Animated Prequel being developed

Via TFW2005, both The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline are reporting that Josh Cooley (co-wrote Toy Story 4) has been hired to direct a "big-scale Transformers theatrical prequel" said to focus on an origin story for Optimus Prime and Megatron, set on Cybertron. The script has been written by the writers of Ant-Man and the Wasp (Andrew Barrer & Gabriel Ferrari).

The Deadline article states that the work is being fastracked ahead of the Live Action series because it is easier to progress under social distancing. The other report states that it will act as a "prequel of sorts to the live-action Transformers movies".

Hopefully it takes the style of the Bumblebee scenes on Cybertron and builds off it.

Well this turned out to be quite different to what I was expecting before I clicked on this thread! :D
Expectation-->https://i.ibb.co/WgSXDjf/temp.jpg<--Reality
This is what happens when Hasbro keeps on using vague/generic sounding names like "Animated" and "Robots in Disguise" etc. :rolleyes: :p

I hope that the designs will be more like what we saw in Bumblebee rather than Bayformers; cos I like to be able to tell these robots apart from each other (and also have them look like Transformers rather than metallic Rock Lords). ;)

For some reason, I thought it would be G1 (or G1 adjacent like Siege) when I clicked this thread.

I read somewhere today that it was separate to the live action films including bumblebee so don't expect the visual style to be too similar to anything we've seen in the cinema so far.

the director and writers give me a good vibe.

I like the second pic Gok has on his post, its a very Cybertron version (that we have seen already, especially the toy) of Prime so would suit the narrative of the story, and while I sold my Cybertron version of Prime a long time ago I still think he looked bad ass. As for Megs, where do we go there :confused:

Honestly they need to abandon the previous live action universe entirely. Bumblebee was pretty decent, but the flip-floppy place of it is a bit of a yikes and it's only going to get more confusing the more things they tack on. Now that I think about it, it rings very similar to trying to cram WFC/FOC into the aligned stuff when it was clearly making things difficult. There are only so many side stories and origin stories they can do. A hard break would be really refreshing. All the hesitation probably stems from not wanting to leave behind what was a huge blockbuster film franchise, but I think it's run its course and is mostly dead and buried.

I hope I'm wrong but I have a strong feeling the new Netflix animated show is going to give us more of the same mediocre slop we got with the Prime Wars animated shows. Seeing the WFC G1 designs isn't enough to make it worthwhile. It may just be me, but knowing 100% of the cast as well (as they are just all the Siege characters) has already lost a lot of my excitement as there probably won't be too many surprises. I think there is a too-large proportion of the fan base preoccupied with the notion that as soon as the designs look G1, then everything is fine, fixed and good again, which is just not correct. This new film like the Netflix show has to be good on its own to be worth any salt.

If it were up to me then Transformers would be better off doing things like DC's annual (?) animated movies, or even the couple Dragon Ball Super movies (and a series I think?) they made that extended on from the old series. They're mostly self-contained, mature but also cool action that kids can enjoy. They give heaps of freedom in terms of designs and continuity. It would also supplement the collector-oriented toylines nicely. Both of those exude passion and clear love for the franchise effortlessly. Sonic Mania is a good example too, and the love made all the difference.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYQNnrccbj8

Dragon Ball Super: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiONylGn8Xw

Flashpoint Paradox: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3tochTgPVc

Evangelion Rebuild: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9J1UoVFIWAQ

Sorry to be cynical, but I think there really needs to be a step up in what the vision is for fan-oriented media.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bidoofdude

I think there is a too-large proportion of the fan base preoccupied with the notion that as soon as the designs look G1, then everything is fine, fixed and good again, which is just not correct. This new film like the Netflix show has to be good on its own to be worth any salt.

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This I agree with, a lot of old farts forget that there are now people in their mid to late 20's who have known mostly the Bayverse. I really liked the Transformers Prime series, it kept a bay-esque look but leant back a bit to G1 imho. Other than MP's it is the last of a modern release line that I have purchased, and I have kept them as they still aesthetically please me.

Some info released from Allspark Pictures has the "animated" Transformers movie project slated for a release in 2023.

The Animated Transformers movie might have been pushed back to a 2024 release... as we have seen a lot of current projects pushed back, it would naturally have a knock-on effect on future projects.