Transformers One kicked off San Diego Comic-Con 2024 in Hall H in style with a panel focused on the new film coming from Hasbro and Paramount Animation. The panel featured Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura, director Josh Cooley, and stars Keegan-Michael Key, Brian Tyree Henry, and Chris Hemsworth. The group went through the genesis of the story and why they wanted to deep dive into what turned Megatron and Optimus Prime from the best of friends to bitter enemies. The story starts 3 billion years before the Transformers we know and love on the planet of Cybertron.

To start off, we got a sizzle reel showing off the battles we’ve seen so far between Megatron and Optimus Prime set to “Thunderstruck” by AC/DC. Lorenzo di Bonaventura made sure to mention that there were no human characters in the film to a massive cheer from the Hall H crowd. Here’s what he said about Orion Pax and D-16 (Optimus and Megatron before they become those lauded characters).

You know Optimus Prime and Megatron so well, but we’re dealing with Orion Pax and D-16. They have to plant the seeds to see the characters we know and love.

The first clip they showed off gave us a look at the race known as the Iacon 5000. It’s like the Olympics for Transformers. D and Orion enter the race as miners, who normally aren’t allowed, but they sneak in. It was a pretty thrilling sequence giving us a look at the vibrant and striking design of all the Transformers.

Once Keegan-Michael Key, Brian Tyree Henry, and Chris Hemsworth entered the stage, the panel really hit a higher gear.

Keegan-Michael Key led the audience in a rendition of the Transformers theme, he did his best to make as many transforming noises as possible, and just generally popped the audience with his laugh out loud humor.

All three members of the cast said they grew up playing with Transformers; Brian Tyree Henry, in particular, said that his parents only really got him the villain toys, which was perfect for his transformation into Megatron in this film. The thing all three hammered home about their performances is that these are younger versions of the characters you know and love. There’s a youthful energy still that hasn’t been tamped down by thousands of years of combat between the Autobots and Decepticons.

Keegan-Michael Key at the Transformers One panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2024.

The other two clips we got from the film were showing the Transformers getting their cogs for the first time and transforming. They get them from the heroic Alpha Trion (voiced by Laurence Fishburne). The clips showcased the action of the movie, but also the humor that the stars and filmmakers are trying to shine through. They also announced that Steve Buscemi would voice the villainous Starscream in the film.

The panel closed out with the stars saying their favorite Transformers. Keegan-Michael Key said his was Shockwave, Brian Tyree Henry stuck with his pick of Ratchet, and Chris Hemsworth made the surprising pick of Bumblebee to the delight of Keegan. Chis Hemsworth also shouted out Peter Cullen for voicing Optimus Prime for so long and how he trained his voice to resemble Cullen’s a bit more as the movie goes on.

Overall, this panel was hugely informative and definitely opened some eyes about the potential and action of the film.

Transformers One releases in theaters on September 20th.

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