Step aside, Autobots, the Maximals are here in the new teaser trailer for Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.
The new film will introduce the Maximals, Predacons, and Terrorcons to the ongoing terrestrial war between the Autobots and Decepticons.
Not only does the film introduce a new breed of sentient robots, but it is offering an entry in the series with new talent behind and in front of the lens. Rise of the Beasts is the first mainline entry to be directed by someone other than Michael Bay, who previously helmed 2017’s Transformers: The Last Knight and four previous movies.
This time around, Creed II director Steven Caple Jr. is taking the helm, with Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback taking the lead roles. The franchise was previously headlined by Mark Whalberg in the main role, who was the star in The Last Knight.
It seems that Rise of the Beasts may be a prequel to the mainline series since it is described in the synopsis as “a ’90s globetrotting adventure.” This was an approach that proved quite effective for 2018’s Bumblebee, a smaller-scale Transformers film that took place in the ’80s and generated some fairly high praise from reviews for the normally critically-hated franchise. The Travis Knight-directed Bumblebee starred Hailee Steinfeld in what proved to be a heart-warming coming-of-age story. It remains to be seen if the events from that film will directly lead in to Rise of the Beasts.
Presumably, Rise of the Beasts will be a rough cinematic adaption of the beloved 1990s computer-animated TV show Beast Wars: Transformers, which was a sequel to the original Transformers show that took place 300 years in the future and focused on robots who transformed into animal-like beings.
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts comes to theaters on June 9, 2023.