Transformers One is telling a prequel story aimed at kids – but is it inevitable that the franchise goes to darker places in sequels?
Transformers One is aiming to take the franchise in a new direction: a blockbuster animated film that is being aimed at younger audiences. Transformers movies (even the 1986 G1 animated film) have always tended to skew more toward teens and young adults, while the kid-friendly content has largely been relegated to TV, comics, and other media platforms.Â
However, there’s been a big shift in the last few years with how the Transformers Universe is being shaped. The Transformers series from Image Comics has been relaunched within a new “Energon Universe” that crosses over with a new line of G.I. Joe comics; the same crossover is in development for the live-action film universe – as revealed in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023). With multiple Transformers projects now playing toward the older fanbase, it’s reasonable to wonder how long the Transformers One franchise can play in the kiddie pool.
During the press junket for Transformers One, ComicBook’s Chris Killian asked longtime Transformers movie producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura if an R-rated Transformers film – of any kind – was something that we could see. Interestingly enough, he wasn’t that open to it: Â
“Look, I love new boundaries, you know, so that for me, it sounds really fun to be able to do something like that,” Lorezeno di Bonaventura explained. “But the truth of the matter is, this cost a lot of money – and, you know, these movies are supposed to be designed for everybody, all audiences. And so I’d like to keep it there and make sure that we don’t disappoint or freak out some of our fans by going in a different direction.”
Writer/artist Daniel Warren Johnson’s Transformers comic has been a shocking but novel new vision of Transformers lore. It keeps the basic G1 cartoon framework (set in modern times), and mixes in the lore of G.I. Joe – however, there’s also a distinctly sci-fi/horror tone to the book: giant robots coming to battle on Earth results in a lot of squished and squashed humans, while the Autobots and Decepticons are brutal and deadly in their fight to the death. Johnson’s take on Transformers is the closest G1 fans have come to the shockingly brutal (read: traumatizing) experience of Transformers: The Movie (1986). As Lorenzo di Bonaventura clearly knows, that ’80s animated film didn’t get much love critically or commercially (an estimated $2-$6 million box office, from a budget $5-$6 million. Projects like Michael Bay’s Transformers films (all PG-13 for maximum demographic appeal)Â
So while R-rated Transformers may work on the comic page, it doesn’t feel like anyone is banking on it being a hit in live-action.Â
Transformers One will be released in theaters on September 20th.Â
