Scarlett Johansson isn’t a name who many will associate with Transformers, but that’s set to change. The recent release of the new movie in the Transformers series, Rise of the Beasts, prompted a fairly muted response from audiences.
Our own Rise of the Beasts review was fairly critical, and the latest Autobot adventure hasn’t exactly managed to set the box office alight, despite former Transformers movies dominating in previous years. It’s not the best news for the franchise as a whole, which is attempting to kick things back into gear with a semi-reboot of the continuity.
Part of that reboot will include the release of a new animated movie titled Transformers One. The Transformers One release date is set for September 13, 2024, and will act as an origin story for the war between the Autobots and Decepticons. Scarlett Johansson is part of the impressive cast as Elita, and she loves what she’s seen of Transformers One so far.
“Yes, I’m playing Elita,” confirmed the Black Widow actor, speaking with Collider. “I’m working with Josh Cooley, who is an incredible writer-director who I adore and have worked creatively with in another capacity. The film doesn’t look like anything I’ve ever seen before, it looks so cool!”
Johansson continued, “The texture of it is so awesome. And because Josh wrote it, it just feels very… I don’t know, it’s got a very dramatic feeling about it. It’s funny, but it’s got so much heart to it like all of his stuff does. I think it’s a different way of approaching this IP. I think it stands on its own, it’s pretty exciting.”
We were already excited for another animated Transformers movie, and now our hype just got another boost. Josh Cooley, who Johansson explains is directing and writing the movie, has worked on some of the best animated movies of all time with a list of credits which include Inside Out, Incredibles 2, Ratatouille, and Toy Story 4.
He’s clearly incredibly talented, as is his cast, and we can’t wait to see how Transformers One turns out. It might even reignite some proper passion for Transformers, which the franchise clearly needs.
For more on Johansson, check out her pick for the best Bill Murray movie, and read our ranking of the best MCU characters. Or, see why we think the original animated Transformers movie is the best of all (yes, even better than Bumblebee) before seeing our ranking of the best movies of all time.