Transformers producer Lorenzo di Bonaventure teases how the titular robots will be different in the planned G.I. Joe crossover film. Based on the popular Hasbro toy line, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023) brought the live-action arm of the franchise back to the big screen last year, with that film’s ending officially introducing the G.I. Joes. It’s now been confirmed that a Trasnsformers/ G.I. Joe crossover movie is in the works, though details on the project have remained scarce.
Now, during a recent interview with Collider, di Bonaventura shares a new update on the Transformers/ G.I. Joe crossover film, confirming that it will be the next live-action entry in the franchise. In addition to teasing a Transformers One sequel, he also teases that audiences should expect a bit of a different approach with the titular robots in the crossover.
Well, we’re going, again, subject to success, we’re going to do a sequel to this, and there will be an animated version, and it will exist completely separately to whatever we do live-action. The next live-action movie will be a crossover. Where it will be particularly affected is the fact that we now know what these robots are capable of emotionally in a way. So we’re going to have to figure out how to create that room, that we can afford that, and create a story that you can take more advantage of that.
According to the producer, the next live-action installment in the franchise will focus more on fleshing out the inner lives of the Transformers, telling the story more from their points of view. This would be in contrast to other recent installments, which make the Transformers reactionary characters to what’s going on with the human characters. Check out his comments below:
“So one of the things that I’m particularly interested in doing, and we’re still in the development phase, so nothing is by any means written in stone, but I think we need to do more now from the robot point of view in the live-action because that’s the only way you’re really going to get inside them.
“Instead of them reacting to humans or reacting to the human plot, what is their drive, has to be part of that story now. So it’s going to be complicated because now the hardest thing about a lot of franchise movies is how many characters there are, and the more characters you try to manage, the harder it is to make a bunch of really good ones. You kind of got to keep going, keep it smaller, keep it smaller.
“So we’ll be in that process for a while where we’ll start with a bunch of Joes and a bunch of Transformers and I’ll say, regular humans, and then you’re going to do this. That’s kind of where we are right now, is trying to put the larger thing in place. The trick in this one, like we were talking about here, in trying to find that tone and balance is like, ‘Well, how much of the Joes do you want? And how much of the Transformers do you want?'”
What The Transformers POV Means For The G.I. Joe Crossover
How Much Will The G.I. Joes Feature In The Story?
The Transformers: Rise of the Beasts ending introduces the G.I. Joe organization into the world of the story, but di Bonaventura’s comment suggests that the next movie won’t be shifting to focus on the Joes to a great degree. This update is in line with what di Bonaventura told Screen Rant earlier this month, which included a tempering of expectations regarding the nature of the crossover being planned. “What it means is the Joes are going to be in the Transformers world and be present,” he clarified.
The Joes, then, won’t be the point-of-view characters in the crossover film, and will seemingly serve a role similar to how the Transformers have featured in past Transformers movies. While audiences can expect more of a focus on the thoughts, feelings, and ambitions of the Transformer characters, di Bonaventura’s update doesn’t reveal whether any Rise of the Beasts characters will be returning. Anthony Ramos’ Noah and Dominique Fishback’s Elena anchored the story in the 2023 film, but it’s not yet clear if they have a role to play in the events to come.
The confirmation of a crossover with Transformers comes after live-action G.I. Joe movies like G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009), G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013), and Snake Eyes (2021), which was a box office flop.
Our Take On Di Bonaventura’s Transformers/ G.I. Joe Crossover Update
It Could Be The Right Move For The Franchise
The first live-action Transformers movie was released in 2007, and the films that followed have varied in terms of quality. Since there have now been so many entries in the franchise, it could be a refreshing change of pace to let a story unfold more from the points of view of characters like Optimus Prime and Bumblebee.
Such a change could ultimately enhance these robot characters and make them even more compelling, adding to the film’s emotional stakes. It sounds like the Transformers and G.I. Joe crossover film is still relatively early on in development, but there could certainly be some exciting changes in store for audiences.
Source: Collider
