New Transformers Movie Is About Black And Latin Culture, Not Robots
By the time Transformers: Rise of the Beasts makes its way into theaters on June 9, just in time for summer blockbuster season, it will have been five years since audiences last caught up with their favorite alien bots. After over a decades-long franchise that saw stars like Shia LeBeouf, Megan Fox, Nicola Peltz, and Mark Wahlberg shine as the humans who teamed up with the machines to save the world time and time again, Rise of the Beasts director Steven Caple Jr. reveals that he’s ready to bring some new voices and faces to the story – specifically a cast led by “Black and Brown people.” During a recent interview with BET, the film’s director and leading actor Anthony Ramos shared their excitement for having the opportunity to take the tale of the Autobots, Maximals, and Terrorcons to the streets of New York, an accomplishment that Ramos says is “for all my homies in the projects.”
Working tirelessly to see their vision for the new Transformers flick take shape, Caple Jr. says that his time on the set was an “emotional ride” with many nights leaving him “tired” but also caught up in an overwhelming state of feeling both “honored and blessed.”
“We created something special, and it feels great to be in this position,” the director said as he spoke about the two-year journey that he’s been traveling with the new Transformers project with Ramos by his side. “We’re doing our best to carry this weight,” Caple Jr. adds, commenting on how the new tale will bring his “culture” and “people” into a blockbuster action franchise where representation was seriously lacking before.
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts will act as a sequel to 2018’s Bumblebee and will drop audiences in 1994 Brooklyn where the story will then carry to iconic locations in Peru including Machu Picchu and San Martín. In the Heights and soon-to-be Ironheart star, Anthony Ramos, will play the role of an ex-military electronics wiz named Noah while his co-star Dominique Fishback plays a brainy artifact researcher and museum caretaker named Elena. With both searching for a little more from life, their paths will cross in unimaginable ways when they’re called into action to save the planet.
Along with Ramos and Fishback, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts boasts a jam-packed cast list filled with some of the biggest names in Hollywood with Luna Lauren Vélez (Dexter) joining the duo on the live-action side of things. On team Autobot, it’s about to get wild with franchise star Peter Cullen reprising his role as Optimus Prime, Pete Davidson voicing Mirage, Liza Koshy heard as Arcee, Cristo Fernández as Wheeljack, and John DiMaggio voicing Stratosphere. As for the Maximals, audiences will hear the vocal talents of Ron Perlman as Optimus Primal, Michelle Yeoh as Airazor, and David Sobolov as Rhinox with the Terrorcons made up of Peter Dinklage as Scourge, David Sobolov as Battletrap, Michaele Jaé Rodriguez as Nightbird, and Tobe Nwigwe as Reek.
Backed by a fresh artistic vision and some very recognizable names, the latest Transformers flick may prove to be the biggest, baddest, and loudest yet. With new casting information rolling out almost daily, we’re eager to hear what else Steven Caple Jr. and the gang behind Rise of the Beasts have up their sleeves.
