Watch Optimus Prime & Optimus Primal Rise at SXSW Ahead of “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” World Tour
Paramount has revealed that Optimus Prime and his more feral cousin, Optimal Primal, are in Austin, Texas.
Ahead of the studios’ release of Transformers: Rise of the Beasts this summer, Paramount is setting up shop, so to speak, in Austin for the SXSW Festival, with massive Optimus Prime and Optimus Primal statues unveiled by some of the film’s cast and crew. Stars Anthony Ramos, Dominique Fishback, and Tobe Nwigwe were in Austin for the unveiling, alongside director Steven Caple Jr. and producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura. The stars and Autobot statues will be rolling into cities across the world, including Mexico City, New York, Sydney, Berlin, Madrid, and Tokyo.
We learned a bit about the seventh installment of the Transformers franchise when the trailer dropped, boasting snippets of a Biggie Smalls classic while it revealed the beastly Transformers that will be a major part of the film. Rise of the Beasts is inspired by the ’90s Beast Wars cartoon and also boasts a fresh new cast, led by aforementioned stars Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback, with new transformers voiced by none other than Michelle Yeoh (!!) and Pete Davidson.
Director Steven Caple Jr steers this new Transformers story from the streets of Brooklyn to Machu Picchu, Peru. The action is set after 2018’s spinoff Bumblebee and introduces the Maximals and Predacons, who, you’ve probably guessed, take the form of colossal metal animals. The film will explore not only these new factions in the larger war between the Autobots and Decepticons but the origins of the Autobots’ connection to Earth. Rise of the Beasts also includes the introduction of the Terrorcons, a sub-group of the Decepticons that transform into metallic monsters.
Rise of the Beasts is set before the action of all of Michael Bay’s Transformers films, so you don’t need to know the history of these warring metal aliens to enjoy the spectacle.
The cast also includes Peter Cullen, returning as Optimus Prime, Tobe Nwigwe, Ron Perlman, Peter Dinklage, Liza Koshy, John DiMaggio, David Sobolov, Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, and Cristo Fernández. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts roars into theaters on June 9, 2023.
Check out the creation of the Optimus Prime and Primal statues at SXSW here:
Here’s the official synopsis for Transformers: Rise of the Beasts:
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts will take audiences on a ‘90s globetrotting adventure with the Autobots and introduce a whole new breed of Transformer – the Maximals – to the existing battle on earth between Autobots and Decepticons. Directed by Steven Caple Jr. and starring Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback, the film arrives in theatres June 9, 2023.
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“Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” Trailer Reveals the Maximals, Predacons, & Terrorcons
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Featured image: Optimus Prime teaser image. Courtesy Paramount Pictures.
