Transformers began off as a Hasbro toy line launched in 1984, with the thought was that the toys all had elements and items that may very well be shifted and rearranged to create one other toy.
That very same 12 months, a Transformers cartoon was launched, depicting the battle between the great Autobots, led by Optimus Prime, and the evil Decepticons, led by Magatron. The sequence made the toy line extremely widespread, and in 1986, the franchise bought its first movie, The Transformers: The Film. Nevertheless, the animated film failed on the field workplace and fell into relative obscurity.
For the following few many years, Transformers continued receiving new cartoon diversifications and straight-to-video films, however in 2007, Michael Bay revived the franchise together with his live-action Transformers film. The unique movie was a large hit, and after grossing greater than $709 million on the field workplace, a sequel quickly adopted. Since then, there’s been a complete of eight Transformers films, with extra on the way in which.
Watching the movies chronologically is usually a bit complicated since two of the most recent films — 2018’s Bumblebee and 2023’s Transformers: Rise of the Beasts — do not comply with continuity and now serve each as prequels and reboots.
Bumblebee used the identical Bumblebee Autobot from the Bay movies, and in a 2018 interview with SlashFilm, producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura stated there have been “20 years” within the timeline between Bumblebee and the 2007 authentic.
However the occasions of that movie and its sequel, Rise of the Beasts, don’t add up with what’s portrayed in Transformers, and by the point Rise of the Beasts premiered in 2023, Bonaventure had modified his tone. Yahoo! News reported from Rise of the Beasts’ Singapore premiere that the producer known as the film a “prequel and sequel,” and director Steven Caple Jr. described it as a “new recent take.”
Here is a information for watching all of the Transformers films by order of launch date and chronologically.
Transformers Motion pictures in Launch Date Order
- Transformers (2007)
- Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)
- Transformers: Darkish of the Moon (2011)
- Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014)
- Transformers: The Final Knight (2017)
- Bumblebee (2018)
- Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023)
- Transformers One (2024)
Transformers Motion pictures in Chronological Order
Transformers One
Courtesy of Paramount Footage
2024’s Transformers One would be the earliest movie within the franchise. Serving as an origin story, the film depicts how archenemies Megatron and Optimus Prime have been as soon as allies and fought side-by-side on the planet Cybertron. Not like the remainder of the franchise, Transformers One is an animated movie. It has a voice forged that features Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, and Brian Tyree Henry.
Bumblebee
The sorta-prequel, sorta-reboot Bumblee is about in 1987, happening earlier than the remainder of the live-action Transformers movies.
Within the film, a younger girl (Hailee Steinfeld) finds an previous VW Beetle, not realizing it’s really the Autobot B-127. The 2 develop into associates and she or he names him Bumblebee. Whereas the Decepticons are within the film, the primary antagonist within the movie is the US navy, who desires to seize Bumblebee.
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts
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Following Bumblebee within the maybe-prequel, maybe-reboot timeline is 2023’s Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. Set in 1994, the film is impressed by the Beast Wars cartoon and sees the Autobots staff up with the animal-like Maximals to maintain Earth secure from the planet-destroying Unicron.
Becoming a member of them is a younger, unassuming New Yorker named Noah (Anthony Ramos), who finds himself in the course of the battle. On the finish of the movie, Noah is then invited to affix the secretive G.I. Joe operation, which opens the doorways for the upcoming Transformers/G.I. Joe crossover movie.
Bonaventura muddled the waters of chronology when speaking to Polygon concerning the film, saying, “For me personally, I believe [continuity’s] overblown, as a result of typically you miss an excellent concept.”
The producer continued, “I believe one of many issues that I discover significantly thrilling about this film is, you get to satisfy Optimus earlier than he’s the character you met in Bay’s movies.”
Watch Transformers: Rise of the Beasts on Paramount+
Transformers
Robert Zuckerman/Dreamworks/Kobal/Shutterstock
2007’s Transformers was the primary live-action movie, however now it sits fourth chronologically. The film stars Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox as two youngsters in Los Angeles who’re swooped up within the battle between the Autobots and Decepticons.
The unique film reveals the Autobots touchdown on Earth and taking their shapes as vehicles, which contradicts the occasions in Rise of the Beasts. The film was a large hit, grossing over $709 million on the field workplace.
Watch Transformers on Paramount+
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
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In 2009, Transformers obtained a sequel with Revenge of the Fallen.
Within the movie, the Decepticons are out for revenge, and even worse, there’s a good larger evil than Megatron to take care of: The Fallen. The Autobots should cease the Decepticons and The Fallen from gaining extra energy and destroying Earth.
Revenge of the Fallen was Fox’s final Transformers film after she was fired from the third movie for having points with director Michael Bay.
Rent Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen on Prime Video
Transformers: Darkish of the Moon
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In Transformers: Darkish of the Moon, it’s revealed that NASA has identified a couple of crashed alien spaceship on the darkish facet of the moon for many years. It’s then found that it’s really an Autobot ship containing the Sentinel, the previous chief of the Autobots predating Optimus Prime.
However the Sentinel has made a take care of the Decepticons, sacrificing Earth to guard their Cybertronian residence planet.
This time round, LaBeouf reprised his function, and Fox was changed by Rosie Huntington-Whiteley.
Watch Transformers: Dark of the Moon on Paramount+
Transformers: Age of Extinction
In 2014, Transformers utterly swapped out its forged, with Mark Wahlberg, Stanley Tucci and Nicola Peltz Beckham starring. Regardless of the revamped lineup, the movie was nonetheless directed by Bay and continued the official timeline.
Age of Extinction picks up after Chicago was destroyed in Darkish of the Moon, throughout a time when people now view the robots as harmful. A secret navy company has additionally been created to destroy each Cybertronian, so the Autobots should struggle off Decepticons and the navy to outlive.
Incomes over $1.1 billion on the field workplace, Age of Extinction was the highest-grossing film of 2014.
Watch Transformers: Age of Extinction on Paramount+
Transformers: The Final Knight
The final movie chronologically is 2017’s The Final Knight. Within the film, Optimus Prime is brainwashed into turning into a villain and a livid battle ensues for Merlin’s Employees, with the Autobots and Dinobots competing in opposition to the Decepticons and navy who’re competing in opposition to Optimus Prime.
After the earlier movie dominated the 2014 field workplace, many thought-about The Final Knight to be a thinly plotted, hole movie that jumped the shark. The film earned just a bit over $605 million, making it the lowest-grossing Transformers film on the time of its launch.
