Fans Are Roaring With Excitement For Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts

Call your parents to drag out those toy chests and get ready to explain years of amazing nonsense-lore to your normal friends — "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts" just released its first trailer, and the internet is going wild. Inspired by the "Beast Wars" series from the 1990s, "Rise of the Beasts" continues the franchise's much-needed transformation, which successfully began with the well-received soft-reboot "Bumblebee" in 2018.

Longtime "Transformers" voice actor Peter Cullen leads as Optimus Prime, the character he originated in 1984 and has continuously played in the decades since. Opposite Cullen is "Hellboy" star Ron Pearlman as Optimus Primal, the leader of the new animal-like robots called Maximals. Pete Davidson, Liza Koshy, and "Futurama's" John DiMaggio also star as Autobots Mirage, Arcee, and Stratosphere, respectively. The film's primary villain seems to be the Terrorcon leader Scourge, played by "Game of Thrones" star Peter Dinklage. Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback will also appear as central human characters.

With a stacked cast and a strong visual style, "Transformers" fans are having trouble containing their excitement for the new film.

Even before the trailer for "Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts" dropped, fans took to the r/transformers subreddit to share their anticipation. "This is either going to make or ruin my year," u/Celestial-Nighthawk shared apprehensively. "Moment of truth, Paramount."

The current top-voted comment in the entire thread was also written a few hours before the trailer was released, reading, "Can't wait to discuss transforming gorillas with y'all! 4 years in the waiting." The user was likely very pleased with how much emphasis Optimus Primal — a massive, transforming great ape — received in the first trailer.

Overall, the trailer was met by the subreddit with near-universal praise. "God, I am happy," u/SeahawkSpeed commented after noting Primal's design and the use of Mirage's powers. "Wow, Even if it's just a teaser trailer I enjoyed every second of it," u/B-DB wrote, adding, "Can't wait til June."

It seems the momentum of the trailer has even inspired fans of all ages to rush to the toy aisle. "My bank account is not prepared for how much merch this movie will generate," said Redditor u/Radi0ActivSquid, to which u/SoU2424 responded, "Right? I was planning to pass but that leaked Airazor figure is giving me second thoughts. Lord help me if primal looks good." Based on this comments section alone, Primal looks very good — in fact, fans are pretty happy with most of the bots featured in the trailer.

Aside from Optimus Primal, Mirage seems to be the clear standout. "Mirage looks pretty cool in the teaser they released," Redditor u/Reaper_64 wrote. "His transformation was really smooth and even in that small clip the way he moves gives him a lot of personality. Excited to see the other designs."

Like 2018's "Bumblebee," "Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts" reworked the bots' character models to resemble their cartoon-toy counterparts more closely. As user u/drchigero put it, "they simplified the designs and leaned into colors enough that now I can see two bots fighting on screen and actually be able to make out who's who and it's not just a bunch of moving metal plates banging into each other." Another user named u/KhaotikDevil wrote, "The Maximals look both faithful and AMAZING."

There were some, however, who had issues with minor aspects of the trailer. "Just watched it," noted u/SoU2424. "Primal's voice will take a bit of getting used to, but I can get behind it." Redditor u/B-DB responded, "Thats what I thought aswell, It kinda caught me off guard but I liked it in general." User u/nicholasandsoup felt Optimus Prime's look wasn't as faithful to the original series, writing, "Did anyone notice Optimus' new design? Feels like it isn't as 'G1' [Generation 1] compared to the bumblebee film, but might be wrong."

Overall, the mood is certainly hopeful in the "Transformers" fan base, as they anxiously await the release of "Rise of the Beasts" next year.