Skybound Entertainment has a thrilling news to share with us.
Their 1st issue of Void Rivals is sold out. With it, the publishing company is planning to re-print the issue with two new variant covers featuring Jetfire.
You can read the press release and take a look at the variant covers, after the jump.
Speaking to multiple press outlets, Hasbro and Skybound Entertainment are giving fans ample amounts of info on their future plans for the Transformers comic book license.
Info via Popverse:
“When we first discussed plan for the surprise reveal in Void Rivals #1, I never expected it would be a secret we could keep for over a year,” Michael Kelly, Hasbro’s VP of global publishing, says in a statement. “Now that it is finally here, we are all excited to finally be able to talk about all the amazing stories to come from our great new partners at Skybound.”
Beyond Void Rivals, the line will include a new ongoing Transformers series — titled simply Transformers — by Daniel Warren Johnson, launching in October, centering around Optimus Prime and the rest of his team of Autobots now that they’re stranded on Earth and removed from the war-torn Cybertron… of course, they’re not there alone: the Decepticons have also made it to Earth, and are ready to start the conflict over in an all-new location.
Speaking to CBR, Robert Kirkman had this to say:
“The Energon Universe is kind of like an origin story. We’re going back to square one with both Transformers and G.I. Joe and introducing the readers to this universe from the ground floor. We’re gonna get to see them interact and grow in an organic way because these are massive universes with massive casts of characters. We’re going to start small and grow into the cast. So there’s a lot of characters that people are going to be dying to see. You know, “When’s this character gonna show up? When’s this character gonna show up?” It’s going to be a very methodical rollout that — I keep saying “roll out” in these interviews, and it always throws me — but we’re going to transform and roll out these characters in a really cool way.”
In a lengthy interview with APIT Comics, Mr. Kirkman stated that in this comic universe, the G.I. Joe team was formed as a response to the existence of the Cybertronians.:
“We’re gonna try to do this in a different way than things have been done before. I know these characters have interacted a lot in the past but we’re trying to do an organic rollout where the existence of Transformers on Earth kind of leads to the formation of G.I. Joe in some interesting ways and, and kind of tying them together and hopefully in a new and startling way that excites longtime fans and brings in new time fans.”
Issuing a press release, Skybound summarizes what to expect in the upcoming releases. You can read all about it, after the jump.
Doors are open in Las Vagas for the 2023 edition of Licensing Expo. Hasbro is attending this year to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Transformers franchise.
Hasbro spoke briefly about Rise of the Beasts and the upcoming Transformers: One.
For ROTB, Hasbro stated that they’ve partnered with various licensing partners including Bioworld, Disguise Costumes, Dynacraft, Funko, Jada, Hallmark, Kid Design, Monogram, Robosen, Super7, and Tomy. It is worth noting that we’ve only seen products from some of these listed companies. It is likely that we will see more licensed products throughout the coming months.
However, the announcement of the hour was the aforementioned 40th anniversary of the Transformers franchise. Casey Collins, Hasbro’s President of Licensed consumer Products had very interesting news to share with all of us:
“We will start [2024] by celebrating the landmark 40th anniversary of Transformers by providing our licensees with 3D files of the original G1 toys for the first time ever. With this, our partners will be able to reissue original licensed products and reimagined innovations leveraging the authentic vintage artwork from the G1 toy line and Marvel comics. Pulling it all together, we’re digitally releasing the ‘80s animated TV series soundtrack with an exciting bonus track that taps into nostalgia and re-creates the excitement, tone, and pop culture moments of 1984.”
You can read the full press release we’ve received, after the jump.
Spoilers Warning! This news post contains spoilers from Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura and director Steven Caple Jr. seemingly confirmed a greenlighted sequel for Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.
“We’re also not through with the Maximals, so I imagine in the next movie we’ll have Maximals, Autobots, and Joes.” says Mr. di Bonaventura.
Caple, speaking with EW separately, confirms he’s deep into developing the Rise of the Beasts sequel. “It is definitely gonna incorporate some Joes characters, but it won’t go into, maybe, the true origins of the Joes.”
“The idea of trying to do the whole Joe world at the same time is a little daunting,” Di Bonaventure confirms. “This is a way to bring them into our world, remind people of who they are, and they’ll have a role in the plot.”
More news from the Takara Tomy front for their upcoming Transformers: Beast Awakening (Rise of the Beasts) Ultimate Optimus Primal.
The toy is slated to release on July 15th, 2023.
An official video showcasing the transformation of the aforementioned toy is out now and you can check it out below.
To celebrate the occasion, ROTB movie ambassador Akiko Wada performed a rendition of the Japanese theme song from Beast Wars. Another video was also released to show off the gimmicks. You can check them out, after the jump.
＼新商品情報！／
『 #トランスフォーマー／ #ビースト覚醒』新商品！
■覚醒オプティマスプライマル劇中に忠実なデザインのゴリラのビーストモードからロボットモードへ！ 変形動画をお届け！
ご予約はこちら↓ https://t.co/j8eBY4aSnK#Transformers pic.twitter.com/zWjwbRZXRC
— 【公式】トランスフォーマー情報局 (@TF_pr) June 12, 2023
Following their teaser, we now have a plethora of images from the G1 and Transformers: Rise of the Beasts model kits by Chinese manufacturer Buluke.
Rise of the Beasts model kits are equipped with interchangeable hands and various accessories including weapons.
ROTB model kits also come with backdrops based on several scenes from the movie.
A commercial for the G1 Model Kits is already airing in China and you can check it via Weibo.
We’ve mirrored all the images with this news post. You can check it out, after the jump.
The official Transformers Instagram account is revealing a new collaboration with apparel brand Goat Crew.
The line features both G1 and Transformers: Rise of the Beasts T-Shirts, Hoodies, and Caps.
ROTB merchandise features several never-before-seen artworks of characters from the movie.
You can check out the whole line via Goat Crew.
Composer Jongnic Bontemps‘ score for Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is out now on various digital platforms.
In addition to that, fans can listen freely to the same via Spotify (check it out after the jump).
The score consists of 26 tracks and the titles may be spoilers for those who are yet to enjoy the new movie.
Couple of links to purchase the score:
Speaking to Collider, producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura explained a bit about the creative process of Transformers: One animated movie.
“I don’t know about when we’ll see [the first footage]. It’ll be a while. I can’t tell you how excited I’m getting about it. It’s one of those things that like, it just keeps progressing in the right direction, you know? You never know, sometimes when you’re making a movie, you’re, like, ‘Well, I think it’s working.’ Everything I’m seeing is working and it’s exceeding my sense of what it was gonna be, so I’m really excited about it. It is a very fresh and different look, I would say different than any animated movie you’ve seen, which is a high bar to set, but ILM is capable of delivering it.”
He also spoke highly of the voice cast:
“Also, it’s the imagination of our artists and our director, and one of the great things is, as you actually put the voices to the characters– When we first listen to Chris Hemsworth’s voice, you’re like, ‘God, is he gonna be a good Optimus!’ Obviously, he starts as Orion Pax and you don’t become Optimus for a while, so he’s not playing, for most of the movie, what we think of as Optimus, Peter Cullen. So it’s that transition, and Chris’s voice has a timbre that… it’s logical that Peter Cullen would take over that voice, if you would, which is really great, the fans are gonna really feel great. But Scarlett [Johansson] is amazing, and it’s just coming alive in a way that it’s really rewarding, and we had confidence in our director, and all he’s doing is giving us more and more.”
Transformers One is currently slated for September 14, 2024.
It’s been a while since the unofficial leak, but we finally have it confirmed.
Fortnite is collaborating with Hasbro once again, and this time for Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.
The official Twitter handle of Fortnite has this to say:
“Making memories with Mariposa. Relik. Optimus Prime. And Purradise Meowscles.”
To unlock Optimus Prime, Fortnite news outlet HypeX and DualShockers states the following:
“As expected, Optimus Prime will be the tier 100 skin for the season 3 battle pass, so players will need to max out the battle pass to obtain the new skin.”
You can download and play Fortnite for free via various platforms including Android, PC, PlayStation, Switch, Xbox Cloud Gaming, GEFORCE NOW, and Amazon Luna.