'Transformers One' Trailer Lands (From Space)

It's easy to forget now, but for a while, Michael Bay's live-action/CG Transformers movies were the biggest films in the universe. After five films of increasingly dubious quality the franchise took a different tack with the rather excellent Bumblebee directed by LAIKA's Travis Knight. This was followed up by last year's Transformers: Rise Of These Beasts. In 2024 the franchise is going back to its animated roots with the CG-animated feature Transformers ONE, the first animated film in the franchise since the 1986 Transformers: The Movie (and the first ever fully animated in CG).

The first trailer has landed- quite literally this time as Paramount say "Transformers ONE is debuting like no movie trailer ever has: In Space! " The launch started at 6.am PT with a live-streamed countdown showing the journey into space. After one hour, the craft reached its peak at 125,000 feet above the Earth, where the trailer was revealed.

The film is an origin story that takes us back to the Transformers home-world of Cybertron. It tells the story of Optimus Prime and Megatron. And it reveals that before they became enemies they were the closest of friends and were known by the names Orion Pax and D-16 respectively.

The trailer shows the future enemies as friends bonded like brothers and caught up in an adventure to the surface that sees them gaining the ability to transform. Perhaps the most surprising thing about the trailer is how comedic the tone is. Being funny isn't really something the franchise has been known for (although Bay tried now and again). Don't worry though, it looks like there will be plenty of action too. Also the voice cast is pretty great, with Chris Hemsworth channelling original Optimus Peter Cullen in the voice of Orion Pax. Brian Tyree Henry voices D016/Megatron, with Keegan-Michael Key as B-127, and Scarlett Johansson as Elita-1,

Transformers ONE is produced by Paramount Animation and directed by Toy Story 4 director Josh Cooley. The screenplay was written by Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari. It also features the voices of Jon Hamm, Steve Buscemi and Laurence Fishburn.

Paramount Pictures will release the film in the US and Canada on September 20. It will be released in the UK on October 11.