The Size Disparity Issue That Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts Might Need To Address
The live-action "Transformers" franchise is riddled with some pretty out-there moments that have pushed things beyond belief. We've had astronaut Buzz Aldrin at the center of a cover-up conspiracy regarding Transformers first arriving on Earth, the pyramids of Egypt severely damaged by a robot with unnecessarily visual private parts, and all that before Oscar-winner Sir Anthony Hopkins turned up with a robot butler. Nothing has ever been off-limits in the grand, ridiculous scheme of things.
With that said, though, one thing that the franchise has consistently kept in check is the robots themselves. Shocking stereotypes in "Revenge of the Fallen" aside, every rock'em, sock'em robot that has taken to the screen in the unthinkable six "Transformers" films that have been released so far has been constructed to believable specs. All click into place with their alternate forms, and while some might not match their original design from the toy line, their updated versions made sense. Soundwave went from being a tape recorder to a modern-day satellite, and most of the vehicular heroes and villains were also to scale with their disguises. By doing so, though, it set up an inevitable hurdle the upcoming film, "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts" — which has just released a brand new trailer — will need to leap over, and it's going to need more than a gorilla with the voice of Ron Perlman to do it.
Will Rise of the Beasts address the 20-foot gorilla in the room for the new Transformers sequel?
In this new preview of director Steven Caple Jr's film, fans might be hit with a wave of chills and confusion as Ron Perlman's Optimus Primal, leader of the Maximals, swings out of the jungle only to be confronted by heroic Autobots frontman, Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen). They look great and match up closely with their original designs from the toy line and the animated shows they were a part of. However, the oversight that might be present is that both are the same size in their Cybertronian form, slightly undercutting the whole point of Primal being a "robot in disguise."
How could an alien that stands as tall as King Kong instead of a silverback gorilla remain incognito? Or another that transforms into a cheetah be as big as a Jaguar F-Type than an actual jaguar? In the original "Beast Wars" animated show, there was a clear indication that the Maximals and Terracons (animal equivalents to the Autobots and Decepticons) were smaller than the petrol-headed parties most are familiar with. If this is the size they're sticking with, how have they kept it under the radar for so long? Might we see a guest appearance from world-famous natural historian Sir David Attenborough owning up to keeping things quiet? Whatever happens, we'll see if this little detail gets brought to life when "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts" stomps into theatres on June 9, 2023.