Based off of the famous Hasbro toy line, Michael Bay's 2007 live-action Transformers film took the world by storm, instantly becoming a box office success and setting up numerous sequels. While Bay's explosive multi-billion dollar franchise contained some eye-popping action sequences (and of course a witty breakout performance from Shia LaBeouf), behind all of the mayhem lied bloated stories filled with dull human characters, leaving little room for any emotional attachment.
So when Kubo and the Two Strings' Travis Knight took over in 2018 to helm a much needed, sort of soft reboot titled Bumblebee, which had a more tenderhearted retro approach in a story set in 1987 involving the fan-favorite yellow Autobot, the film was met with critical praise (currently fresh on rotten tomatoes with a 90%). Much of that is due to the fresh voice that replaced Bay's total control of a once-beloved animated series. While it still presented some thrilling action sequences (including an epic opening battle on Cybertron), they didn't feel mindless or take away from the compelling story. With engaging characters and a sweet story involving the budding relationship between Bumblebee and a headstrong, charismatic character played by Hailee Steinfeld, the film had something that was missing from the last 5 films: a heart.
So when it was announced that Bumblebee would get a sequel, audiences could actually look forward to something far interesting and not just explosions and quick cuts occurring every 30 seconds. Although Knight decided to return to his animation studio Laika, he still acknowledged that he had a few ideas of where a sequel could head. Paramount was initially working on two different Transformers scripts, one being written by The Amazing Spider-Man's James Vanderbilt, who was developing ideas for a Bumblebee sequel, and the other by Obi-Wan Kenobi's Joby Harold, who was hinting at the introduction of characters from the popular Beast Wars franchise. With Creed 2's Steven Caple Jr. hopping on board to direct Harold's script in November 2020, it was eventually announced Paramount would combine both ideas (Vanderbilt's Bumblebee sequel ideas and Harold's Beast Wars) into one film.
Now known as Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, it was confirmed that the 7th installment would feature a Beast Wars storyline but now with a twist. The Beast Wars storyline is essentially the same endless conflict between Autobots and Decepticons but focused on their time-traveling descendants who become the Maximals (Autobots, protagonists) and Predacons (Decepticons, antagonists). While these descendants will of course play a major role, Caple Jr.'s version will see Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, and other Autobots appear alongside the new Predacons, Terrorcons, and Maximals, deviating a little bit from the original animated series. With a fresh plot, an exciting new cast, and a clearer vision, this is how the next Transformers film will succeed.
Focus More On The Transformers
Going back to Bay's films, while they did provide the necessary action one would expect in a Transformers film, they didn't take the time to really focus and develop the Transformers. Autobots and Decepticons are more than just gigantic warriors dueling it out epic battles, but rather flawed robots who have been traumatized by their endless war. There is so much history surrounding the Transformers' origins, like their home planet Cybertron for instance, that was barely explored in Bay's films or even their great exploration through deep space.
Since the Maximals and Predacons are involved with time travel and in a race to claim valuable assets, both sides eventually wind up on Earth during prehistoric times. Their story happened before humans existed to make cars for them to copy and disguise themselves as, so the robots instead take the form of various animals (Maximals as mammals and Predacons as reptiles). Adapting this intriguing Beast Wars concept and abandoning the repetitive storylines seen in Bay's films will serve as a much-needed reinvention to keep this franchise going.
Having A Smaller Group Of Compelling Human Characters
While characters like Sam Witwicky were the everyman that helped ground the large-scale story, the human characters tend to be the least exciting parts about these films, as many of them (as seen in Bay's films) offer little character development or no humanity for audiences to become invested in. And even though humans will not be removed entirely from this upcoming narrative, as Hamilton and In the Heights’ Anthony Ramos and Judas and the Black Messiah's Dominique Fishback have already been cast, writing a smaller group of interesting characters that add weight and contain arcs instead of countless forgettable ones can elevate the film as a whole.
Audiences have witnessed it be done with Steinfeld's character in Bumblebee, so why not incorporate those types of compelling human characters in this new film? Even if the story spends a decent portion on the humans, as it will center around Optimus Prime in 1994 Brooklyn and will feature Ramos and Fishback as a pair of archaeologists who become wrapped up in the ancient conflict involving the different factions of Transformers, knowing Caple Jr.'s experience writing compelling characters should lessen the all of the worries. His work on Creed 2 is a great example, as Caple Jr. was able to turn the cartoonish Dragos into compelling, 3-dimensional antagonists that almost had fans rooting for them more than they were for Rocky and Adonis. Whether Caple Jr. can pull it off or not, it's refreshing to finally see some new stories and perspectives be put into this franchise.