Transformers: War for Cybertron: Kingdom brings Netflix's epic trilogy to a conclusion - but the future is still bright for the Robots in Disguise. '80s nostalgia has become all the rage in the wake of Stranger Things' 1980s setting, and Netflix increasingly seems to be the streaming home for revivals of popular '80s animated franchises such as He-Man & the Masters of the Universe, She-Ra, and Transformers.
The Transformers: War for Cybertron trilogy is a lavish attempt to reinvent the Robots in Disguise for the 21st century, in what at first seemed to be a spectacular retelling of their origin story - but has turned out to be something far more ambitious. Previous chapters have done a surprisingly good job of fleshing out iconic characters like Optimus Prime, Megatron, and Bumblebee, although occasionally the scale of the action has unfortunately dwarfed the character work. Transformers: War for Cybertron: Kingdom finally sees the Autobots and Decepticons crash-land on Earth, setting up a status quo that's (almost) familiar to viewers of the classic '80s series.
This iteration of the Transformers franchise has come to an end. But that doesn't mean they won't be back, and the future is still bright for the warring robots.
Transformers: War for Cybertron was envisioned as a trilogy, and at first it seemed to be a re-imagining of the classic origin story. In reality, Kingdom reveals it is a whole new timeline created as a result of time travel by Galvatron and Nemesis, who are seeking to steal the All-Spark. Their actions have the unexpected effect of forcing the Autobots, Decepticons, and the characters from Beast Wars to combine forces against them, bringing an end to the war. The finale drops a number of plot threads for the future, but it remains to be seen whether those will ever be capitalized upon.
The War for Cybertron may be over, but the future is bright for the Transformers; Hasbro has partnered with both Nickelodeon and Netflix to produce two new upcoming animated series. The Nickelodeon show will introduce a new species of robots, who must find their place and purpose among Autobots, Decepticons, and the human family that adopts them. Nickelodeon has signed off on 26 half-hour episodes, and it will debut in the United States before releasing internationally. Meanwhile, Netflix is working on Transformers: BotBots, a 20-episode animated comedy starring mischievous little Transformers robots. The series takes inspiration from Hasbro’s popular Transformers: BotBots toy line, which kicked off in late 2018.
The Transformers film franchise has struggled in recent years, although 2018's Bumblebee was generally seen as a refreshing breath of fresh air. Appropriately enough, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts will introduce Predacons and Maximals in June 2022, following Transformers: War for Cybertron's lead. Director Steven Caple Jr. hopes he can tell a Transformers story unlike anything seen on the big screen before, and so far set photos have suggested there'll be classic Autobots and Decepticons alongside the new characters.
In addition, Paramount has signed up Angel Manuel Soto as director for an untitled movie written by Marco Ramirez (showrunner of Netflix's The Defenders). There's also an animated Transformers prequel movie directed by Josh Cooley; this was reportedly signed off because of the coronavirus pandemic, as it was easier to respect guidelines on animated films than live-action features. So while Transformers: War for Cybertron: Kingdom may be over, there's plenty more Transformers action on the way.
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July 31, 2021 at 12:18AM
