Paramount’s animated Transformers movie gets a voice cast led by Chris Hemsworth as a young Optimus Prime, with a July 2024 release target. Titan Class Nemesis goes up for preorder at $199.99 with no secondary robot. Leak week brings a headless Voyager Junkion, Miner Megatron and R.E.D. Prime Starscream and G1 Grimlock. Robosen previews a non-transforming Rise of the Beasts Optimus Prime. Don raves about Studio Series 86 Snarl, and Diecast is won over by NewAge’s Omega Supreme.
News
Paramount’s Animated Transformers Movie Gets Its Voice Cast
Announced at CinemaCon, the cast includes Chris Hemsworth as young Optimus Prime and Scarlett Johansson as Elita-1. Keegan-Michael Key voices Bumblebee, Brian Tyree Henry voices Megatron and Laurence Fishburne voices Alpha Trion. Jon Hamm voices Sentinel Prime. One host worries he will hear Thor. Another would rather see career voice actors cast, and the crew pitches a Peter Cullen cameo in the style of Star Trek 2009. The movie targets July 19, 2024, which the crew calls aggressive. Don objects to calling it the first animated Transformers movie when 1986 exists. [Source: Deadline]
Titan Class Nemesis Goes Up for Preorder
Titan Class Nemesis is $199.99 and is the first Titan with no secondary robot. Its tiny jet miniatures come unpainted. The crew loves the ship mode and is torn on the long-limbed robot. One host applauds the engineering and plans to wait for a discount. Diecast wishes it came with a display stand. Don hopes its angular shapes hold together better than the Ark. [Source: Toy Hype USA]
Hasbro Pulse Germany Ships Legacy Toxitron
A TFW2005 user in Germany posted in-hand photos of Legacy Toxitron. The robot mode looks great, but the crew finds the cab too clean for a toxic character. One host expects Toy Hax stickers or custom paint to finish the deco. [Source: TFW2005 boards]
Leak Week: Voyager Junkion, Miner Megatron, R.E.D. Starscream and Grimlock
A headless Voyager Junkion appears in test-shot colors as a garbage truck. Matt would buy it in those colors and hopes it nods to Animated Wreck-Gar. Exvee notes it echoes the colors of a bootleg Fans Project Munitioner. Don is done with the Siege Megatron mold, so he will skip Miner Megatron. R.E.D. Prime Starscream looks fine and includes an arm-cannon swap. R.E.D. G1 Grimlock baffles everyone, since it matches neither the cartoon nor the toy. The crew wishes the line offered characters like Autobot X. [Source: Autobase Aichi]
Studio Series Gamer Edition Bumblebee In Hand
In-hand photos look fine, though one host is still hung up on the chest shelf. He expects it to handle better than the 2010 version. [Source: Transformers Never Die]
Robosen Previews a Rise of the Beasts Optimus Prime Robot
Robosen’s limited edition Rise of the Beasts Optimus Prime is non-transforming, with details due in late May. Diecast answered a Robosen survey that set $600 as too much. One host suspects the Transformers community is not a big robot-buying market. Don calls Robosen’s lineup confusing. [Source: Robosen]
Transformers-Branded Anker Power Bank
Anker’s $100 power bank is a standard model with Transformers graphics. One host says licensing is where the money is but he would not pay the premium. [Source: Anker]
What We Got This Week
Don
Don opened Studio Series Gamer Edition Optimus Prime and calls it a chunky, more enjoyable take than the 2010 toy. He wishes it could hold its gun. His big pickup is Studio Series 86 Leader Snarl, which he calls the best Leader Dinobot since Grimlock. He bought two from CMD Store.
Diecast
Diecast got EarthSpark Shockwave, which he finds is the Cyberverse mold with new paint. He also got EarthSpark Optimus Prime, Warrior Class Thrash, Retro Thundercracker and Retro Hound. Gamer Edition Optimus Prime’s chest sticks out past the box. His highlight is NewAge’s Omega Supreme. He praises its ratcheting articulation and intuitive transformation, though the motorized tank sticks. He also got a battleship-style Jetfire.
Matt
Matt made a two-hour trip to Walmart and Target with a $100 gift card and found no Transformers he wanted.
Exvee
Exvee’s pickup this week was not Transformers.
Rob
Rob’s pickup this week was not Transformers.