Why Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts Changed Wheeljack's Design
"Transformers: Rise of the Beasts" maintains visual continuity with its predecessor, "Bumblebee," in the sense that all of the Autobots who appeared in both films look like the same character. Barring one, that is. Wheeljack, the Autobots' quirky inventor, briefly cameoed on Cybertron in the "Bumblebee" opening sequence. Voiced by Steve Blum, he looked ripped right out of "Generation 1." He had the white-grey color scheme (with red and green stripes for some spice), the ringed half-oval mouth-plate, and the "ear-fins" that light up when he talks.
In "Rise of the Beasts," he looks totally different, with a new design modeled on Steve Urkel (suspenders and all). With a mostly brown color scheme and a repair van vehicle mode, Wheeljack's head looks more humanoid, complete with a mouth and oversized glasses. His ears have been downsized into barely noticeable antennae. Now voiced by Cristo Fernández, he's gained a Spanish accent while stationed in Peru.
To a lot of fans, these changes aren't an improvement; if it ain't broke, don't fix it. However, "Rise of the Beasts" director Steven Caple Jr. has an explanation for the makeover.
Putting the nerd in Wheeljack
When Caple Jr. sat down for a recent interview with Uproxx, Wheeljack came up. Caple, who noted the fan nickname "Pablo" (both in reference to the writing on Wheeljack's car mode and to differentiate him from the "proper" Wheeljack), said there was "no shade" intended with the redesign. As he said:
"When I got into the film, they had already wanted the Wheeljack part of this picture, but they wanted to redesign it and actually lean more into the science and nerdy part of Wheeljack. They felt like the Wheeljack — I don't know if this is the studio or Hasbro who was here before me — he was kind of falling into the lane of the other characters. Kind of tough. Ironhide, and those kind of vibes. Just didn't feel like enough variety across the board."
If you don't remember, Ironhide is the Autobots' resident bruiser and gun nut. He's in the first three Michael Bay movies and "Bumblebee," but not "Rise of the Beasts." To be sure, Wheeljack's classic design doesn't scream nerd; he's got a rocket launcher affixed to his shoulder, for crying out loud. I'd even say the repair van is a better fit for his vehicle mode than the original Lancia Stratos sports car.
Part of this has to do with the origins of "Transformers." Hasbro imported Japanese toys and rebranded them; Wheeljack's figure was originally part of the "Diaclone" toy line by Takara. "Transformers" writers had to design characters around the existing toys rather than from scratch. Caple, on the other hand, saw an opportunity to, "dive deep into the lore and just gave [Wheeljack] his whole sort of personality."
Other Wheeljacks
This isn't the first time "Transformers" has reimagined Wheeljack. In the previous movie, "Dark of the Moon," he was given a blue color scheme, an Albert Einstein-inspired head, and a whole new name: Que, as in James Bond's armorer. Que was at least an inventor like Wheeljack, but he doesn't get much spotlight before he's brutally executed by the Decepticons (gotta love Bayhem!).
The most dramatic reinvention was in the anime "Transformers: Armada." This Wheeljack looked or behaved nothing like his former self; he was a former Autobot turned Decepticon out for revenge against his old friend Hot Shot. "Transformers" is home to a phenomenon called "name-slapping" — Hasbro will give a character a name solely so they can retain the trademark on it. This seems to have been the case with "Armada" Wheeljack; in the original Japanese, he was called Rampage (maybe not the best name for a former Autobot, granted).
"Transformers Prime" was a confusing reinvention. This Wheeljack looked almost identical to the "G1" version but had a totally different personality. Instead of a lovable mad scientist, he was a gruff warrior. "Prime Wheeljack" was much more likely to wield a pair of swords than a wrench.
The point is, "Rise of the Beasts" is far from the first time "Transformers" has tinkered with Wheeljack. You don't have to like all these reinterpretations (I don't), but it's important to be open-minded, especially towards a series all about transformation.
"Transformers: Rise of the Beasts" is playing in theaters.