Beast Wars' Maximals are in the next Transformers movie, but perhaps their classic furry designs should maximize into more robotic ones.
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is a potential new beginning for the Paramount movie franchise, and it brings with it the series' most bestial form yet. Along with the familiar Autobot faces of Optimus Prime and Bumblebee, there will also be multiple Maximals joining the fray as well. This faction of Autobot descendants made their debut in Beast Wars, but it's likely best if they leave their fur coats behind.
The aesthetic of Beast Wars was incredibly controversial when the subseries began, and it's rarely been revisited since then. Given this precedent, plus what would actually look good on film, the Maximals might be maximizing into much more robotic-looking designs in the movie. Here's why the original Mainframe designs of the Beast Wars cast should be abandoned in the seventh Transformers movie.
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Beast Wars was a major departure from what had come before with the Transformers franchise, and the changes made were intentional. Transformers: Generation 2 was an immense failure, and parent company Hasbro knew that only a drastic course correction could save the franchise from permanent obscurity. Thus, the robots in disguise took on the form of animals, but in a much different way than Generation 1 bots like the Dinobots or the Insecticons. These new Transformers shifted their bodies into organic beast modes, which looked no different from real-life animals as opposed to the robotic facsimiles of G1 beast bots. The look was kept in robot mode, resulting in robots who looked more like the biomechanical characters from the manga Guyver than blocky bots from the original series.
Fans initially hated these designs and the concept as a whole, seeing Beast Wars as a betrayal of the Transformers property. The toys themselves were incredibly successful, however, and they were soon followed by the success of the Mainframe Beast Wars: Transformers cartoon. The series was considered one of, if not the best Transformers cartoon ever made, and it spawned a direct sequel and two Japanese Transformers anime. Despite the success of this "Beast Era," however, the franchise began hewing closer to the original G1 looks bit by bit. Though 2000's Transformers: Robots in Disguise had characters whose looks were based on Beast Wars toys, the blatantly organic designs were more muted. By the time of Transformers: Armada, purely robotic Transformers were once again the only option, with the recent Transformers: War for Cybertron - Kingdom, itself a Beast Wars/G1 mashup, one of the few exceptions to this rule.
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Optimus Primal, Airazor and Rhinox will be appearing in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, fighting alongside Optimus Prime, Bumblebee and their other Autobot ancestors. If the trail made by the Bumblebee movie is followed, this could see them having designs that actually match their original looks, unlike what was initially seen for many fan favorites in the first Michael Bay Transformers movie. While this doesn't seem like a bad idea, said designs should still be updated to match the general Transformer aesthetic, which involves getting rid of the furry, organic Beast Wars designs. Given that the Maximals will be interacting with the Autobots in the movie, it would make much more sense for them to be gigantic robotic versions of their traditional beast modes. Otherwise, how is Airazor, a falcon, going to be anything but a gnat in comparison to the Autobots?
The same goes for Optimus Primal, who will come off as completely pathetic if he's as small to Optimus Prime as a human would be. At this size, the realistic beast aesthetic definitely would look completely strange and unorthodox. Optimus Primal has been described as the "King Kong" of Transformers, suggesting that he is, in fact, gigantic in size. Thus, while the furry look may be the one that he wore during the Beast Wars cartoon, it seems that something closer to a true robot in disguise will be the skin he wears on the big screen. Knowing the historical controversy over Beast Wars, it's probably for the best.
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts maximizes onto the big screen on June 9, 2023.
Timothy Blake Donohoo is a graduate of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where he majored in Communication and minored in Creative Writing. A professional freelance writer and marketing expert, he’s written marketing copy and retail listings for companies such as Viatek. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, playing video games, watching documentaries and catching up on the latest Vaporwave and Electro-Swing musical releases.
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