Paramount working on two 'Transformers' projects, 'Beast Wars' spin-off movie to be one of them
The 'Transformers' franchise is easily one of the biggest IPs in the industry, the gift that never stops giving. Sure, the movies have been a bit of a mixed bag when compared to the animated shows and other adaptations of the 1980s toyline but it looks like Paramount still plans on pushing ahead with more 'Transformers' movies in the coming years.
Deadline reports that two 'Transformers' projects are in the works at Paramount, one written by James Vanderbilt ('Independence Day: Resurgence') and the other being penned by 'John Wick: Chapter3 — Parabellum' and 'Army of the Dead' writer Joby Harold. One of the movies will be based in the same universe as the latest 'Transformers' movie 'Bumblebee' but it's the other one that's really got our attention.
Reports suggest that the Vanderbilt film will be an adaptation of the 'Transformers' spin-off 'Beast Wars', which features animal-themed transformations for the shape-changing aliens who are at the center of the story. 'Beast Wars' is a bit of a generational divider in the 'Transformers' fandom, with those who grew up with the 1990s animated show 'Beast Wars: Transformers' hailing it as some of the best stories in the franchise while others have been less than enthusiastic.
The 'Beast Wars' equivalent to Optimus Prime, dubbed Optimus Primal, is either one of the greatest versions of the hero or a disgrace depending on who you might ask, with his detractors, usually older fans, often using the phrase "Trukk not Munky" to say that their Optimus transformed into a truck and not a monkey, which apparently made Primal less appealing to them. Of course, that hasn't stopped the character from becoming an integral part of the franchise's lore.
It's still early days for both projects so the studio hasn't found directors for either movie and as it stands, we don't have any details about what the plots are going to be like. But we can't deny that there's plenty of potential here for great content and we'll all be eagerly waiting to see what becomes of these projects.