Transformers: Rise of the Beasts Director Got Franchise Advice From Michael Bay

The Transformers are returning to the big screen this summer, with the franchise finally adapting the beloved Beast Wars characters in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. Like 2018’s Bumblebee, Rise of the Beasts takes place in the past, set in the year 1994. The other major similarity Rise of the Beasts shares with Bumblebee is that they are the only two Transformers movies that weren’t directed by Michael Bay.

Bay first brought Transformers to theaters in 2007, then went on to direct the next four films in the franchise. Travis Knight took over for Bumblebee, and the keys to the Transformers kingdom have now been handed to Creed II‘s Steven Caple Jr. for Rise of the Beasts. Just because Bay isn’t still directing the films, however, it doesn’t mean that he isn’t still leaving a mark on the franchise. 

In addition to producing Rise of the Beasts, Bay also helped Caple with the film’s VFX, even when he was off on the set of his most recent film, Ambulance. While speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Caple revealed how Bay was able to help him shape the new Transformers adventure. 

“You want to make sure you’re in your creative bubble when trying to design this world and build out the franchise, but similar to when I stepped into the Creed franchise, you call the ones who have done it before you, whether it be Sylvester Stallone or Ryan Coogler,” Caple explained. “So I’m doing the same here. I hit up Michael Bay, who’s, of course, a producer on this project. He was making Ambulance at the time, but he still picked up the phone and hopped onto Zoom. And a lot of it was like, ‘How do I deal with visual effects?’ because that’s a new area for me. So it was a huge learning curve, and it was like going through school again, if you will. Monday through Friday, I was prepping for the film, and Saturday, Sunday, I was learning a lot from the visual effects supervisor and calls with Michael Bay. He gave hints and tips on how to accomplish certain things, so you’ve definitely gotta hit those guys up who’ve done it before me. It helps.”

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts stars Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback. The all-star voice cast for the Transformers characters includes Peter Cullen, Ron Perlman, Michelle Yeoh, Peter Dinklage, Pete Davidson, Christo Fernandez, and Colman Domingo.

The film is set to hit theaters on June 9th.