How to Watch Every Transformers Movie in Order
WHEN THE FIRST Transformers movie was first greenlit for production, many people didn’t know what to expect. Based on a Hasbro toy with its own built in lore, comics, and more, there was a lot to explore as far as the Transformers world went (and there had even been a 1986 animated Transformers film). But
WHEN THE FIRST Transformers movie was first greenlit for production, many people didn’t know what to expect. Based on a Hasbro toy with its own built in lore, comics, and more, there was a lot to explore as far as the Transformers world went (and there had even been a 1986 animated Transformers film). But where would a live-action film go? Enter producer Steven Spielberg (ever heard of him?), who was a fan of the toys and the comics, and saw the potential that a big-budget film depicting the world of aliens who are also cars who are also sentient transforming robots could bring. It’s a lot!
Spielberg wanted to bring on a director who he knew could make their action movie as big as possible, and that meant one person: Michael Bay. And while Bay (best known for his explosive action movies Bad Boys II, The Rock, and Armageddon) wasn’t on board from the start (he wasn’t a fan of the toys, and he thought the original script he was given was immature), he earned an appreciation throughout the process, and ended up putting his all into it. The resulting film—2007’s Transformers—would become a mega hit, jumpstarting the careers of stars Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox and spurring a franchise that’s still running nearly 20 years later.
Bay wound up directing the first five films in the franchise, stamping his signature style (for better and for worse!) all over the series. If you want big, these are the movies for you—the action is expertly done, especially in Bay’s movies. But the series has also evolved past him, now including sequels and spinoffs that have moved beyond the blueprint Bay originally laid out.
The newest film, Transformers One, marks new ground for the franchise; it’s animated, and it’s a prequel. Viewers will go back to the very beginning, learning how Optimus Prime, Megatron, Starscream, and the rest of the bunch got to be the way they are. The movie is a star-studded affair (featuring the voices of Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry, Steve Buscemi, Jon Hamm, and more), and any fan of the series should have a good time with it.
But any time a prequel starts getting involved, we know questions start to arise about timelines, and chronologies.
That’s where we come in—if you’re wondering about the proper order of the Transformers films, keep on reading. We’ve got you covered.
We recommend watching the Transformers movies—as we recommend every series—in the order in which they were released.
We know, we know—some of you are interested in watching things in chronological order, seeing the way things play out from the very “beginning” of a story to a very “end.” But just hear us out for a minute: you should watch them in the order in which they were released instead. Certain things in movies and shows are revealed with the idea that even though something is coming out of chronological order, you’ve already seen the other thing. And so there will be nods, and references, to something that may come “later” in the story.
You’ll be rewarded for watching in the right order most of the time.
But you don’t have to!
The Transformers series in chronological order:
If you insisted in watching the Transformers film series in chronological timeline order, it would be as follows:
- Transformers One (2024)
- Bumblebee (2018)
- Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023)
- Transformers (2007)
- Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)
- Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)
- Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014)
- Transformers: The Last Knight (2017)
But this is the order we recommend watching the Transformers movies in—the order in which they were released.
We really recommend watching any franchise this way.
Transformers (2007)
The movie that started it all! Michael Bay’s original Transformers actually came out right around the same time as another film in a staple action franchise, Live Free or Die Hard, and totally beat it up at the box office (Sorry Bruce!). This movie showed the world that it was possible for CGI robots from outer space (in this case, Optimus Prime and Megatron from the planet Cybertron) to cross paths with human beings (like Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, John Turturro, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese, and more)—and make a movie that was massive, looked cool, and did exactly what it intended to.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)
Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)
Dark of the Moon brings a Moon and Cybertron-focused conspiracy to the forefront, as Sentinel Prime (voiced by the late Leonard Nimoy) enters the fray. LaBeouf leads the franchise for the third and final time, while Rosie Huntington-Whiteley replaces Megan Fox as the female lead and Patrick Dempsey comes aboard as a vital character.
Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014)
Michael Bay remains, and Optimus Prime returns, but Age of Extinction brings an entirely new human cast (including Mark Wahlberg, Kelsey Grammer, and Stanley Tucci) to take on a secret organization trying to take over the world, a new villain known as Galvetron, and general Autobot and Decepticon shenanigans.
Transformers: The Last Knight (2017)
The Last Knight marks Michael Bay’s last chapter in the Transformers saga, and he really made it worth his while. Optimus Prime gets brainwashed, goes on a hunt to find Merlin’s magic, and is once again joined by Mark Wahlberg. But since this is Bay’s last film, his old friends—John Turturro, Tyrese, Josh Duhamel—all return, and Sir Anthony Hopkins was somehow talked into showing up and playing a substantial part.
Bumblebee (2018)
The ’80s-set Bumblebee takes things back to the beginning to show how Bumblebee (the Camaro Sam bonds with in the original Transformers movies) made his way on earth. The movie stars Hailee Steinfeld and John Cena, while Travis Knight took over in the director’s chair.
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023)
The most recent live-action turn in the franchise was Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, which is set in 1994 and stars Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback. This is inspired by the Beast Wars cartoon, and so it features characters like Optimus Primal (voiced by Ron Perlman) and Scourge (voiced by Peter Dinklage).
Transformers One (2024)
The newest entry in the Transformers franchise is the entirely animated film Transformers One. It takes place long before any other events in the series (like, 3 billion years before), and tells the story of Optimus Prime and Megatron way back then. The film features a totally stacked voice cast, including Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Brian Tyree Henry, Steve Buscemi, Jon Hamm, and Laurence Fishburne.
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