Transformers: Who Voices Unicron In Rise Of The Beasts & Why Is The Role Historic?
When most people think of the Autobots' greatest enemy, they probably first think of Megatron. But starting with 1986's "The Transformers: The Movie," there was a new big bad to make Transformers shake in their boots — Unicron. Immediately, his status as a threat is made clear when he consumes an entire planet and revives Megatron and the other Decepticons who had been left to float in space.
Since that time, Unicron has appeared in numerous forms of "Transformers" media. He was even teased in 2017's "Transformers: The Last Knight," but that film changed the character significantly by revealing that Earth was really Unicron the whole time. The live-action movies get another stab at the antagonist with "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts," where he's his own entity and wants to eat Earth.
Colman Domingo plays him in the latest flick, an award-winning actor known for his work in projects like "If Beale Street Could Talk" and "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom." He gives the villain some much-needed gravitas, and even though he doesn't have much to say in "Rise of the Beasts," it's obvious this is a threat not to be trifled with. Domingo follows in a proud lineage of actors to voice Unicron, who has an interesting bit of trivia associated with him.
Unicron was originally voiced by Orson Welles, who recorded his lines five days before his death
Since Unicron was first introduced, many actors have taken on voiceover duties. Roger C. Carmel voiced the villain in the 1980s "Transformers" cartoon, while John Noble took over the role in "Transformers: Prime." Interestingly enough, "The Breakfast Club" star Judd Nelson lent his voice to Unicron in the animated web series "Power of the Primes." But for many, Unicron will forever be synonymous with one of the greatest voices in the history of Hollywood — Orson Welles.
Welles is best known for writing, directing, and producing "Citizen Kane," still considered by many film scholars to be the most influential film ever made. He wrote, directed, and starred in many renowned movies and television programs, but one of his final roles came in the form of voicing Unicron in 1986's "The Transformers: The Movie." It was a little off the beaten path for the respected thespian, and Welles wasn't shy about voicing his disdain for the project.
Welles actually recorded his lines for the animated film on October 5, 1985, just five days before his death. And between recording and passing away, Welles still found the time to complain about the role, as he was quoted in Barbara Leaming's "Orson Welles: A Biography" as saying, "You know what I did this morning? I played the voice of a toy. Some terrible robot toys from Japan that changed from one thing to another. The Japanese have funded a full-length animated cartoon about the doings of these toys, which is all bad outer-space stuff." Hopefully, Colman Domingo has a more positive appraisal of voicing Unicron in "Rise of the Beasts" because if this film does well, there's no reason why the character can't return for a future installment.