A Transformers: Beast Wars movie is in the works. Following the release of 2018’s Bumblebee, Paramount Pictures and Hasbro have put two new Transformers movies in development, and one of them is going to be based on the iconic 90s spin-off. For the time being, few details are available, but this shows that the studio is looking to expand the scope of the franchise on the big screen as they look ahead to the future.
According to a new report, James Vanderbilt has been hired to pen the screenplay for the Beast Wars movie. No plot details have been revealed at this time, but it’s said that he’s been working on the project since April, which means a draft could already be well underway. There is no director attached currently and it isn’t clear which characters will appear. In any event, this could serve as welcome news for those who grew up with this version of the franchise in the 90s.
James Vanderbilt has written several major franchise flicks in the past, including The Amazing Spider-Man, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Independence Day: Resurgence. Some of his other credits include The Rundown, The Losers and White House Down. Perhaps his most noteworthy credit is David Fincher’s highly-acclaimed 2007 crime drama Zodiac. Regardless of what one may think of some of those movies, Vanderbilt knows his way around both blockbusters and adaptations.
As for the second Transformers movie in development, that is set to be penned by Joby Harold. Some of his credits include King Arthur: Legend of the Sword and Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead, which is set to arrive on Netflix sometime this year. Harold also worked on both John Wick: Chapter 2 and John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum. Virtually no details were made available in regards to Harold’s project, only that it will take place in the currently-established universe we saw in Bumblebee.
Beast Wars was a spin-off initiative launched by Hasbro in the 90s as part of the larger Transformers universe. It is known best as an animated series that ran for three seasons from 1996 to 1999. One of the big hooks is that the show takes place in the same universe as the 1980s animated series. It focused on the Maximals and Predacons, descendants of the Autobots and Decepticons and was said to take place in the distant future. However, it was later revealed that the show actually took place in the distant past on prehistoric Earth, in something of a twist. Characters include the likes of Cheetor, Optimus Primal and Rhinox.
To date, the live-action Transformers movies have grossed more than $4.8 billion at the box office. Bumblebee managed to win back both critics and moviegoers and was a relatively modest success financially, earning $465 million. We’ll be sure to keep you posted as any further details on the project are made available. This news comes to us via Deadline.
