Paramount Pictures presented the first look at Transformers One – the first animated Transformers movie in 40 years – at CinemaCon on Thursday. Introduced by a pre-recorded greeting from Scarlett Johansson and then in-person onstage by Chris Hemsworth and Brian Tyree Henry, attending exhibitors and press were exclusively shown the first trailer and an extended scene in 3D from the Josh Cooley-directed film. (The trailer will be released April 18.)
“I am so excited to play a young Optimus Prime and reveal a side of this character that audiences haven’t seen before,” Hemsworth said in his opening remarks during which he also acknowledged the legacy he now gets to share with original voice actor Peter Cullen.
According to the official logline, Transformers One tells “the long-awaited origin story of how the most iconic characters in the Transformers universe, Orion Pax and D-16, went from brothers-in-arms to become sworn enemies, Optimus Prime and Megatron.”
Hemsworth voices Orion Pax, Henry is D-16, Johansson is Elita-1, and Keegan-Michael Key voices a proto-Bumblebee then known as B-127. The voice cast also includes Steve Buscemi, Laurence Fishburne, and Jon Hamm.
ILM animated Transformers One in a style unlike Disney or Pixar fare or even Paramount’s own Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. It is a more steely, digital look befitting a story set in the world of Cybertron years before it would become ravaged by war between Autobots and Decepticons. There’s still a vibrancy and sense of life to this Cybertron.
The extended 3D scene features lowly worker ‘bots Orion Pax, D-16, and B-127 sneaking aboard a supply train operated by Elita-1, which is on its way to the surface world – a place the three young stowaways have never been before.
After an initial scuffle with Elita-1, who wants them off the train so she won’t get demoted (again), Orion tells her they’re on a mission to the surface world to attain the Matrix of Leadership. This will allow them to earn the ability to transform and realize their full potential. During their ride aboveground, the surface of Cybertron itself transforms, with giant shafts of rock erupting from the ground and into the sky.
Additional footage showed the four ‘bots attaining their powers and transforming into vehicles for the first time to comedic effect. Think of a youthful superhero such as Spider-Man awkwardly experimenting with their newfound abilities for the first time.
The biggest takeaway from the Transformers One footage outside of its particular animation aesthetic is its tone, which is more youthful, comedic, and family-friendly than some fans might expect. The playfulness and banter between its coming-of-age characters had a vibe more akin to the Ninja Turtles than what we’ve ever seen from the serious and stalwart Optimus Prime.
Transformers One opens in theaters on September 13.
For more coverage on Paramount’s CinemaCon presentation, read our breakdown of the first footage from Gladiator 2, the debut of Shadow in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, what the creators of South Park and Kendrick Lamar have in store, the confirmation of a Transformers/G.I. Joe crossover movie, and the planned IMAX re-release of Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar.
