Following the success of “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” at the box-office this weekend, it looks the film’s director Steven Caple Jr. is sticking with the franchise.
“Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” pulled in $171 million worldwide this past weekend, taking the crown from Sony Animation’s “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” in numerous markets, including the United States.
Chatting with Deadline for a podcast, Caple Jr. confirms he is in talks for another “Transformers” sequel – one that ties into the ending scene between Anthony Ramos and Michael Kelly.
SPOILERS AHEAD FOR “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts”
In a feature piece with EW, Caple confirmed he’s deep into developing the Rise of the Beasts sequel which will follow up that scene’s promise of a “G.I. Joe” crossover saying: “It is definitely gonna incorporate some Joes characters, but it won’t go into, maybe, the true origins of the Joes.”
Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventure confirms this, telling the outlet:
“The idea of trying to do the whole Joe world at the same time is a little daunting. This is a way to bring them into our world, remind people of who they are, and they’ll have a role in the plot… we’re also not through with the Maximals, so I imagine in the next movie we’ll have Maximals, Autobots, and Joes.”
The scene in the film was kept top secret. Aside from chatting with the rights holders to get the necessary clearances, only one secured version of the script mentioned the G.I. Joe reveal – the others boasted the military organization Sector 7.
Michael Kelly wasn’t even cast in the role of Agent Burke until after principal photography wrapped on the film and was told it was Sector 7 right up until the day of filming. Caple Jr. says:
“He just freaked out. He was pacing in his trailer, going back and forth. Then he called his agent, and he was like, ‘Dude, this is G.I. Joe!’ Then they’re calling the studio, like, ‘Is this real? Is the director playing a prank on my client?’.”
Caple says they shot two versions of Kelly’s scene, one with a business card reading Sector 7 and one where it reads G.I. Joe so audiences in test screenings wouldn’t know the true reveal. The one card stamped with G.I. Joe Caple Jr. took himself from the set for safekeeping.
With the reveal having happened, Caple says the next movie will expand the entire universe:
“I think it’s really cool that there are other planets out there with Transformers. It’s one of the reasons why I introduced the Maximals that way in the beginning of our film. I was pulling from these Japanese cartoons where there’s Transformers on every other planet. I just feel like we’ve been on Earth for a very long time. So there might be something interesting to explore there, maybe taking this war and battle somewhere else.”
He also confirms Burke might not be the real name of Kelly’s character: “It’s a little generic, and it’s done on purpose a bit. It’s all part of the facade. He might grow into someone else. I’m still trying to figure out what to do exactly with that character.”
