Transformers: Rise of the Beasts Interviews: Anthony Ramos, Dominique Fishback & more

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts marks the 7th film in the Transformers series, giving us a brand new narrative, new characters (introducing the “Maximals”), and some fresh settings in the 15-year-old movie franchise. Technically a follow-up to 2018’s Bumblebee, the film brings us to 1994 New York City, where the Autobots and new human adversaries have to band together to stop evil Decepticons from destroying Earth. While on the surface, that description might not sound like anything new, Rise of the Beasts brings a different style and atmosphere to the series, doing a solid job of reenergizing it. 

We recently had the opportunity to attend the press junket for the film (located in NYC, fittingly) and chat with key members of the cast and crew: Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback, who play the film’s two primary human protagonists, talk about what the Transformers meant to them growing up, and how this movie is different from the other films in the series; co-star Tobe Nwigwe discusses making his feature film debut, how he feels about the acting process, and his collaboration with Nas for the soundtrack; director Steven Caple Jr. talks about the challenges of working on such a massive movie with major expectations, his longtime connection to the Transformers brand, and what he’d want to see in a potential sequel; and, finally, producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura delves into the perseverance of the series, what lays ahead (spoiler: major crossover coming soon) and what we can expect from next year’s Transformers animated origin story, Transformers: One

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is now playing! Read our review!

The film has the following synopsis: Optimus Prime and the Autobots take on their biggest challenge yet. When a new threat capable of destroying the entire planet emerges, they must team up with a powerful faction of Transformers known as the Maximals to save Earth.