Transformers Movie Related News on Seibertron.com

First Ever Footage of Transformers Rise of the Beasts Shown at Cinemacon

Date: Thursday, April 28th 2022 4:38pm CDT
Category: Movie Related News
Posted by: william-james88

Discuss This Topic · Permanent Link
Views: 94,656

Paramount had a big presentation today for theatre executives only. It included a sizzle reel showing clips of Dungeons & Dragons, Mission Impossible and Transformers Rise of the Beasts. Here is a description of what was shown:

No Beasts were shown. Instead people saw Optimus, Bumblebee and Arcee. Arcee is said to look like G1 Arcee, Optimus is said to look like he did in the Bumblebee movie and Bumblebee looks like Bayverse Bumblebee (same car mode, same face, same visual cues). The footage shows Arcee hanging on the the side of a moving car as she is about to take shots with her gun. Anthony Ramos was seen in a car as well. No Dialogue was uttered, it was only 12 seconds of shots among a sizzle reel.

This description was lifted from The John Campea Show which discussed first hand what the group saw.



Usually, if a trailer is shown at an event, then it will likely be shown in a week or two to the public BUT if it is a sizzle reel like the one described, then it will not be made available for anyone else to see, ever.

Transformers Studio Series Designer Shows Process of Bringing a CG Model to Toy Form

Date: Monday, April 4th 2022 12:56am CDT
Categories: Movie Related News, Toy News
Posted by: william-james88

Discuss This Topic · Permanent Link
Views: 90,468

We have a real treat for you. Sam Smith, a designer at Hasbro, has made an Instagram account filled with a process showing us how the artists and designers went from a CG model, to a CAD drawing to a functioning Transformers toy in the Studio Series line. There is a description accompanying each set of images.

SS-85 Bumblebee Movie Arcee

“I’ve lost contact with the capital!”

This character was so much fun to work on, and I am so glad that the team was willing to take the risk with introducing characters to the studio series assortment that did not have transformations in the film.

In reviewing the concept art and the character model, we knew that a car form was out of the question given how slender the bot mode was. Knowing that she had hollowed out wheels on her heels (which oddly enough her waist down doesn’t show up in the movie) We began investigating a cycle mode that would allow for a for charging front fork.

With an original cycle design established with the help of the insanely talented Emiliano Santalucia and access to the robot CAD model from the film, we were able to embark on our traditional development process in partnership with Shu Umezu at Takara Tomy.

Throughout these stages you can see the progression of how the model develops, and how closely we are able to maintain the proportions of the original design, while incorporating an an entire transformation form that was never created for the film with out sacrificing the integrity of the character.
















SS-81 Bumblebee Movie Wheeljack

“There’s too many of them!”

It was great to get the opportunity to take this character back to his G1 routes. I wanted a Cybertronian vehicle form that would take influence from the Lancia Stratos rally car that he was originally known for. We had, an idea of a windscreen from his robot form, so we investigated how those parts would fall into place once he transformed into a vehicle. We explored wheels and non wheels (like his brief G1 Cybertronian transport alt mode) but in the end felt that there were already established autobot vehicle forms that used wheels, and we wanted it to feel appropriate to something that could have existed in the film. I think Emiliano smashed the vehicle exploration out of the park, and I was thrilled with how much of the vehicle mode Yuya Onishi and the team at TT were able to preserve as we moved this product into production.

I always loved the Alitalia livery on the original Wheeljack, and it was great to see this color pallet being revisited for live action theatrical. While developing the deco for this vehicle, I tried to take the color details that were established on the chest, and infuse the racing livery throughout the alt mode.

We did our best to try and maintain the large two handed weapons, with out deviating from the sculpted details in the CAD. I think some of the deluxe scale figures were able to replicate some of the two handed weapon poses better than others due the variations in the chest detail.

INTERESTING FACT:
Initially, there were a number of unique weapons that were explored for these characters in the film, but in the end the screen used weapons were replicated across the Autobots (with the exception of Arcee and Optimus Prime) I would love to get an opportunity to use some of those alternate designs elsewhere in the line.
















SS-80 Bumblebee Movie Brawn
“Stand Fast!”

Alright, let’s talk Brawn! This was such a fun evolution of the G1 design, but we definitely had our work cut out for us in delivering a convincing alt mode. There was a lot of influence in the CAD that aligned from the Cybertronian Bumblebee design, so I think there was some efficiencies used to bring him to life.

Because of his overly round form, it was going to be difficult to deliver a vehicle mode that took inspiration from the Series II Land Rover (at least that’s what it always looked like to me) which was super boxy.

We got to work on an offload vehicle that could pull in some of the shapes that we were seeing across the robot design. We introduced a windshield to the form, to keep it in line with the rest of the BB movie figures, as well as familiar wheel faces wrapped in a more aggressive looking tire. Emiliano did an incredible job of bringing this vehicle form concept to life.

As we developed the Toy in partnership with Hasui Shogo at Takara, we started to pull the bot and vehicle forms together without compromising the onscreen bot mode. Hasui san made the suggestion to include a drill accessory to align with his G1 appearance, and we stylized it to feel appropriate for the live action design.

In order to avoid compromising the front grill of the vehicle with a 5mm port, We made the front surface able to articulate 90 degrees in order to reveal a port, enabling you to display it in either mode.

Loaded up with all of his gear in either his bot or vehicle mode, Brawn always looks ready for battle!


















SS-83 Bumblebee Movie Soundwave
“Decepticons, attack!”

Next up is VOYAGER Soundwave. I think this was the benchmark figure that helped to justify a slot for these non transforming character in the studio series line. A fantastic G1 loyal design, voice, and a theatrical chest deployment for Ravage, meant this character needed to be brought to life in toy form. (As backwards as that sounds)

Lets talk the controversy on this vehicle / CD player / flying crab? – I’ve seen plenty of names for it!

As great as it would have been to design a giant tape deck player, there were a number of pre defined aesthetic principles that we needed to uphold and maintain amongst these new characters. What we didn’t want to do was sacrifice the bot forms (the only part that made it into the film) at the cost of alt modes that we were going out on the limb to make up for them. We tried our best to only work with the pieces that were in play, vs adding vehicle kibble on to the backs of the bot modes.

In most cases, I think we were very successful in accomplishing that. With Soundwave, I think we had our work cut out for us, and in the end preservation of the bot mode was given top priority.

We got to work on a hovercraft vehicle design that would allow the parts that we see on the bot to be reassembled. Working with Emiliano was exceptional on a project like this, due to his deep understanding for transformation design and where parts need to end up between modes. We worked on a few silhouettes and decided early on that we wanted to get more angular height out of the “windscreen” which would require an alternate chest window, but still maintain a completely hollow cavity to allow for Ravage to fit inside, a Ravage design that was quite a bit blockier than a traditional tape cassette, so further compromise was made to cater to the bot mode.

Our TT development was handled by the legendary Ittoku Kuwazu, who was a fantastic partner to have work on this character. He was our design counterpart on Ravage as well, as the two figures needed to be developed in tandem.


















SS-82 Bumblebee Movie Ratchet
“They’ve broken through the front lines!”

The first Autobot that we get to see on screen during an all out war on Cybertron. Ratchet quickly gave us the first glimpse at what would be a complete nostalgia overload, and just set the tone for the rest of the film.

I remember the excitement of seeing these bot designs for the first time, and getting amped about theatrical Transformers again. Once I rejoined the Transformers team a few years later, I knew that these we the bots that I wanted to bring to the line.

As part of our larger vehicle exploration with Emiliano, we got to work on a vehicle design for Ratchet that would align to some sort of heavy transport / medical deployment vehicle. We knew out the gate that we wanted to redeco him into Ironhide, so we took his traditional vehicle form into consideration as well. The front end was going to be based off of the chest due to the scale, so we stuck with a very hexagonal windscreen.

Some details needed to be modified from the bot mode. For example the legs house the wheels on each side of the calves, so we needed the add faux wheels to the outside of the legs, and add an additional set of functioning wheels which would stow inside of the torso.

Additionally, due to the scale of the figure, we needed to get a lot of rise out of the limbs. Ejima Takio did an amazing job of keeping the onscreen height of this character, while allowing it to collapse into an ultra compact vehicle form, that would let this figure maintain the deluxe scale price point.

Lastly, Damn those knees! One of the biggest struggles with this figure was accounted for the PA parts in the mold. PA is a nylon like material with phenomenal tensile strength but with the unfortunate side effect of not accepting paint well. This material has been standardized for transformation joints to help prevent breakage from being a common rotation point. In most instances when you question, “I wonder why they didn’t paint that” it often means that the part was molded in PA.


















SS-84 Bumblebee Movie Ironhide
“…” This guy missed out on any speaking lines

Time to talk Ironhide! Similar to the deception seeker that we saw repurposed throughout the Cybertron battle, Ratchet was utilized to make up the various background autobot soldiers including, Ironhide! This design translated perfectly to this bot, and armed with a new G1 head, it completely transformed the look of the character.

We wanted to take a G1 inspired approach to the vehicle livery and included a yellow accent to the side panels, to mimic his earthbound alt mode. There was no yellow on the bot mode in the film, so we limited the use of the panel accent to the side doors which would be hidden when the vehicle was transformed into the robot. Armed with his massive cannon, Ironhide feels right at home amongst the rest of the Autobots.

There are a handful of color discrepancies in this guy, which are unfortunately due to the existing mold plans that had been established with the initial Ratchet release. That means that any parts that are in the same mold, are molded in the same color. As mentioned on Ratchet, there was a lot of PA used on the various portions of the characters, so that’s where we run into things like red hips, and gray fender flares (though the flares didn’t bother me as much, as they made Irohide’s vehicle feel a bit more aggressive and offload oriented)

What are your thoughts on Ironhide? Was he too tertiary for the film? Or do you want to see more from the rest of the background Autobot and Decepticon soldiers.


















SS-72 Bumblebee Movie Starscream
“…” I don’t think Starscream has ever been lost for words, but in the Bumblebee film none of the Cybertronian seekers got any lines.

Alright, lets kick off our Seeeker conversation with Starscream! As one of the few characters that actually had a Cybertronian mode in the film, I think the team was eager to get him out on the coat tails of Cliffjumper and Bumblebee. This figure was already in development when I joined the team, but I was lucky enough to take him over at the block model stage, and work to detail him up. Its amazing how much detail was able to be translated over from the movie CAD, and it was a great benchmark for understanding where this line differed from movie product that we had done in the past.

Prior to moving over to the Transformers team, I had been spoiled by a brand that handled all of the digital sculpts internally in RI, so we always had beautiful orthographic render sheets being shared with the design team for us to generate deco sheets. I set out to establish a new process with the guidance of Paul Bennett that would allow us to convert the toy CAD into a usably file in Zbrush, (i accidentally wrote keyshot on the image) which would then enable us to polygroup the figure into individual parts, so that they could be highlighted for a rapid selection of mold groups across all the views. It was short lived before we migrated into using Keyshot (which the later BB figure decos were created in) which explains the slight visual discrepancy to some of the breakdowns of later figures.

DID YOU KNOW? – The original head for Starscream in the movie used a singular eye lens much like Soundwave. This came as a bit of a surprise when we started the deco process, and the sculpted face differed from the face that we saw in the film. Thankfully we were able to get in touch with ILM to track down the final movie head, and implement it into the product with out any impacts to the schedule. It was a rushed effort on, but everyone pulled out all the stops to make it happen! Somewhere that portrait design still exists, but it is unlikely that it will ever see the light of day.

Which head design do you prefer?






















SS-76 Bumblebee Movie Thrust
“ [GRUNT noise] ” Another Seeker, but sadly another bot with no dialogue in the film.

Ok, whose ready to talk Decepticon Seeker THRUST! I love these bot designs from the movie. I think the element that was most notable for me was the care that the design team at ILM put into differentiating the various seeker bots. We got to see some fantastic variations on the design in the film, with some nice nods to the G1 bot forms. We saw reuse of the Blitzwing head on most of the seekers, but the variations in the wing designs, and the awesome use of the “conehead” design helped to set them apart. I also love the variations in the livery treatments that made up the wings, which helped to keep all of the tetra jets looking unique.

Alright, so lets talk about some cool design elements for this guy. Apart from the subtle tooling modification to incorporate the cone head cowl, TT did an awesome job of of maximizing the existing parts to deliver a unique silhouette with the wings, which can be configured in the various orientations that we see across the bot modes.

I have to admit, when I first saw this guy on screen, I was like “Hey, that’s cool, they ever put Acidstorm in the film!” But when I saw the concept art, he was called “Thrust”. This was confusing for me, because I never associated a green color palette with him, it was always the darker reds and black. Thanks to you, the fandom, for pointing out that Thrust was green in the Armada series. It was a cool nod to a version of the character that I wasn’t aware of previously.

What are your thoughts on Thrust? Did he scratch the itch, or would you rather see him clad in his more iconic red colors? And what other seekers do you want to see get released?


















SS-CORE Bumblebee Movie Shockwave
“Destroy the launch pad, let none escape.”

Lets shift gears and talk about CORE for a moment. New for 2022 was the debut of the core scale. Paired along side Ravage in the wave, we kept the theming on the Bumblebee film across all of the assortments. Despite being a small figure, this mad scientist still packs plenty of detail, and plenty of info to deep dive into. Lets begin!

As part of the greater vehicle exploration, we got to work with Emiliano on a alt form for Shockwave. Given the massive arm cannon, a Cybetronian tank form felt right at home. The quad tread design was deeply routed in some of the looks we saw between animated and prime (Anyone else get scorpion vibes? If you know, you know) while giving them a more theatrical styling that would compliment the robot. Koki Yamada at TT (our first of many projects together) did a fantastic job of merging the bot form with our vehicle and delivered a pretty uncompromised figure at the core scale.

The colors on this guy were wild (check out the last picture). The purple used on the CGI model was an incredibly bold deep metallic purple with a ton of flake. I never realized how saturated they were in the film, so reviewing the CAD file made me appreciate it a lot more! I kind of want to update a color study using key shot just so that I can play around with some paint layering and get that glossy sheen to the bot mode!

“But why is Shockwave small?” So this was the debut of the core scale in SS. In its inception, much like the Legacy line, the exception was to deliver fan favorite characters at a more affordable price point, in their own universal scale. With Studio Series, this also proved to be a great scale for some of the smaller figures that weren’t ideal for LDR companions and were worthy of articulation and transformation. Shockwave was a great pilot for the segment to prove that it had some legs to stand on. Without core, I don’t think we would have found a slot for him in the line, and based on the response to the character, I hope he’ll see a larger scale Voyager release in the future.















SS73 Grindor
“No Prime please no!” Did he really say that as Optimus had his hooks in his face? I don’t hear it, do you?

Ok, while I’m not finished with the Bumblebee Movie content, I do want to switch things up for a bit and talk about the primary show runner for Studio Series, the Bayverse! Love him or hate him, you have to admit, the guy is responsible for some pretty substantial leaps forward in cinematography, and CGI heavy action sequences. If you haven’t watched the behind the scene content for his TF movies, there’s a lot in them to inspire creatives!

While I did not work on the original Blackout figure, I did have the opportunity to work on his repurposed robot model by way of Grindor! It was a lot of fun rewatching the film to try and capture all the unique color elements that would help to separate it from the original Blackout release. We also got to take the opportunity to update the hands with some much needed articulation, as well as adding a ROTF specific Ravage.

Lets start with some fo the discrepancies for the character. Between TF1 and TF2, Sikorsky retired the MH-53, so when it came time to film ROTF, the CH-53E Super Stallion was called in. While sharing much of a common silhouette, the CH-53E boasted a longer length by about 10’ and feature alternative equipment off of the nose. But as this translated to Grindor from Blackout, his scale shifted massively. Blackout was supposed to be around 33’ tall, while Grindor is recorded as being almost 50’ tall!

Now I’m, not going to blush over the Blackout robot design here. I absolutely love it, but there will be a better time to talk about him in the future. In looking for visual differences to set Grindor apart, I had to go frame by frame to capture various details from the helicopter flying with extreme shadows, or briefly while dangling a tethered Saturn Astra. There was very little to go on, but with a lot of color balancing I was able to gather the general details. Frame by frame in the forest scene, we see a more rusted weathered look to the bot mode, which I tried to bring to the figure without completely blowing the deco budget.











SS71 Dino
“On the ground, per favore! And stay there!”

Alright, lets kick the weekend off with the first poll selected pick, Dark of the Moon Dino. This was one of the first Studio Series figures that I had the opportunity to work on when I rejoined the transformers team a few years ago. In taking over various segments of the line, I took on this character at the block model stage.

This “bright red mid engine European inspired supercar” design had already been established by the prior team, and there was a lot of care taken to keep the design generic, while still being inspired. Overall it transitioned nicely into a supporting form for Dino. Theres not a whole lot we can say about the vehicle for this one do to licensing restrictions, but I’m sure if you’re google inclined you can find out enough history on the topic. Regardless it was a huge step up from the previous release back in 2011 (which was just a redeco’d Sideways)

Ittoku Kuwazu did a great job of bringing the ILM movie CAD to life. This character had a ton of personality in the film, so it was great to see that translated ta a more accurate figure model. We focused his accessories on his bladed gauntlets, but we did explore utilizing his tethered blades that he hooks into Hatchet. Maybe there will be another opportunity to incorporate them in the future.

The bot mode does suffer from a bit of a backpack due to the vehicle mode /scale /and prince point. There is such a slender fragmented torso to the bot mode, that it wouldn’t have been possible to utilize the vehicle panels to complete it. I do think that the CAD details are able to shine via the chest and more notably in the face and feet.

Paint wise, I chose to keep his exposed mechanical details in a darker gun metal shade of gray, along with the intricacies of the face. I found it to compliment the red of the bot mode vs the stark contrast of using black and bright silvers.

Overall, I think he’s a lot of fun to stack up against a legion of dreads, and features the articulation to support some pretty wild poses.

In hand Images of Transformers SS BB Arcee and Ironhide

Date: Monday, February 21st 2022 3:00pm CST
Categories: Movie Related News, Toy News
Posted by: william-james88

Discuss This Topic · Permanent Link
Views: 65,494

We now have in hand images of two of the upcoming deluxes in the second wave of 2022 deluxe toys for the Studio Series line, Bumblebee movie Arcee and Ironhide. These in hand images show us that the only thing new with Ironhide is the head, as assumed. We get nice close ups of Arcee as well and a good look at her back, which is a thing of concern to fans. These images are taken from reviews done by Chefatron.

Enjoy!

Breakdown of Upcoming Rise of the Beasts Toyline with Character Names

Date: Tuesday, December 28th 2021 6:50pm CST
Categories: Movie Related News, Toy News
Posted by: william-james88 | Credit(s): Listings found on Doc's Records website

Discuss This Topic · Permanent Link
Views: 75,562

While we did have some code name listings before, we finally get a full breakdown of the movie line with the characters in it. There is no Battletrap toy in the classes we know of but there is another character we had not heard of yet called Crescent. You will see which characters get a deluxe toy, and which ones are part of the more gimmick driven classes. The entire line seems to mirror the current Cyberverse line where most are toys targeting just kids (as we saw for the Bumblebee line) along with a deluxe class which can appeal to anyone, while not being conscious of scale. Anyone wishing for the ROTF line again can forget that, this is basically the Cyberverse line but for the next movie. Take that as you will.

Now the very interesting part of all this is that these toys were due in 4 months from now, same time as Legacy wave 2. So, will this toyline be delayed to be in stores when the movie is out in 2023, or will it still go to shelves as we saw with the Minions Rise of Gru film? This has been a growing trend with movie delays and associated merchandise and you can read more about that here.

Ok, so without further ado, here is the full Transformers Rise of the Beasts line meant to be out with the film:

Deluxe Class (assortment 5010993983308)

Deluxe Bumblebee
Deluxe Mirage
Deluxe Wheeljack
Deluxe Airazor
Deluxe Nightbird


Beast Battle Master Class

Optimus Primal (5010993952069)
Cheetor (5010993952106)
Crescent (5010993952076)
Airazor (5010993952090)
Rhinox (5010993952113)
Beast Mode Bumblebee (5010993983773)


Power Combiners

2pk Optimus Prime (5010993958634)
2pk Bumblebee (5010993958436)
2pk Wheeljack (5010993958399)
2pk Scourge (5010993958696)
2pk Arcee (5010993958429)
2pk Optimus Primal (5010993958382)


Power Alliance (the assumption is these are Transformers with an armor/weaponizer you attach)

2pk Optimus Prime (5010993958733)
2pk Optimus Primal (5010993958719)
2pk Arcee (5010993958740)
2pk Wheeljack (5010993958399)


Smash Changers

Optimus Prime (5010993958474)


Battle Changer

Bumblebee (5010993958405)
Mirage (5010993958832)
Rhinox (5010993958849)

Bumblebee 2 in 1 Mask (5010993941094)

There will also be one steps called 'Power Step' (5010993960736), and class for smaller figures calle Spark Racers (5010993983407), as well as Spark Chargers class (5010993983117) and Roleplay Basic Masks (5010993961238).

So a pretty big line with 10+ classes filled with Beast characters, "G1" characters and the Bad Guys Scourge and Nightbird. Also, the concept art in the Thumbnails is not indicative of final designs, just based on descriptions already given by the film staff, and they are courtesy of Lazlo Ven.

Cheetor Confirmed to be in Transformers Rise of the Beasts

Date: Friday, October 22nd 2021 9:19pm CDT
Category: Movie Related News
Posted by: william-james88 | Credit(s): Anthony Ramos

Discuss This Topic · Permanent Link
Views: 90,403

While toy reveals were the biggest part of the Transformers segment in Pulsecon 2021, there was some Rise of the Beasts news as well. Anthony Ramos, the star of the film, confirmed Cheetor to be in this film. You can see that segment at the 1:40:00 mark in the video below. That would mean that the Beast cast, so far, is made up of Optimus Primal, Airazor, Rhinox and Cheetor. We alsohave Nightbird, Scourge and Battletrap as Terrorcons and Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Arcee, Mirage and Wheeljack as Autobots. No names have been given for Decepticons or Predacons in the film.

Please note, the picture in the thumbnail is of old concept art, we do not know how Cheetor will look like in this film yet.

Notes from TRANSFORMERS Production Kickoff Virtual Event Confirmation including character reveals

Date: Tuesday, June 22nd 2021 3:30pm CDT
Categories: Movie Related News, Event News
Posted by: Seibertron

Discuss This Topic · Permanent Link
Views: 78,228

Earlier today, Paramount held a virtual event for the upcoming Transformers 7 film. They revealed the title as Transformers: RISE OF THE BEASTS during the event and via this press release. Attending the virtual event were Lorenzo di Bonaventura (Producer), Steven Caple, Jr (Director), actors Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback along with moderator Anthony Brenzican (from Vanity Fair). Here are my notes from today's exciting TRANSFORMERS Production Kickoff Virtual Event Confirmation with Paramount:

---

Transformers 7 Production kick-off event

Director: Steven Caple, Jr
Moderator: Anthony Brenzican
Producer: Lorenzo di Bonaventura

• Caple talked Beast Wars.
• Title of next movie is Transformers Rise of the Beasts
• Prehistoric, Predacons
• Moderator mentioned Maximals, Predacons and "Terrorcons"? Not sure if he misspoke on Terrorcons.
• Lorenzo talked about finding a new set of priorities with this direction.
• Going to see new villains and Autobots we've never seen before.
• Mentioned that Transformers has a lot of "tribes" and this movie is going to bring a lot of these "tribes" together.
• Director mentioned Terrorcons again, so apparently not a mistake earlier. Terrorcons will disrupt the movie.
• Difference between Predacons and Terrorcons. Predacons are more reptillian. Building a backstory to Predacons.
• Predacons are the natural enemy of the Maximals.
• Terrorcons are in opposition to the Autobots.
• There will be some Decepticons in the movie.
• 5 factions mentioned so far.
• Terrorcons will threaten everyone.
• Rise of the Beast time period will place around 1994.
• Sounds like it will still be in the Bayverse. Intentionally setting it in 90s so that it doesn't cut into time period of Bay films.
• 90s are rich in texture, mentioned music, and energy from the 90s. Director used the word "grit" to describe this era.
• Drawing some inspiration from popular 90s films.
• Will be a journey!
• Lorenzo discussed how they are privileged to be part of this franchise. Access point are the human characters to get access to the Transformers characters.

Locations discussed:

• New York City (Brooklyn) ... travel through New York, but Brooklyn is main area.
• Peru, jungle, Monchu Pichu (sp?), beautiful landscapes, beautiful people. Incan traditions and how it impacts storyline.

---

Characters in Transformers Rise of the Beasts

Transformers characters discussed:

• Main robot character ... is Optimus Prime, has a much more G1 flair. Cleaner look. Steven: "We are going G1 with Optimus Prime". Bringing the story back to see how (why?) Optimus Prime becomes the leader that we know. He's "new" to Earth. This film is forming why he wants to protect humans. Peter Cullen is returning as Optimus Prime.
• Bumblebee as a Classic Z28 Camaro, but with an offroad kit on it. Literally called it Offroad Bumblebee.
• Another Autobot ally ... Mirage is a silver Porsche 911 with blue detailing. Why not Jazz??? Rebel of the group. Anti-authority character. Lorenzo said Mirage has always been able to transform into other vehicles. Not sure what he was talking about? Mirage takes a prominence that is significant to the movie.
• Arcee is 4th Autobot mentioned. Loyal soldier to Prime. Voice of reason. She transformers into a Motorcycle. Dakatti 916?
• Another female Transformer is Nightbird. Vehicle form reminds me of Cybertron Runamuck. Transforms into a GTR. Still a ninja. Looks really cool. She's a Terrorcon. Lorenzo stated that she has had flexible allegiances in the past?
• Different villain than Megatron. Big bad this time around is Scourge (but a different version than we've seen before). Leader of the Terrorcons. Looks like it might have a truck form or something. Large crane claw on left hand. Smokestacks behind shoulders with black smoke coming out of them. Sounds like a bounty hunter of sorts. Loves to collect Autobots and Maximals and tears off their faction symbols and wears them. Character design art by "Del Rio".
• Beast Wars characters: Airazor. She's the heart of the Maximals. Rustic in design. Aged texture. Looks a bit rusty. Realistic mechanical beasts. Kind of gives me a Beast Machines vibe.
• Rhinox is here as well. Looks like Headstrong. Likes to ram things. "Wants to use that horn!"
• Optimus Primal as a gorilla. Has a traditional Maximal symbol on his chest. Not sure if that's final or not. Has hair on back of forearms and back of shoulders.

Human characters discussed:

• Actors brought into conversation: Anothony Ramos and Dominique Fishback.
• Dominique's character: playing Elena, works at a museum, trying to get a leg up in life, boss keeps taking credit for work she does. Intelligent person. Artifact researcher. Sophisticated thinker. New Yorker. If I recall correctly, she mentioned that she got into Transformers because of Shia and the first Michael Bay Transformers film.
• Anothy's character: Noah, is from Brooklyn. Sort of like a father figure to his brother. All about taking care of home and family. Ex-military. Trying to find his way after came back home. Lower income. Hustling. Amazing with electronics. Anything electronic can fix. One thing he loves about Noah is his tenacity, heart, and will to never quit. Amazing to see his journey as humans meet Transformers in film. Anthony said Beast Wars was his Transformers.

Recap of characters discussed during today's event:

• Anthony Ramos as "Noah"
• Dominique Fishback as "Elena"
• Optimus Prime
• Bumblebee
• Arcee
• Mirage
• Nightbird
• Scourge
• Airazor
• Rhinox
• Optimus Primal

---

Questions from the audience:

Are there practical elements to the film? Practical versus digital elements. Lorenzo says most of these movies are practical with digital effects enhancing the practical. The more you create "real", the more real the CG effects look. Steven: Cheat code for visual is partly the locations / scenery.

Daniel Cribb: What was some of main concerns coming into the legacy of Transformers?
Steven: balancing out what has come before and what he's going to bring to the table. Making sure people are feeling something new / fresh to the table. Something honest. Finding a relatability, a way to connect. Listens, close ear to the ground to hear what people are saying.

Rise of the Beasts will be more of a larger spectacle and not a smaller initimate film like Bumblebee.

Will there be rap music involved in the film? You will feel '94. Hip hop culture. You will feel Brooklyn. Will have a great soundtrack.


Who is your favorite Transformer and why?

Lorenzo: evolved over time. Ironhide originally because his son's favorite character. Bumblebee has been his favorite.

Steven: you haven't met his favorite character yet because it's in Rise of the Beasts. Loves Prime. Ironhide is a cool character. Of course 'Bee. Gonna be some dope characters he's going to introduce in this film.

New Stop Motion Transformers Video From Hasbro China

Date: Wednesday, May 5th 2021 3:55pm CDT
Categories: Movie Related News, Toy News, Digital Media News
Posted by: ZeroWolf | Credit(s): Hasbro China on Weibo, Cybertron21 on YouTube

Discuss This Topic · Permanent Link
Views: 59,205

Greetings Seibertronians! Hasbro's China offices have been up to their fun and games again, producing a new stop motion video featuring Transformers toys from the Studio Series 86 and Transformers Kingdom lines! In the video, that Hasbro China put up on the Chinese social media platform Weibo, Hot Rod takes on Cyclonus in a battle of talents, with Arcee managing the proceedings.

Not that things are ever that straightforward...



Click the link or watch the YouTube mirror, put up by YouTube user, Cybertron21:



What do you think of this? Is this more like the content you would like to see Hasbro producing?

Shout out in the Energon Pub and stay tuned to Seibertron for all the latest news and reviews!

Rumours on Characters and Plot Elements In Upcoming 7th Live Action Transformers Film

Date: Saturday, March 27th 2021 10:40pm CDT
Categories: Movie Related News, Rumors
Posted by: william-james88

Discuss This Topic · Permanent Link
Views: 99,373

The next movie is going to start shooting soon so this will be one of many articles on what the next live action film will entail. The rumours below come to us from an insider in the graphics department, so it is based on concept art which, as we know, is not indicative of the finished product. It does make for fun rumours though. The main takeaway here is that, for the most part, the film acts as it's own thing and does not reference much in terms of past films in terms of plots and style. There will be of course some references, like the design of Bumblebee's head which has remained rather similar throughout all live action films. Of course, take all this with a grain of salt since it was posted on 4chan.

Ok, so let's get to it:

>So, I work at Paramount Pictures as a designer for posters and other memorabilia, I create posters for them and more stuff. >Anyway, I got into some cool info about the upcoming Transformers reboot and here it is:
>You may have heard that new leak about Beast Alliance, well, it's not a beast wars movie and it has nothing to do with beast wars. Beast Alliance is just a working title, lots of movies have weird titles like this that have nothing to do with the film, Star Wars had lots of them.
>It is a heist type film like Ant Man but with Transformers, Optimus Prime and crew are stealing an artifact, no idea what it is but energon is involved. Megatron and the decepticons are in, all in G1 designs.
>Set after Bumblebee 2018 film, it acknowledges it but not the rest of Bayformers.
>New human characters: black, white and latino leads eyed.
>Possibly a black girl and a white kid are eyed as leads.
>Steven Caple Jr. understands the IP from what I saw.
>Small cast of robots, a little bigger than 2007 film. Movie emphasises on love and heart like Bumblebee rather than lore.
>Now keep in mind, I know all this stuff from some small plot lines I got to read and concept art I saw but it seems this is the direction they are going. Very Indiana Jones/Ant Man heist adventure film than previous films. I also saw a new face for Bumblebee, no idea if they will use it or not, it gave Bumblebee a mouth but the head design was similar to the previous film (Bumblebee 2018 movie) one. Robots are also thicker in the concept art.

>It's Trans on top and Formers beneath like G1 and has THE too. I think a comparision on how the marketing will be like is Thor Ragnarok. The roster of robots as I'm aware of is the following:
>Optimus Prime
>Bumblebee
>Arcee
>Ratchet
>Ironhide
>Brawn
>Wheeljack
>Cheetor
>Megatron
>Starscream
>Soundwave
>Shockwave
>Coneheads and seekers

>There might be more, it seems Cheetor is part of the film as a guardian of the artifact. I did not see his design, only for Prime, Bumblebee, Starscream, Soundwave and Megatron.

>The designs are updated. They are still bulky and thicker. Very G1. Nothing like Bayverse, the Bumblebee I saw has a face with a mouth and it looks cute. Megatron looks very big, he is taller than Prime and has his fusion cannon. Starscream has a new head, very sleek and G1 and humanoid. Soundwave has a body that makes him look like he transforms into some type of van, his head is more G1 now and updated. They are more detailed overall. Megatron also has a humanoid face with the bucket helmet thing. Apparently there will be some Cybertron scenes in the film, the planet will look the same as in Bumblebee. Optimus head is the same as in Bumblebee.

In Package Images for Afterlife Ectotron, Wave 2 Retro Headmasters and R.E D., and Studio Series

Date: Thursday, December 24th 2020 8:19pm CST
Categories: Movie Related News, Toy News, Store News
Posted by: Bounti76 | Credit(s): In Demand Toys

Discuss This Topic · Permanent Link
Views: 137,946

U.K. retailer InDemand Toys has posted a slew of product images for upcoming toys, and from multiple lines, to boot! Seibertronian Shiningstar7896 alerted us to the Facebook post containing in-package images of Studio Series 70 B-127, Studio Series 71 Dino, R.E.D Arcee and Cheetor, the "Retro" Headmaster reissues, and the Ghostbusters Afterlife version of Ectotron. Feast your eyes on these new images below!
















There are a couple of interesting things to note about these releases. First and foremost, Ectotron comes packaged in blister packaging, rather than the retro style box that his first release came in. Those retro style boxes look great on the Headmaster "reissues", and though the Headmaster partners retain their Titans Return name spellings, Weirdwolf actually gets his original name back, having been called "Wolfwire" in the previous release of the mold. The R.E.D. releases of Prime Arcee and Cheetor showcase their Action-Master (aka non-transforming) style figures, though curiously, Cheetor's head appears to be cast in a bronze colored plastic, rather than the yellow and gold of his package art. And last, but not least, B-127 is confirmed to be the full official name of of the figure.

So what do you think of these new photos? Do you plan to pick up any of these figures? Please feel free to discuss these below!

Images of MP 50 Tigatron, God Neptune, MPM Starscream, Super Megatron and More at Hong Kong Fans Expo

Date: Friday, July 31st 2020 1:21am CDT
Categories: Movie Related News, Toy News, Event News
Posted by: william-james88 | Credit(s): see all sources in article

Discuss This Topic · Permanent Link
Views: 83,314

Can you believe that the last we heard of this Masterpiece Tigatron was before the COVID 19 lockdown? Well, with parts of the world getting back to normal, there was actually a show that Hasbro physically attended just a few days ago. And they brought in not only their products but also the products they are importing from Takara, such as God Neptune, Super Megatron and MP-50 Tigatron. Those toys were on display and you can see images of them below. Also on display was the upcoming MP Arcee, MPM Starscream, the Quintesson Pit set and basically the entire output of the year so far. The convention in question was the Hasbro Fans Expo in Hong Kong. The images came from Toyswalker, Hobymizer, and DMS Toys Treasure on Facebook.