Prime

Prime would be a 2026 CGI science-fiction film directed by Steven Spielberg from an screenplay by Spielberg, Christina Hudson and Kelly Fremon Craig, produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Spielberg, Tom DeSanto, Don Murphy, and Mark Vahradian, and based on the Transformers franchise by Hasbro. A prequel to the film Bumblebee (2018), the film would star the voices of Peter Cullen and Frank Welker, reprising their roles from previous Transformers media as Orion Pax/Optimus Prime and Megatron, alongside the voices of Scarlett Johansson, James Earl Jones, and Zachary Levi. John Williams would compose and conduct the film's score.

A prequel to Bumblebee centered on Optimus Prime would be announced in January 2024, with Spielberg, who previously served as an executive-producer on the six previous Transformers films, set to direct the film, as well as to co-write it alongside Bumblebee screenwriter Christina Hudson. Fremon Craig, Cullen, and Welker would be announced as screenwriter and stars in July 2024. Johansson, Jones, and Levi would join the film in September 2024. Filming for the project would begin in March 2025, in Playa Vista, Los Angeles. The screenwriters would draw inspiration from multiple versions of Optimus Prime's backstory while developing the film's story, particularly the G1 and Transformers: Prime versions.

Prime would be released in July 25, 2026, and would become a critical and commercial success, with critics calling it "a worthy follow-up to Bumblebee", and praising its direction, vocal performances, writing, visual effects, and action sequences. The film would also earn 940 million dollars at the worldwide box office, over a budget of 180 million dollars, becoming the hightest grossing Transformers film. The film would also earn two Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects and Best Original Score.

Synopsis
Eons ago, in the planet of Cybertron, Orion Pax, a young and inexperienced soldier, is meant to look after a dock alongisde his friend Dion and his girlfriend Ariel. However, Pax becomes entranced by a new species of robot who are able to fly, and the group, uses that admiration to allow them to enter the dock, destroying it and almost killing Pax, Dion, and Ariel. However, a member of the High Council named Sentinel, having discovered Pax and his potential, saves them. Sentinel then takes Pax under his wing as one of his mentees, alongside a robot named Megatron, hoping that one of them may become the successor he hopes to find soon, while Dion and Ariel become commanders in the army he's creating to stop Megatron. However, they soon discover that the group of robots is searching for the Matrix of Leadership, a legendary artifact said to contain the power of Primus and the wisdom of the legendary Primes. Sentinel then sends Pax and his friends, as well as himself, to find the Matrix first. Pax now must prove homself worthy of the Matrix and fulfill his destiny of becoming the legendary Optimus Prime.

Cast

 * Peter Cullen as Orion Pax/Optimus Prime, a young soldier who, after being fooled and nearly killed by Megatron, becomes an student of Sentinel's. Cullen would say that "we get to really see where Prime comes from, in a truly inspirational way" in the film.
 * Frank Welker as Megatron, Sentinel's second mentee, who develps a friendship with Orion Pax. Welker would call Pax and Megatron's relationship "Moises and Ramses all over again", and that the film "gives Megatron a more understanfing motivation to try to take over the universe".
 * Scarlett Johansson as Ariel, a soldier-turned-commander on Sentinel's army, and Orion Pax's girlfriend. Johansson would call Ariel "a damsel-in-no-distress that knows how to take care of herself, yet she leaarns how to live as a commander".
 * James Earl Jones as Sentinel, a member of the High Council, who becomes Orion Pax and Megatron's mentor. The character would be inspired by Sentinel Prime. Jones would call Sentinel "the most important figure in both Pax and Megatron's life".
 * Zachary Levi as Dion, a soldier-turned-commander in Sentinel's army, and Orion Pax's best friend. Levi would describe him as "a boy becoming a man", and that his arc is "one of those coming-of-age tales".

Music
John Williams, a recurring collaborator of director Steven Spielberg's, would compose and conduct the film's score. Williams would draw inspiration from his work in the Star Wars franchise for his score for the film. Williams would compose a theme for Orion Pax that "has a feeling of greatness", while his theme for Megatron would have "a more sinister feeling", both in order to foreshadow each characters' fate. Sentinel's theme would "be one fit for a leader, a mentor, and a father". Ariel's theme would be defined by Williams as being "both militaristic and romantic", and Williams' theme for Dion would be "first childish, but later more mature".

Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film would have an approval rating of 89%, with an average rating of 8/10, based on 214 reviews. The website's critical consesnsus would read, "Following the footstpes of Bumblebee, Prime is an inspirational prequel that continues its franchise's healing process by giving new looks to classic characters througth a relatable and touching tale that fans and audiences will love". On Metacritic, the film would have a weighted rating of 73 out of 100, based on 44 reviews, indicating "generally positive reviews".

Trivia

 * This would be the first Transformers movie to not to involve Michael Bay.
 * This would mark the second time a director other than Michael Bay directs a Transformers film, after Bumblebee (2018), which was directed by Travis Knight.
 * This would be the first Transformers film to not to feature Bumblebee.
 * According to director Steven Spielberg, Megatron shouting twice "Prime" after the film's climax would be an homage to The Prince of Egypt (1998), in which he served as an uncredited executive producer.
 * Christina Hudson previously wrote the script for Bumblebee. while Kelly Fremon Craig did uncredited rewrites on that film's script.