Apr 18, 2024

Paramount Releases Trailer for "Transformers One," Moves Release Date Up One Week

Paramount Animation has released the trailer for "Transformers One," the first fully animated film in the Transformers franchise since 1986's "Transformers: The Movie": the first fully The first fully animated film in the Transformers franchise since 1986's "Transformers: The Movie.

"Toy Story 4" director Josh Cooley will direct the new film from a script by Andrew Barer and Gabriel Ferrari. It is being promoted as an origin story that tells the story of how Orion Pax and D-16 went from warriors to nemesis Optimus Prime and Megatron.

The trailer showcases an uncompromising sci-fi style rarely seen in animation combined with a snarky comedic tone that will no doubt be familiar to viewers of animated feature films. Whether this combination of elements can bring audiences back to the franchise, which has been in decline at the global box office since peaking in 2011 with the release of Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Paramount is hoping that Tim Burton's Beetlejuice presumably to avoid competition with the sequel, but also to secure enough premium large screens.

Industrial Light & Magic will produce the animation. Producers are Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Tom DeSanto & Don Murphy, Michael Bay, Mark Varadian, and Aaron Demme. Executive producers are Steven Spielberg, Zev Foreman, Olivier Dumont, Brian Oliver, B.J. Farmer and Matt Quigg.

The principal cast includes Chris Hemsworth (Orion Pax), Brian Tyree Henry (D-16), Scarlett Johansson (Elita-1), Keegan-Michael Key (B-127), Steve Buscemi, Laurence Fishburne, Jon Hamm.

Amid's Take: It's refreshing to see an animated film that doesn't aim to please everyone; having not seen "Transformers" since the 1980s, there was nothing in this trailer that an outsider like me could understand or that would make me want to see any more (although I will definitely still I will still go see it). And that is perfectly fine.

[14] I am willing to accept that this film is not for me. In fact, I would argue that there is room in the animation market for more genre films that target niche audiences in the same way that live action does. The key with Transformers One is whether people invested in the lore and mythology of the toy franchise will want to see it. The "Transformers" market has proven its importance in the past, with multiple films from the franchise grossing over $1 billion worldwide.