‘Transformers One’ & Chris Hemsworth Fire Off Comic-Con 2024

“If we did this as a live-action movie, it would probably cost $500M,” said Transformers One producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura about the Paramount Animation and Hasbro title that kicked off Comic-Con 2024 today.

Talking about why the origin story of Megatron and Optimus Prime went animated instead of live-action, di Bonaventura added: “What has been tricky in live-action is that every time a robot talks, it costs a lot of money. In animation, you can have them build out their character.”

Watch the just-released Transformers One trailer below.

The clip showed off a race at the Olympics of Cybertron, painting what life is like on the planet. Orion Pax aka Optimus Prime (Chris Hemsworth) wants to enter it, but D-16 aka Megatron (Brian Tyree Henry) does not. They’re part of a Miners pact, a group that isn’t permitted in the race. We get a look at Sentinel Prime (Jon Hamm) addressing the crowd about the battle that killed the other Primes and the veterans of it. The race fires off, and Orion Pax and Optimus Prime are dropped into it. There’s also a shot of Scarlett Johansson’s character of Alita.

Also on the dais was Keegan-Michael Key, who plays B-127. The character, who will ultimately becomes Bumblebee, gets to talk a lot during the pic, and director Josh Cooley said that’s 100% intentional. And of course, Henry and Hemsworth were in tow.

Prepping to play two friends, Hemsworth joked that he and Henry slept in “bunk beds.”

Important for Hemsworth was “unlocking the history around the fact that they were friends, and how do two best friends become immortal enemies?”

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He added, “The first time I’ve done animation – it’s really exciting to see all the pieces come together – beautiful script, fun relationship to work on.”

While the two actors individually voiced scenes, they’d get to see what the other did so as to influence their performance, per Hemsworth.

“It’s heartbreaking when they break up,” teased Cooley.

He said an important element to the story centers on “the T-Cog,” a device that enables them to transform. In the movie, “there’s a whole generation of Transformers born without it,” said the director.

Which led to the second clip showing Alpha Trion (Laurence Fishburne in a Morpheus-like role) giving the Transformers their T-Cogs. “What defines the Transformer is not in their chest but the spark that gives them the will to make the world better. My fellow Primes had that spark, and I see their strength in you,” booms Alpha. Di Bonaventura spoke about calling Fishburne up for the part; the former Warner Bros. studio boss was behind the original 1999 Matrix movie.

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The third clip introduced Steve Buscemi as Starscream, in which the villain exclaims that the “idea of a unified Cybertron is a myth.” We see D-16 and Starscream fight, with the former choking him. Orion Pax breaks up the fight. D-16 gives an evil glare at the end of the sequence, presaging what’s to come with character’s transformation.

Said Cooley about his prep: “Hasbro gave me the bible of Transformers, this Tolkien-length history – so much to play with, a huge sandbox. I wanted the feeling of what it was like to play with the toys as a kid, that feeling of nostalgia and joy trying to make these things work.”

One silly highlight from the panel saw Key singing the first two stanzas of the Transformers theme song. “Transformers, more than meets the eye,” he crooned. “But do you know this second part?” the actor asked the packed Hall H before singing, “Autobots wage their battle to destroy the evil forces of…The Decepticons!”

Few in Hall H sang along. “Good, now we know who’s over 40,” joked Key.

Johansson wasn’t at the panel as she’s busy filming the next Jurassic World.

Here’s the new trailer: