Marvel star Chris Hemsworth shared a reaction pic on Twitter after the cast of the upcoming Transformers prequel was announced.
The actor has successfully made the transition from big, strong, norse God to big, strong, space robot as the announcement named Hemsworth as the new voice of Optimus Prime. The movie, titled Transformers One, is an animated prequel that will be set on Cybertron. The God of Thunder shared a gif of Optimus Prime as celebration of the news.
He’ll be joined by fellow Marvel alumni such as Brain Tyree Henry (Eternals), who will be the voice of Megatron, as well as Scarlett Johansson, who will be the voice of Elita. Keegan-Michael Key, Jon Hamm and Laurence Fishburne are all also set to lend their voices to Autobots and Decepticons alike.
Many were skeptical of the decision to cast Hemsworth, whilst it’s nothing personal against the Australian, fans aren’t used to hearing anyone other than Peter Cullen in his iconic role. The Canadian actor has been voicing Optimus since the show began in the ’80s and he returned to the role in all of the live-action Transformers installments. Fans are hopeful that Hemsworth will channel his inner Cullen for the role.
I HOPE YOU GIVE A GOOD VOICE TO OPTIMUS BECAUSE PETER HE DESERVES THAT POSITION pic.twitter.com/QRsiNoRKdG
— rocio -44 (@foxflwr) April 28, 2023
This is hard for me. Fan of @chrishemsworth, but also the legendary Peter Cullen. Hard to see anyone but Peter voice Optimus. Godspeed Chris!
— Noel Geren (@ngeren) April 28, 2023
Cullen will be voicing the character in the upcoming Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, but it will be exciting to hear another actor’s take on one of the most recognisable characters in cartoon history. Whilst there were a lot of purists in the comments, most admitted that they were excited to hear what Hemsworth would do in the role, and would give him a chance.
I LOVE YOU BUT YOU BETTER SOUND EXACTLY LIKE PETER CULLEN OR A YOUNG CULLEN ATLEAST OR I DO NOT WANT IT 😂 but I have faith in you
— Ghost (@GHOST3YTHATSME) April 28, 2023
Okay so then this confirms it. Honestly I’m not upset, I actually wanna see what direction they take with this film. Way to go Chris.
— CaertaC621 (@CorollaC621) April 28, 2023
Chris himself seems excited for the role at the very least. Whilst few details have been released about the animated feature, it’s set for release July next year; so we’ll have to wait a while before we hear what Chris sounds like as the leader of the Autobots.