All About Transformers: Rise of the Beasts
The Autobots are back with new friends and foes who, of course, transform into various animals and vehicles. 'Rise of the Beasts' is a prequel to the first five Transformer films and a sequel to Bumblebee, taking place seven years later in 1994 and picking up with new human pals after Bumblebee went off to reunite with Optimus Prime. Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback play Noah and Elena, archaeologists caught in the battle between the Autobots, Maximals, Predacons, and Terrorcons.
But enough about humans, let's talk Bots! Joining Autobots Optimus Prime and Bumblebee are Mirage, a hologram-projecting spy, voiced by Pete Davidson, Arcee, a commando who turns into a motorcycle, voiced by Liza Koshy, and Wheeljack, the team's mechanic and scientist, voiced by Cristo Fernández.
On their side are the Maximals, led by Optimus Primal, a robot gorilla, voiced by Ron Perlman, Airazor, a peregrine falcon warrior, voiced by 2023's Best Actress Oscar winner, Michelle Yeoh, Cheetor (Tongayi Chirisa), and Rhinox (David Sobolov).
The Maximals' "Beast Wars" reptilian nemeses, the Predacons, form an alliance with the Terrorcons, who originally transformed into monsters in the series, but appear to be vehicles in this sequel. The Terrorcon leader is the trophy-hunting Scourge, an evil semi truck voiced by Peter Dinklage. His minions include Nightbird (Michaela Jaé Rodriguez), Transit (John DiMaggio), Battletrap (David Sobolov), and Freezer (Dana Snyder). And you can expect this furious fivesome to combine into the ultimate weapon, Abominus.
Directed by Steven Caple Jr. (Creed II), Rise of the Beasts is intended to launch a new Transformers trilogy for Paramount.