The future of the Transformers franchise, as far as the movies go anyway, is a little up in the air right now. Same for the G.I. Joe franchise. We know that Paramount has confirmed a new Transformers movie is on the way. Is that going to be the long-awaited crossover between the Robots in Disguise and the Real American Heroes? It doesn’t sound like it.
In a recent interview with Screen Rant, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts director Steven Caple Jr. Addressed the status of the Transformers/G.I. Joe crossover movie. Rises of the Beasts set the table for it and Caple Jr. is expected to return to the director’s chair. He confirmed that he’s still got plans for the movie, but it’s not what Paramount intends to do next. Here’s what he had to say.
“I do. I still do have big plans for what that could be, but we’ll have to see. We’ll have to see what comes about it. I am not part of the next Transformers film, but it’s still in development and there’s still time, so you just never know.”
Paramount confirmed the crossover movie not long after Rise of the Beasts arrived in 2023. In 2024, Thor star Chris Hemsworth was cast in an undisclosed role. Updates on the project have been few and far between in the two years since. Whether or not Hemsworth is even still part of it remains unclear. As Caple Jr. tells it, the project is still in development, but Paramount has other priorities to attend to.
“I don’t look at things like a universe, I look at them as a story and [the Joes] will be a part of the story,” franchise producer Lorenzo Di Bonaventura said of the crossover in a 2023 interview with One Take News. “I also think the term ‘crossover’ means different things for different people. For me, the Joes, whoever they are, are entering the world of Transformers, not combining the two worlds. The plan is to eventually do [a crossover]. But, for the next movie, it’s the Joes that are coming in for whatever the ending of Rise of the Beasts has led us to believe is possible.”
In the meantime, it’s been confirmed that an animated Transformers/G.I. Joe crossover set based on the Energon Universe from the comics is in the works. Perhaps Paramount and Hasbro are content to roll with that for now and focus on another standalone Transformers movie before taking on the crossover.
What we know for sure is that the animated Transformers One didn’t pan out as the studio hoped. It was met with solid reviews but disappointed at the box office. The planned Transformers One sequel was canceled, leaving the franchise on uncertain ground. Paramount seems committed to keeping it going though, whatever shape that takes. We’ll see how it unfolds.
The next Transformers movie doesn’t have a release date but stay tuned.
What do you think? What would you like to see next from the franchise? Do you want this crossover to happen? Join in on the conversation over on Facebook or Twitter!
