Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts Trailer Breakdown: The Maximals And Predacons Bring The Fight To Earth

Every generation of "Transformers" fan has a different introduction to the franchise: the '80s gave fans the original cartoon series with the Generation 1 Autobots and Decepticons, and the 2000's gave a new generation of fans the Michael Bay movies. And for those stuck squarely in the middle, there was only "Beast Wars." The computer-animated TV series premiered in 1996 and introduced the Maximals and Predacons, who were animal and dinosaur versions of the original Transformers. Optimus Prime became the giant ape Optimus Primal, for example, and the villainous Megatron became a T-Rex Transformer instead of jet. The series was beloved but never made the leap to the "Transformers" live-action film franchise ... until now. 

The trailer for "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts" is here, and there some great peeks at a bunch of "Beast Wars" favorites, including Optimus Primal, Cheetor, and even Airazor! This is the first mainline "Transformers" franchise film not directed by Bay, so "Creed II" director Steven Caple Jr. has some big, explosive shoes to fill. If there's anything that could revive this film franchise, it's the "Beast Wars" gang joining the team. Let's take a look at the new trailer and see what bits of "Transformers" goodness we can find.

Of course, Optimus Prime (voiced by Peter Cullen), isn't about to let a giant robot hurt any humans on his watch. He's looking fly in his setting-appropriate 1990s Generation 1 design, and he immediately gets ready to fight the big ape. There's the potential for an Optimus Prime vs. Optimus Primal battle, but since they're both on the same side, that would be kind of silly. 

After his little chat with Optimus Primal, Prime changes back into his semi-truck form and heads into the city. It's good to see these older designs on screen again, and is sure to give fans a serious jolt of nostalgia. 

The Autobots are primarily humanoid robots who can transform into cars, but few of them picked as pretty a form as Mirage. The Autobot, voiced by Pete Davidson, takes the form of a Porsche 911. He's one seriously sexy sports car, and Davidson lending his voice to the character should be a blast. In the short clip, Ramos' character gets into the Porsche in a parking garage and starts looking around before discovering this car isn't what it appears to be. 

If you were wondering why Mirage is called Mirage, he gives a neat display of his ability to make fake copies of himself. He makes four mirage Mirages, distracting the police officer on his tail and causing him to crash into a median. That's certainly one way to escape in a car chase. 

There's only a very brief shot, but the Michelle Yeoh-voiced Airazor gets a quick appearance, flying around some explosions. Airazor is one of the few female characters from "Beast Wars," but she's a great one. She's very close to Cheetor and Rhinox and is one of the primary members of the team. (Later on she gets merged with another Maximal, Tigatron, to become the most powerful Maximal of all: Tigerhawk!) Yeoh is a great casting choice for this tough warrior with a sarcastic, dry sense of humor.

After making hearts fluttery with Arcee, the apparent big bad from the film makes his (or her) appearance, choking out poor Bumblebee. The design isn't immediately recognizable, but it's likely that this is the live action take on Scourge, who will be voiced by Peter Dinklage. Scourge is a hunter who works for the Decepticon Galvatron, so he might only be here to set up an even bigger big bad in the form of his boss. 

If you thought the trailer couldn't reveal anymore fabulous "Beast Wars" faves, you were wrong, because there's a shot of Rhinox charging up his weapon in rhino form, and it looks positively killer. The designs from the 1990s show weren't going to cut it in 2022, and the updated designs are exceptional. Rhinox is the second-in-command to Optimus Primal and is sort of a father/uncle figure for many of the "younger" Maximals, including the eternally troublesome Rattrap, who sadly doesn't appear in the trailer. 

There's another great look at Optimus Prime up-close, and we see the inner workings of his face before his shield comes over his mouth. Again, the designs are phenomenal, as Prime looks appropriately worn and rusted while still looking as much like a realistic version of the 1980s cartoons as possible. Optimus Primal may be really cool and have the good luck to be voiced by Perlman, but Prime is still the ultimate hero of this story, and the trailer makes sure to remind audiences just who's king of this franchise. 

After the title, there's a brief scene with Fishback trying to convince herself that she's dreaming or hallucinating or something, and then she looks back over to Arcee, who waves. It would be incredibly strange finding out that there were transforming robots from outer space who were hiding on Earth as motorcycles and cars and giant apes, so it's hard to blame her for not believing her eyes. Then again, discovering you're in a "Transformers" movie can't be all bad, because you get some pretty sick new friends to save the world with.