Transformers (film series)

Transformers
Logo used for the first three films in the series
Directed by	Michael Bay (1–5) Travis Knight (6) Steven Caple Jr. (7) Josh Cooley (8)
Based on	Transformers by Hasbro
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date	2007–present
Running time	1002 minutes (7 films)
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$1.274–1.42 billion
Box office	$5.286 billion

Transformers is a series of science fiction action films based on the Transformers franchise of the 1980s. Michael Bay directed the first five live action films: Transformers (2007), Revenge of the Fallen (2009), Dark of the Moon (2011), Age of Extinction (2014), and The Last Knight (2017), and has served as a producer for subsequent films. A sixth film Bumblebee, directed by Travis Knight, was released in 2018, while a seventh film, Rise of the Beasts, directed by Steven Caple Jr. was released in 2023.

The series has been distributed by Paramount Pictures, and DreamWorks Pictures worked on the first two films. The live action Transformers film series has received negative to mixed reception, with the exception of Bumblebee, which received positive reviews. It is the 13th-highest-grossing film series, with a total of $5.28 billion; the series films have generally been successful at the box office, with Dark of the Moon and Age of Extinction grossing over $1 billion each.

Films

Film	U.S. release date	Director	Screenwriter(s)	Story by	Producers	Status
Transformers	July 3, 2007 (2007-07-03)	Michael Bay	Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman	John Rogers, Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman	Ian Bryce, Don Murphy, Tom DeSanto and Lorenzo di Bonaventura	Released
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen	June 24, 2009 (2009-06-24)		Ehren Kruger, Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman
Transformers: Dark of the Moon	June 29, 2011 (2011-06-29)		Ehren Kruger
Transformers: Age of Extinction	June 27, 2014 (2014-06-27)
Transformers: The Last Knight	June 21, 2017 (2017-06-21)		Ken Nolan, Art Marcum & Matt Holloway	Ken Nolan, Art Marcum, Matt Holloway & Akiva Goldsman
Bumblebee	December 21, 2018 (2018-12-21)	Travis Knight	Christina Hodson		Don Murphy, Tom DeSanto, Michael Bay, Mark Vahradian and Lorenzo di Bonaventura
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts	June 9, 2023 (2023-06-09)	Steven Caple Jr.	Joby Harold, Darnell Metayer, Josh Peters, Erich Hoeber & Jon Hoeber	Joby Harold	Don Murphy, Tom DeSanto, Michael Bay, Mark Vahradian, Duncan Henderson and Lorenzo di Bonaventura
Transformers One	September 13, 2024 (2024-09-13)	Josh Cooley	Andrew Barrer, Steve Desmond & Gabriel Ferrari		Don Murphy, Tom DeSanto, Mark Vahradian, Michael Bay, Aaron Dem and Lorenzo di Bonaventura	In production
Untitled Transformers Movie	TBA	Ángel Manuel Soto	Marco Ramirez		Don Murphy, Michael Bay, Lorenzo di Bonaventura	In development

Development

Transformers (2007)

Main article: Transformers (film)

For the film, producer Don Murphy was planning a G.I. Joe film adaptation, but when the U.S. launched the invasion of Iraq in March 2003, Hasbro suggested adapting the Transformers franchise instead. Tom DeSanto joined Murphy because he was a fan of the series. They met with comic book writer Simon Furman, and cited the Generation 1 cartoon and comics as their main influence. They made the Creation Matrix their plot device, though Murphy had it renamed because of the film series The Matrix. DeSanto chose to write the treatment from a human point of view to engage the audience, while Murphy wanted it to have a realistic tone, reminiscent of a disaster film. The treatment featured the Autobots Optimus Prime, Ironhide, Jazz, Prowl, Arcee, Ratchet, Wheeljack, and Bumblebee, and the Decepticons Megatron, Starscream, Soundwave, Ravage, Laserbeak, Rumble, Skywarp and Shockwave.

Steven Spielberg, a fan of the comics and toys, signed on as executive producer in 2004. John Rogers wrote the first draft, which pitted four Autobots against four Decepticons, and featured the Ark spaceship. Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, fans of the cartoon, were hired to rewrite the script in February 2005. Spielberg suggested that "a boy and his car" should be the focus. This appealed to Orci and Kurtzman because it conveyed themes of adulthood and responsibility, "the things that a car represents in the United States". The characters of Sam and Mikaela were the sole point of view given in Orci and Kurtzman's first draft. The Transformers had no dialogue, as the producers feared talking robots would look ridiculous. The writers felt that even if it would look silly, not having the robots speak would betray the fanbase. The first draft also had a battle scene in the Grand Canyon. Spielberg read each of Orci and Kurtzman's drafts and gave notes for improvement. The writers remained involved throughout production, adding additional dialogue for the robots during the sound mixing (although none of this was kept in the final film, which ran fifteen minutes shorter than the initial edit). Furman's The Ultimate Guide, published by Dorling Kindersley, remained as a resource to the writers throughout production. Prime Directive was used as a fake working title. This was also the name of Dreamwave Productions' first Transformers comic book.

Michael Bay was asked to direct by Spielberg on July 30, 2005, but he dismissed the film as a "stupid toy movie". Nonetheless, he wanted to work with Spielberg, and gained a new respect for the mythology upon visiting Hasbro. Bay considered the first draft "too kiddie", so he increased the military's role in the story. The writers sought inspiration from G.I. Joe for the soldier characters, being careful not to mix the brands. Because Orci and Kurtzman were concerned the film could feel like a military recruitment commercial, they chose to make the military believe nations like Iran were behind the Decepticon attack as well as making the Decepticons primarily military vehicles. Bay based Lennox's struggle to get to the Pentagon phone line while struggling with an unhelpful operator from a real account he was given by a soldier when working on another film.

Orci and Kurtzman experimented with numerous robots from the franchise, ultimately selecting the characters most popular among the filmmakers to form the final cast. Bay acknowledged that most of the Decepticons were selected before their names or roles were developed, as Hasbro had to start designing the toys. Some of their names were changed because Bay was upset that they had been leaked. Optimus, Megatron, Bumblebee and Starscream were the only characters present in each version of the script. Arcee was a female Transformer introduced by Orci and Kurtzman, but she was cut because they found it difficult to explain robotic gender; Bay also disliked her motorcycle form, which he found too small. An early idea to have the Decepticons simultaneously strike multiple places around the world was also dropped, being used later in the film's sequels.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)

Main article: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

In September 2007, Paramount announced a late June 2009 release date for the sequel to Transformers. A major hurdle that was overcome during the film's production was the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, as well as possible strikes by the Directors Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild. Bay began creating animatics of action sequences featuring characters rejected for the 2007 film; this would allow animators to complete sequences if the Directors Guild of America went on strike in July 2008, which ultimately did not happen. The director considered making a small project in between Transformers and its sequel, but knew "you have your baby and you don't want someone else to take it". The film was given a $200 million budget, which was $50 million more than the 2007 film, and some of the action scenes rejected for the original were written into the sequel, such as the way Optimus is reintroduced in this film. Lorenzo di Bonaventura said the studio proposed filming two sequels simultaneously, but he and Bay concurred that was not the right direction for the series.

Writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman originally passed on the sequel because of a busy schedule. The studio began courting other writers in May 2007, but as they were unimpressed with their pitches, they convinced Orci and Kurtzman to return. The studio also signed on Ehren Kruger, as he impressed Bay and Hasbro president Brian Goldner with his knowledge of the Transformers mythology, and because he was friends with Orci and Kurtzman. The writing trio were paid $8 million. Screenwriting was interrupted by the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, but to avoid production delays the writers spent two weeks writing a treatment, which they handed in the night before the strike began, and Bay expanded the outline into a sixty-page scriptment, fleshing out the action, adding more jokes, as well as selecting the majority of new characters. The three writers spent four months finishing the screenplay while "locked" in two hotel rooms by Bay: Kruger wrote in his own room and the trio would check on each other's work twice a day.

Orci described the film's theme as "being away from home", with the Autobots contemplating living on Earth as they cannot restore Cybertron, while Sam goes to college. He wanted the focus between the robots and humans "much more evenly balanced", "the stakes [to] be higher", and the science fiction elements more prominent. Lorenzo di Bonaventura said that in total, there are around forty robots in the film, while ILM's Scott Farrar has said there are actually sixty. Orci added that he wanted to "modulate" the humor more, and felt he managed the more "outrageous" jokes by balancing them with a more serious plot approach to the Transformers' mythology. Bay concurred that he wanted to please fans by making the tone darker, and that "moms will think its safe enough to bring the kids back out to the movies" despite his trademark sense of humor.

Before Transformers was released, producer DeSanto had "a very cool idea" to introduce the Dinobots, while Bay was interested in an aircraft carrier, which was dropped from the 2007 film. Orci claimed they did not incorporate these characters into Revenge of the Fallen because they could not think of a way to justify the Dinobots' choice of form, and were unable to fit in the aircraft carrier. Orci also admitted he was also dismissive of the Dinobots because he does not like dinosaurs. "I recognize I am weird in that department", he said, but he became fonder of them during filming because of their popularity with fans. He added "I couldn't see why a Transformer would feel the need to disguise himself in front of a bunch of lizards. Movie-wise, I mean. Once the general audience is fully on board with the whole thing, maybe Dinobots in the future." Bay said he hated the Dinobots and they had never been in consideration for being featured in the movies. It is the last film in the series to be distributed by DreamWorks.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)

Main article: Transformers: Dark of the Moon

For the third film, as a preemptive measure before the release of Revenge of the Fallen, Michael Lucchi and Paramount announced on March 16, 2009, that a third film would be released in IMAX 3-D on July 1, 2011, which earned a surprised response from director Bay:

I said I was taking off a year from Transformers. Paramount made a mistake in dating Transformers 3—they asked me on the phone—I said yes to July 1—but for 2012—whoops! Not 2011! That would mean I would have to start prep in September. No way. My brain needs a break from fighting robots.

Screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, who had worked on the two previous Transformers films, declined to return for the third film, with Kurtzman declaring that "the franchise is so wonderful that it deserves to be fresh, all the time. We just felt like we'd given it a lot and didn't have an insight for where to go with it next". Revenge of the Fallen's co-writer Ehren Kruger became the sole screenwriter for Dark of the Moon. Kruger had frequent meetings with Industrial Light & Magic's (ILM) CGI visual effects producers, who suggested plot points such as the scenes in Chernobyl.

On October 1, 2009, Bay revealed that Dark of the Moon had already gone into pre-production, and its planned release was back to its originally intended date of July 1, 2011, rather than 2012. Due to the revived interest in 3-D technology brought in by the success of Avatar, talks between Paramount, ILM, and Bay had considered the possibility of the next Transformers film being filmed in 3-D, and testing was performed to bring the technology into Bay's work. Bay originally was not much interested in the format as he felt it did not fit his "aggressive style" of filmmaking, but he was convinced after talks with Avatar director James Cameron, who even offered the technical crew from that film. Cameron reportedly told Bay about 3-D, "You gotta look at it as a toy, it's another fun tool to help get emotion and character and create an experience." Bay was reluctant to film with 3-D cameras since in test he found them to be too cumbersome for his filming style, but he did not want to implement the technology in post production either since he was not pleased with the results. In addition to using the 3-D Fusion camera rigs developed by Cameron's team, Bay and the team spent nine months developing a more portable 3-D camera that could be brought into location. On the day of the film's release, Shia LaBeouf announced that Dark of the Moon will be his last Transformers film.

In a hidden extra for the Blu-ray release of Revenge of the Fallen, Bay expressed his intention to make Transformers 3 not necessarily larger than Revenge of the Fallen, but instead deeper into the mythology, to give it more character development, and to make it darker and more emotional. Having been called Transformers 3 up to that point, the film's final title was revealed to be Dark of the Moon in October 2010. After Revenge of the Fallen was panned by critics, Bay acknowledged the general flaws of the script, having blamed the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike prior to the film for many problems. Bay promised to not have the "dorky comedy" from the last film.

Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014)

Main article: Transformers: Age of Extinction

In February 2012, producer di Bonaventura stated that a fourth film was in the works, aiming for a 2014 release, with Michael Bay to direct and produce. On the same day, Paramount Pictures and Michael Bay announced a June 27, 2014 release date for a fourth film. Ehren Kruger would pen the script and Steve Jablonsky would score the film, as each had for the previous film. The film is set five years after the events in Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Shia LaBeouf did not return in any future installments. Mark Wahlberg was instead cast in the lead role as new character, Cade Yeager. In November 2012, casting began to search for two more leads. Isabelle Cornish, Nicola Peltz, Gabriella Wilde, and Margaret Qualley were all considered to play Cade's daughter Tessa Yeager, while Luke Grimes, Landon Liboiron, Brenton Thwaites, Jack Reynor, and Hunter Parrish were all considered to play Tessa's race-car-driving boyfriend, Shane Dyson. Bay announced on his website that Reynor would portray Shane and that the fourth film would start the next installment in the overall series; the film was to be a darker sequel to Dark of the Moon and have a different feeling. Peter Cullen, who voiced Optimus Prime in the films, was to reprise his role. Tyrese Gibson was in talks to reprise his role as Sgt. Robert Epps from the original trilogy. Glenn Morshower stated that he was contracted for two films and he was to reprise his role. It was later announced that he would not be return until the next film. With a budget of $165 million, filming was expected to take place in London between April and November 2013—once Pain & Gain, another film that Bay was directing, had finished editing.

On January 8, 2013, it was announced that Reynor was joining Wahlberg in the lead. On March 26, 2013, Nicola Peltz was cast as the female lead. Bay confirmed that the movie was to be in 3D. Bay revealed to Collider that actor Stanley Tucci had joined the cast, and that the film would be the first feature film to be shot using smaller digital IMAX 3D cameras. On May 1, 2013, actor Kelsey Grammer was cast as the lead human villain named "Harold Attinger". On May 6, 2013, actress Sophia Myles was cast in a major supporting role. That same month, Chinese actress Li Bingbing and comedian T. J. Miller joined the cast.

Actor T.J. Miller would be playing the best friend of Wahlberg's character who is a mechanic. Also revealed were two Autobots who would have the following alternate modes—a black-and-blue 2013 Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse named "Drift", and a green 2014 C7 Corvette Stingray concept named Crosshairs. A truck from Western Star Trucks would be Optimus Prime's new alternate mode for the movie. Bumblebee's new alternate mode was revealed to be a modified vintage 1967 Chevrolet Camaro, which later transforms into a 2014 Chevrolet Camaro concept. A green military vehicle (later confirmed to be Hound) and a white emergency response vehicle were also revealed.

Filming began in June 2013, in Detroit, Chicago, Austin, Los Angeles, and Hong Kong. The film was released on June 27, 2014.

Transformers: The Last Knight (2017)

Main article: Transformers: The Last Knight

In March 2015, Deadline Hollywood reported that Paramount Pictures was in talks with Akiva Goldsman to pitch new ideas for the Transformers franchise's future installments. The studio intends to do what James Cameron and 20th Century Fox have been doing in planning three Avatar sequels, and what Disney has done to revive Star Wars, with sequels and spin-offs. Paramount wants to have their own cinematic universe for Transformers, similar to Marvel's/Disney's Marvel Cinematic Universe (which had been one of Paramount's previous film series), and DC Comics/Warner Bros.' DC Extended Universe. Goldsman is the head of the future projects, and worked with franchise director Michael Bay, executive producer Steven Spielberg, and producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura to organize a "writers' room" that incubates ideas for potential Transformers films. The writers' room members include Christina Hodson, Lindsey Beer, Andrew Barrer, and Gabriel Ferrari (Ant-Man), Robert Kirkman (The Walking Dead), Art Marcum & Matt Holloway, Zak Penn (Pacific Rim Uprising), Jeff Pinkner (The Amazing Spider-Man 2), Ken Nolan, and Geneva Robertson-Dworet. Kirkman left the room after just one day to undergo throat surgery. In July 2015, Akiva Goldsman and Jeff Pinkner were announced as the fifth Transformers film's screenwriters. However, on November 20, due to Goldsman's commitments creating a writers' room for G.I. Joe and Micronauts properties, Paramount began to negotiate with Art Marcum and Matt Holloway (Iron Man), as well as Ken Nolan (Black Hawk Down), to write the film. Lindsey Beer and Geneva Robertson-Dworet were also brought aboard for writing duties.

After Transformers: Age of Extinction, Bay had decided not to direct any future Transformers films. But in early January 2016, in an interview with Rolling Stone, he stated that he would return to direct the fifth film, and that it will be his last Transformers film. Paramount Pictures spent $80 million on production in Michigan, in return for $21 million in state incentives, under agreements entered into before the state legislature eliminated the film office incentive program in July 2015. In April 2016, Paramount hired cinematographer Jonathan Sela. On May 17, Bay revealed the official title of the film to be The Last Knight on his Instagram account, where he also posted a production video showing a close-up of Optimus Prime's face with purple eyes instead of blue, and his face mostly discolored. The official Twitter account showed a 19-second short video in morse code that translates to "I'm coming for you May 31". On May 31, it was revealed that Megatron would return in the sequel.

Bumblebee (2018)

Main article: Bumblebee (film)

Bumblebee is a spin-off film and prequel centered on the Transformers character of the same name and set in the 1980s. The design and style of the film included both elements from the current franchise and influences from the 1980s Transformers: Generation 1 toyline.

Principal photography on the film began in July 2017, in Los Angeles and San Francisco, California. It was released on December 21, 2018, to positive reviews. Following the film's critical success, Hasbro intends to continue and evolve the franchise similar to Bumblebee.

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023)

Main article: Transformers: Rise of the Beasts

In March 2019, producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura announced ongoing developments for a follow-up to Bumblebee. By January 2020, it was officially announced that a sequel to Bumblebee was in development with a script written by Joby Harold, alongside an adaptation of Transformers: Beast Wars with a script written by James Vanderbilt. The film was then scheduled for release on June 24, 2022, that May, while in November, Steven Caple Jr. was hired to serve as director on the project, which serves as both a Bumblebee sequel and Beast Wars adaptation. In April 2021, Anthony Ramos was cast in one of the lead roles for the film, with Dominique Fishback in final talks to play the lead role. The project will be a joint-venture production between Hasbro, eOne, and Paramount Pictures.

Principal photography began in June 2021, with the official title announced as Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, confirmed to be set after the events of Bumblebee. Rise of the Beasts was scheduled for release in June 2022, but was delayed to June 9, 2023.

Transformers One (2024)

Main article: Transformers One

In September 2015, Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari, who were previously a part of the shared universe writers' room, were hired to write a film that will explore the origins of Cybertron with a working title of "Transformers One". In April 2020, Josh Cooley signed on as director of the animated prequel film. Barrer and Ferrari will cowrite a new draft of their previous script, with Cooley. Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Mark Vahradian serve as producers. The story takes place entirely on Cybertron and explore the relationship between Optimus Prime and Megatron, "separate and apart" from what has been portrayed in the live-action films. The project will be a joint-venture production between Hasbro Entertainment, Paramount Animation, and Paramount Pictures. The film was scheduled for release on July 19, 2024, but was later pushed back to September 13 of that year.

In December 2022, the title was reported to be Transformers: A New Generation, though producer Lorenzo Di Bonaventura stated in April 2023 that the title had yet to be finalized. The producer stated that the plot will center around the origins of the Transformers and explore the events that lead Optimus and Megatron to go from being best friends to becoming enemies, with the plot being mapped out to progress over a trilogy of films, allowing for the Cybertronian characters to progress to who they are in the live-action film series. Industrial Light & Magic is returning to provide the animation for the film, following the franchise's first six installments. Later that month, the title was officially confirmed as Transformers One, along with its voice cast consisting of Chris Hemsworth as Orion Pax / Optimus Prime, Brian Tyree Henry as Megatron, Scarlett Johansson as Elita-One, Keegan-Michael Key as Bumblebee, Jon Hamm as Sentinel Prime, and Laurence Fishburne as Alpha Trion.

Future

• Untitled The Last Knight sequel: Originally announced during the ongoing plans for a "Transformers Cinematic Universe" with a scheduled release date of June 28, 2019; the film was removed from Paramount's release schedule following the negative reception to The Last Knight. By March 2019, producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura confirmed that a script was being written for a sequel to The Last Knight and Bumblebee, it was later confirmed that the film will not be a direct sequel to the previous installment.
• Untitled Angel Manuel Soto film: In March 2021, another film entered development directed by Ángel Manuel Soto, from a script written by Marco Ramirez. The plot will take place separately from films that have previously been released, while Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Don Murphy, and Tom DeSanto remain involved in their producing roles. The project will be a joint-venture production between eOne and Paramount Pictures.
• Untitled Rise of the Beasts sequels: In February 2022 at the ViacomCBS Investors' Event, Paramount announced that Rise of the Beasts will be the first installment of a new trilogy of films. In June 2023, di Bonaventura stated that future installments will progressively include elements and characters from the G.I. Joes prior to the event of a crossover with the G.I. Joe series. Director, Caple Jr. stated that discussions have included adding additional Transformer factions from other planets into the series. The filmmaker expressed interest in further exploring the origins of the Transformers, with hopes of including more details about their creator Primus in the future.
• Untitled Transformers One sequels: In April 2023, di Bonaventura stated that there is discussion for Transformers: One to become a trilogy of films. By June, he confirmed that the story is mapped out to progress over three movies, detailing the progression of the characters into their depiction in the live-action film series. The producer explained that Chris Hemsworth's depiction will grow into the leader depicted in the previous installments, stating that the transition from Hemsworth's voice to Cullen's will make sense within the story.

Potential shared universe

In March 2013, during the release of G.I. Joe: Retaliation, producer di Bonaventura announced the studio's plans to develop a G.I. Joe/Transformers crossover. On July 26, 2013, G.I. Joe: Retaliation director Jon M. Chu stated that he is also interested in directing a Transformers/G.I. Joe crossover film. Despite di Bonaventura stating that a crossover was not in the immediate plans for the franchises, he acknowledged that it is something they intended to do.

In March 2015, Paramount hired Academy Award-winning screenwriter Akiva Goldsman to oversee and compile a team of writers, to pitch ideas for future films with the intention of expanding the franchise into a cinematic universe. Twelve individual stories were written and pitched for the cinematic universe. Goldsman was tasked with developing a multi-part sequel storyline, along with prequels and spin-off films. A "brain-trust" was commissioned to guide the productions of these stories, including Goldsman, Michael Bay, and producers Steven Spielberg and Lorenzo di Bonaventura. The team of writers who were hired included: Robert Kirkman, Art Marcum, Matt Holloway, Zak Penn, Jeff Pinkner, Andrew Barrer, Gabriel Ferrari, Christina Hodson, Lindsey Anderson Beer, Ken Nolan, Geneva Robertson-Dworet, and Steven DeKnight. Goldsman described the writer's room collaboration process, as a way to map out stories that can be further developed by the projects that are green-lit by the brain trust; stating: "...if one of the writers discovers an affinity for [a particular story], they can drive forward on treatments that will have been fleshed out by the whole room." In August 2017, following the poor reception of The Last Knight which Goldsman co-wrote, the filmmaker officially left the franchise. In December 2018, di Bonaventura stated that there will be further films in the series, while also acknowledging that the franchise will make some changes in tone and style due to the success of Bumblebee. In July 2021, producer di Bonaventura and actor Henry Golding expressed interest developing a crossover film.

In July 2021, a crossover film with the G.I. Joe film series was once again in development. In June 2023, beginning with Rise of the Beasts, the two franchises began to share continuity. Producer di Bonaventura stated that in future films, actors from the G.I. Joe films may reprise their roles. In July 2023, di Bonaventura stated that while the crossover would not interfere with the continuity of the franchise's first five installments, he believed that "continuity's overblown, because sometimes you miss a great idea."

Short films

Title	U.S. release date	Director(s)	Screenwriter(s)	Story by	Producer(s)
Transformers: Beginnings	October 16, 2007 (2007-10-16)	Craig S. Philips, Harold Hayes Jr. & Michael White Jr.	Chris Ryall & Simon Furman	Chris Ryall	Joshua Foster
Agent Burns: Welcome to Sector 7	April 2, 2019 (2019-04-02)	Travis Knight	Christina Hodson		Don Murphy, Tom DeSanto, Michael Bay, Mark Vahradian & Lorenzo di Bonaventura
Sector 7 Adventures: The Battle at Half Dome	April 2, 2019 (2019-04-02)	Lessa Millet & Jonathan Pezza	Jordan B. Gorfinkel		Tyler Thornberg & Michael Brosnan

Transformers: Beginnings (2007)

Released separately from the first film on home release in October 2007, on DVD as a Walmart Exclusive; the short is an animated prequel, presented in the form of a motion comic, with narration from the character Bumblebee. Mark Ryan provides the voice-over work for the role, while the short depicts Megatron's arrival on Earth, as well as Archibald Witwicky's discovery 4 million years later. The short skips to 2003 with Bumblebee arriving on Earth, and Sector 7's pursuit of him.

Sector 7 Archive (2019)

Released on the home video release of Bumblebee, two short films under a "Sector 7 Archive" label were released.

Agent Burns: Welcome to Sector 7 (2019)

A short released as an in-universe orientation video, of Agent Burns addressing new hires.

Sector 7 Adventures: The Battle at Half Dome (2019)

A short film, released in the form of a motion comic, taking place two years after the events of Bumblebee which depicts a fight between Bumblebee and Soundwave. When Sector 7 is attacked by Soundwave, Bumblebee arrives to protect them. During the ensuing battle, Soundwave demands that Sector 7 give back what belongs to the Decepticons.

Web series

Series	Season	Episodes		Originally released		Status
				First released	Last released
Transformers: Cyber Missions	1	13		January 21, 2010	September 29, 2010	Released
Bumblebee's First Life on Earth	1	3		March 20, 2019	April 11, 2019	Released

Transformers: Cyber Missions (2010)

A 13 episode long web mini series released in 2010 and set within and using the Transformers design from the continuity of the live action movies. It was released on Hasbro's website and in 2011 re-released on Transformers official YouTube channel. The series was made by TG Studios in only three months. It is set between the events of Revenge of the Fallen and Dark of the Moon.

Bumblebee's First Life on Earth (2019)

Bumblebee's First Life on Earth (バンブルビー 初めての地球生活, Banburubī Hajimete no Chikyū Seikatsu) is a 3-episode long retelling of the first half of the Bumblebee film with no spoilers. The series was released on Paramount Pictures' Japanese Twitter account.

Principal cast and characters

Main article: List of Transformers film series cast and characters

Cast

Character	Film series
	Transformers	Revenge of the Fallen	Dark of the Moon	Age of Extinction	The Last Knight	Bumblebee	Rise of the Beasts	One
	2007	2009	2011	2014	2017	2018	2023	2024
Autobots
Optimus Prime Orion Pax	Peter Cullen							Chris Hemsworth
Bumblebee	Mark Ryan	Radio sounds		Ben Schwartz	Erik Aadahl	Dylan O'Brien	Radio sounds	Keegan-Michael Key
Ironhide	Jess Harnell			Photograph		No voice actor
Ratchet	Robert Foxworth					Dennis Singletary
Jazz	Darius McCrary
Sideswipe		André Sogliuzzo	James Remar
Skids		Tom Kenny	Cameo	Photograph
Mudflap		Reno Wilson
Wheelie		Tom Kenny			Tom Kenny
Arcee		Grey DeLisle		Photograph		Grey DeLisle	Liza Koshy
Chromia
Elita-One								Scarlett Johansson
Jetfire		Mark Ryan
Jolt		No voice actor
Wheeljack			George Coe	Photograph		Steve Blum	Cristo Fernández
Topspin			No voice actor		Steven Barr
Brains			Reno Wilson
Leadfoot			John DiMaggio	Archive footage
Mirage			Francesco Quinn	Photograph			Pete Davidson
Roadbuster			Ron Bottitta	Photograph
Sentinel Prime		Mentioned	Leonard Nimoy	Head				Jon Hamm
Hound				John Goodman
Crosshairs				John DiMaggio
Drift				Ken Watanabe
Hot Rod					Omar Sy
Sqweeks					Reno Wilson
Cogman					Jim Carter
Canopy					uncredited voice actor
Daytrader					Steve Buscemi
Trench					No voice actor
"Bulldog"					Mark Ryan
Lieutenant
Cliffjumper						Andrew Morgado
Brawn						Kirk Baily
Stratosphere							John DiMaggio
Alpha Trion								Laurence Fishburne
Maximals
Optimus Primal							Ron Perlman
Airazor							Michelle Yeoh
Cheetor							Tongayi Chirisa
Rhinox							David Sobolov
Apelinq
Decepticons
Megatron D-16	Hugo Weaving			Head	Frank Welker			Brian Tyree Henry
Starscream	Charlie Adler			Photograph	Head	No voice actor
Barricade	Jess Harnell		Frank Welker	Archive footage	Jess Harnell
Frenzy	Reno Wilson	Head
Bonecrusher	Jim Wood
Blackout	No voice actor
Brawl
Scorponok	No voice actor
The Fallen		Tony Todd
Scalpel		John Di Crosta
Reedman		Frank Welker
Ravage						No voice actor
Grindor
Alice		Isabel Lucas
Sideways		No voice actor
Soundwave		Frank Welker				Jon Bailey
Shockwave		Photograph	Frank Welker	Photograph
Laserbeak			Keith Szarabajka
Igor			Greg Berg	Photograph
Crowbar			Jim Wood
Crankcase			No voice actor
Hatchet
Devcon
Loader
Stinger				No voice actor
Junkheap
Galvatron				Frank Welker
Onslaught					uncredited voice actors
Berserker
Dreadbot
Nitro Zeus					John DiMaggio
Mohawk					Reno Wilson
Shatter						Angela Bassett
Dropkick						Justin Theroux
Blitzwing						David Sobolov
Thundercracker						Cameo
Thrust
Terrorcons
Scourge							Peter Dinklage
Nightbird							Michaela Jaé Rodriguez
Battletrap							David Sobolov
Freezer							No voice actor
Novakane
Humans
Samuel "Sam" Witwicky	Shia LaBeouf				Shia LaBeoufP
Seymour Simmons	John Turturro				John Turturro	Nick Pilla
William Lennox	Josh Duhamel				Josh Duhamel
Robert Epps	Tyrese Gibson
Ron Witwicky	Kevin Dunn
Judy Witwicky	Julie White
Mikaela Banes	Megan Fox
Colonel Sharp	Glenn Morshower
Bobby Bolivia	Bernie Mac
Maggie Madsen	Rachael Taylor
Glen Whitmann	Anthony Anderson
John Keller	Jon Voight
Tom Banachek	Michael O'Neill
Jorge Figueroa	Amaury Nolasco
Patrick Donnelly	Zack Ward
Archibald Witwicky	W. Morgan Sheppard
Miles Lancaster	John Robinson
Trent DeMarco	Travis Van Winkle
General Morshower		Glenn Morshower			Glenn Morshower
Leo Spitz		Ramón Rodríguez
Theodore Galloway		John Benjamin Hickey
Graham		Matthew Marsden
R. A. Colan		Rainn Wilson
Sharsky		Walker Howard
Fassbinder		Jonathan Trent
Tova Simmons		Annie Korzen
Carly Spencer			Rosie Huntington-Whiteley
Dylan Gould			Patrick Dempsey
Bruce Brazos			John Malkovich
Charlotte Mearing			Frances McDormand
Hardcore Eddie			Lester Speight
Dutch Gerhardt			Alan Tudyk
Jerry Wang			Ken Jeong
Dimitri			Elya Baskin
Alexi Voskhod			Ravil Isyanov
Neil Armstrong			Don Jeanes
Cade Yeager				Mark Wahlberg
Tessa Yeager				Nicola Peltz	Nicola PeltzV
Shane Dyson				Jack Reynor
Harold Attinger				Kelsey Grammer
James Savoy				Titus Welliver
Darcy Tirrel				Sophia Myles
Su Yueming				Li Bingbing
Lucas Flannery				T. J. Miller
Gill Wembley				James Bachman
Chief of Staff				Thomas Lennon
Joshua Joyce				Stanley Tucci
Izabella					Isabela Moner
Sir Edmund Burton					Anthony Hopkins
Viviane Wembly					Laura Haddock
					Minti GorneY
Santos					Santiago Cabrera
Jimmy					Jerrod Carmichael
King Arthur					Liam Garrigan
TRF Group Leader					Mitch Pileggi
JPL Engineer					Tony Hale
Chief Sherman					Gil Birmingham
Merlin					Stanley Tucci
Charlie Watson						Hailee Steinfeld
Guillermo "Memo" Gutierrez						Jorge Lendeborg Jr.
Jack Burns						John Cena
Otis Watson						Jason Drucker
Sally Watson						Pamela Adlon
Dr. Powell						John Ortiz
Tripp Summers						Ricardo Hoyos
Tina Lark						Gracie Dzienny
Ron						Stephen Schneider
Danny Bell						Edwin Hodge
Noah Diaz							Anthony Ramos
Elena Wallace							Dominique Fishback
Breanna Diaz							Lauren Velez
Reek							Tobe Nwigwe
Kris Diaz							Dean Scott Vasquez
Agent Burke							Michael Kelly
Jillian Robertson							Sarah Stiles
Bishop							Aidan Devine
Mrs. Greene							Leni Parker
Amaru							Lucas Huarancca
Other Cybertronians
Prime #1		Michael York
Prime #2		Kevin Michael Richardson
Prime #3		Robin Atkin Downes
Lockdown				Mark Ryan
Skullitron					uncredited voice actors
Stormreign
Talisman Knight
Quintessa					Gemma Chan
Unicron					Offscreen		Colman Domingo
Constructions
Demolishor		Calvin Wimmer
Rampage		Kevin Michael Richardson
Devastator		Frank Welker
Long Haul		No voice actor
Mixmaster
Scrapper
Scrapmetal
Overload
Scavenger
Hightower
Dinobots
Grimlock				No voice actor
Slug				No voice actor	Cameo
Strafe
Scorn

Crew and production details

Film	Composer	Cinematographer	Editor(s)	Production companies	Distributing companies	Runtime
Transformers	Steve Jablonsky	Mitchell Amundsen	Paul Rubell, Glen Scantlebury & Thomas A. Muldoon	Paramount Pictures, Hasbro, Di Bonaventura Pictures	DreamWorks Pictures, Paramount Pictures	143 minutes
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen		Ben Seresin	Roger Barton, Paul Rubell, Joel Negron & Thomas A. Muldoon			150 minutes
Transformers: Dark of the Moon		Amir Mokri	Roger Barton, William Goldenberg & Joel Negron		Paramount Pictures	154 minutes
Transformers: Age of Extinction			Roger Barton, William Goldenberg & Paul Rubell			165 minutes
Transformers: The Last Knight		Jonathan Sela	Mark Sanger, John Refoua, Debra Neil-Fisher, Roger Barton, Adam Gerstel & Calvin Wimmer			149 minutes
Bumblebee	Dario Marianelli	Enrique Chediak	Paul Rubell	Paramount Pictures, Hasbro, Di Bonaventura Pictures, Allspark Pictures, Tencent Pictures, Bay Films		114 minutes
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts	Jongnic Bontemps featuring Steve Jablonsky		William Goldenberg & Joel Negron	Paramount Pictures, Hasbro, Di Bonaventura Pictures, Skydance Media, New Republic Pictures, Bay Films		127 minutes
Transformers One	TBA	TBA	TBA	Paramount Pictures, Hasbro, Di Bonaventura Pictures, Hasbro Entertainment, Paramount Animation		TBA

Reception

Box office performance

Film	Release date	Box office revenue			Budget	Ref.
		North America	Other territories	Worldwide
Transformers	July 3, 2007	$319,246,193	$390,463,587	$709,709,780	$150 million
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen	June 24, 2009	$402,111,870	$434,191,823	$836,303,693	$200 million
Transformers: Dark of the Moon	June 29, 2011	$352,390,543	$771,403,536	$1,123,794,079	$195 million
Transformers: Age of Extinction	June 27, 2014	$245,439,076	$858,614,996	$1,104,054,072	$210 million
Transformers: The Last Knight	June 21, 2017	$130,168,683	$475,256,474	$605,425,157	$217 million
Bumblebee	December 21, 2018	$127,195,589	$340,794,056	$467,989,645	$135 million
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts	June 9, 2023	$157,066,392	$281,900,000	$438,966,392	$200 million
Total		$1,733,618,346	$3,552,624,472	$5,286,242,818	$1.307 billion
List indicator(s) (A) indicates the adjusted totals based on current ticket prices (calculated by Box Office Mojo).

Critical and public response

Each film is linked to the "Critical response" section of its article

Film	Critical		Public
	Rotten Tomatoes	Metacritic	CinemaScore
Transformers	57% (229 reviews)	61 (35 reviews)	A
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen	20% (250 reviews)	35 (32 reviews)	B+
Transformers: Dark of the Moon	35% (266 reviews)	42 (37 reviews)	A
Transformers: Age of Extinction	18% (216 reviews)	32 (38 reviews)	A−
Transformers: The Last Knight	16% (258 reviews)	27 (47 reviews)	B+
Bumblebee	91% (254 reviews)	66 (39 reviews)	A−
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts	52% (226 reviews)	42 (51 reviews)	A–

The film series has met with generally negative to mixed reception. With the exception of Bumblebee and Rise of the Beasts, common elements of the original film series were negatively received by critics, such as the repeated formulaic plots, sophomoric and toilet humor, female character objectification, clichéd and controversial characterizations, racial and cultural stereotypes, overuse of MacGuffins, product placement, runtimes, and excessive retcons.

The first Transformers film received positive reviews from critics, who praised its performances, voice acting, direction, story, action sequences, visual effects, sound design, and musical score.

The second film, Revenge of the Fallen, received negative reviews from critics, who criticized its screenplay, runtime, and the characters of Skids and Mudflap, while praising its performances, voice acting, action sequences, visual effects, sound design, and musical score.

The third film, Dark of the Moon, received mixed reviews from critics, who praised its performances, voice acting, story, action sequences, visual effects, sound design, musical score, and the use of 3D, but criticized its script and runtime.

The fourth film, Age of Extinction received negative reviews from critics, who criticized its runtime, script, and product placement, while praising its performances, voice acting, dark tone, action sequences, visual effects, sound design, and musical score.

The fifth film The Last Knight received negative reviews from critics, who criticized its screenplay, runtime, and frequent aspect ratio changes throughout, while praising its performances, voice acting, action sequences, visual effects, sound design, and musical score.

Bumblebee, received positive reviews from critics, with praise for its performances, voice acting, direction, story, lighter tone, visuals effects, action sequences, and faithfulness to the 1980s Transformers show.

Rise of the Beasts received mixed reviews from critics, who praised its performances, voice acting, direction, story, action sequences, visual effects, and musical score, although its runtime received some criticism.

Accolades

The franchise has been frequently praised and won awards for its visual effects and sound design. Michael Bay praised the crew and highlighted the importance of sound saying "I have like 2,000 people — through their artistry — making my dreams a film," Bay said. "The artistry of this sound group is just amazing. I love, love sound. It's 45–50% of the movies."

Academy Awards

Academy Awards	Film
	Transformers (2007)	Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)	Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)	Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014)	Transformers: The Last Knight (2017)	Bumblebee (2018)
Sound Editing	Nominated		Nominated
Sound Mixing	Nominated	Nominated	Nominated
Visual Effects	Nominated		Nominated

Golden Raspberry Awards

Golden Raspberry Awards	Film
	Transformers (2007)	Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)	Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)	Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014)	Transformers: The Last Knight (2017)	Bumblebee (2018)
Worst Picture		Won	Nominated	Nominated	Nominated
Worst Director		Won	Nominated	Won	Nominated
Worst Actor					Nominated (Mark Wahlberg)
Worst Actress		Nominated (Megan Fox)
Worst Supporting Actor	Nominated (Jon Voight)		Nominated (Patrick Dempsey) (Ken Jeong)	Won (Kelsey Grammer)	Nominated (Josh Duhamel) (Anthony Hopkins)
Worst Supporting Actress		Nominated (Julie White)	Nominated (Rosie Huntington-Whiteley)	Nominated (Nicola Peltz)	Nominated (Laura Haddock)
Worst Screen Couple		Nominated (Shia LaBeouf and either Megan Fox or any Transformer)	Nominated (Shia LaBeouf and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley)
Worst Screen Ensemble			Nominated (The entire cast)
Worst Screen Combo				Nominated (Any two robots, actors or robotic actors)	Nominated (Any combination of two humans, two robots or two explosions)
Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel		Nominated		Nominated	Nominated
Worst Screenplay		Won	Nominated	Nominated	Nominated
The Razzie Nominee So Rotten You Loved It					Nominated
Razzie Redeemer Award						Nominated

Visual Effects Society Awards

Visual Effects Society Awards	Film
	Transformers (2007)	Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)	Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)	Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014)	Transformers: The Last Knight (2017)	Bumblebee (2018)
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Feature Motion Picture	Won	Nominated	Nominated
Best Single Visual Effect of the Year	Won (Desert Highway Sequence)
Outstanding Performance by an Animated Character in a Live Action Motion Picture	Nominated (Optimus Prime)
Outstanding Models in a Feature Motion Picture	Won		Won (Driller)	Nominated (Knightship)
Outstanding Created Environment in a Live Action Feature Motion Picture			Won (155 Wacker Drive)
Outstanding Compositing in a Feature Motion Picture			Nominated
Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in a Live Action Feature Motion Picture			Nominated

Other media

Main articles: Transformers (film comic series), List of Transformers video games § Games based on the film series, and List of Transformers books § Live-action film series

In addition to the films, the film series has a promotional expanded series that is set both before and after the events of the films. This includes comic books, video games, and novels. While the novels are partially based on the films themselves, and the video games are not in the same continuity as the films, the comic books and graphic novels are in the same continuity and fill in several parts of the stories from the films. Also, Transformers: The Ride 3D is an amusement ride based on the film series. The ride introduced a new character, Autobot Evac, voiced by Dustin James Leighton.

See also

• The Transformers: The Movie, a 1986 animated film based on the original TV series
• G.I. Joe film series (Hasbro have teased a shared cinematic universe with the Transformers series)

External links

• Official website
• Template:AllMovie title