‘Transformers: The Last Knight’ Will Start Streaming on Prime Video on December 1

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Michael Bay’s Transformers films were known for their huge action sequences, but his fifth and final installment in 2017 wasn’t a success. Despite the franchise being successfully rebooted with Bumblebee and continuing with Rise of the Beasts, the original series ended after the fifth film lost Paramount Pictures an estimated $100 million. Now, that critically disliked movie is coming to streaming in December.

The first Transformers movie, directed by Michael Bay, premiered in 2007 and brought the popular robots to life with impressive special effects. Despite negative reviews, the film—starring Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox—was a huge financial success, earning $708 million on a $151 million budget. This launched a series of profitable sequels – Revenge of the Fallen, Dark of the Moon, and Age of Extinction – which brought in billions of dollars and allowed Bay to continue the franchise with The Last Knight. However, that’s where the series began to struggle.

The Last Knight starred Mark Wahlberg and continued to expand the Transformers story with the usual mix of weak plotting designed to get to the next spectacular set piece in record time. For that reason, reviews from critics were brutal, giving the movie just a 16% score, while audiences were not much happier with the film, leading to a divisive 46% Popcornmeter rating. The synopsis for the movie reads:

A war is raging between humans and the Transformers, and their leader, Optimus Prime, is missing. The only hope for the future rests on uncovering the long-lost history of the Transformers on Earth. It’s now up to a surprising team – inventor Cade Yeager, Bumblebee, an English lord, and an Oxford professor – to save the world.

The biggest problem with the later Transformers movies was their cost. Michael Bay’s films became increasingly expensive, with the last one reaching a franchise high of $217 million. When it only earned $602 million worldwide, it led to Bay leaving the series and a complete reboot with Bumblebee. Though Bumblebee cost significantly less – about half of Bay’s budgets – it still looked great. However, both Bumblebee and Rise of the Beasts (which saw the budget climb back to nearly $200 million) failed to reach $500 million at the box office. This suggests that after a decade of Michael Bay’s Transformers movies, the franchise may be beyond repair.

What’s Next for ‘Transformers’?


Paramount Pictures

Following the 2018 release of Bumblebee, the future of the Transformers movies was unclear. While Rise of the Beasts in 2023 initially appeared to revive the series, it faced challenges in a movie market still recovering from the pandemic, mirroring the struggles of other major franchises that year. In 2024, Transformers One, an animated film, arrived with a significantly reduced budget of $75 million, but ultimately earned only $128 million, making it another film that barely broke even financially.

The end of Rise of the Beasts included a surprise hint that the Transformers universe might connect with G.I. Joe. Rumors quickly spread that a combined movie was in the works, potentially starring Chris Hemsworth. But after nearly two years with no news, a recent announcement suggests this movie is unlikely to happen.

Fans finally have news about a potential Transformers and GI Joe team-up! It’s been announced that an animated series is in development. While many hoped for a live-action movie, this series will be geared towards older audiences and is connected to the Energon Universe – a storyline that originally combined Transformers, GI Joe, and the title Void Rivals in 2023. A release date hasn’t been announced yet, but fans are still holding out hope for a live-action movie in the future.

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2025-11-30 16:18