Could ROM Be The Last Knight In Transformers 5?

Last year, Hasbro and Paramount announced that they would continue their blockbuster Transformers movie franchise with up to four more movies already planned for production. The latest of those, Transformers: The Last Knight, was announced earlier this week with the teasiest of teaser trailers that simply showed Optimus Prime with glowing purple eyes, and heavy robotic breathing.

We've gone into the theory that that might not be Optimus at all, but an evil mirrored version known as Nemesis Prime. The Last Knight title could refer to any number of things from the Knights of Cybertron to simply another lost Prime. Or, it could refer to somebody completely out of left field that might not be a traditional Cybertronian after all.

Yes, we're talking about ROM: Spaceknight.

Hear us out.

Taking the fact that Hasbro and Paramount already have Transformers movies planned up until Transformers 8 and that Hasbro wants all its properties together as part of a shared universe (Thanks, Marvel for that trend), it's completely plausible that this is how you introduce ROM to a mainstream audience. Taking a page out of Marvel's playbook, you introduce characters bit by bit before they gain enough steam so they can roll out on their own.

Bumblebee, originally a lower-tier character in Generation-1 was catapulted to stardom by the first Transfomers movie and will be flying solo in 2018 in his own movie. Last month, Hasbro confirmed their plans for their shared cinematic universe that included the established GI Joe and Transformer franchises as well as moving forward with M. A. S. K., Visionaires, Micronauts, as well as, you guessed it, ROM.

Now, add in the fact that comic publisher IDW currently owns these properties and has its own plan for crossovers across the board sometime down the line as well. By the time The Last Knight hits theaters, a crossover between the two titles could have already happened. ROM's new comic with IDW hits shelves in July, so if the publisher wanted to kick things off, that would be a good time to do so. With Prime heading to space at the end of Transformers: Age of Extinction, it's completely up in the air of what he'll find among the great vastness of infinity.

ROM in the Transformers world makes sense in a way, as they both originated as toys and evolved into something much more as time passed on. ROM's first comic series actually outlasted the toy itself, and became a fixture of Marvel Comics in the late 70's/early 80's. Transformers once belonged at Marvel Comics for a time, but have been under IDW for a shade over a decade now. Having Optimus in space and possibly finding ROM, or even colliding with ROM at first could be the best way to thrust ROM back into a mega spotlight.

It's purely speculation on what The Last Knight could mean, and with a little over a year before it hits theaters, we'll have plenty of time to debate and discuss before we find out more details.

Who would want to see ROM on the big screen alongside the Autobots? Chime in in the comments below.

Transformer: The Last Knight is set for release June 23, 2017.