How Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts Will Follow In The Footsteps Of Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse
After Michael Bay's series of "Transformers" films awkwardly ended with "Transformers: The Last Knight," the last thing everyone expected was for the franchise to suddenly be revitalized with the 2018 spin-off "Bumblebee." The movie is a prequel film set in the '80s led by Hailee Seinfeld, and it received much better reviews than any of Bay's more recent "Transformers" movies. A big part of that success is director Travis Knight, the "Kubo and the Two Strings" director who brought his distinct vision and personality to the franchise. Following this success, there was renewed hope in making "Transformers" films that were worth seeing in theaters again.
Moreover, any worries that the next "Transformers" film would revert to the lifeless projects that most of the sequels turned out to be should have their fears put to rest by the first trailer for "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts." Directed by Steven Caple Jr. ("Creed II"), "Rise of the Beasts" looks like more of what made "Bumblebee" work so well, including a director with a distinct personality and vision. The film is only Caple's third, but the action and style of the trailer exude confidence that suggests otherwise. Just as Knight brought his sensibilities to "Bumblebee," it seems "Rise of the Beasts" has Caple Jr. telling a story representative of his culture and upbringing, not unlike a certain animated superhero movie from not too long ago.
Artistic choices reflective of the period and culture
In an interview with BET, Steven Caple Jr. was asked about his music choice for the "Rise of the Beasts" trailer. The first look at the new "Transformers" movie is cut to the song "Juicy" by The Notorious B.I.G. giving it a distinct feel. To Caple, the music choice was important, representative of the 1990s period of the movie and the director's intentions for the tone to reflect the diverse cast:
"The movie takes place in the 90s when the album 'Ready Or Die' was released, so that's why [Juicy] was the perfect record to choose. His voice and what he meant in that era and time captures much of what we're doing in the film."
The film's main characters, played by Anthony Ramos (seen above) and Dominique Fishback, are essential to Caple Jr., as they play into the story's themes and the general rules of "Transformers" lore. Caple says in the same interview that the two people of color are characters with "a lot of big dreams and hit glass ceilings" but save the world "discreetly," as Transformers usually do.
Deadline had previously reported details about the cast, with Fishback's character Elena being an artifact researcher whose work is stolen by her boss, while Ramos is playing Noah, a military vet from Brooklyn. This level of representation has been absent from the "Transformers" franchise, with Michael Bay's films in particular only ever having troubling stereotypical portrayals. Thankfully, with a new creative team, the series is headed in the right direction, and is very reminiscent of another big-name franchise with diversity at the forefront.
Reinvigorating a franchise
"Transformers: Rise of the Beasts" follows in the steps of another highly successful blockbuster, "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse." The Academy Award-winning animated film explored Spider-Man, one of the most popular Marvel characters, through a variety of races and genders, showing audiences that the webslinger can be more than just Peter Parker. Taking a beloved franchise and exploring its rich history through a racially diverse lens looks to be exactly what Caple Jr. is doing with "Rise of the Beasts."
Just as the story of Miles Morales highlighted his life in Brooklyn (a contrast to the Queens-based Peter Parker), "Rise of the Beasts" will shift focus to Brooklyn and its underrepresented residents as well. As Anthony Ramos told BET:
"Things have expanded, and with me being from New York, where the story is set in Brooklyn, this feels like it's for all my homies in the projects. [Steven Caple Jr.] and the creative team allowed us to tell a story in a major franchise like [Transformers] in a part of New York that doesn't always get highlighted in this kind of way."
"Rise of the Beasts" had an exciting first trailer, bringing personality and diversity to a film franchise that's long been living in mediocrity. The "Transformers" series has several flaws, but one of the most crucial has been the absence of engaging characters reflective of the real world. Hopefully, Steven Caple Jr. and his team will find similar success to "Spider-Verse" with the stories planned for their characters.