Deadline reports an animated Transformers prequel from Paramount and eOne, with Toy Story 4’s Josh Cooley directing. The crew wanted Transformers Animated season 4 instead. TFCon Toronto moves to Labor Day weekend, and Hasbro’s first-quarter roadmap shows no Transformers movie before 2022. Chris reviews the Generations Selects Spy Patrol cassettes, and Brian lands a Movie Preview Ultra Magnus and a G1 Optimus Prime sand pail.
News
Animated Transformers Prequel Activated With Josh Cooley Directing
Chris read the breaking Deadline report on air. The movie is an animated origin story, separate from the Bumblebee and Bay continuity. It is a Paramount and eOne co-production. Josh Cooley won the Oscar for Toy Story 4. Brian notes David Kaye had just been tweeting about Transformers Animated season 4. The crew agrees this is not the animated news they wanted. [Source: Deadline]
TFCon Toronto Moves to Labor Day Weekend
TFCon Toronto was delayed, not canceled, and lands on Labor Day weekend. The show plans to limit how many people are on the dealer floor at once. Brian can’t responsibly go, and the new date is his birthday. Don suggests Walmart-style traffic control, and Brian draws on his process-improvement work. A chat member notes non-essential travel into Canada is restricted. TF Expo also moved to July 23 and 24, 2021. Tokyo Toy Show is canceled, and Summer Wonder Festival becomes an autumn event on November 1. [Source: RFC News Desk]
Hasbro Makes Face Shields for Medical Workers
Hasbro is using its facility to make face shields for front-line medical workers. The crew calls it a cool move. [Source: Hasbro]
Hasbro Q1 Earnings: No Transformers Movies Until 2022
Hasbro’s first-quarter call showed no Transformers on the film roadmap for this year or next. The crew reads that as 2022 at the earliest. [Source: TFormers]
Third-Party Corner
Diecast notes Fans Toys’ Astrotrain is up for preorder at about $220. The crew compares that with Sheridan’s price and expected it to cost less. Brian spots a Mech Fans Toys Ratbat called Inspiration Bat, and one host already has it on preorder. Don finds a Korean Brave release of the Sky Garry mold at Big Bad Toy Store for $28, and Brian orders one.
Shout-Outs
One host recommends the Great Cybertronian Write-Off on Twitter, tagged #GCWO, which has finished the 1984 lineup. Brian praises TFormers’ Jack for his daily Optimus Prime collection posts.
What We Got This Week
Chris
Chris bought the Netflix War for Cybertron Voyagers Megatron and Hot Link to avoid a repeat of the Skywarp shortage. His highlight is the Generations Selects Spy Patrol third unit. It has an orange Wingthing, a blue Frenzy, and Double Dealer’s Powermasters Knok and Skar. He thinks Rumble’s red should be more saturated, and one Wingthing hinge has stress marks. He also reports King Poseidon combines like a typical Combiner Wars figure. The ankles are tipsy, and the Seacons can’t work as handheld guns, but it is really pretty.
Don
Don found new stock at Target. He bought Studio Series Scrapper, his favorite G1 Constructicon and probably the only one he will get. He also got Studio Series Voyager Sentinel Prime, hoping it beats the frustrating Leader version.
Rob
Rob’s pickups this week were not Transformers.
Brian
Brian got the Cybertronic Spree’s 1986 cover album of The Transformers: The Movie soundtrack on vinyl. He got Studio Series Roadbuster, which he likes despite floppy arms. He added a green and black 1985 Happy Meal Bumblebee test toy. His big find is the C-69 Movie Preview Ultra Magnus, a Toys R Us exclusive in Powered Convoy colors. It was opened, so he paid well under the going rate. He also tracked down a G1 Optimus Prime sand pail after Ant posted about it on Twitter.
Radio Free Cybertron is the world's first and oldest toy and action figure podcast — broadcasting from the heart of the Transformers fan community since October 1999. What started as a scrappy fan show has grown into an institution, with nearly 1,000 episodes and over 25 years of coverage. Every week, host Brian Kilby and the RFC crew dig into the latest Transformers news, toy reveals, collecting, and everything hitting shelves from Hasbro, Takara, and beyond. No fluff, no hype — just informed, passionate collectors who have been doing this longer than anyone else on the planet. The original. The longest running. Till all are one.