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There's far more than meets the eye in the new Transformers: Rise of the Beasts trailer

Optimus vs Optimus, as we finally get to find out what would win: gorilla or semi-truck

Published on Mon Feb 13 2023

They’ve always been more than meets the eye, but judging by the trailer for their new movie, Hasbro’s Transformers are going back to nature to add something new to their repertoire. No matter how familiar you might be with the robots that can turn into any kind of technology from cars to cassette tapes, the question is simple: are you ready for the Rise of the Beasts?

Watch the new teaser, as unveiled during Super Bowl coverage:

Set three decades in the past, the new movie — a sequel to 2018’s Bumblebee — sees a couple of human archaeologists uncover a previously unknown part of the long-running war between the robots from the planet Cybertron: a conflict that includes robots that are neither Autobot or Deception, but something altogether different, with the introduction of the Maximals, the Predacons, and the Terrorcons. With that kind of mythology shake-up, we shouldn’t be too surprised that the movie is the first in a new trilogy of movies, as Paramount seeks to expand the footprint of the Transformers franchise.

Bringing in new tribes of Transformers doesn’t mean that there’s aren’t some familiar faces — or, more accurately, voices — to be found in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, with Peter Cullen returning once again as Optimus Prime, and Bumblebee playing another leading role in proceedings, but there are a host of new actors lending their talents to the robots in this outing, including Pete Davidson, Peter Dinklage, Michelle Yeoh, and Ron Perlman, who voices Optimus Primal, the robot that turns into a gorilla. (Yes, really; don’t ask, just go along with it.)

Expect this movie to be massive when it hits theaters; the first teaser trailer smashed viewing records when it was unveiled in December, suggesting that there’s still a massive audience out there for the 1980s toy heroes, no matter which generation is onscreen.

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts will reach theaters June 9. Buy tickets on Fandango or Atom Tickets.

If this isn’t tease enough, why not go back and enjoy that record-breaking first teaser?

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Graeme McMillan: Popverse Editor Graeme McMillan (he/him) has been writing about comics, culture, and comics culture on the internet for close to two decades at this point, which is terrifying to admit. He completely understands if you have problems understanding his accent.