Paramount Pictures recently revealed the first trailer for Transformers: Rise of the Beasts and audiences got their best look at many new Transformers. A sequel to 2018 Bumblebee which was a soft reboot of the franchise, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts will take place in the 1990s and is set to draw heavily from the 90s Transformers toyline Beast Wars. Beast Wars introduced two new factions to the Transformers mythos, the heroic Maximals, and the villainous Predacons. Transformers: Rise of the Beast will bring those elements to the big screen, along with a third villainous faction: the Terrocons.

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As the Transformers film series is based on a toy line, every new film installment introduces a colorful new cast of characters to both expand the scope of the story but also sell toys to young fans. The trailer for Transformers: Rise of the Beasts offered the first look at many classic fan-favorite characters, and the studio announced a slew of voice actors for these iconic roles. Here is a breakdown of all confirmed Transformers set to appear in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.

Optimus Prime

     Paramount Pictures  

Optimus Prime is the leader of the Autobots, the most famous Transformer, and the face of the franchise. Optimus Prime has appeared in every live-action Transformers film, and in this film will transform into a 1987 Freightliner semi-truck. Optimus Prime will be voiced by Peter Cullen, who voiced the character in the original Transformers animated series and all the live-action films.

Bumblebee

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is a sequel to 2018’s Bumblebee, so it makes sense the title character and second most famous Transformers would return. Bumblebee is an Autobot scout who speaks through the radio after his vocal processor was damaged in battle. While Bumblebee used a VW bug as his alternate mode in his solo film, at the end of that film he transformed into a 1970s Classic Chevrolet Camaro which was the form he was in when Sam Witwicky first purchased him in Transformers.

Arcee

Arcee was introduced in the 1986 Transformers: The Movie and is notable as the most prominent female Transformer. She made a small cameo in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen before being killed off, and also had a cameo in the opening scene of Bumblebee. She is finally in on the action for Transformers: Rise of the Beast where she transforms into a Ducati motorcycle. Arcee will be voiced by YouTube star Liza Koshy.

Mirage

Mirage is an Autobot spy, and the trailer reveals that his name also hints at a unique power he possesses: to create duplicate illusions of himself that allow him to escape. Mirage transforms into a Porsche and appears to be the main vehicle of Noah, the main human of the movie played by Anthony Ramos.

Mirage will be voiced by SNL star Pete Davidson. This likely implies Mirage will be a more laid-back everyman Autobot, and could be one of the central characters of the film.

Wheeljack

     Hasbro  

Wheeljack is the Autobot’s lead scientist and mechanic. The character was previously shown in Transformers: Dark of the Moon but was renamed Q for the film, in honor of James Bond’s quartermaster. Wheeljack did have a small cameo at the beginning of Bumblebee, and much like Arcee seems to have found his way to Earth. Wheeljack transforms into a white VW bus. In the film, he will be voiced by Cristóbal Fernández, most famous for playing the role of Dani Rojas on the hit television series Ted Lasso.

Stratosphere

     ActivisionHasbro  

Stratosphere is an Autobot air solider, a rarity among the team as most air vehicles tend to be Decepticons. Stratosphere transforms into a cargo plane and will likely be used to help transport the Autobots across the globe. Famous voice actor John DiMaggio, known for voicing characters like Bender on Futurama and Jake the Dog on Adventure Time, will voice Stratosphere in the film.

Optimus Primal

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is drawing heavily from the Beast Wars era of Transformers, and with it comes the leader of the Maximals, which are descended from the Autobots. As his name implies, there is a connection between Optimus Primal and Optimus Prime. Unlike the Autobots who transform into vehicles, the Maximals transform into animals and Optimus Primal’s primary form is a gorilla. In the film, he is voiced by Ron Perlman, famous for the role of Hellboy in both Hellboy and Hellboy 2: The Golden Army.

Airazor

A Maximal who transforms into a peregrine falcon, Airazor is the team’s primary air support. Michelle Yeoh, hot off her performance in Everything Everywhere All At Once, is set to voice the character in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. Yeoh has also appeared in recent blockbuster films like Crazy Rich Asians and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

Cheetor

One of the most famous characters from Beast Wars is Cheetor, a rookie Maximal who transforms into a cheetah. Much like Optimus Primal is a mirror to Optimus Prime, Cheetor is very much the Beast Wars variation of Bumblebee. Currently, no voice actor has been announced for the part.

Rhinox

The Maximal tech expert and second in command who, as his name implies transforms into a rhinoceros. Rhinox will be voiced by David Sobolov, who previously voiced Depth Charge in the original Beast Wars: Transformers. He has a long history with the Transformers franchise also voicing Shockwave in Transformers: Prime and Blitzwing in Bumblebee.

Scourge

The primary villain of Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is Scourge. Scourge is the leader of the Terrorcons and is a trophy hunter. He transforms into a black Peterbilt logging semi-truck, making him a dark mirror of Optimus Prime who has traditionally been portrayed as a Peterbilt truck.

Scourge is voiced by Peter Dinklage, who most audiences will recognize as Tyrion Lannister on Game of Thrones. Dinklage has played villainous roles in X-Men: Days of Future Past and lent his voice to films like Ice Age: Continental Drift, The Angry Birds Movie, and The Croods: A New Age.

Battletrap

Introduced in the anime Transformers: The Headmasters, Battletrap is a Terrocon who transforms into an orange 1980s GMC towtruck. Battletrap is voiced by David Sobolov, who is also voicing the Maximal Rhinox in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.

Nightbird

Nightbird is a Terrocon who transforms into a Nissan Skyline GT-R. She will be voiced by Michaela Jaé Rodriguez. After a breakout performance as Angel in a production of Rent, Rodriguez has appeared in series like Luke Cage and the Carrie Diaries and is one of the stars of Pose, where she received great critical acclaim and became the first transgender woman to earn an Emmy Award nomination in a major acting category at the Primetime Emmys.