop it in a major way.”
You have such a wonderful cast. When it comes to Bumblebee, audiences are used to him almost communicating through music. What was it like finding that voice, and did you give Keegan-Michael Key the ability to improv that at all?
Josh Cooley: Bumblebee speaks through the radio. He’s almost like a silent character, which is really appealing, knowing we’re going to be starting so much earlier. Let’s do the opposite. Let’s give him a voice that doesn’t stop. Which I knew would a lot of fun. I just finished working with Keegan on another project, so I immediately had it in my head. And before I even kind said yes to this project, I was always like, “Hey, would you want to do Bumblebee character?” And he was like, “Yeah, let’s do it. Let’s do it.” And so from day one, that was always the thing. you’re able to’t stop him from improvising and you don’t want to, by the way. He can say anything and make it funny. So I love working with him. He’s just so much fun.
We spend a lot of time on Cybertron on this film, and I feel like we haven’t seen Cybertron quite a while. Can you talk about exploring it inTransformers One?
Josh Cooley: Well, in Transformers One, the war hasn’t happened yet. The planet’s not dying yet. There’s no reason to leave. So what’s the opposite of that? What did things look like when it was great? And the more I thought about it, they are fighting for their planet. That’s what this is all about. So I wanted Cybertron to feel really appealing. So the audience goes, oh yeah, no, you wouldn’t want to lead that. It’s kind of awesome. So knowing that it was all made of metal and that it transforms itself from the day one, I was like, what does that even look like? So that got me really exciting to do this.
This is such a unique take on these characters because it’s such an early part from the characters that we know. What surprised you the most about the development of these characters as you were working on the film, and what was your biggest takeaway from seeing their arc?
Josh Cooley: I’ll be even more specific. I think talking about Optimus Prime, Peter Cullen is my Optimus Prime. That’s what I grew up with. That’s what everybody know, he created that character, that voice is so personal to him. So that was from day one. “My gosh, how are we going to do this? We’re doing early enough where he’s Orion Pax and has a different name. It’s a different character that he will eventually become Optimus.”
And so with that in mind, talking with Chris and Chris' voice is so deep and powerful. Just when he’s asking you, “Hey can you pass me that?” You’re like, “Oh, my gosh.” But he has that quality of an Optimus. So we talked about, “How can we get there?” And so we had him be a little bit more – young isn’t the word, but he’s just not as wise yet. Carefree, a little more immature, which is fun. You love to see that.
And that really helps with seeing Orion Pax and D-16 as friends, because they’re kind of like immature college buddies in a way. And that’s just fun to watch. And so Chris really got into that and really dug it. Understood it from the very beginning and really helped develop it in a major way.
How Chris Hemsworth Found Orion Pax’s Voice In Transformers One
Now we’ve only seen Optimus really as a leader, and it’s kind of interesting that we’re going to see him so early on because it’s fascinating to see an Optimus that would be young and carefree. He can make mistakes. Can you talk about how Chris kind of found that voice? Did he know what he wanted to do when he was playing the role?
Josh Cooley: We explored it. It was kind of in the script, but every single line, he’s an amazing improviser. So every single line had the spirit of it, and he would just take it up to the next level. He’s so charming and he brought a lot of that. That is just naturally him, and he brought a lot of that into the character.
Transformers One Cast & Character Guide: What The Actors Look Like In Real Life
The animated Transformers movie Transformers One offers a promising cast voicing iconic Autobots, Decepticons and mythical figures of Cybertron.
I love that this is really a Transformers for all ages. But for those longtime fans, what do you think they’re going to be surprised by with this take? Can you talk about some of the Easter eggs that are sprinkled throughout the film?
Josh Cooley: Every scene has something in it. My crew at ILM and Paramount, they are all fans. We’re all massive fans. We all grew up with it, like you said, every generation, every version. So there is an Easter egg probably from every single version of it, and it’s everywhere. There’s stuff. I’m like, wait a second, what’s that character doing? And the animators like, oh, I thought I’d throw them in there. I was like, great, let’s do it. So there’s a lot of love that went into making this film.
After exploring these characters in Transformers One, did you kind of fall in love with any one character where you like to see them spin off into their solo adventure?
Josh Cooley: A solo adventure? Tell you what, I really loved was working with Scarlett Johansson for Elita 1. We talked early on about not just making this a character that’s just off to the side, chiming in every once in a while, but actually making her really important to the development of Orion Pax. Because in certain continuity they’re together as a couple and everything. So that was something that was really important and we talked about and worked on just making her that part of the growth of Orion.
Certain people may have an idea of what Cybertron is based on other iterations of Transformers they’re familiar with. Talk to me about your Cybertron that we find in this film. What can we kind of expect from this early Cybertron?
Josh Cooley: Well, it’s a little more wild. One of the things that we talked about with my art team and production designer [was that] I didn’t want it just be a gray marble in the sky with gray characters in front of it would be hard to see. So how can we make this beautiful? We looked at a lot of natural metals that exist on our planet, and when you have the light hits things correctly, it’s stunning.
We use a lot our own nature as a reference for that. I wanted the audience to fall in love with this planet because like I said, it is what’s at stake at the end of the day and something we’ve never seen before on screen. I want this to have its own character. Basically, what I go with is, “Would I want to go there if it was a theme park?” And the answer is, “Yes, absolutely.”
More About Transformers One (2024)
Transformers One is the untold origin story of Optimus Prime and Megatron, better known as sworn enemies, but once were friends bonded like brothers who changed the fate of Cybertron forever.
Transformers One
Cast
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.
