Reporting From Comic-Con: ‘Transformers One’: “We Were Brothers Once”

On Thursday July 25th at 11:45am, Transformers One hosted a panel announcing the details of the upcoming film.

Transformers One is set to become a hit when released in September of this year. This film boasts a “insane” cast, according to Josh Cooley, which includes: Chris Hemsworth (Orion Pax), Brian Tyree Henry (D-16), Scarlett Johansson (Elita-1), Keegan Michael Key (Bumblebee), Steve Buscemi (Starscream), John Hamm (Sentinel Prime), and Lawrence Fishburne (Alpha Trion). Along with the cast, the movie itself promises viewers action, emotional depth, and humor. 

Transformers One will follow a young Orion Pax and D-16—later known as Optimus Prime and Megatron, respectively—in their relationship and adventures as best friends. With a younger Cybertron planet, Transformers One explores Cybertronian culture before the planet was destroyed. From the clips and trailers seen at San Diego’s Comic-Con, Transformers fans will not be disappointed as obvious care was taken in regards to the thoughtful casting, “rich” script, and adherence to the original source material. 

Two significant choices in the creation of this film were the decision to choose animation as a medium, and to have no human characters. Lorenzo di Bonaventura explained in a Comic Con panel that because Transformers One is animated, “You can really have them build out their characters”. Animation gives the creators full rein to flesh out characters, play with visual effects, and perform as many action-heavy scenes as needed to tell the story. The animation itself is visually beautiful, with a unique style and bold colors. 

Along with the medium decision, the lack of human characters promises a movie focused entirely on the Transformers themselves. Orion-Pax and D-16 are complex characters that deserve to have their story told. Brian Tyree Henry desired to convey this complexity with his portrayal of D-16, saying that he wanted audiences to “walk away feeling for him.”

Overall, this new addition to the Transformers franchise is set to be a welcome one, as the talented cast, quality animation, and deep and heartfelt story is sure to please audiences.