Transformers: Rise of the Beasts

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is a 2023 American science fiction action film based on Hasbro's Transformers toy line, and primarily influenced by its Beast Wars sub-franchise. It is the seventh installment in the Transformers film series, serving as a sequel to Bumblebee (2018). The film is directed by Steven Caple Jr. from a screenplay by Joby Harold, Darnell Metayer, Josh Peters, Erich Hoeber, and Jon Hoeber, based on a story by Harold. Michael Bay again serves as producer. The film stars Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback, alongside the voices of Ron Perlman, Peter Dinklage, Michelle Yeoh, Pete Davidson, Liza Koshy, Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, Colman Domingo, Cristo Fernández, Tongayi Chirisa, and returning franchise regulars Peter Cullen, John DiMaggio, and David Sobolov. Set in 1994, the film follows ex-military electronics expert Noah Diaz and artifact researcher Elena Wallace as they help the Autobots and the Maximals protect an artifact known as the Transwarp Key from the villainous Terrorcons.

A sequel was being fast-tracked by the studio after the critical and commercial success of Bumblebee after being announced in January 2019. Two additional films were in development the following year with one of them being based on the Beast Wars series in 2020. Caple Jr. was hired as director that November later that year. The film was officially announced months later in 2021 during a virtual presentation as both a Bumblebee sequel and a Beast Wars film in one. Principal photography took place from June to October 2021, with filming locations including Los Angeles, Peru, Montreal, and New York City.

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts premiered at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore on May 27, 2023, and was theatrically released in the United States on June 9, 2023, by Paramount Pictures. The film received mixed reviews from critics with many deeming it as inferior to the preceding Bumblebee film. It grossed a total of $441.7 million worldwide against a budget of $195–200 million, becoming a box-office disappointment.

Plot

The planet-eating Transformer, Unicron, attacks the homeworld of the Maximals. Unicron sends his herald, Scourge, and the Terrorcons to obtain the Transwarp Key, which can open portals through time and space, enabling Unicron to consume planets faster. The Maximal leader Apelinq sacrifices himself to allow the other Maximals to escape the planet before Unicron devours it. The Maximal's new leader, Optimus Primal, led them to Earth with the key.

In 1994 Brooklyn, Noah Diaz, an ex-military electronics expert, struggles to find a job to support his ill brother Kris and is convinced by his friend Reek to steal a Porsche to sell, only to discover that it is the Autobot Mirage in disguise. Concurrently, museum intern Elena Wallace studies an ancient statue of a falcon bearing the Maximal symbol and accidentally breaks it open to reveal the key hidden inside. The key releases an energy pulse detected by Autobot leader Optimus Prime, who summons the other Autobots, including Arcee and Bumblebee. Mirage is contacted in the middle of Noah's attempted theft, and he is roped into the Autobots' mission to recover the key so they can use it to return to their homeworld, Cybertron.

Drawn by the key's signature, the Terrorcons arrive on Earth and attack the Autobots outside the museum, with Elena caught up in the conflict. Scourge kills Bumblebee, steals the key, and the Terrorcons retreat when the Maximal Airazor arrives to repel them. Airazor reveals that the Maximals have been hiding on Earth, and Scourge only has half of the Transwarp Key, which was split in two to keep it safe. Prime insists that the key be reassembled so the Autobots can use it to return home, while Noah secretly plots to destroy the key to keep Earth safe.

Elena deduces that the other half of the key is in a hidden temple in Peru. The cargo plane Autobot Stratosphere takes them to Peru, where they meet with Wheeljack, who leads them to the temple. However, the other half of the key is revealed to be no longer there. The Terrorcons attack again, and Scourge corrupts Airazor with Dark Energon. Subsequently, the Autobots meet Primal and the Maximals, who entrusted the second half of the key to a human tribe they have worked with for millennia. Scourge's corruption overtakes Airazor, whom Primal reluctantly kills at her request to save Elena. In the chaos, Noah attempts to destroy the second half of the key, but Prime convinces him otherwise. Scourge steals it and then reassembles the two halves, erecting a tower and opening a portal above Earth for Unicron to enter.

Prime and Noah agree to work together to protect their homeworlds from Unicron. While Autobots and Maximals battle the Terrorcon army, Noah and Elena sneak in close to the Key, planning to deactivate it with an access code Elena has uncovered. During the battle, Mirage is wounded by Scourge while protecting Noah but transforms his damaged body into a powered exo-suit for Noah so they can fight together. Bumblebee is reactivated when the key activates the Energon-infused valley, and helps the Autobots and Maximals turn the tide of the battle. Prime kills Scourge, but not before the latter damages the control console to prevent the portal from being shut down. Prime destroys the key and collapses the portal, willing to sacrifice himself, but Noah and Primal save him from being sucked into the imploding vortex, which destroys the remaining Terrorcon army and leaves Unicron stranded.

In the aftermath, the Autobots, unable to return to Cybertron, proclaim Earth as their new home and vow to continue protecting it alongside the Maximals. Elena receives recognition for discovering the temple in Peru while Noah attends an interview for a security job but finds he is actually being invited to join the secret military organization G.I. Joe, who will cover Kris's healthcare.

In a mid-credits scene, Noah repairs Mirage using junk Porsche parts from Reek, who claims it is not road-worthy; Noah disproves him by calling Mirage to transform in front of Reek.