Is Unicron The Transformers' Version Of The Galactus Cloud?

Contains spoilers for "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts"

Megatron may not be around to cause problems in "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts," but he's small pickings compared to the magnitude of the planet-sized Unicron (Colman Domingo). From the first scene, Unicron's power is on full display as it devours the Maximals' world. With the aid of Scourge (Peter Dinklage) and some other Terrorcons, Unicron is on a quest to eat everything in the universe. But fans of the character's initial design may feel let down by what they see in the film. 

Starting with "The Transformers: The Movie" and other forms of media, Unicron has maintained the shape of a regular Transformer. It may be bigger than Autobots and Decepticons (it does eat worlds, after all), but it looks like one of them. "Rise of the Beasts" changes the design to make Unicron a giant metal sphere with teeth. It does have somewhat of a face that Scourge goes to talk with, but it's a far cry from what fans are used to. 

It's reminiscent of when Galactus went from a giant dude who eats planets in Marvel Comics to a big space cloud in 2007's "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer." Planet eaters that appear in movies with "Rise" in the title are already coincidence enough, but their redesigns further connect them, likely due to creative forces thinking it would be weird to see a humanoid entity traversing the universe. But will Unicron's new design make a lasting impression?

Fans were up in arms when "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer" came out. There was much to criticize about the superhero sequel, but Galactus' design was one of the biggest. Instead of being an all-powerful Celestial, he was a cloud floating through space. It didn't have the same impact, and recently, that film's director, Tim Story, spoke with ComicBook.com about how he agreed with fans' reactions. 

He talked about how, ultimately, it was out of his control: "The ones in charge were afraid of what that could be because, you have to remember, even Marvel has gone through quite cleverly and successfully introduced us to superheroes being in space, and at the time that was never dealt with." The Marvel Cinematic Universe has brought the idea of Celestials to the mainstream, so it's possible in the upcoming MCU "Fantastic Four" movie, Galactus could be more comic book accurate. But in 2007, a guy with a weird helmet eating planets may have been seen as more of a risk. Story continued, "So as a being from space, there were those in charge who weren't ready for what that could be. And, so, you know, that's not the interpretation it should have been. But coming up, there will be some good stuff."

It's possible similar reasoning exists for Unicron in "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts." A giant Transformer floating through space may have been too much for studio executives or casual audiences. Unicron could draw similar criticisms even though it's understandable that a thing that eats planets should look like a planet itself. Unicron will likely factor into any "Rise of the Beasts" sequels, so hopefully, the character receives a much nicer reception.