Paramount Pictures is launching an innovative campaign for their upcoming animated feature, Transformers One, by premiering its trailer in space. Set to debut on Thursday, April 18, the trailer features stars Chris Hemsworth and Brian Tyree Henry voicing the iconic characters Optimus Prime and Megatron. The event will kick off at 6 a.m. PT with a live-streamed countdown that captures the trailer's ascent to 125,000 feet above Earth. At its peak, the craft will offer viewers a special introduction by Hemsworth and Henry, all streaming live from the official Transformers Movie social media accounts and Paramount's YouTube channel. Hemsworth will also share the stream on his Instagram.

Who's Involved in the Making of 'Transformers One'?

Transformers One is directed by Josh Cooley with a script penned by Andrew Barrer, Steve Desmond, and Gabriel Ferrari. The narrative dives into the origins of the Autobot and Decepticon rivalry on Cybertron, exploring the early friendship and eventual fallout of Optimus Prime and Megatron. The ensemble cast includes Scarlett Johansson as Elita, Keegan-Michael Key as Bumblebee, Jon Hamm as Sentinel Prime, and Laurence Fishburne as Alpha Trion. The film is slated for a nationwide release on September 12, 2024.

Lorenzo di Bonaventura, the franchise producer, shared insights into the animated prequel's significance last year.

"I could tell you really important parts of this story, which is more than a tease. This is something we were trying to do; we debated a lot about it in live action, and it just was financially impossible to do, which is, the origin story of young Megatron and young Optimus. If you know the origin, they started as friends, and over time things devolved for them and they ended up on two sides. So we're telling the young Optimus and the young Megatron story. We really are telling the origin story of all Transformers, both what they were at the beginning of it, to how they grow, to how they grow apart."

And what's more, di Bonaventura hinted at a broader storytelling plan for the series, envisioning Transformers One as the start of a potential trilogy focusing on the complex dynamics between the lead characters.

“We’re hoping that there is enough emotional construct to that, that would lead to a trilogy of it because, personally, I think there’s a natural trilogy. I’m not always looking to do multiple movies, but there’s a natural trilogy around their relationship. So, you’re going to see Cybertron in a way you’ve never seen it, that no one’s ever seen it before. Because we’re doing an animation, we’re allowed to really go all out. If you tried to make this live-action, it would probably be a billion-dollar movie or something.”

The event will be streamed from @TransformersMovie‘s social accounts and Paramount Pictures’ YouTube channel. Chris Hemsworth will co-stream it on Instagram. The movie opens nationwide on September 12, 2024.