Transformers: Rise of the Beasts has revived the charm and interest that the Autobots had managed to build up over several films. The latest installment in the franchise has taken a major step forward in the saga, introducing an entirely new transformer species – the Maximals, humanoid robots with animal likenesses.
The Transformers universe has now been in the making for over a decade, with the first film having been released in 2007. In total, there are 7 Transformers movies so far:
- Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023)
- Bumblebee (2018)
- Transformers: The Last Knight (2017)
- Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014)
- Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)
- Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)
- Transformers (2007)
Paramount has also confirmed two more films in the franchise, the first of which is set to be released in 2024. These films are being produced as part of a new trilogy kick-started by Rise of the Beasts.
However, it must be noted that the 7 films that have been released so far construct a different timeline than viewers may think.
How to watch Transformers movies in chronological order?
Bumblebee – Set in 1987
If all the Transformers movies are arranged in chronological order, 2018’s Bumblebee is what kicked everything off.
As the Decepticons (Autobots, but evil) attempt to destroy Cybertron and everyone on it, Optimus Prime sends scout B-127 to Earth to help set up a base of operations while he tries to fight off the bad guys on their home planet.
After encountering and escaping Sector 7 (a secret governmental agency tasked with monitoring extraterrestrial activity on Earth), B-127 finds a home with 18-year-old Charlie. The teenager unknowingly sends out a signal into space that alerts the Decepticons of Bumblebee’s presence.
Both the Decepticons and Autobots make their way to Earth, and an epic battle ensues.
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts – Set in 1994
Even though Rise of the Beasts is set 7 years after Bumblebee, there is no narrative connection between the two movies. However, Bumblebee the Autobot does subtly refer back to his relationship with Charlie in the new movie while trying to convince Optimus Prime of the niceness of humans.
The plot of Rise of the Beasts follows the Autobots as they team up with Noah Diaz, Elena Wallace, and Maximals to defeat Unicron, a planet-eating dark god. There are 2 parts of the Transwarp Key hidden on Earth, and all parties want the Key for themselves. While Optimus Prime and the Autobots want it to be able to return home to Cybertron, Unicron wants to destroy the Earth, and Diaz wants to destroy the Key altogether to save his planet.
Transformers – Set in 2007
The movie that brought Transformers to the silver screen, 2007’s Transformers follows Optimus Prime and his fellow Autobots as they aim to find the AllSpark (the key to all Cybertronian life) before the Decepticons.
Megatron, the leader of the Decepticons, crash landed and froze in the Arctic Circle in his pursuit of the AllSpark, only to be found by Archibald Witwicky. The latter accidentally activated Megatron’s navigation system and had the AllSpark’s coordinates imprinted on his own eyeglasses, which put his descendant Sam Witwicky at the center of the battle.
After much struggle, the Autobots – along with Sam and his car Bumblebee – join forces with Sector 7 to defeat the Decepticons and save planet Earth.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen – Set in 2009
Flashback: Revenge of the Fallen starts in 17000 BC when a rogue Transformer breaks a rule and constructs a planet-destroying machine – Sun Harvester – on a planet with life, the Earth.
Cut to 2009: Sam finds himself at the center of a Cybertronian battle again. He and the Autobots team up again to stop the Decepticons attempting to use the Sun Harvester. However, they need to find the Matrix of Leadership – the key to starting the machine – to resuscitate Optimus Prime first.
Transformers: Dark of the Moon – Set in 2011
Flashback: In 1961, an Autobot spaceship called the Ark crashed on Earth’s moon, prompting the space race between America and the Soviet. The US successfully reaches the moon and, under the guise of space exploration, has Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin retrieve samples of the Ark’s technology.
Cut to 2011: Sam is drawn into an Autobots vs Decepticons battle yet again as they race to find the Ark and its contents for their own purposes. Optimus Prime revives the previous leader of the Autobots using the Matrix of Leadership, only for the latter to join forces with the Decepticons to enslave humanity.
Transformers: Age of Extinction – Set in 2014
Flashback: In the prehistoric era when dinosaurs roamed the Earth, Quintessons – the alien race responsible for creating the Transformers – visited the planet and covered it in Transformium. This resulted in them killing all dinosaurs and creating a new species called the Dinobots. These creatures, capable of transforming into dinosaurs, were dormant for centuries.
Cut to 2014: A high-tech company is extracting Transformium to build Transformer drones. It is later discovered that the company is melting down dead Transformers – both Autobots and Decepticons – to build drones and Galvatron, a Transformer they can control.
While that’s happening, a new protagonist named Cade Yeager finds a beat-up truck, aka Optimus Prime. Instead of turning him over to the authorities, Yeager fixes Optimus. After Galvatron is deployed to help capture the Autobots, his handlers lose his control and discover he’s just Megatron’s reincarnated form.
Transformers: The Last Knight – Set in 2017
Flashback: King Arthur is attempting to fight off invaders in 5th century AD. His mage Merlin requests the Knights of Iacon, a group of Transformers who have been on the Earth since the Dark Ages, for help. They hand him the Staff of Merlin, a powerful weapon to aid King Arthur’s cause.
Years after the events of Age of Extinction, Optimus Prime journeys into space to find the Quintessons. However, he’s captured and brainwashed by Cybertronian goddess Quintessa, who sends him back to Earth as Nemesis Prime to retrieve the staff and use it to revive Cybertron. In the process, Earth is destroyed.
And that is where the Transformers Cinematic Universe comes to an end – for now at least. Which battle had you hooked to the Autobots’ cause? Let us know in the comments below.
