Transformers: Rise of the Beasts - Release date, what to expect, and more

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is currently slated for a June 9, 2023, release. This will be the seventh installment in the Transformers franchise and will serve as a standalone sequel to 2018's Bumblebee. Directed by Steven Caple Jr., known for helming Creed II, the film will introduce numerous new players and cast members to the Transformers franchise.

Following the release of 2018's Bumblebee, which served as a soft-reboot for the Transformers franchise following the critical and financial failure of Transformers: The Last Knight, fans were uncertain as to where the franchise might head next.

However, during Paramount's showcase at Cinemacon 2022, franchise producer Lorenzo Di Bonaventura said that the next installment would be adapting the Beast Wars storyline. The title, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, eventually confirmed the same.

---

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts release date and what to expect

Optimus Primal, played by Ron Perlman in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (Image via Paramount)

As stated above, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is slated for a June 9, 2023, release. The film was delayed from its initial release on June 24, 2022. In February 2022, the film was announced via the official Twitter account of Paramount Pictures' social media page to be the start of a new trilogy of films.

In April 2022 at Cinemacon, the first-look footage of the film was shown exclusively to the attendees at the event. A teaser trailer was then released on December 1, 2022.

Collider later confirmed that Transformers: Rise of the Beasts will adapt the story from the famous 1996 animated series Beast Wars. This was the main point of interest for the lead actor of Rise of the Beasts, Anthony Ramos, who said that Beast Wars was his favorite cartoon growing up. Speaking to People News at a virtual press conference, Ramos said:

"Beast Wars was my joint, that was the one for me. I was [in front of the TV] every week watching Beast Wars, so when I read the script, I saw we were gonna have them in the movie, my head almost exploded off of my body."

Cheetor and Bumblebee in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (Image via Paramount)

The film is set in 1994 in Brooklyn, New York, and will continue off of the storyline established in Bumblebee, which took place in the 1980s. The film will also have certain parts of the story set in Peru. Director Steven Caple Jr, at a press event for Rise of the Beasts, said that the filmmakers are working with the Peruvian government to open up the historic Machu Pichu site for the film.

The film will continue the ongoing war between the Autobots and Decepticons. It will also introduce new Transformers robot types - the Maximals and Predacons - who are part of the next stage of the evolution of the Cybertronians. They are also the descendants of Autobots and Decepticons.

However, unlike the Autobots and Decepticons, who can transform into vehicles, the Maximals and Predacons transform into various birds and animals.

Another new race, the Terrorcons, will serve as the main antagonists of Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. These Terrorcons will be led by Scourge, who will be essayed by Game of Thrones' Peter Dinklage.

While they were depicted as a faction of the Decepticons in the Beast Wars animated series, in the film, they will be seen as an independent hunter group that hunts down both the Autobots and Maximals.

According to the trailer, Elena Wallace, played by Dominique Fishback, ends up unearthing the Maximals by accident, bringing them face-to-face with Optimus Prime and the Autobots. The Autobots and Maximals then ally themselves to rid the earth of Decepticons, Terrorcons, and Predacons, once and for all.

---

The cast of Transformers: Rise of the Beasts

The cast of Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (Images via IMDb)

The following actors and voice actors serve as the cast of Transformers: Rise of the Beasts:

Humans:

• Anthony Ramos as Noah Diaz, who is an ex-military electronics expert trying to help his family make a living in Brooklyn.
• Dominique Fishback as Elena Wallace, who works as an artifact researcher at a museum where her boss steals credit for her work.
• Luna Lauren Velez as Noah's mother.
• Tobe Nwigwe as Reek, who accompanies Noah and Elena on their adventure.

Transformers (Autobots):

• Peter Cullen as Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots who can transform into a 1987 Freightliner LA semi-truck. Cullen reprises his role from previous Transformers films.
• Bumblebee, a yellow Autobot, that can transform into a yellow-black second-generation Chevrolet Camaro of the 1970s. Bumblebee is mute. Hence, he has no voice actor.
• Pete Davidson as Mirage, an Autobot spy that is capable of projecting holograms and can transform into a silver-blue Porsche.
• Liza Koshy as Arcee, a female Autobot, and commando that can transform into a red-white Ducati 916 motorcycle.
• Cristo Fernandez as Wheeljack, an Autobot scientist that can transform into a brown-white 1972's Volkswagen Type 2 panel bus.
• John DiMaggio as Stratosphere, an Autobot air-soldier that can transform into a cargo plane for aiding in the transportation of the Autobots. DiMaggio also plays Transit, a Transformer from an unknown faction that can transform into a school bus.

Transformers (Maximals):

• Ron Perlman as Optimus Primal, the leader of the Maximals that can transform into a gorilla.
• Michelle Yeoh as Airazor, a Maximal that can transform into a peregrine falcon.
• David Sobolov as Rhinox, a Maximal as the name suggests that can transform into a rhinoceros.
• Cheetor, a Maximal that can transform into a cheetah.

Transformers (Terrorcons):

• Peter Dinklage as Scourge, the leader of the Terrorcons and a trophy hunter that can transform into a Peterbilt 359 logging semi-truck.
• David Sobolov as Battletrap, a Terrorcon that can transform into an orange 1980s GMC Topkick C7000 tow truck.
• Michaela Jae Rodriguez as Nightbird, a female Terrorcon that can transform into a Nissan Skyline GT-R R33.