The Energon Pub

[Sabrblade]

WFC already did some multiverse storytelling

Wait, what?

"G1" and BW got mixed in the same universe, or rather, the same time period.
It's not really "multiverse", but it's kinda it.

That was just time travel, just like in the old Beast Wars cartoon.

Oh?
Because inside the cover of a Siege Select set (Space trooper or something) there was a map of all the planets and the "Beast planet" was one of them.

Don't know what that is, but the WFC cartoon went with the old "Maximals and Predacons travel back in time from Cybertron in the far future" that Beast Wars originally did. Guess you really do need to watch it, so that, if nothing else, you can know what all really happens in it and can form your own opinion of it (or, to also use it as a point of reference for how not to make a Transformers series whenever someone comes along and says they want "no humor" in Transformers).

[Supreme Convoy]

I thought Transformers One was fun!

I was basically that Rick Dalton meme throughout the movie.

Amazing, using that for the review cover.

Ha! Glad folks like it.

[ScottyP]

I'm liking what I'm hearing, er reading. Looking foward to seeing it.

And which producer was banned? Was it Murphy?

I think so, but am not 100% sure. This was before my time here.

Yep, it was Murphy. Ancient history!

[Sabrblade]

[#1 Signal Lancer fan]

Do we know one way or another at this point if this is in-continuity with the live action movies? My guess would be it's not, but I haven't been able to find a confirmed answer online.

I guess Sentinel Prime's role in this movie could be a big tell given what we know about his character from DotM.

[Sabrblade]

Do we know one way or another at this point if this is in-continuity with the live action movies? My guess would be it's not, but I haven't been able to find a confirmed answer online.

I guess Sentinel Prime's role in this movie could be a big tell given what we know about his character from DotM.

This will be easier to discuss once everyone has seen the movie, but for now I can say for certain that this movie is impossible to fit with either ROTF or DOTM. A sequel could potentially tie it back in with the 2007 movie at the very least, and possibly with Bumblebee and ROTB, but it's completely irreconcilable with the sequel films.

Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura keeps giving conflicting information about this movie's relation to the live-action movies. For the longest time he kept saying it was a prequel to the live-action films, but then in a September 12 article on ComicBook.com, he said "I think it'd be really hard and complicated to have a direct link [to the live-action movies]," and "You want to do something different, and you also see where it can be successful. I think that's where the two universes help each other. You can see what works, and you can do that in either one. The fun of it for me, as a filmmaker, is keeping them separate."

This makes TF One sound like a separate continuity altogether. BUT THEN, in an article on ScreenRant that was published today, this was stated:

Screen Rant: Is Transformers One considered a prequel to the recent movies of Bumblebee and Rise of the Beast or the original live-action film starting in 2007? Or is it something completely, entirely new?

Lorenzo di Bonaventura: It obviously exists beforehand. I think we figured it out. It was like 300 million years before the first Michael Bay movie, so if that's a prequel, that's a prequel. But we're really following the lore about where it starts, and so we really just think about it as the beginning of the story. The origin, yes, but literally the beginning of the thing that we've all come to appreciate.

Make up you mind, Lorenzo!

At the moment, the 2007 movie seems to occupy two separate timelines: a "Sequel continuity" (2007 + ROTF to TLK) and a "Prequel continuity" (2007 + BB & ROTB), with TLK being the problematic one keeping all seven films from fitting together neatly.

Depending on what future developments are made by later movies, we could end up with any of the following situations:

• The films could continue on their respective paths with the current status quo of the live-action sequels, the live-action prequels, and TF One and its sequels all remaining separate from each other (this option feels the most likely to happen).
• A TF One sequel could work to reconnect it back with the 2007 movie and its two prequels, while remaining distinct from the live-action Sequel Continuity.
• A new live-action movie could jump through hoops to try and reconcile Bumblebee and ROTB with the live-action sequel movies, TLK included, leaving TF One and its sequels unable to reconnect with any of the live-action films at all.
• A combination of the second and third options, which would mean 2007, Bumblebee, and ROTB would occupy two timelines, one with the sequels (BB-ROTB-2007-ROTF-DOTM-AOE-TLK) and one with TF One (One-BB-ROTB-2007). This, however, is the messiest option, so we can only hope that this option does not happen.

[ScottyP]

Do we know one way or another at this point if this is in-continuity with the live action movies? My guess would be it's not, but I haven't been able to find a confirmed answer online.

I guess Sentinel Prime's role in this movie could be a big tell given what we know about his character from DotM.

DotM is the one big major problem. Without giving anything away, there are two major points of conflict, and one of those is even still a big issue even taking the continuity loosely and in broad strokes.

If you really dive into the details, TF One is its own thing right now. Probably has more in common with Aligned continuity than anything, but also borrows ideas from G1, Cybertron/Galaxy Force and others.

In other words, it's like Bumblebee and RotB. If you want it to count, don't think too hard about it (or at all, the producers didn't) and ignore one major thing with "eh something else happens later that we don't know about yet". If you don't want it to be in continuity, ok, you can assume it isn't and it won't impact your enjoyment.

[#1 Signal Lancer fan]

but also borrows ideas from G1, Cybertron/Galaxy Force and others.

The Cybertron/Galaxy Force bit is exciting. While I recognize how flawed it is, Cybertron is one of my favorite Transformers cartoons.

[Sabrblade]

but also borrows ideas from G1, Cybertron/Galaxy Force and others.

The Cybertron/Galaxy Force bit is exciting. While I recognize how flawed it is, Cybertron is one of my favorite Transformers cartoons.

Having seen the movie myself, I'm honestly not quite sure what Scotty is referring to, specifically, in regards to the movie borrowing from Cybertron. Sure, there might be something in there, but I don't recall anything major from it being in the movie.

[ScottyP]

but also borrows ideas from G1, Cybertron/Galaxy Force and others.

The Cybertron/Galaxy Force bit is exciting. While I recognize how flawed it is, Cybertron is one of my favorite Transformers cartoons.

Having seen the movie myself, I'm honestly not quite sure what Scotty is referring to, specifically, in regards to the movie borrowing from Cybertron. Sure, there might be something in there, but I don't recall anything major from it being in the movie.

It is very quick, temper expectations Signal Lancer! Sabr - Big Primus robot mode for Cybertron is what I was alluding to.

[Sabrblade]

but also borrows ideas from G1, Cybertron/Galaxy Force and others.

The Cybertron/Galaxy Force bit is exciting. While I recognize how flawed it is, Cybertron is one of my favorite Transformers cartoons.

Having seen the movie myself, I'm honestly not quite sure what Scotty is referring to, specifically, in regards to the movie borrowing from Cybertron. Sure, there might be something in there, but I don't recall anything major from it being in the movie.

It is very quick, temper expectations Signal Lancer! Sabr - Big Primus robot mode for Cybertron is what I was alluding to.

Oh, that. Yeah, I can see that as a Cybertron reference.

[Sabrblade]

On a different note, Paramount has uploaded one final trailer for TF One:

[First-Aid]

On a different note, Paramount has uploaded one final trailer for TF One:

I think I peed myself a little....

[Sabrblade]

I think I peed myself a little....

Then you'd better do some beverage fasting on the day you go see the movie. Having seen it myself, you won't wanna take a potty break during it.

[Rodimus Prime]

On a different note, Paramount has uploaded one final trailer for TF One:

I think I peed myself a little....

The visuals are great, but the music was $hit. Nonetheless, I'm excited to see it.

And Sabrblade, as for your separate continuities theory, it doesn't work. The 2007 movie can't be a part of both. It exists, and if the sequels don't add up with the prequels, there has to be a cut off point. Personally, I think RoTB is the one that doesn't belong. Bumblebee could be worked as a prequel, especially if there was another one that was set in the 90s that connected it to the 2007 film. Instead we got the utter failure that was RoTB.

As for the sequels, if there was 1 more to finish the 2nd trilogy, maybe they could all be put in line together, despite TLK's failure as well.

[william-james88]

Do we know one way or another at this point if this is in-continuity with the live action movies?

It's not. As others have said, there are events here that are truly impossible to remedy with the live action films. Even TLK can still be explained with the other live action films if they want to now that the writers gave us the transwarp key that can be found throughout space and time (meaning Unicron can co exist as an entity trying to destroy earth while also being hidden within the earth).

But TF One cannot. The concept of the Primes from both continuities is just too different to reconcile.

On a different note, Paramount has uploaded one final trailer for TF One:

Very weird that they are asking D-16 where Optimus Prime is.

Oh, that. Yeah, I can see that as a Cybertron reference.

There's another reference to a Cybertron character's design. vector prime

[#1 Signal Lancer fan]

Personally, I think RoTB is the one that doesn't belong. Bumblebee could be worked as a prequel, especially if there was another one that was set in the 90s that connected it to the 2007 film. Instead we got the utter failure that was RoTB.

Bumblebee doesn't work all that well with the 2007 film, and its sequels, either.

The most notable inconsistencies:
- The film establishes that Bumblebee first arrived on Earth in 1987, when TLK had him arriving much sooner.
- Neither the Autobots or Decepticons are aware of or searching for the Allspark on Earth. Sector 7 also implies that they are meeting the Transformers for the first time, but they should already have Megatron in custody.
- Optimus Prime and the other Autobots arrive on Earth at the end of the movie, and Optimus has scanned an Earth vehicle, which contradicts him arriving in 2007 and scanning a different Earth vehicle. TLK also depicts Optimus as having been on Earth way earlier than the 80s, as far back as 1815.

So, to make Bumblebee, the 2007 movie, and TLK fit, the Autobots would need to have:
- Arrived on Earth way in the past and left at some point prior to 1987
- Return in 1987, unaware of the Allspark's presence
- Leave Earth again in the 20 years between Bumblebee and 2007 (Other than Bumblebee, he can stay. But he needs to scan a different Camaro by 2007).
- Discover the Allspark and Megatron are, coincidentally, on Earth this whole time and return to Earth.

[Sabrblade]

And Sabrblade, as for your separate continuities theory, it doesn't work. The 2007 movie can't be a part of both.

Counterpoint: the Beast Wars and Beast Machines cartoons exist within multiple continuities. You got the 3H/Fun Pub BW universe, the Japanese G1 cartoon universe, the Dreamwave G1 comics universe, the 2006 IDW BW comics universe, Fun Pub's Wings Universe, and possibly even the Devil's Due G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers continuity.

[william-james88]

There are two ways to measure a film's success these days. We have how much it made, which directly correlated to the public's interest in a film. And we have how profitable it is, which helps predict the direction of further movies in a franchise (or the likelihood of similar movies being made). Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning Part 1 made A LOT more money than the Bumblebee movie (100 Million more) BUT it also cost a lot more. So while public interest in the Mission Impossible franchise may be higher than the Transformers franchise, Paramount made a nicer profit on the Bumblebee film.

I lay all that out so that you understand how significant the lower budget for Transformers One is. Deadline has published that the budget is a very modest $75 Million. That is by far the lowest production budget ever for a Transformers movie distributed by Paramount. And that's before accounting for any inflation.

This means that it will take a lot less tickets sales to render the film profitable. If this low cost does indeed lead to a high profit, this could be the future of the franchise, theatrically speaking. We will keep an eye out on the gross of the film in the weeks to come and keep you in the know.

[Sabrblade]

- Neither the Autobots or Decepticons are aware of or searching for the Allspark on Earth.

That can easily be chalked up to its existence on Earth having not been detected there yet.

Sector 7 also implies that they are meeting the Transformers for the first time, but they should already have Megatron in custody.

There was a deleted scene from the movie that showed that they did already have Megatron in their custody, which would mean that not every member of Sector 7 was aware of that, with only the higher-ups in Sector 7 knowing and keeping Megatron classified need-to-know intel.

- Optimus Prime and the other Autobots arrive on Earth at the end of the movie, and Optimus has scanned an Earth vehicle, which contradicts him arriving in 2007 and scanning a different Earth vehicle.

There's still time between ROTB and 2007 for the Autobots (sans Bumblebee) to leave Earth and discard their Earth altmodes in the interim. We just need another movie to provide both a means and a reason for them to leave.

Both the directors of BB and ROTB have stated their intentions to at least keep the 2007 movie in mind, but not so much its sequels.

- Discover the Allspark and Megatron are, coincidentally, on Earth this whole time and return to Earth.

These films are no stranger to such coincidences, as the first five films made Earth coincidentally be:

• The planet that the AllSpark and Megatron happened to land on.
• The planet that The Fallen's star harvester happened to be built on.
• The planet that Megatron and Sentinel Prime happened to agree to conquer and enslave when they made their deal with each other long ago.
• The planet the Creators happened to drop a Seed on in prehistoric times.
• The planet the Guardian Knights happened to bring the Staff of Merlin to and hide there.

[william-james88]

So, to make Bumblebee, the 2007 movie, and TLK fit, the Autobots would need to have:
- Arrived on Earth way in the past and left at some point prior to 1987
- Return in 1987, unaware of the Allspark's presence
- Leave Earth again in the 20 years between Bumblebee and 2007 (Other than Bumblebee, he can stay. But he needs to scan a different Camaro by 2007).
- Discover the Allspark and Megatron are, coincidentally, on Earth this whole time and return to Earth.

This proves that all those films can indeed work together. It's super contrived (which was your point) but it still can work.
And then we have ROTB with Unicron which derails everthing. BUT it also gives us the transwarp key that can be plucked from any previous time and eventually be used to defeat unicron by having him get trapped by sending him back billions of years ago into our earth as it is forming.

Once again, super contrived, but not impossible.

[kurthy]

Yes, please more theatrical animated transformers movies!!!

[#1 Signal Lancer fan]

If this low cost does indeed lead to a high profit, this could be the future of the franchise, theatrically speaking.

I haven't seen the movie yet, but I've been hoping this for a while now. I've seen a lot of people say that this is one of the best things to come out of the franchise in a while, and even though I haven't seen it, its not hard to see why.

1. It's character-driven and the Transformers are fleshed-out, dynamic characters. This is a big complaint a lot of people, myself included, have had with many of the live action films

2. It's family friendly, but not geared primarily towards children. Yes, Transformers is a franchise with a lot of appeal to kids, but it also has a lot of adult fans. This feels like the first project since Animated that is geared towards both audience simultaneously, rather than being aimed at kids (Earthspark, Cyberverse, RID 2015) or aimed at more mature audiences (Prime, WFC Trilogy, live action movies).

As someone who has felt starved for good Transformers media (comics excluded) since Prime ended, I hope this movie is successful enough for Hasbro and Paramount to lean into.

[#1 Signal Lancer fan]

These films are no stranger to such coincidences, as the first five films made Earth coincidentally be:

• The planet that the AllSpark and Megatron happened to land on.
• The planet that The Fallen's star harvester happened to be built on.
• The planet that Megatron and Sentinel Prime happened to agree to conquer and enslave when they made their deal with each other long ago.
• The planet the Creators happened to drop a Seed on in prehistoric times.
• The planet the Guardian Knights happened to bring the Staff of Merlin to and hide there.

When you spell it all out like that, that's a lot of coincidence.

Given the whole "Earth is Unicron" plot element of TLK, I wonder if there could be some sort of "Cybertronians are drawn to Earth because of Unicron" explanation

[chuckdawg1999]

It's all one giant Multiverse that will culminate in a giant crossover that will see the Transformers evolve into Go-Bots.