Warning: SPOILERS lie ahead for Transformers One!
With the movie finally tapping into the franchise’s origins, Transformers One director Josh Cooley opens up about the movie’s post-credit scene and what it means for the future. The franchise’s first animated movie theatrically released since 1986’s The Transformers: The Movie, the 2024 feature ventures back before the war for Cybertron began, as a young Orion Pax (Chris Hemsworth) and D-16 (Bryan Tyree Henry) embark on a journey that would forever change their fates. Transformers One‘s cast also features the vocal talents of Keegan-Michael Key, Scarlet Johansson, Steve Buscemi, Laurence Fishburne, and Jon Hamm.
With Transformers One debuting in theaters and audiences having seen the rise of Optimus Prime and Megatron, Cooley broke down the movie’s post-credits scene to USA Today, and how it represents a major step for the newly formed Decepticon faction’s leader. While having Megatron name his faction was a must-have moment for the movie, it was debated when in the movie that the team should be named:
We knew it was important for him to call them Decepticons at some point.
However, ultimately, Cooley decided that the moment would have a greater impact after seeing Megatron’s full downfall, giving audiences a reason behind why they ultimately chose such an on-the-nose name for their faction:
Nobody would go out and go, ‘We’re the bad guys!’ Giving (Megatron) his own kind of evil Optimus speech at the end, there was a way for him to be like, “We were screwed over, and we’re not going to be the ones that are going to be taken for granted anymore. We’re going to own it.”
What Does Megatron’s Declaration Mean For Future Transformers Movies?
The War For Cybertron May Be A Slowly Unfolding Disaster
Transformers One‘s Cybertron is not as peaceful of a planet as it may seem, as Hamm’s Sentinel Prime has siphoned Energon away to the Quintessons, thus preventing the populace from transforming. Sentinels’ betrayal left all the Primes, save for Fishburne’s Alpha Trion, dead until Orion, D-16 and their friends discovered him, leading them all to seek out to expose the truth, though D-16 wants to kill Sentinel and become the planet’s leader. After Orion receives the Matrix of Leadership and becomes Optimus Prime, D-16 feels slighted, setting him down his path of villainy.
Future movies may show a ruthless, but scheming side to Megatron.
While Transformers One ended with the newly-named Optimus promising to lead Cybertron into a new, but wary, age of prosperity, Megatron is gathering his own forces to seize control. Taking the remaining members of the former High Guard who had found themselves exiled, he forms the Decepticons. And as seen by how he was willing to let the then-Orion fall to his demise, he is willing to take whatever steps necessary to achieve his goal.
As such, with future Transformers One movies in consideration, Megatron may take a careful hand in sewing the seeds to the cataclysmic war that will ravage Cybertron. Embracing the Decepticon title, he and his forces may seek out to sew doubt in Optimus’ leadership to create division, alongside contesting his own Prime status with Megatron’s connection to Megatronus. Future movies may then show a ruthless, but scheming, side to Megatron, slowly building up his forces preparing to strike and ignite the sparks of war.
Our Take On Transformers One’s Post-Credits Scene
Megatron Is Heading Down A Dark Path
Transformers One serves as a fresh take on the franchise by actually exploring Megatron and Optimus Prime’s early friendship and how it ultimately devolved due to their differing views on Cybertron. With the prequel giving a sympathetic portrayal of the Decepticon leader, Cooley’s plan for a trilogy is sure to see him become an even darker figure, especially as it leads into the war for Cybertron and further betrayal of the group he once deemed friends. However, unless Transformers One‘s box office picks up after its modest opening weekend, this evolution may go unexplored.
Source: USA Today
