Transformers: Rise of the Beasts will see some familiar faces when it heads to the big screen, as well as some big surprises. The robots-in-disguise franchise evolves again, with a prequel set in the 90s and featuring the animalistic Maximals alongside other fresh and familiar machines.
Speaking to Total Film magazine in the latest issue, which features Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny on the cover, director Steven Caple Jr. shared some insight into the big new foes they bring into the story.
The film’s main villains, the Terrorcons, he says, are "ruthless" – especially the trophy-hunting Scourge, voiced by Peter Dinklage. "I like to pour a lot into the villains. I like to make them layered and dimensional," says Caple Jr. Producer Lorenzo Di Bonaventura describes Scourge as a nightmare: "He really has no purpose in life other than destruction."
Aside from Optimus Primal, a noble leader like Prime, Maximals in the film include Rhinox, Cheetor, and the Michelle Yeoh-voiced Airazor ("You get to see Airazor setting museums on fire," says star Anthony Ramos, excitedly). Airazor, says di Bonaventura, "is the first Maximal that we encounter in the movie and, in a way, is the bridge between the two groups".
As for their natural enemies, the Predacons are being kept a little more under wraps, although di Bonaventura does reveal that we’ll meet Scorponok. Other inclusions? Autobots Arcee, Wheeljack and Stratosphere, and Terrorcons Transit, Battletrap and Nightbird. Locations, too, are noteworthy – as well as Iceland, Canada and New York, they also shot in Peru. But Caple Jr. still has some surprises up his sleeve: there are two more "entities", he says, that haven’t yet been revealed and that he’s excited for people to see.
That's not all, we've also got two exclusive images from the upcoming movie as well. You can see one of the new looks at Noah (Anthony Ramos) and Elena (Dominique Fishback) at the top of this article and another one below.
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is in theaters on June 9. This is just a snippet of our feature in the new issue of Total Film magazine, which hits shelves (and digital newsstands) this Thursday, April 27. Check out the covers below:
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