“We’re Transformers! We are Transformers!” shouts out an excited B-127, voiced by Keegan-Michael Key in Transformers One, the first-ever fully CG-animated Transformers movie.
Voicing Bumblebee is an honor for Key, especially because in previous Transformers movies, the fan favorite robot didn’t have a voice. “I really enjoyed being able to give Bumblebee a voice. Over the last few movies he speaks through the radio inside the Volkswagen, which I thought was so cool,” says Key. “But now we get to imbue him with personality through his voice and I was really honored that I got the opportunity to do that.”
For Brian Tyree Henry, who voices D-16/Megatron, one of the things to look forward to in the film is there being no humans. “What I really like about this one is that it is truly the beginning. And we got all the humans out of the way,” he says. “We start on Cybertron, which is where they originate, which is their home. Get the humans out of there, humans complicate stuff. We want to see where they started. We want to see what Cybertron looked like. This is the way to do it.”
Scarlett Johansson, who voices Elita-1, found the Transformers One experience exciting. “I loved the script. It, like, ignites the kid in me, and so I think parents would appreciate that,” says Johansson. “But it’s also just really fun. A new generation is going to get to experience Transformers in a whole new way. It’s going to be awesome.”
Transformers One is the untold origin story of Optimus Prime and Megatron, better known as sworn enemies, but once were friends bonded like brothers who changed the fate of Cybertron forever. Chris Hemsworth voices Orion Pax/Optimus Prime. Hemsworth, Henry, Johansson and Key are joined by Steve Buscemi as Starscream, Laurence Fishburne as Alpha Trion, and Jon Hamm as Sentinel Prime.
Transformers One, distributed in the Philippines by Paramount Pictures through Columbia Pictures, rolls out in Philippine cinemas September 18. Join the conversation with the hashtag #TransformersOne and tag @paramountpicsph.