Transformers One Director Outlines Potential Story for Sequel - Newsweek

Jun 29, 2025

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If Transformers One gets a sequel, its director Josh Cooley knows exactly what's going to be in it.

Speaking with Newsweek, Cooley says a potential Transformers Two would develop the bitter rivalry between Megatron and Optimus Prime.

"If it's up to me, I definitely would continue that relationship between the two of them. I think that's what makes this film work. Actually, I think that's what makes Transformers work. If you don't have that relationship between those two characters, I don't think it's Transformers, it's just big robots, which could be anything. But it's that relationship between those two characters that really makes a franchise."

Transformers One is an animated origin story detailing the close friendship and later violent fallout between Optimus Prime (Chris Hemsworth) and Megatron (Brian Tyree Henry). Starting as Orion Pax and D-16, two regular autobots without the ability to even transform, we see them slowly morph into their iconic characters during the course of the film.

Hemsworth in particular sounds more and more like the original voice of Optimus Prime, Peter Cullen, as the film progresses. How likely is it the actor returns for a sequel?

"It's a good question," says Cooley, who previously directed Toy Story 4. "I don't know. One of the things we worked on was how do we have a character that will eventually become the Peter Cullen that we know? Chris and I talked about Orion Pax early on. He can't be too close, he can't be too knowledgeable, he can't be too wise, he has to be a little younger and just a little looser, because he hasn't become hardened from war yet."

Cooley says as Hemsworth was recording, he actually started to look more hero-like, standing up a little straighter to resemble the Autobot leader. If Paramount does greenlight a sequel, the director will now have a fully developed Optimus Prime and Megatron to utilize - that's if he doesn't do his own project.

"I'd love to do live-action," says Cooley. "I'd also love to do a hybrid film. I love Who Framed Roger Rabbit. It's a big film that I loved growing up, something in that realm. A lot of Marvel movies are like that, where you have big CG characters with real-world actors. So yeah, I'm down to do anything."