Animated Transformers Prequel Adds Scarlett Johansson, Laurence Fishburne

We don't have many details about the upcoming computer-animated Transformers prequel, Transformers One, but after Paramount's presentation to movie theater owners at CinemaCon on Thursday, we at least have a cast list.

Hitting theaters on July 19, 2024, Transformers One will take us to Cybertron, where we'll finally dive fully into the history of the Transformers in the modern big-screen version of the franchise. Rather than just getting more random flashbacks in movies set in the preset day like each of the live-action films has given us.

And now we know who will be in it, both in terms of Transformer characters in the movie and actors who will play them. Chris Hemsworth leads up the cast as Optimus Prime--a rare occasion when he's not voiced by Peter Cullen--and Brian Tyree Henry will play his nemesis Megatron.

Other familiar faces from the live-action movies that we'll see are Bumblebee (voiced by Keegan-Michael Key) and Sentinel Prime (played by Jon Hamm). Rounding out the announced cast are two characters who are new to the modern Transformers movie franchise: Elita, played by Scarlett Johansson, and Laurence Fishburne's Alpha Trion.

“I’m so excited and proud to be working with Hasbro and eOne to bring the first animated Transformers movie to theaters for a never-before-told story," said Ramsey Naito, president of Paramount Animation and Nickelodeon Animation. "I’m honored to have such incredible talents come together to portray these well-known and much-loved characters in an origin story at the heart of the franchise."

Earlier on Thursday, Paramount dropped a new trailer for Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, the next live-action franchise entry.

Transformers One will be directed by Toy Story 4 writer/director Josh Cooley, and it's out on July 19, 2024.