Transformers have come a long way since their toy line was first released in the 1980s - having become a global movie franchise over the past decade - and now one producer wants to give the series' starring character a movie of his own. The first Transformers spin-off film, Bumblebee, will hit theaters this December, and that could pave the way for Optimus Prime to get his own solo movie down the line as well.
The Transformers toy line started in 1984 with Optimus Prime being the leader of the Autobots. That year was the beginning of not only the Transformers toy line but also for the comic books and the animated series, which was simply titled The Transformers. Throughout the '80s, Peter Cullen became synonymous with the voice of Optimus Prime. His voice became so iconic that he was cast as Optimus Prime again when Michael Bay created the first of many Transformers movies starting in 2007. So, it's possible that he's earned the right to have his own movie.
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When talking with EW, Transformers producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura revealed that many changes were made to Bumblebee in hopes of saving the franchise. Bonaventura continues to say that Bumblebee was chosen for the first solo movie because of his current popularity among fans, but when talking about eventually making an Optimus Prime film, he commented, “I’d certainly like to do that. It would be a very different kind of movie than a Bumblebee movie, but equally interesting and different.” While an Optimus Prime film sounds like it could eventually happen, it all depends on how Bumblebee performs at the end of this year.
Bumblebee stars Hailee Steinfeld as a young woman named Charlie Watson, who finds Bumblebee after he uses a junkyard in a beach town of California as a safe haven. John Cena also stars in the film as a Sector 7 agent named Agent Burns. Although not a lot of information is currently known about Cena's character, given his current star status, it's safe to assume he will have a significant role in the film. Also set to return is Cullen as the voice of Optimus Prime. While the Transformers films have run into some trouble in recent years, Bumblebee could potentially reboot the franchise if pulled off correctly.
The Transformers franchise may have started off with somewhat decent reviews and success with audiences, Transformers 5 set a record low for the entire series, thus forcing Paramount Pictures to rethink their strategy going forward. Transformers has needed a reboot for quite some time now, and making spinoff films may just be the way to do it. Moviegoers have seen their fair share of spinoff films ranging from the X-Men to Star Wars, but nothing is ever a guaranteed success in Hollywood.
Even with the films having lackluster reviews as of late, Transformers has a huge fan base especially overseas in China. And with Optimus Prime being one of the most popular and recognizable Transformers characters, it would make sense for him to be the next one to get a spinoff movie - given Bumblebee does well in theaters.
More: Bumblebee Movie: Every Update You Need to Know
Source: EW
