Similarities Between Transformers One and the Original Movie Revealed

Transformers One director Josh Cooley discussed how the original 1986 movie inspired his latest take on the franchise. Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Cooley mentioned that the voice work in Transformers: The Movie had a significant impact on his approach to Transformers One. The 1986 film is a beloved part of geek culture, with many actors delivering standout performances.

Cooley felt the need to bring in top-tier talent for this origin story. “There’s some amazing voice work done on that movie. That was one thing I’m still blown away by — they got Orson Welles to voice a character in that film, for his last performance, too. So I knew that we needed to have some heavyweight cast in this film as well,” he said.

Even as Transformers One charts new territory for the iconic robotic characters, the challenge of replacing legendary performers loomed large. Peter Cullen, known as the voice of Optimus Prime, is particularly irreplaceable. Cooley spoke about handling this concern by focusing on the legacy rather than trying to live up to it directly.

“The one thing that stressed me out from the minute I signed on was, Peter Cullen is Optimus Prime and is Transformers — that’s what my Optimus Prime was growing up,” Cooley admitted. “I was concerned. How do we [follow that]? And when I really listened to Chris, he had this power to his voice. He took the lines and just pushed even further. He wasn’t trying to imitate Peter Cullen, but he was doing the cadence and the rhythm of Optimus Prime, and I froze and I got goosebumps.”

Paramount has provided a fresh description for the new movie: “TRANSFORMERS ONE is the untold origin story of OPTIMUS PRIME and MEGATRON, better known as sworn enemies, but once were friends bonded like brothers who changed the fate of Cybertron forever. In the first-ever fully CG-animated TRANSFORMERS movie, TRANSFORMERS ONE features a star-studded voice cast, including Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry, Scarlett Johansson, Keegan-Michael Key, Steve Buscemi with Laurence Fishburne, and Jon Hamm.”

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