Isn’t it crazy to think that we haven’t had a feature legnth film set solely on Cybertron since 1986. Well, the upcoming animated film, directed by Toy Stroy 4‘s Josh Cooley, will be the first film in a potential trilogy that’ll explore the rich history of the Transformers and the bond once shared between Optimus Prime and Megatron. Thanks to a conversation between Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Collider, we now know that the 2024 animated film will be created by the legendary visual effects company Industrial Light & Magic- ILM.
With a rich history, ILM have become a powerhouse in the visual effects industry. Founded by George Lucas in 1975, ILM have tackled all major franchises including Star Wars, Star Trek, Indiana Jones, Michael Bay’s Transformers, as well as The Mandalorian and many projects set within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In addition to that, ILM also crafted the Academy Award winning Rango, which starred Johnny Depp as an eccentric chemeleon that poses as a sheriff. They’re experts when it comes to visual effects, and with them helming this animared prequel it’s safe to say that we’re in for quite a treat.
Here is what di Bonaventura had to say about the upcoming films:
“Having seen probably four shots from it, you’ve never seen anything like it, I’ll say it that way. For sure, you’ll go, “Oh my God, it’s a whole thing.” I’m not sure if I’m supposed to divulge it, but I’m going to. ILM is doing the animation.”
“Yes, they won an Oscar, Rango. When you think about the quality of that, whether Rango is your favorite movie or you don’t like it, the quality of it was like, wow, right? So, we are reaching for something very spectacular.”
Di Bonavenutra then went into detail about why ILM are the perfect studio for an undertaking such as this:
“You know, I think one of the difficulties in the past, for instance, in rendering Cybertron is, if you have to try to create the whole planet, it gets really expensive. So when you look at the intro in the beginning of Bumblebee, or in [Michael Bay’s] movies, we have different versions of it. This thing has to be a living, breathing environment, and so we have to create an environment that is unique to Cybertron, and given the history of Primus and all the things that go behind it, we’re allowed to inhabit, if you would, the planet in a way you couldn’t do it in live-action. Thankfully, ILM is a great partner in that.”
The currently untitled animated Transformers film is set to be released on the big screen on July 19th, 2024. As always, we’ll be sure to keep you posted. For now, you can check out more Cybertronian goodness right here.
Are you excited to visit Cybertron? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
Days until Transformers: Rise of the Beasts– 45 Days
The upcoming sequel from Paramount Pictures is directed by Steven Caple Jr and stars Anthony Ramos, Dominique Fishback, and Luna Lauren Velez. In addition to that, the legend that is Peter Cullen will be back to voice the great Optimus Prime alongside Ron Perlman who will voice Optimus Primal, a transforming gorilla and leader of the Maximals.
The cast also includes Peter Dinklage (Scourge), Liza Koshy (Arcee), John DiMaggio (Stratosphere), David Sobolov (Rhinox/Battletrap), Michaela Jaé Rodriguez (Nightbird), Cristo Fernández (Wheeljack), and Tobe Nwigwe (Reek), Michelle Yeoh (Airazor), and Pete Davidson (Mirage).
