The first new Transformers movie in five years hits theaters in June, but its post-production is rumored to be in disarray.
In Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, the heroic Autobots join forces with the Maximals and their leader, Optimus Primal (Voiced by the inimitable Ron Perlman) to defeat an evil band of ‘bots known as the Terrorcons.
Peter Cullen will reprise his iconic role as Optimus Prime with Pete Davidson playing fellow Autobot Mirage, and Anthony Ramos helps to fill out the human cast. Additionally, the new film will bring a recast Arcee into play behind the voice of Liza Koshy along with Game of Thrones and MCU star Peter Dinklage
Rise of the Beasts’ predecessor Bumblebee was much-beloved, with critics praising its heart, humor, and action. But can lightning strike twice for the rebooted Transformers franchise?
Paramount Reportedly Worried About Transformers
According to insider Jeff Sneider on The Hot Mic Podcast, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts has gone through a multitude of edits during post-production from almost a dozen different editing teams:
"They're getting a little worried about 'Transformers.' I wanted to caution you in this draft. This is what they said, they said that 'Transformers' has gone through close to a dozen different editing teams that have argued about different cuts of the film."
Sneider’s co-host John Rocha added that the sequel is “a mess” and that Paramount is “trying to fix it.”
"I've got to be honest: A few weeks ago, a friend who's a source of mine who has connections with that studio and people involved in that situation told me the same thing. He had heard that the movie's a mess and that they're trying to fix it."
What’s Going On With Rise of the Beasts?
The fact that the new Transformers movie has been described as a “mess” by those in the know doesn’t exactly bode well.
In fact, there may be a faint hint of these behind-the-scenes troubles in marketing. The movie is due in theaters in less than two months, and the last full-length trailer was released in December with extremely minimal marketing since - apart from the tie-in toy line from Hasbro.
Additionally, The Super Bowl ad was made up of recycled footage with new clips sprinkled in between, and it was actually half-movie promo, half-Porsche ad (Mirage transforms into a silver Porsche in the movie), which means that the studio likely had to air it to comply with its promotional partner.
All of this could amount to absolutely nothing, or it could mean that the studio is unsure of how to market Rise of the Beasts with its supposed ongoing editing woes.
Still, director Steven Caple Jr., while a relative newcomer, turned in extremely solid work with 2018’s Creed II. Not to mention that the live-action Transformers franchise has never exactly been viewed as top-caliber cinema. It’s giant robots that turn into cars and punch each other, it doesn’t have to be The Godfather.
With that in mind, while Rise of the Beasts may turn out to be subpar in the eyes of some, fans may still flock to see it if it maintains the sense of over-the-top fun that these movies are known for.
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts rolls into theaters on June 9.
