UPDATE 2: Hasbro is now selling a Decepticon Bumblebee figure based on the short, with pre-orders open now.
UPDATE: The short is now playing in theaters. Read the full spoiler review for everything that happens, including what Bumblebee being a Decepticon actually means, plus fan reactions calling it “a travesty.”
Hasbro has released the first clip from Optimus Prime: Awakening, the 12-minute animated short featuring the late Peter Cullen’s final performance as Optimus Prime.
The 35-second clip opens with Soundwave attacking Optimus. It doesn’t stop there.
As previously reported, the short plays following select anniversary screenings of The Transformers: The Movie, which returns to theaters in 4K from September 17-22 through Fathom Entertainment.
Watch the clip before reading further:
Bumblebee Revealed As A Decepticon
Midway through the clip, Bumblebee arrives, and he joins the attack on Optimus.
His eyes glow red, and the Decepticon insignia confirms it: Bumblebee is a Decepticon.
Hasbro says the short builds on the storytelling and visuals of the original 1986 movie, which Bumblebee survived. So something happened to him between then and now.
How Bumblebee ended up on Megatron’s side is a question the short will have to answer when it hits theaters next week.
The twist also lands in the middle of Hasbro’s year-long “1986 Apology Tour” for killing Optimus Prime in the original movie. Forty years later, the anniversary short opens with Optimus getting jumped by two Decepticons — one of them his most loyal Autobot.
Peter Cullen’s Final Performance
Peter Cullen died on August 26 at the age of 85.
Hasbro says returning for Optimus Prime: Awakening meant a great deal to Cullen, who saw the project as a homecoming to the character he voiced for more than four decades.
The studio adds his performance reveals a deeper vulnerability while keeping the strength and authority that made his Optimus iconic.
Michael Bay and Shia LaBeouf recently paid tribute to Cullen as well.
Frank Welker returns as Megatron and Soundwave.
“Optimus Prime and Megatron were made for each other,” said Welker. “After all, one needs the perfect hero against the epitome of evil to create great drama. Peter’s portrayal of Prime was born of his own personal beliefs; honesty, loyalty, and always insisting on doing the right thing. This made it easy to be friends.”
Welker continued, “Returning as Megatron and Soundwave for one final story opposite Peter’s Optimus in ‘Optimus Prime: Awakening’ was a real gift. I will miss my friend, but that voice and his heart and values will always be part of Optimus Prime.”
Optimus Prime: Awakening plays following select screenings of The Transformers: The Movie, in theaters September 17-22 through Fathom Entertainment.
