Transformers: Rise of the Beasts‘ Autobots are joined by even more exciting transformers in the form of the heroic Maximals and the villainous Decepticons, making for a huge ensemble of robots in disguise. Rise of the Beasts is a sequel to 2018’s Bumblebee, subsequently serving as a soft-reboot of Michael Bay’s previous five Transformers films. As a result, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts moved away from the tried and tested conflict between the Autobots and the Decepticons.
The Autobots make a return in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, though with a new ally in the form of the Maximals. With the Autobots facing off against the Decepticons in all five of Bay’s Transformers movies and Bumblebee, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts also takes a deviation from the franchise formula by focusing on the Terrorcons as its villains, with Megatron nowhere in sight. There are many different Autobot, Maximal, and Terrorcon characters included in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, including a new antagonist for upcoming live-action Transformers movies.
Related Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts Cast Guide (What The Characters Look Like In Real Life)
The Transformers: Rise of the Beasts cast includes both returning actors from the previous films, like Peter Cullen, and newcomers like Anthony Ramos.
Autobots
The Autobots have been the protagonists of the Transformers series since the franchise’s inception in the 1980s. They have appeared across various mediums, from the toy line of Transformers to the animated films and shows of the 80s/90s and the live-action series beginning with Bay’s Transformers in 2007. As expected, the Autobots return in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, marking the faction’s next appearance in live-action cinema before they will next be seen in the animated world with Transformers One.
15 Optimus Prime
Vehicle Form: Big Rig Truck
Close
Leading the Autobots into battle once again is Optimus Prime. Prime has been the leader of the faction since the franchise began, serving as the heroic, caring commander of the Autobots, dedicated to battling against the evil Decepticons and various other enemies. In Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, Prime returns as the Transformers’ leader in a conflict against a new enemy, the Terrorcons, on Earth in the 1990s.
His goal is also to reassemble an ancient key that will help the Autobots return to their home on Cybertron. Sporting his red and blue semi-truck form once again, Optimus Prime is voiced by the iconic Peter Cullen in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts who began voicing the character back in the 1980s. There’s also a scene in the film where Optimus’ “unmasked” face can be seen and the look was designed after Cullen himself.
14 Bumblebee
Vehicle Form: Chevrolet Camaro
Close
Following the 2007 film, it could be argued that the most popular Transformer after Optimus Prime is Bumblebee, who returns in Transformers: Ruse of the Beasts. Bumblebee has been one of the protagonists of the Transformers franchise since its inception, particularly showcased during the Michael Bay movies and in getting his own spin-off in 2018’s Bumblebee.
The Autobot transforms into a black and yellow Chevrolet Camaro and is a scout who calls the rest of the Autobots to Earth after the events of Bumblebee, setting up Rise of the Beasts. As in Bay’s movies, Rise of the Beasts features a voiceless Bumblebee. In this film, Bumblebee is killed by Scourge early on, resulting in one of the franchise’s most emotional moments. However, he returns later when the key is used and helps turn the tide of the climactic battle, further cementing him as a hero.
13 Mirage
Vehicle Form: 911 Carrera RS 3.8
Close
Mirage is one of the new additions to the live-action Transformers films among the Rise of the Beasts Autobots, which tends to happen throughout these movies as the team is rarely consistent. Though he’s pulled directly from various animated Transformers shows and movies, he’s a bit different in this film. Mirage is an Autobot spy who is capable of projecting other versions of himself to confuse and distract his enemies, enabling him to be adept at his espionage work.
In Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, Mirage is voiced by Pete Davidson, and the character strikes up a friendship with Anthony Ramos’ Noah Diaz during the battle against the Terrorcons. Although he’s not one of the main two heroic Autobots, his role in the film is pivotal and he gets to be part of the fun mid-credits scene where he transforms in front of Reek, a human who was unaware that Transformers were real.
Related 13 Transformers: Rise of the Beasts Easter Eggs & Franchise References
From subtle references to Bumblebee’s past to callbacks to the original Transformers cartoon, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts has many easter eggs.
12 Arcee
Vehicle Form: Ducati Motorcycle
Arcee is a female Autobot voiced by Liza Koshy in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. Among the Autobot ranks, Arcee is a sharpshooter who can transform into a red-white Ducati motorcycle. That allows her to stand out from fellow Autobots who mostly transform into cars, thanks, or other four-wheeled vehicles. Like Mirage, Rise of the Beasts is Arcee’s first appearance in live-action Transformers, after appearing at length in the earlier series and movies.
Arcee is typically known as the most famous female Autobot due to her frequent appearances. The character is shown as immensely loyal to Optimus Prime and the Autobots, fighting to no end alongside her comrades and the Maximals. She was initially set to debut in 2007’s Transformers movie but was held back due to potential confusion about how a female Transformer could exist (via Slash Film).
11 Wheeljack
Vehicle Form: Volkswagen Minivan
Wheeljack serves as the lead scientist and mechanic of the Autobots in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, which is not a new position on the team. Wheeljack somewhat takes the role of Ratchet from the previous Transformers live-action films, who served a similar purpose, further proving how these teams are not consistent. That said, Wheeljack has been known to invent new weapons and gadgets in other media so it’s a fitting role for him.
In Rise of the Beasts, Wheeljack is voiced by Cristo Fernández and transforms into a brown and white Volkswagen minivan. The character has humorous interactions with Ramos’ Noah, due to the Autobot’s Latin-American accent and Noah’s similar upbringing, helping them to bond. Wheeljack is also a character who the teams find at the temple in Peru where they find the key.
10 Stratosphere
Vehicle Form: Heavy Jet
The final Autobot to appear in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is Stratosphere. This Autobot is an air soldier who provides transportation for the rest of the Autobots on their adventure since the character typically transforms into a cargo plane. It’s a new concept in these live-action films and makes sense considering the size of the team and the lengths they have to travel.
With a need to find a key at a hidden temple in Peru, the main characters and fellow Autobots board Stratsophere to get to the location. He doesn’t do much else in terms of the plot, nor does he get much character development as is often the case with these side members of the Autobots but he is part of the climactic battle. In Rise of the Beasts, Stratosphere is voiced by John DiMaggio, a long-time Transformers voice actor.
Maximals
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts sees the first inclusion of the Maximals in live-action Transformers. In the original Beast Wars cartoon — on which Rise of the Beasts is loosely based — the Maximals were the descendants of the Autobots. They were then transported to prehistoric Earth, where they fought in a war against a faction of Transformers named the Predacons. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts sees the Maximals hiding out on Earth in the 1990s, before teaming up with Optimus Prime and the Autobots.
9 Optimus Primal
Animal Form: Gorilla
Close
Optimus Primal is the leader and most powerful of the Maximals. As hinted by the similar name to the Autobot leader, Optimus Primal is part of a lineage descended from the primes albeit within the Maximal faction. This character was the lead in the Beast Wars: Transformers animated series from the 90s and filled the same role as Optimus. To compete with Peter Cullen’s commanding and iconic voice, Optimus Primal is voiced by Ron Perlman in Rise of the Beasts.
The character can transform into a western lowland gorilla, known as Primal’s beast form. Rise of the Beasts focuses more intensely on Optimus Primal than the other Maximals, outlining his history, time living on Earth, and connection with humans. Primal also plays the pivotal role of both killing a corrupted Airazor when Scourge takes her over and saving Optimus Prime from sacrificing himself at the end of the film.
Related Where The Decepticons & Megatron Are In Transformers: Rise of the Beasts
The Decepticons were surprisingly a part of Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’ storyline, but they were eventually cut from the movie – here is why.
8 Airazor
Animal Form: Peregrine Falcon
Close
Another Maximal involved in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is Airazor. The character can transform into a peregrine falcon, meaning she often serves as a lookout for the Maximals before battle yet is also a chief warrior of the faction during conflicts. Airazor’s first live-action appearance is brought to life by the iconic Michelle Yeoh, who provides the voice for the character first introduced in Beast Wars.
Other than Optimus Primal. Airazor gets the most screentime in Rise of the Beasts from the Maximals, serving as the team’s emotional center. She’s also the character who helps bring the two factions together and plays a part in introducing the audience to these characters. That connection makes it more distressing when Airazor is corrupted by the villainous Scourge and has to be killed by Primal, making for one of the more emotional scenes.
7 Cheetor
Animal Form: Cheetah
Close
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts also includes Cheetor as a member of the Maximal faction. As evidenced by the character’s name, Cheetor’s beast form is that of a cheetah, capable of reaching incredible speeds. Cheetor is a character who doesn’t quite have the long, storied history of some other characters like Optimus Prime or Arcee but he was a key character in the Beast Wars: Transformers animated series of the 90s.
In that series, the character was a rookie of sorts who gets on the nerves of his older counterparts but grows throughout the series and eventually gets promoted. That aspect is missing Cheetor in Transformers: Rise of the Beats as he’s more of a side character than anything else. Still, Cheetor proves himself valuable as he serves as the Maximals’ scout and is voiced by Tongayi Chirisa.
6 Rhinox
Animal Form: Rhino
Close
Another Transformer as part of the Maximal roster in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is Rhinox. Again, as proven by the name, Rhinox’s beast form is a white rhinoceros. In Rise of the Beasts, Rhinox serves as the Maximals’ commando, whose supreme size and brute strength allow him to conduct missions in small strike teams with relative ease. That makes him the muscle of the team, which is impressive given they already have Optimus Primal on their roster.
David Sobolov voices Rhinox in the Rise of the Beasts voice cast, one of three characters Sobolov provides voice work for in the film. That said, he ultimately doesn’t speak in the finished product of the film. In Beast Wars: Transformers, Rhinox had a different role as the team’s tech expert who was also Optimus Primal’s second-in-command for a large portion of the story.
Related Why Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts Is A Reboot, Sequel & Prequel
Steven Caple Jr.’s Transformers: Rise of the Beast and seventh installment for the live-action franchise functions as a reboot, sequel, and prequel.
5 Apelinq
Animal Form: Gorilla
The opening scene of Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is set on the Maximals’ homeworld. Unfortunately, the world is being destroyed by Unicron, forcing Optimus Primal and his allies to flee. One Maximal that stays behind is Apelinq, another Transformer able to turn into a gorilla. Apelinq is the second character voiced by Sobolov and gives his life to delay Scourge while his Maximal allies escape to find refuge on Earth.
Apelinq was created after the success of the Beast Machines: Transformers series in fiction designed for the annual Transformers convention, BotCon. When he sacrifices himself early in the film, he’s actually the leader of the Maximals and it seems that Optimus Primal took over following his death. Although his transformation is similar to Optimus Primal, Apelinq has the unique ability to also sprout retractable blades on his arms.
Terrorcons
Taking over for the Decepticons in live-action Transformers for Rise of the Beasts are the Terrorcons. In the original Transformers lore, Terrorcons were a subset of Decepticons who were often seen as less threatening than their counterparts. Rise of the Beasts though, introduces a new take on the Terrorcons who serve as the film’s primary antagonists.
4 Scourge
Vehicle Form: Customized Peterbilt 359
Close
The leader of the Terrorcons in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is Scourge. Scourge is a bounty hunter who works for Unicron, often sent to do his master’s bidding further proving how important and powerful Unicron is. After destroying his enemies, Scourge tends to remove their emblems, grafting them onto his own body, making him more of a trophy hunter than a bounty hunter.
From the symbols of the Autobots, Maximals, and other Transformers factions, Scourge’s trophy-hunting ways make him one of the more formidable lackeys of Unicron, able to stand toe-to-toe with Optimus Prime throughout the film. He transforms into a black semi-truck, adding to his imposing look. In previous Transformers iterations, he also played a similar second-in-command role to the likes of Galvatron. The main villain, marking a change from the often-used Megatron, Scourge is voiced by Peter Dinklage.
3 Nightbird
Vehicle Form: 1995 Nissan Skyline GT-R
Nightbird is the second-in-command of the Terrorcons, answering directly to Scourge. A ninja-like warrior, Nightbird possesses the ability to transform into a Nissan Skyline GTR car. Her transformer form allows her to have many weapons, including Katans-like weaponry she uses against the Maximals and Autobots during battle. That allows him to stand out from the rest of the Transformers when he’s in action since nobody else really uses that kind of weaponry.
Nightbird is voiced by Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, making Rodriguez the first transgender actress in the franchise’s history to provide a voice for one of the characters. In previous stories, Nightbird was not actually a Transformer and was instead just a ninja robot who was, at one point, stolen by Decepticons and reprogrammed, making her a major antagonist. The changes made for this film made it easier for the character to fit in from a story perspective.
Related Unicron’s Goal In Rise Of The Beasts & What It Means For Transformers 8 & 9
Here’s a breakdown of Unicron’s motives in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts and how the movie sets him up as the main villain for Transformers 8 & 9.
2 Unicron
Alt Form: Planet
Voiced by Colman Domingo, Unicron is introduced in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts as the new antagonist for the franchise. Unicron has a simple goal — the destruction of Earth which is par for the course for the character. It has always been a Transformer the size of a planet who eats other planets, even dating back to the animated movie from the 80s.
Scourge, alongside his army of Predacon and Terrorcons, are how he plans to achieve his goal, and are merely pawns in Unicron’s long-term plan. Fortunately, the Autobots and Maximals manage to stop Unicron, though the threat of him has by no means disappeared. Unicron is gigantic and can transform into a planet. The character was teased in 2017’s Transformers: The Last Knight but with no direct sequel to that film, he was held off until this take on the franchise.
1 Battletrap
Vehicle Form: GMC C70 Tow truck
The film member of the Terrorcons in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is named Battletrap and is the third and final character voiced by David Sobolov in the film. Battletrap transforms into a brown tow truck and is the lead enforcer of the Terrorcons. He is a powerhouse in battle, often used as the main source of muscle besides Scourge in the film’s many combat scenes.
However, in a movie with so many Transformers, not all of them can get significant character development. Battletrap is among those, acting more as a mercenary or henchman than anything else. As such, Battletrap is a menacing if underutilized Terrorcon in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. While he’s given more to work with in other Transformers media, his bloodthirsty nature and skills in a fight made him a fine candidate to give a smaller role to.
Which Movie Has The Most Transformers?
Close
Each Transformers movie introduces a handful of new transformers to the live-action franchise. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is definitely among the transformers movies that features the most newcomers thanks to its inclusion of Beast Wars characters. However, it isn’t the Transformers film that includes the most transformers overall. In fact, Rise of the Beast actually features the fewest on-screen transfotmers in the franchise.
|
Transformers Movie |
Release Year |
Number Of Transformers |
|---|---|---|
|
Transformers |
2007 |
17 |
|
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen |
2009 |
53 |
|
Transformers: Dark of the Moon |
2011 |
45 |
|
Transformers: Age of Extinction |
2014 |
29 |
|
Transformers: The Last Knight |
2017 |
40 |
|
Bumblebee |
2018 |
16 |
|
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts |
2023 |
15 |
The Transformers movie with the most transformers in it is 2009’s Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, which has a grand total of 53 individual transformers. This includes some used for joke/gimmick purposes, such as the various household appliances that transform when the All Spark falls through Sam Whitwhicky’s ceiling into the kitchen, but these don’t make up anywhere near the majority of the vast roster of Autobots and Decepticons.
However, this peak came very early on in the franchise. With the exception of The Last Knight in 2017, Transformers movies have gradually featured fewer and fewer individual transformers. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts may have felt brimming with new transformers, but it was actually far from over-ambitious when it came to shoveling in as many Autobots, Decepticons, and any other Cybertronians of any faction possible.
Your Rating
10 stars9 stars8 stars7 stars6 star5 stars4 stars3 stars2 stars1 star Rate Now 0/10
Your comment has not been saved
9/10 Transformers: Rise of the Beasts PG-13
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is a sci-fi action movie set after the events of 2018’s Bumblebee as a series reboot of sorts and is heavily inspired by the Beast Wars series. The film follows two archaeologists who find themselves following the heroic Autobots as they come face to face with several other tribes of intergalactic transformers.
Where to Watch
- stream
- rent
- buy
Not available
Not available
Not available
*Availability in US Director Steven Caple Jr. Release Date June 9, 2023 Studio(s) Paramount Pictures Cast Anthony Ramos , Dominique Fishback , Domenic Di Rosa