Next 'Transformers' Sequel Likely to Be Epic Crossover

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023) breaks new ground for the Transformers film series by creating a shared universe. But there’s another Hasbro-owned franchise the upcoming sequel is likely to cross over with, and it would be about morphin’ time…

The seventh film in the Transformers series, Rise of the Beasts, may as well be the second, seeing as Bumblebee (2018) wiped the slate clean, opting for a complete do-over rather than serving as a prequel to the five movies that came before it.

Bumblebee flying in 'Transformers: Rise of the Beasts' — Credit: Paramount Pictures

The first five installments may have made a fortune at the box office (a combined $4.4 billion), and though there are some genuinely good moments throughout, ultimately, they epitomize everything wrong with Michael Bay movies. They’re loud, obnoxious, bloated, dumb, and are narratively and visually incoherent.

Fortunately, Bumblebee fixed all of that, stripping things back to basics and giving fans a film more along the lines of E.T the Extra Terrestrial (1982) than its predecessors. Its sequel, Rise of the Beasts, continues this trend to some extent. While the action set pieces are bigger and the stakes higher, the plot is mostly straightforward, but more importantly, you can tell what’s happening when the Autobots and the Terrorcrons lock horns.

Hailee Steinfeld and Bumblebee on a beach — Credit: Paramount Pictures

Speaking of “locking horns,” this film introduces the Maximals, good-guy Transformers that resemble animals: Airazor (Michelle Yeoh), Rhinox, Cheetor (Tongayi Chirisa), and Optimus Primal (Ron Perlman). We’ll let you figure out what animals they each represent. The film does fall guilty of re-treading familiar territory, though (a race against time to retrieve an ancient MacGuffin thingy while evil robots are hot on the good guys’ tails), but the very last scene breaks new ground for the Transformers film series.

After joining the Autobots (Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Mirage, et al.) and the Maximals in their battle against the Terrorcrons, ex-soldier Noah Diaz (Anthony Ramos) is recruited by a mysterious organization that operates outside the government radar: it’s the G.I. Joe!

The Maximals in 'Transformers: Rise of the Beasts' — Credit: Paramount Pictures

It’s no mystery that G.I. Joe is also owned by Hasbro. And since Hasbro owns both properties, this isn’t the first time the two have crossed paths, as toy lines and comic books (most recently the ones under IDW Publishing collectively known as The Hasbro Comic Book Universe) have long beaten the silver screen to it.

So, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts — touted as the first in a new trilogy of Transformers movies — seemingly reveals that the next sequel will feature the G.I. Joe (it’s highly unlikely Transformers will “adopt” the three existing G..I. Joe movies). But a third franchise owned by Hasbro could appear in one of those upcoming films: Power Rangers.

(L to R) Black Ranger, Yellow Ranger, Red Ranger, Pink Ranger, and Black Ranger in Power Rangers 2017 — Credit: Lionsgate / Saban

Like G.I. Joe, Power Rangers wouldn’t look out of place in the Transformers universe, as it also deals with giant robots and alien creatures. Rise of the Beasts even sees Noah suit up as a human-sized Autobot when he dons Mirage’s Power Rangers-esque exo-suit.

In fact, there have already been talks of a Hasbro shared universe which would include the Power Rangers. We also know that a Power Rangers reboot is currently in development, which will be unrelated to the 2017 film as the property now falls under Hasbro.

As for the G.I. Joe side of things, we may see the return of Bumblebee‘s Agent Jack Burns (John Cena), who would make an excellent candidate for the top-secret military task force.

Check out the trailer for Transformers: Rise of the Beasts below, per Paramount Pictures:

Per the official website, here’s the synopsis:

Returning to the action and spectacle that have captured moviegoers around the world, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts will take audiences on a ’90s globetrotting adventure with the Autobots and introduce a whole new faction of Transformers – the Maximals – to join them as allies in the existing battle for earth.

Rise of the Beasts stars Anthony Ramos (Noah Diaz), Dominique Fishback (Elena Wallace), Peter Cullen (Optimus Prime), Ron Perlman (Optimus Primal), Peter Dinklage (Scourge), Michelle Yeoh (Airazor), and Pete Davidson (Mirage).

The film is now available to watch on Paramount+.

Would you like to see the Transformers team up with G.I. Joe and the Power Rangers? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!