While the Barbie movie is absolutely dominating at the box office, it’s far from the first blockbuster movie based on toys. Case in point: the ongoing Transformers franchise, which began with Michael Bay’s 2007 movie. A new installment came earlier this year in the form of Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, which introduced beloved characters from Beast Wars. Apparently Michael Bay tried to veto one major Rise of the Beasts moment with Anthony Ramos. Although he definitely had his reasons.
Michael Bay directed the first five installments of the live-action Transformers movies, before new filmmakers got in on the fun starting with Bumblebee. He’s been able to bring Bayhem to other projects like Ambulance, but he’s still seemingly invested in the sci-fi franchise. Paramount CEO Brian Robbins recently spoke to Variety about Rise of the Beasts, and how Bay tried to scrap the Transformers movie’s twist ending. Specifically the reveal that G.I. Joe was in the same universe, which opens up the opportunity for major crossovers. Robbins said that Bay was worried about that cheapening the events of the previous movies, but as he shard:
I called him 50 times. I would not let him off the hook. And when he finally stopped dodging my calls, we got him to sign off.
Looks like persistence worked in this case. While Michael Bay was originally hesitant to have G.I. Joe and Transformers collide, he was eventually convinced that this was the move. And it should be fascinating to see how this crossover plays out in future movies. Bring on the Hasbro Cinematic Universe!
The final scene of Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, Anthony Ramos’ protagonist Noah Diaz attends an interview for a security job. But it’s revealed that the meeting is actually a recruitment by the military to join G.I. Joe, given how he proved himself in the conflict with the Terrorcons. It was something that moviegoers didn’t see coming, and has the potential to greatly affect the future of both the Transformers and G.I. Joe franchises.
It’s unclear what’s coming next, but Anthony Ramos will seemingly have a major role to play in at least one of those properties. The last G.I. Joe movie Snake Eyes was a box office bomb, so perhaps a connection to Transformers will help to increase fan interest. Although technically Rise of the Beasts is the worst performing entry of the franchise. Maybe a crossover movie will come next, which could help increase the box office appeal of both properties. Only time will tell, but I assume Michael Bay will have a strong opinion regardless.
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is streaming now for those with a Paramount+ subscription. In the meantime, check out the 2023 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.
