Transformers: Rise of the Beasts shows how much Bumblebee re-invigorated the Transformers big-screen franchise. Rise of the Beasts will hit theaters on June 9, 2023, as the seventh chapter of the Transformers movies. Taking place in 1994, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is set to be a follow-up to the franchise makeover that 2018’s Bumblebee provided, which is a wise move.
Michael Bay's Transformers movies were box office hits but had a very mixed reception. Bumblebee was a more moderate box office success than its predecessors, but more importantly, it was the best-received of the Transformers movies, critically. Though Rise of the Beasts seems to be a relatively standalone Transformers movie, it is following the template set by Bumblebee.
Bumblebee Was A Turning Point For The Transformers Movies
Compared to the bombast of the first five Transformers movies, Bumblebee had a much smaller scale, E.T.-like story set in 1987 that sent the franchise in a new direction. The titular Autobot's heartwarming bond with the young heroine Charlie (Hailee Steinfeld) made the prequel film a more down to Earth tale. Bumblebee's inability to speak also made it the most humanized Transformers movie while its late ‘80s setting added to its charm as a nostalgic tribute to the heyday of the toys and cartoons.
At the same time, Bumblebee did not shortchange audiences on the Autobots versus Decepticons action that they were expecting. That said, the more compartmentalized scale of the story made the stakes more intimate and appreciable, with the audience only having a handful of Transformers to keep up with in Bumblebee, Shatter, and Dropkick. Bumblebee’s transformation of the Transformers movies was never meant to be a repudiation of what came before, but more of a soft reboot into a lighter tone, which it succeeded at greatly.
Rise Of The Beasts Continues Bumblebee's Transformers Changes
Though Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is downplaying Bumblebee, the movie's 1994 setting already shows it going for a nostalgic romp similar to the last movie. Meanwhile, its trailer shows the designs of the Autobots, Maximals, and Terrocons are following the action figure-like re-design that Bumblebee gave to its heroic Autobot. Bumblebee’s own design has evidently been maintained from his solo movie, and the action scenes shown in the trailer have plenty of the weight seen in that previous installment.
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts has commonalities with Bay’s movies, too, with the trailer showing a fair amount of the modern edge and military grit he injected into the franchise. While Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is primarily influenced by Bumblebee, it seems to also be finding a nice middle ground between that movie's ‘80s warmth and a larger Beast Wars-style story. In any case, Bumblebee's revamping of the franchise could lead to Transformers: Rise of the Beasts completing that rebound in an ensemble story.
