Ron Perlman joins Transformers: Rise of the Beasts as voice of Optimus Primal

Even as the years go by, it seems like there’s no stopping the Autobots from rolling out in different forms. Following the revelation of Transformers: Rise of the Beasts as the upcoming seventh entry in the cinematic franchise, more information on the cast have continued to surface.

According to Collider, Ron Perlman will be lending his voice to Optimus Primal, the iconic, fearless leader of the Maximals who once saved the life of Optimus Prime in lore. The actor is joined by Peter Cullen, who is set to reprise his voice role of Optimus Prime in the character’s G1 robot form.

While best known on the silver screen as Hellboy in both Hellboy and its sequel, Perlman is no stranger to the Transformers universe, having voiced the same character in the Transformers: Power of the Primes animated series. With some experience to fall back on, this should be a welcome return to form for the man.

Rise of the Beasts will star Anthony Ramos (In The Heights) as Noah, an ex-military electronics hobbyist, Dominique Fishback (Judas and the Black Messiah) as artifact researcher Elena, and Lauren Vélez as Noah’s mother.

Set seven years after the events of Bumblebee, the movie will centre on the Beast Wars storyline and bring the Maximals, Predacons, and Terrorcons to the existing Autobot-Decepticon conflict on Earth.

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Creed II director Steven Caple Jr has been tapped to helm the film, with Darnell Metayer and Josh Peters serving as scriptwriters.

Michael Bay, director of the first five live-action movies, will produce alongside Don Murphy, Tom DeSanto, Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Mark Vahradian, and Duncan Henderson under the Bay Films banner.

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts has reportedly started filming and is gunning for a June 24, 2022 release.

This article was first published in Geek Culture.