Classic Characters You Had No Idea Were Coming To Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts

There are many "Transformers" movies in development, and one of the most interesting filmatizations of the classic toy line-turned-multimedia juggernaut just took an Autobot-sized leap forward. Director Steven Caple Jr.'s "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts" tackles the "Beast Wars" corner of the franchise, and introduces some new factions — like Maximals and Predacons — in the "Transformers" movie universe. 

This gives fans of the "Beast Wars: Transformers" cartoon some idea of which characters you can expect to make it to the big screen. However, this isn't going to be a total overhaul of everything you've known about "Transformers" movies. Looper attended a virtual event for the upcoming film, and we found out that while the movie does plan to introduce a whole bunch of new elements in the film series, it will still feature plenty of cool, familiar characters. In fact, some of the classic Transformers set to appear in "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts" might just surprise you. 

At this point, even the mighty Optimus Prime (voiced by Peter Cullen) can't hold a torch to Bumblebee (voiced by Dylan O'Brien in "Bumblebee"), who has been a prominent fixture throughout the franchise, and even starred in his namesake solo movie in 2018. The yellow Autobot will once again be present in "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts," and his car form will be the familiar Camaro — though, in a franchise first, you'll also see some offroad elements in his design. 

Another returning protagonist is the iconic Arcee (Grey Griffin), whom Steven Caple Jr. specifically wanted to bring in the mix. Her vehicle form will be a Ducati 916 motorcycle, and she'll be closer to the Generation 1 design style seen in "Bumblebee," as opposed to the version seen in "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen." Mirage (voiced by Francesco Quinn in "Transformers: Dark of the Moon") will also return, though with a new Porsche 911 form.

There's also some new information about two of the movie's villains, both of whom are Generation 1 characters. The main villain is Scourge, who leads a faction called Terrorcons. Thanks to his penchant for collecting trophies from his victims, he seems to be a solid contender for the "creepiest 'Transformers' villain" prize. His right hand bot is Nightbird, a ninja robot who's something of a curiosity. In the original cartoon, she was made by humans, but this version seems to have switched into full-blown Terrorcon mode — and, unlike the original, can transform into a Nissan GTR. 

With a combination of these classic characters and the exciting array of "Beast Wars" robots, it looks like "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts" will be a must-watch for all fans of giant robot action.