The next installment in the Transformers film franchise, now titled Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, will introduce famous Beast Wars characters. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts will be directed by Steven Caple Jr. (Creed 2) and will take place in 1994 in New York. The film will star Anthony Ramos (In The Heights) and Dominique Fishback (Judas and the Black Messiah) with Peter Cullen reprising his role as Optimus Prime.

The Transformers franchise has seen a number of different incarnations over the years, with one of the more popular among fans being the Beast Wars incarnation of the characters that featured the descendants of the Autobots and the Decepticons, the Maximals and the Predacons, respectively. The animated series Beast Wars: Transformers ran from 1996 to 1999 and was one of the first computer-animated television to air on television. It has been a popular part of the Transformers lore and the next film in the popular film franchise will feature some fan favorites from Beast Wars.

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Paramount Pictures revealed that the leader of the Maximals, Optimus Primal, will be in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. The film will also feature Air-Razor, who does recon and surveillance for the Maximals, and popular Maximal Rhinox, who transforms into a rhinoceros. While no others were announced, with the introduction of the villainous Predacons there are bound to be more Beast Wars characters set to appear.

Transformers War for Cyberton Kingdom

The news of the Maximals and Predacons' arrival into the Transformers film franchise comes as the Beast Wars celebrates its 25 year anniversary. Ahead of the news that Transformers: Rise of the Beasts would feature characters from the Beast Wars franchise, it appeared Hasbro was pushing to reintroduce the brand. The third and final season of Transformers: War for Cybertron will feature a crossover with Beast Wars characters as the Maximals and Predacons join the series.

Introducing the Beast Wars characters in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts keeps with the previous entries introducing various new factions in each sequel. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen introduced the Constructicons who combined to form Devastator while Transformers: Age of Extinction introduced the popular Dinobots to the franchise. Transformers: The Last Knight laid the groundwork to introduce Unicron, but the film's disappointing box-office results made Paramount rethink their approach to the franchise. Bumblebee introduced the concept of triple changers, so the addition of the Beast Wars characters is the natural next evolution of the Transformers franchise.

Next: How Beast Wars Can Save Transformers (& Fit Into The Movies)

Source: Paramount Pictures