Transformers movies, which are based on Hasbro's Transformers toy line that began in the 1980s, go back nearly 40 years in animated form, and nearly 20 years when it comes to live action. And speaking of live action Transformers movies, they have not all been released in chronological order. Following the story can be a bit confusing due to the release order. The first three live-action films released starred Shia LaBeouf, and are loosely considered a trilogy. The fourth and fifth films starred Mark Wahlberg and moved the story ahead a few years. But then things went backwards in prequel form for the next two more recent films.
Those seven live action movies feature of plenty of voice acting legends too, which have been vital to Transformers movies since day one. And that tradition of star power continues with the September 20 release of the animated film Transformers One, which you can buy tickets for right now..
Transformers One is the franchise's first theatrical animated release since 1986, and depicts the origins and early relationship of Optimus Prime and Megatron. The ensemble voice cast includes Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry, Scarlett Johansson, Keegan-Michael Key, Steve Buscemi, Laurence Fishburne and Jon Hamm. The story is designed to evolve over three films, showing the progression of the characters into their depiction in the live-action Transformers films.
But before that upcoming film officially becomes a part of the Transformers timeline, here's a look at all the cinematic Transformers in order chronologically.
Too Long, Didn't Read Summary:
· The first Transformers movie came in 1986 in animated form, and the Transformers lore has only grown from there in the form of live action films, with seven in total.
· With plenty of titles like Rise of the Beasts, Age of Extinction, The Last Knight, Dark of the Moon and Revenge of the Fallen, this list will help you watch the Transformers movies in chronological order.
· As the release date approaches for the latest Transformers movie -- the first animated offering in nearly 40 years -- these are all the Transformers movies in order of how you should watch them to follow the story chronologically.
1. The Transformers: The Movie (1986)
62% on the Tomatometer
88% on the Popcornmeter
This movie is based on The Transformers animated television series, which ran four four seasons from 1984 to 1987. The movie – which is not in the chronology of the live-action films – takes place in 2005, 20 years after the events of season two, when the Autobots are hunted across the galaxy by Unicron, a planet-sized Transformer.
The Transformers: The Movie features an epic voice cast that includes Eric Idle, Judd Nelson, Leonard Nimoy, Casey Kasem, Robert Stack, Peter Cullen and Frank Welker, not to mention Orson Welles making his final film appearance. While the movie is not part of the live-action story, it’s considered a cult classic after years of success on VHS, DVD and Blu-ray, and it's definitely worth a watch for any Transformers fan. We recommend watching it before the live-action movies to set the stage.
2. Bumblebee (2018)
90% on the Tomatometer
75% on the Popcornmeter
Bumblebee is the sixth live-action Transformers film to be released. It was directed by Travis Knight, who was making his first live-action movie after previously directing the animated Laika hit Kubo and the Two Strings. This was the first film in the live-action series not to be directed by Michael Bay, who served as a producer instead.
A prequel of sorts, Bumblebee takes place in 1987 with everyone's favorite heroic yellow robot sent by Optimus Prime to protect Earth following the fall of Cybertron. After being discovered and repaired by 18-year-old Charlie, played by Hailee Steinfeld, the two team up to protect the world against the Decepticons and a secret agency, led by John Cena’s Agent Burns. The movie also features Dylan O'Brien as the voice of Bumblebee, Angela Bassett as the voice of Shatter and Justin Theroux as the voice of Dropkick. Bumblebee was considered a box office success but ended up as the lowest-grossing film in the franchise, despite being the only one with a Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
3. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023)
52% on the Tomatometer
91% on the Popcornmeter
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is the seventh film in the franchise. The story is loosely based on the computer animated series Beast Wars: Transformers, which ran from 1996 to 1999. This standalone sequel to Bumblebee (2018) introduces three new factions of live-action Transformers: the Maximals, Terrorcons and Predacons – all robots that transform into robotic animals.
Alongside live-action stars Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback, the star-studded voice cast behind some of the Rise of the Beasts Transformers includes Pete Davidson, Ron Pearlman, Peter Dinklage, Michelle Yeoh and of course Peter Cullen – aka the longtime voice of Optimus Prime. The action takes place in 1994 in Brooklyn, New York, where Ramos and Fishback’s characters are archaeologists who somehow end up in the middle of an ancient conflict between the aforementioned three new factions of Transformers.
4. Transformers (2007)
57% on the Tomatometer
85% on the Popcornmeter
Michael Bay directed and Steven Spielberg served as executive producer for this first installment in the live-action Transformers film series, resulting in a box office success with over $700 million earned worldwide. Shia LaBeouf stars as teenager Sam Witwicky, who gets caught up in a war between two factions of alien robots, the Autobots and Decepticons.
The cast also includes Megan Fox as the female lead, plus Tyrese Gibson, Josh Duhamel, Anthony Anderson, Rachael Taylor, John Turturro and Jon Voight. Plus, Peter Cullen reprised his voice role of Optimus Prime from the 1980s animated series and movie, while Hugo Weaving was cast as the voice of Megatron because Bay thought the original voice of Frank Welker didn’t fit. (Welker did return as the voice in sequels.)
5. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)
20% on the Tomatometer
57% on the Popcornmeter
Stars Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox – along with director Michael Bay and executive producer Steven Spielberg – returned for this action-packed blockbuster sequel. It features the battle for Earth continuing with stronger-than-ever Decepticons returning, and LaBeouf’s Sam teaming up with Optimus Prime and Bumblebee to try and stop them.
Despite being ripped by critics, Revenge of the Fallen beat out its predecessor at the box office. It was the fourth-highest-grossing film of 2009, and did even better with home media sales as it became the top-selling film of the year in the United States.
6. Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)
35% on the Tomatometer
55% on the Popcornmeter
In this, the highest-grossing film in the franchise to date, Shia LaBeouf returned once again as Sam Witwicky, who has to lead the Autobots against Megatron and the Decepticons after they recover a powerful technology abandoned on the Moon, in order to restore Cybertron.
Josh Duhamel, John Turturro and Tyrese Gibson also returned from the first couple movies, while Rosie Huntington-Whiteley replaced Megan Fox as Sam’s love interest. Patrick Dempsey, John Malkovich and Frances McDormand also joined the cast, along with Leonard Nimoy as Sentinel Prime, Optimus's mentor and predecessor as the leader of the Autobots.
7. Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014)
18% on the Tomatometer
50% on the Popcornmeter
Age of Extinction marks the first film in the franchise without Shia LaBeouf and the first to feature Mark Wahlberg, who previously worked with director Michael Bay on ??Pain and Gain (2013). Set four years after the final battle in Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011), Wahlberg stars in this one as a struggling inventor and single father who discovers a Transformer in disguise, and must join them in helping to save humanity from a new threat.
Along with a whole new human cast, Age of Extinction also introduced many new Transformers, including the Dinobots. It’s also the first Transformers film for which rock band Linkin Park did not contribute an original song to the soundtrack – just in case you were wondering. The movie would go on to gross over $1 billion worldwide as the highest-grossing film of 2014.
8. Transformers: The Last Knight (2017)
16% on the Tomatometer
43% on the Popcornmeter
The Last Knight is the fifth release in the Transformers film series. It was once again directed by Michael Bay, and finds Mark Wahlberg reprising his role from Age of Extinction. Josh Duhamel, Stanley Tucci and John Turturro returned from previous films, and Anthony Hopkins joined the cast.
This time, Wahlberg's Cade Yeager is tasked with helping to save the world from Optimus Prime -- aka Nemesis Prime in this movie -- who is on a mission to save Cybertron by destroying Earth. The Last Knight didn’t perform well with critics, and couldn’t muster as much box office mojo as its predecessors, either.
