December 20, 2018 — Following the release of Bumblebee, Lorenzo di Bonaventura hints in an interview that the animated prequel is still in the works.[6]
April 29, 2020 — Director Josh Cooley (Toy Story 4) is reported to have been brought into the project to oversee a final draft, which is said to be "separate and apart" from the live-action films.[2]
May 18, 2021 — Allspark Pictures President Greg Mooradian credits the animated Transformers film on his Linkedin page with a 2023 release.[7]
January 21, 2022 — Paramount announces an untitled animated Transformers movie will be released on July 19, 2024.[9]
April 20, 2023 — di Bonaventura reveals that the entire film takes place on Cybertron, and the setting explores how they begin to question the hierarchy of how their society has gotten stratified, and how the common man doesn't have the voice that they want to have.[10]
April 21, 2023 — A day after the previous interview, di Bonaventura confirms Industrial Light & Magic's involvement as the film's animation studio, bringing the company back to the franchise for the first time since Bumblebee.[11]
May 24, 2023 — Paramount moves the film's release date to September 13, 2024.[13]
June 7, 2023 — di Bonaventura teases how the film stands out from previous entries in the franchise, praises Chris Hemsworth's casting as Optimus Prime, and mentions a vocal transition from Hemsworth's voice to Peter Cullen's as the character for audiences to witness. Steve Desmond and Michael Sherman (Knock at the Cabin) were revealed to be additional writers for the film.[14]
June 15, 2023 — Scarlett Johansson discusses the film's animation and praises Cooley as director.[15] Chris Hemsworth later brings details on voicing Optimus Prime for the film and his reasoning he joined the project through his love of the script. He confirms that he will not use his regular voice for the character.[16]
July 20, 2023 — di Bonaventura confirms Optimus Prime and Megatron in the film will be depicted under their Orion Pax and D-16 identities.[17]
December 15, 2023 — Keegan-Michael Key mentions his voice for Bumblebee is closer to his regular speaking voice.[18]
Where, where will we go? We could go anywhere that you know!
April 11, 2024 — The cast of the movie previews the trailer and reveals a new logo for the film at Cinemacon 2024, The Hollywood Reporter also confirms Steve Buscemi has joined the cast.[19] During the presentation, Hemsworth revealed that Cullen served as a consultant on the getting the voice down.[20]
April 16, 2024 — Chris Hemsworth and Brian Tyree Henry announce the date of the film's first trailer being on Thursday, April 18, 2024, as it will be launched into space.[21]
April 18, 2024 — A livestream hosted by Chris Hemsworth and Brian Tyree Henry follows a small craft launched towards space, with a screen that plays the trailer once it reaches 125,000 feet. The movie's release date has been pushed back by one week, to September 20.[22] When asked whether the film is a fresh start, a prequel to the live-action films, or its own thing, Cooley replies "yes to all of the above".[23]
May 20, 2024 — Brian Tyler is attached as the film's composer.[24]
June 7, 2024 — Production for the film is revealed to be finished in the following month.[25]
June 18, 2024 — Production designer Jason Scheier confirms animation for the film is finished.[27]
June 24, 2024 — Cooley discusses how the film is in the "Old Republic" of Cybertron. D-16's backstory is being changed from being a gladiator champion to an Energon miner who is bunkmates with Orion Pax.[28]
June 27, 2024 — Sound-mixing for the film is finished, with production finally now complete around three months in advance of release.[29]
July 9, 2024 — A panel for the film has been announced for San Diego Comic-Con 2024 on Thursday, July 25 at 11:45 am PST at Hall H.[30]
