8 Ways A New Standalone Transformers Movie Can Revitalize The $5.2 Billion Franchise

The prospect of a new standalone Transformers movie might sound like a big risk, but there are many reasons this could be the franchise’s best move. With the infamously critic-proof Michael Bay at the helm, Transformers was almost guaranteed to be a financial success in 2007. The sci-fi action adventure movie proved a relative critical hit too, with likable lead performances from Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox ensured the coming-of-age comedy worked as well as the movie’s high-octane action sequences.

As all the Transformers movies thereafter released, however, the series’ critical reception gradually grew less impressive. 2009’s Revenge of the Fallen met with a cooler reception, while 2009’s Dark of the Moon did little to course-correct. 2014’s Age of Extinction lost LaBeouf, but it was 2017’s The Last Knight that received the worst reviews of the franchise at that point. 2018’s prequel Bumblebee was a return to form that earned the franchise’s best reviews, but Rise of the Beasts‘ mixed box office in 2023 finally proved that what Transformers really needs is a standalone movie.

8
A Standalone Movie Can Reset Transformers Canon

A new Transformers canon means less commitment and confusion

The Transformers series badly needs a standalone movie that reboots the canon of the series. The franchise’s lore is now impenetrable to newcomers after the Transformers movie timeline was complicated by Rise of the Beasts and Bumblebee.

The declining box office of the recent Transformers sequels proves that the series isn’t connecting with audiences as strongly, and the increasingly complex lore has to take some responsibility for this. The overarching plot grows more complicated with every outing, so a new Transformers movie could reset series canon and drop the needless confusion. It is no surprise that Bumblebee gained acclaim in part because the prequel took the series back to its roots. A new standalone movie should aim to repeat this achievement instead of making the Transformers series even more inaccessible.

7
A New Transformers Movie Means A New Autobot Hero

The Transformers franchise could move past Bumblebee

A new standalone Transformers movie could replace Bumblebee as the franchise’s main focus. Since the movie franchise began, Bumblebee has served as its main mascot and played a major role in generating mainstream popularity. Transformers‘ waning critical and commercial fortunes suggest Bumblebee is no longer the massive draw he once was, and there are plenty of fascinating Autobots that can take his spot. By centering on a new Autobot hero, a standalone Transformers movie would prove the series has more than one tired, repetitive, familiar story to tell.

6
A Standalone Transformers Movie Could Fix A Big Sequel Mistake

A new movie could give the Dinobots more screen time and focus

While the Transformers sequels made plenty of mistakes, one of the most unforgivable errors was Age of Extinction’s failure to focus on the Dinobots. The Dinobots are Transformers fan favorites that Age of Extinction wasted, and a new standalone movie could offer them justice. With more screen time and a role that feels less incidental to the movie’s storyline, the Dinobots could fuse the appeal of Transformers with Jurassic Park by showing the more primal and animalistic side of the robots. This element of their characterization was badly underserved by Age of Extinction’s weak subplot, and a standalone movie would effectively retcon those Dinobots from existence.

5
A New Transformers Movie Could Revisit Underused Characters

Wheeljack, Jazz, and Ratchet could get more development in a new standalone movie

While the Dinobots were under-utilized in one sequel, many Transformers characters were wasted across the entire series. As a result, a shift away from existing Transformers continuity could offer another chance to flesh out underused characters. Jazz, who was killed off unceremoniously in the original movie, could get a bigger role. Similarly, viewers could get a chance to spend more time with Wheeljack and Ratchet, both of whom were killed off too soon in the live-action movies. This new continuity could do justice to characters who, like the Dinobots, were glorified plot devices previously.

4
A Standalone Transformers Movie Can Bring Back The Original Movie’s Tone

Transformers movies need a lighter, less self-serious style

One major reason that the Transformers sequels never recaptured the original movie’s success was their more serious tone. The sequels featured plenty of knockabout comedic relief, but this jarred with the self-serious lore of Autobots, the Decepticons, and their eons-old feud. A new standalone Transformers movie could recapture the fun dramedy of 2007’s original Transformers and 2018’s Bumblebee. Any Transformers story needs to flesh out the background of its eponymous robots, but this shouldn’t make the movies inaccessible to audiences hoping for a more human thrill ride.

3
A New Transformers Movie Can Make Its Human Characters Matter

Transformers can finally remember people are important too

Since the upcoming Transformers One will focus on Autobots as its main characters, a new standalone live-action movie could instead prioritize human characters. It is always tough for the series to split its time between humans, Autobots, and Decepticons, but Transformers movies have increasingly dropped the ball in this regard. A standalone Transformers movie would need to center its human protagonist to get viewers deeply invested in their story before making the Transformers themselves the stars of the show in the movie’s inevitably action-packed latter half.

2
A New Transformers Movie Can Avoid The Prequel Problem

Both Bumblebee and Rise of the Beasts were stuck in the past

While the Transformers series made an admirable stab at crafting an immersive fictional world, the series got too ambitious for its own good. The ending of Rise of the Beasts set up the beginning of 2007’s original movie, while the movie’s opening followed the story of 2018’s Bumblebee. This convoluted narrative meant that viewers needed to have seen at least two earlier movies to make the most of their viewing experience – something that a new movie could fix. A standalone Transformers movie wouldn’t need to be a prequel, making the franchise more accessible.

1
A Standalone Movie Could Redesign The Transformers Themselves

The Autobots and Decepticons could get an overdue revamp in a new outing

Although the look of the Autobots and Decepticons did change somewhat as the Transformers series continued, they largely maintained consistent character designs throughout the live-action movies. The Transformers movies began in 2007 and CGI has made great strides since then, so the Autobots are due a fresh look in any new Transformers movie. Since a standalone movie wouldn’t necessarily need to be connected to the continuity of existing franchise outings, the redesigns would not need to be explained. Fans could finally get new-look versions of Optimus Prime, Megatron, Bumblebee, and the rest of the heroes and villains.