New Transformers Movie Casts Dominique Fishback in Lead Role

The next installment in the popular Transformers film franchise has finally found its second lead. Creed II director Steven Caple Jr. is currently helming the seventh installment in the live-action Transformers series, with Hamilton and In the Heights star Anthony Ramos playing the main character. Casting for Ramos' co-lead has been ongoing, but it now appears that the creative team has chosen Judas and the Black Messiah's Dominique Fishback for the role.

On Thursday afternoon, Deadline reported that Fishback is currently in final negotiations to star in the new Transformers alongside Ramos. After several actresses screen-tested with Ramos to get the part, Paramount, eOne, and Hasbro ultimately landed on Fishback, who received heaps of praise for her performance in Judas and the Black Messiah. Daniel Kaluuya, Fishback's co-star in the film, went on to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Ramos and Fishback will star in Caple Jr.'s film, with a script from Jacoby Harold, Darnell Metayer, and Josh Peters. The new Transformers movie will follow the events of the acclaimed 2018 film Bumblebee, which found more critical success than the previous Transformers movies by focusing more on its characters than massive set pieces.

According to Deadline's report, Fishback and Ramos have been good friends for a number of years, having worked on a play together in college.

At this time, there are actually two different Transformers movies in development over at Paramount. Caple Jr.'s film will be taking place in the same universe as the other films we've seen in the franchise so far, though specific plot details are being kept under wraps. The other Transformers film will be taking place in a totally different universe, dealing with the war between the Autobots and Decepticons.

The standalong film is being written by Marco Ramirez, showrunner of Marvel's The Defenders on Netflix, with Charm City Kings director Angel Manuel Soto behind the camera.

Caple's film will be the first of the two to head into production, as it already has a release date saved on Paramount's upcoming slate, one that isn't too far into the future. The new Transformers is currently set to bow in theaters on June 24, 2022.

What do you think of the new casting news for Transformers? Are you looking forward to this next movie? Let us know in the comments!