Transformers: Legacy Trilogy (Netflix)

Transformers: Legacy Trilogy (also known as Transformers Generations: Legacy, or simply Legacy) is an upcoming animated series produced by Hasbro and Rooster Teeth based on the Transformers Legacy toyline, with animation by Polygon Pictures and voice production by Horseless Cowboy. F.J. DeSanto returns as the series showrunner, a role he previously had with Prime Wars Trilogy and War For Cybertron Trilogy, with George Krstic, Gavin Hignight, Brandon M. Easton, Tim Sheridan, and Mae Catt as writers.

The series is a sequel to War For Cybertron, picking up a few centuries after the events of Kingdom, with the Autobots and Decepticons now reformed and united under a coalition that seeks to stop the upcoming threat against the multiverse from the vengeful Unicron.

The cast of Legacy features returning talent from War for Cybertron, such as Jason Marnocha as Megatron, Frank Todaro as Starscream, Rattrap and the Sparkless bots, Jake Tillman as Optimus Prime, Joe Zieja as Bumblebee and Goldbug, and Jonathan Lipow as Unicron. The aforementioned actors also provide the voice of their characters' various counterparts. New talent joining the cast are Yuri Lowenthal as Tarn, Christopher Sabat as Grimlock and Leo Prime/Nemesis Leo, Sean Schemmel as Armada Hot Shot, Brina Palencia as Prime Arcee, Ron Yuan as Victory Deathsaurus and William Miller as Needlenose. Guest stars include Ian Anthony Dale as Victory Star Saber and Jenna Ortega as the rogue Decepticon Flamewar.

The series is set to premiere on Netflix in late 2023, to coincide with the release of the theatrical movie Transformers Rise of the Beasts. The series is debuting with the first season titled Evolution which will consist of 8 episodes/22 minutes each. A second season, titled Unity, will debut in early 2024, to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the franchise as well as with the release of the animated movie Transformers: One, and a third season, titled Rebirth, will debut in fall 2024, wrapping up the trilogy and the current era of Transformers.

A spin-off centered on the story of the Shattered Glass universe, currently featured in a new comic book series by IDW Publishing accompanied by a toyline, is in the early stages of development and may be a limited series.

Premise
A few centuries after the events of War For Cybertron: Kingdom, Cybertron ushered in a new era of peace and prosperity, the Allspark having restored and created new life for Cybertron. The planet is now housing Autobots, Decepticons, Maximals, Predacons and Mercenaries. A new High Council, known as The Cybertronian Coalition was build to rule the new world, consisting of Optimus Prime of the Autobots, Megatron of the Decepticons, Optimus Primal of the Maximals, Predacon Megatron of the Predacons, and Soundblaster of the Mercenaries. Unicron, having discovered the true nature of the multiverse by studying the Dead Universe, has come to the conclusion that sentient beings who inhabit the multiverse are responsible for its impending destruction. Knowing that Galvatron has created a new universe due to his time travel actions from the previous series, Unicron seeks to use the very same process to trigger a Multiversal Crisis, bringing various universes and timelines together in order to consume them and create one single void where he would rule. To prevent this impending doom, the new Coalition seeks to team up with their counterparts from other universes and restore the multiverse, as well as finally killing Unicron once and for all.

Cast
Main Cast:

Jake Tillman as Optimus Prime/G2 Optimus Prime/Armada Optimus Prime

Brett Tucker as Black Convoy (Nemesis Prime II)

Jason Marnocha as WFC Megatron/G2 Megatron/Armada Megatron

Jason Spisak as Galvatron II

Jonathan Lipow as Unicron

Marcus Bobesich as Predacon Megatron/Transmetal II Megatron

Justin Pierce as Optimus Primal

Yuri Lowenthal as Tarn

Brina Palencia as Prime Arcee

Dietrich Balder as Prime Bulkhead

Christopher Sabat as Grimlock, Leo Prime/Nemesis Leo

Sean Schemmel as Armada Hot Shot

William Miller as Needlenose

Recurring Cast:

Krizz Kaliko as Dinomus/Dinobot

Travis Artz as Hot Rod/Rodimus Prime

Brook Chalmers as Comic Universe Impactor

Nolan North as Cybertron Universe Metroplex

Ian Anthony Dale as Victory Universe Star Saber

Ron Yuan as Victory Universe Deathsaurus

Ben Jurand as Alpha Trion

Mark Hamill as Megatronus Prime

Jaime King as Solus Prime

JB Blanc as MacCadam/Alchemist Prime

Remy Hii as Primus

Sarah Poulson as Gaea

Ike Amadi as The One Being, The Nemesis

Fred Tatasciore as Chronarchitect

Development
The first mentions of the Legacy toyline began surfacing as soon as early 2021, with the production having begun sometime in 2020. The leaks, which at first have been vague into explaining what the next toyline could be other than the possible implication of the multiverse, were describing the toyline as another trilogy, to later be leaked under the title Legacy with the subtitle of its first chapter being Evolution. It has been concieved not only as a sequel for War For Cybertron where fans could see the full ramifications of the timeline and multiverse wreaking action of the Generations storytelling, but it is also meant to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the franchise by bringing together all universes into one definitive story that will close the previous era, and begin an all new fresh start for the long running franchise. The toyline itself has been announced at Hasbro Pulsecon in October 2021, and began hitting store shelves in early 2022. An animated series, also a sequel to War For Cybertron, was conceptualized back when the toyline entered production, and initially it was pitched to Netflix by F.J DeSanto, its showrunner, sometime before the release of Earthrise or Kingdom. Netflix would reject the pitch due to their changing mandates at the time, but due to the success of the War For Cybertron series on Netflix as well as due to the success of the toys and comics, a deal has been reached for a limited capacity for the series. The story was pitched as a 3 parter, just like its predecessor, and Polygon Pictures once again took over the animation, working on 6 episodes/22 minutes each for all 3 seasons, this time with graphics and a tone much akin to Robots in Disguise 2015. Talent from War for Cybertron returns, but, due to previous controversy over voice acting choices, Hasbro would also include talents from the Funimation english dubs of animes, working in synergy with the core cast. Due to the popular demand for an animated Shattered Glass series, Hasbro commissioned development for a limited, adult animated series that will adapt the newly released IDW Publishing comics, and it will be produced by Powerhouse Animation Studios, which previously worked with Hasbro on Prime Wars Trilogy. The crew of Legacy is also involved in this spin-off.

Toyline
First revealed in late 2021 at Hasbro Pulse Con 2021, Legacy commemorates the approaching 40th anniversary of the Transformers brand by featuring new toys of characters from across the Transformers multiverse. The toys are largely in the scale and style of those from the War for Cybertron Trilogy, including numerous 3 mm posts and 5 mm ports from the C.O.M.B.A.T. System. Non-Generation 1 characters are updated with a Generations aesthetic to fit with the rest of the toyline, most evident with the toys based on Prime. Legacy characters can "harness the power of Energon" as each toy includes an 'Energon-infused weapon": an, often translucent, accessory that the figure can wield in multiple ways and combine with others, not too dissimilar to the 2003 Energon series. The toyline also sees the return of combiners from Hasbro for the first time since Power of the Primes, with the Stunticons being released over 2022. As the line moves into 2023, it will put some focus on characters from Armada to commemorate the series' 20th anniversary.

Spin-off collections such as Velocitron Speedia 500 and Wreck'n'Rule have also been released via Amazon, expanding the range and story of the toyline.

The official description reads:

'' Universes continue to collide! Transformers: Legacy brings together fan-favorite characters from across the Transformers multiverse. Figures feature deco inspired by their universe with an updated Generations design. In honor of the almost 40-year legacy of Transformers entertainment, the fandoms come together from across the Transformers multiverse, all in one toy line. ''

Marketing and Release
The toyline has not received the same substantial marketing as War for Cybertron, only been promoted via ocassional Hasbro Pulse livestreams and Instagram updates. The fandom has mostly contributed to the marketing, chief among them being the now-defunct YouTube channel named AndyUnicronus99, where inside development knownledge and possible plotlines have been discussed until the channel was shut down in early 2022.

The initial slow-burn strategy would soon evolve into a full-fledged marketing campaign after Hasbro announced the series officially at Brand Licensing Expo in september 2022. Since then, the show began getting promotion, teases, and material that would keep and rise the interest for the Legacy brand.

The series will begin with the first season titled Evolution, which will be released in late 2023, with its following 2 seasons being released through 2024: Revolution in spring, the other titled Rebirth in winter.

Trivia

 * Much like 2022's Studio Series lineup, Leader Class toys feature window-less packaging, which allows for expanded artwork. The others largely utilize the same minimized window and plastic tray-less boxes from the previous line, War for Cybertron: Kingdom, though with many hard-to-stack (but cool!) angles for the sides and no plastic window.


 * The lack of a plastic window in the packaging has lead to several drawbacks, most prominently the lack of support offered by the plastic window makes the packaging more susceptible to stress-based wear-and-tear, as well as tampering with the figures inside such as storing Voyager Bulkhead's head in his chest cavity, making it appear as though the figure is missing his head.


 * The universes currently featured in the Legacy toyline are the "Diaclone Universe", "Comic Universe", "G2 Universe", "Robots in Disguise 2000 Universe", “Armada Universe”, "Cybertron Universe", and "Prime Universe". The QR-accessed bios on Hasbro's website add "G1" and "Beast Wars" origin universes into the mix, though these names do not appear on the toys' boxes. Strangely, the Diaclone-adjacent items in the Generations Selects and Buzzworthy Bumblebee lineups are not given the "Diaclone Universe" label.


 * In titling universes, Legacy splits the difference in terms of release years, leaning towards their Japanese release in particular. This is why the "Robots in Disguise 2000 Universe" isn't "Robots in Disguise 2001 Universe", as the Japanese release Car Robots did release in 2000. Likewise, 2003 is considered the anniversary year for Armada, despite it arriving in some countries in late 2002.


 * This is not the first Transformers series to feature the multiverse at the center of its story, as Transformers Cyberverse would have its own core multiverse, featuring characters like Megatron X and Tarn. A cancelled Transformers series titled SuperCross would've featured G1, Beast Wars and Armada coming together in a story with a multiversal singular Unicron as villain, case of which is seen with Legacy. The only 2 pieces of media to fully tackle the subject of the franchise multiverse was the comic series Transtech, as well as the manga Generations Selects, where a primordial universe that existed before the known multiverse was the birthplace of Primus and Unicron.


 * Due to the current shift in strategy at Hasbro, and the overuse of iconic brands, Legacy marks the end of an entire multiversal saga of Transformers, and the last time fans will see the known generations. A massive overhaul is expected to take place starting in 2025.


 * Legacy would also see the fulfillment of a in-story prophecy of the optimal universe, where all are one. This was the purpose of the ancient Grand Plan of Primus, and will both close the 40 years-running saga and be the startpoint of an all new saga.