Transformers: War for Cybertron Trilogy (cartoon)
| The name or term "War for Cybertron" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see War for Cybertron (disambiguation). |
Transformers: War For Cybertron is an animated series produced by Hasbro and Rooster Teeth, with animation by Polygon Pictures, based on the War for Cybertron Trilogy franchise. F.J. DeSanto acts as the series showrunner, a role he previously held for the Prime Wars Trilogy web series, with George Krstic, Gavin Hignight, and Brandon M. Easton as writers. The show also sees Jake Foushee, Jason Marnocha, and Frank Todaro reprising their respective roles as Optimus Prime, Megatron, and Starscream, as well as previous Transformers alumni Keith Silverstein and Sophia Isabella returning for voicework as new characters. Three seasons of the show are planned for release via Netflix, one for each of the franchise's three lines, with the first season released on July 30, 2020.
In conjunction with the series, Hasbro released a small toyline featuring extremely animation accurate paint jobs.
Overview
In the final hours of the civil war between the Autobots and Decepticons, the planet Cybertron has been ravaged by endless battle. With both their forces growing weaker, Megatron plots to use the Allspark to reformat all the Autobots on the planet into Decepticons, unifying them as one faction under his rule. Thus it falls to Optimus Prime and his forces to prevent the Allspark's misuse, potentially at the cost of the planet itself.
Cast
Episodes
Chapter 1: Siege
Chapter 2: Earthrise
Further information in this article is coming soon as it pertains to information that may not yet have been officially released. |
Chapter 3: Kingdom
Further information in this article is coming soon as it pertains to information that may not yet have been officially released. |
Reception
After the poorly-received Prime Wars trilogy ended, many fans were unenthusiastic to say the least when it was announced the same people would be working on yet another trilogy of Transformers cartoons. Upon release, the first entry in the trilogy was widely acclaimed by critics for its depth, darker tone and visuals, becoming the first (and currently only) work of Transformers fiction to achieve a 100% Fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes.
However, the reception among the fandom was far more mixed; while generally viewed as an improvement on the Prime Wars trilogy (the CGI provided by Polygon Pictures is certainly an improvement) and genuinely well-liked by some fans who enjoyed the darker take on G1 characters and lore, the tone of the series and the characterization were criticized by other fans as being exceedingly grim; in particular, Bumblebee's portrayal as a cynical jerk (think Rattrap without the humor). The pacing was also a point of criticism; while only six episodes long, it isn't until about halfway through the series that the plot actually starts.
Other notes
- Originally planned for a June 2020 release, the series premiere was delayed one month, reportedly due to production delays with its foreign-language dubs caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
- During production, the animation team utilized Hasbro's original CAD files for the War for Cybertron Trilogy toyline. As a result, the character models are absurdly toy-accurate, down to several even retaining their 5 mm post holes and 3 mm pegs. Characters who did not have toys in the Siege lineup used original character models created specifically for the show.
- Siege was promoted with several motion posters highlighting members of the main cast. In each of these posters, a letter from the "Ancient Autobot" alphabet created by Jim Sorenson can be seen flashing in the background. When the letters are put in order, they spell out the word "KINGDOM", the name of the trilogy's third subline/season.
- The series features an extensive use of generics, though both sides use different character models as the base for their troops. The Autobots use Cog, Sideswipe, Mirage, Ironhide, and Hound to pad their forces while the Decepticons use Impactor, Refraktor, Barricade, and, as usual, the Seekers. Time will tell if other seasons add more designs for the factions' unnamed warriors.
