Paramount delays Transformers: Rise of the Beasts release date to summer 2023. After giving Michael Bay control of the Transformers franchise for nearly a decade, Paramount began shifting the series in a new direction following Transformers: The Last Knight's release. This led to the development of Bumblebee and plans to reboot the franchise. The studio spent a few years developing different ideas for the following main installment of the series before finalizing a deal with Steven Caple Jr. (Creed II) to direct Transformers 7 and bring Beast Wars characters to life.
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts stars Anthony Ramos (In the Heights) and Dominique Fishback (Judas and the Black Messiah), as the franchise is introducing new human characters to go along with its fresh direction. It will follow them in a 1994-set story that involves Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, and other G1 designed Autobots. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts will also excitingly introduce Optimus Primal and new Transformers factions: Predacons, Terrorcons, and Maximals. With principal photography wrapping in October 2021, all signs pointed to Transformers 7 speeding towards its previously announced summer 2022 release date.
As part of an announcement updating the studio's release slate, Paramount Pictures confirmed Transformers: Rise of the Beasts has been pushed back almost a full year. Originally set to debut exclusively in theaters on June 24, 2022, Paramount has delayed the film until June 9, 2023. No explanation has been given for why Transformers 7 was delayed a full year at this time.
Transformers 7's release date delay is quite curious, considering its previous placement in the 2022 slate. It was scheduled to come out two weeks after Jurassic World: Dominion and a week after Pixar's Lightyear, but it had its opening weekend all to itself practically. Theoretically, it could've had success in this spot, especially since no major movie was coming out in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts' previous second weekend. Instead, the movie will now debut in theaters during the second week of Shazam: Fury of the Gods' release and a week before an untitled Pixar film.
Although Transformers fans are likely to be disappointed that the wait for Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is now another year longer, it will hopefully be for the best. This gives Paramount and Caple Jr. plenty of time to complete the film in post-production. One massive benefit of this could be the VFX teams being given even more time to finish the CGI-heavy movie. It should also give Transformers: Rise of the Beasts additional time to do any reshoots, if necessary, and deliver the best film possible.
Source: Paramount
