The Transformers franchise continues with Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, and here is how the movie fits into the complicated timeline. The multi-billion dollar movie franchise is in the midst of a reset after five movies from director Michael Bay. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is the latest example of how Paramount is pushing the franchise in new directions, as the film finally brings the fan-favorite Beast Wars characters to the screen. The inclusion of familiar Autobots like Optimus Prime and Bumblebee helps connect Transformers 7 to the other entries in the franchise due to their leading roles.
Despite their returns, questions about if Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is a prequel in the movie timeline remain. The answer is not that simple due to the Transformers franchise's timeline. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is a prequel to Michael Bay's movies, but it takes place after the events of Bumblebee. Whereas Bay's movies took place in the late 2000s and early 2010s, Bumblebee happened in 1987. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts takes place seven years later in 1994, making it both a prequel and sequel to various entries in the larger Transformers franchise.
Why Rise Of The Beasts Is A Prequel To Bay's Transformers Movies (& Not A Sequel)
The decision to make Transformers: Rise of the Beasts a prequel to Michael Bay's Transformers movies points to Paramount's plans for the franchise. While the studio did not move forward with plans for a true Bumblebee sequel, the idea of doing films set in the past allows the franchise to bank on nostalgia a bit more. This means including characters not yet introduced, like Transformers 7's Optimus Primal, but it also means keeping the G1 designs for Optimus Prime and Bumblebee that Bumblebee featured.
Instead of trying to build a future for the franchise after Michael Bay's Transformers movies, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is a chance for the series to fill in some gaps. This will not be without some serious retcons as Bumblebee proved, but it gives the movies a fairly fresh reset. Any entry that takes place after Transformers: The Last Knight would technically be a sequel to Michael Bay's movies and have to make sense of where it left the franchise. Going back in the Transformers timeline to make more prequels is the smarter move.
What Rise Of The Beasts' Timeline Means For The Transformers Franchise
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts' prequel timeline setting is very important for the franchise's future. Paramount already has plans for the movie to launch a new Transformers trilogy. The two planned sequels should also then be prequels to Michael Bay's movies. Depending on how long much time they cover, the films could even lead audiences fairly close up to when the original 2007 film begins. It also means the arrival of the Maximals, Predacons, and Terrorcons will predate anything that unfolded before. This does indicate that Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, and others will be safe through the trilogy as they must still be around in the timeline for Michael Bay's movies.
