Peter Cullen, traditional voice actor Transformers Star Optimus Prime, is so synonymous with the character that you can almost hear his voice when you think of the character. “Autobots, move out.” You heard it in Cullen’s voice, right? Chris Hemsworth, who is voicing the character in the upcoming film, is well aware of that legacy. Transformers One. He didn’t think it was a big deal.
“It’s incredible what Peter Cullen has done with this character,” Hemsworth said during the film’s panel in Hall H at Comic-Con.It’s iconic and something equally inspiring and terrifying in trying to play the character. But the goal was never to imitate Peter Cullen or sound like Peter Cullen.
Transformers One is set to be 3 billion years old (yes, you read that right) Transformers The story we’re used to seeing, that’s the one big thing that makes it different Transformers story. “Usually when we see Transformers, it’s like ‘War!’ Everything is ready,” says Brian Tyree Henry, who voices Megatron in the film. “Through this, you can see them discover all these different parts of themselves.”
Fans of the series have long known that Autobot leader Optimus Prime and Decepticon leader Megatron were once friends. But what they don’t know is what their lives were like at that time, and how they went from best friends to bitter enemies. That’s the heart of this movie. “This is the arrogant, young, arrogant version of Orion Parkes or Optimus Prime,” Hemsworth said. “Before he became this omniscient, omnipresent figure, he was so brilliant that we grew to know and love him. So youthful energy, banter and humor are really important.
To make sure their version of the character was unique enough to stand apart from the original, Hemsworth and Henry had to introduce something unique. “There’s a lot of desire and passion between both characters,” Hemsworth said. “It’s a little bit idealistic. They have bigger hopes and dreams for what they can become. I found that helped ground the story. First of all, the characters we know will again be modeled somewhat differently from what we’ve seen Something that was so similar that when I read the script, I thought it was an original story and I was really excited about it.
And, it gave me the courage to step into those giant blue shoes left behind by the legendary Peter Cullen. Transformers One Opened on September 20th.
Want more io9 news? Check out the latest release dates for Marvel, Star Wars and Star Wars, what’s next for DC Universe movies and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
