EntertainmentMoviesAnimation MoviesTransformers: OneTransformers One producer and director explain why Chris Hemsworth is the perfect young Optimus Prime – and how he follows in Peter Cullen’s footstepsWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
EntertainmentMoviesAnimation MoviesTransformers: OneTransformers One producer and director explain why Chris Hemsworth is the perfect young Optimus Prime – and how he follows in Peter Cullen’s footstepsWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Paramount)
For decades, Peter Cullen has provided the iconic voice of Transformers’ Optimus Prime. Upcoming film Transformers One, though, heads back to Cybertron to before Optimus Prime became leader of the Autobots – with a new actor rolling out into the recording booth.
“Peter Cullen will remain part of the live action franchise,” Lorenzo di Bonaventura assured told us during SDCC. “But the very idea of this – Peter was too old.”
Bonaventura continued, “You had to have that youthful exuberance, naivety, the thing that comes as a younger person. But – at the same time – we wanted to find an actor [where] you could believe the voice could become Peter Cullen as they get older. Chris has that kind of low voice to begin with, you know? That was the hope, that we would find an actor that would have those two abilities. And we were lucky to get Chris.”
“It needs to have a different type of character,” Cooley said. “A little bit of a looseness and fun to him, someone who is not as refined yet… Talking to [Chris] about the character, it became clear that a lot of Orion Pax is Chris. He would read the lines and go, ‘Let me try it this way’ and it just naturally comes out of him.”
Transformers One stars Chris Hemsworth as Orion Pax, Brian Tyree Henry as D-16, Scarlett Johansson as Elita, Keegan-Michael Key as B-127, Laurence Fishburne as Alpha Trion, and Jon Hamm as Sentinel Prime. Steve Buscemi is also set to appear as Starscream. The movie heads into cinemas on September 20 in the US and October 11 in the UK.
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For more, check out thelatest Transformers One trailer, theSDCC 2024 scheduleand the ongoingSDCC 2024 live blog.
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1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
1
Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
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3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
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Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”
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5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”
5
Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”