Transformers producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura knows how to roll the dice. During his tenure as an executive at Warner Bros. Pictures, he snatched the film rights to Harry Potter and plowed two indie filmmakers into what they call “checkbook notes.”matrixWhen he went independent in the 2000s, Di Bonaventura seduced none other than Michael Bay to take on a long-planned project. transformers cross the finish line. Shortened to 16 years and seven sequels in the making, producers are still betting on robots in disguise.
“and it is teeth It’s a gamble,” Di Bonaventura told Polygon about the new film. Transformers: Rise of the Beast, will continue to roll out across theaters and digital platforms. “All movies are a gamble, and anything you add or take away is a gamble.”
Rise of the Beast Di Bonaventura says the team wanted to add Maximals, the animal-like Autobots of the ’90s, but Di Bonaventura was making his own bets. beast wars I spent years working on the comics, the core series, but couldn’t figure out a story that actually worked. “Naturally, animals and cars are not confused,” he says. “They won’t be able to enter an urban environment, and they’ll stand out a little bit. In an urban environment, there won’t be any robots in disguise for them.” bumblebeeported the action to Peru with a twist that follows Indiana Jones relics.
modest success bumblebee Di Bonaventura and Paramount Pictures urged careful consideration of subsequent works. It’s been five years since he’s been a one-off model without Optimus, and this time the yellow Autobots are a little behind. But the Transformers team isn’t waiting for their next bet on the series.This time it’s built in to the end Rise of the Beastwhen the movie’s human hero Noah (Anthony Ramos) is scouted by none other than G.I.
Photo: Jonathan Wenk/Paramount Pictures
“[The G.I. Joe tease] It’s definitely a promise,” Di Bonaventura said when asked if Easter eggs were more than just friends in the water. “I’ve had a lot of questions about this, but here’s my direct answer. We didn’t develop the script. So I don’t know exactly. [how they fit in], but the answer is, just like in any other movie, a group of humans and robots fight bad guys and save the crisis. GI Jaws will be one of them. ”
GI Jaws was so good no In the early days of the Transformers movies (although one might mistake the Josh Duhamel-led Autobots-owned strike team NEST for an offshoot), the question suddenly arises as to how future films will team up with the Transformers. Di Bonaventura says don’t worry, the team behind the series actually cares about continuity.producer memo Rise of the Beast is set in 1994, and the first Bay movie is set in 2007, giving Joe and the Autobots 13 years to work together in secret.
“Continuity is definitely important,” Di Bonaventura stresses, comparing his approach to how Peter Jackson adapted the Lord of the Rings original. As a Tolkien fan, there were certainly things he missed or characters he wanted to see, but it was all about the dramatic effect of the tweaks. “For me personally, [continuity’s] It’s a big deal because sometimes you miss out on great ideas. […] I think one of the things I find particularly exciting about this movie is that we get to meet Optimus before he becomes the character we met in the Bay movie. There is definitely an evolution between the two. To me it’s not a contradiction. It captures the emotions and vulnerability of Optimus. “
The gamble to break continuity doesn’t always pay off.at the first encounter Rise of the BeastThe villain, Terrorcon, Optimus Prime is handed his butt by the leader, Scourge.Not all Autobots make it out alive, but when Optimus rises, he loose the temper. Perhaps too intense for Optimus Prime purists.
“We had to adjust a little bit,” says Di Bonaventura. “When we first showed it to audiences, there were scenes that were cut from the film because they didn’t need to. Optimus’ anger at being caught was so intense, they said, Oops, that’s not Optimus Prime! But it was. And it was right. In a way, I think Optimus has the same problem as Superman. That said, if he just looks invincible, you have to be careful. Because how funny is he? So I really like that he gets his butt handed in the first fight and that is factored into the subsequent fights. “
Hosting a Transformers and GI Joe crossover event on an epic scale shouldn’t threaten the delicate fabric of the TF cinematic universe. A long history of cartoons combining two teams The one that paved the way for this moment. But Di Bonaventura knows he’s still gambling. When I ask him explicitly how he envisions the crossover working, he draws a concrete line that people who aren’t in charge of a multi-billion dollar franchise might hesitate.
“They’re going to be part of the Transformers group. We’re not going to G.I. Joe’s world, they’re coming into our world,” says the producer. And for the classic Joe character established by movies like 2021, Snake-eyes“I think characters should come in.”
Don’t expect Cobra Commander to hit Optimus Prime that too difficult.
