Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson reunite for ‘Transformers One’

Chris Hemsworth and Scarlett Johansson’s ‘Transformers One’ posters | Image: Paramount Pictures through Columbia Pictures

Avengers cast members Chris Hemsworth and Scarlett Johansson will take their A game to the Transformers universe as they are slated to voice two of the early incarnations of the robots in disguise in the animated prequel film “Transformers One.”

Hemsworth will take on the role of Orion Pax/Optimus Prime, while Johansson will lend her voice as fellow Autobot warrior Elita-1. This animated feature will serve as a reunion for both actors, as they were last seen together assembling for Marvel Studios’ “Avengers: Endgame” in 2019.

Joining them in the newest Transformers ensemble are Brian Tyree Henry as Megatron/D-16, Keegan-Michael Key as Bumblebee, Jon Hamm as Sentinel Prime, and Laurence Fishburne as Alpha Trion, among others.

“Transformers One” will take the audience to the early days of sworn brothers Optimus Prime (then known as Orion Pax) and Megatron (then named D-16) before they became fierce enemies as they led their respective Transformer factions, the Autobots and Decepticons.

On April 18, Paramount Pictures launched the official trailer for “Transformers One,” giving the audience a look at the visually appealing, immersive storytelling of the CG-animated movie.

The trailer shows the young Optimus Prime and Megatron starting out as simple worker bots without the capacity to transform into anything. But as soon as they gain the ability to change into weaponized vehicles, they embark on a falling-out as they battle the big villain in Cyberton.

In an interview with Screen Rant, director Josh Cooley described Optimus Prime and Megatron’s friendship as “tragedy” and explained its importance in the telling of their story.

“As long as the audience cares about these characters from the very beginning and believes in their relationship, [that’s what we need] for this film. Even if you’ve never seen Transformers before, even if you’ve never read the comics, nothing—you can watch this movie and be totally invested. You see these two characters and go, ‘Yeah, they’re great together,'” he said.

“Orion and D-16 before they become Optimus and Megatron? They’re awesome. You want to see them together, and you want to love them together, so that when the relationship starts to fall apart, it’s a tragedy. At the end of it, you’re just like, ‘Oh, man, it sucks that they’re going to become enemies.’ Regardless of all the different tellings of the origin, the most important thing was that relationship,” added the director.

“Transformers One” will premiere in Philippine cinemas on May 15.

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