Despite mostly positive reviews and a strong voice cast, Paramount Pictures isn’t moving forward with a sequel to Transformers One. The animated reboot was originally planned as the launchpad for a trilogy, but it has officially hit a dead end, and director Josh Cooley confirmed the news during a panel at Bot Con ’25 in Wayne, Indiana.
“I was excited for where we were going next,” Cooley admitted. “But as of now, there are no plans to continue. Paramount isn’t moving forward with the sequel.”
That’s a tough pill to swallow, especially for fans who embraced the movie’s fresh approach to Transformers lore. It’s even more frustrating when you consider how much groundwork was laid for future installments.
The film explored the early friendship (and eventual fallout) between Orion Pax and D-16—better known as Optimus Prime and Megatron and it built an emotional foundation for the war between Autobots and Decepticons.
Transformers One brought some serious talent to the table, with Chris Hemsworth voicing Optimus, Brian Tyree Henry as Megatron, Scarlett Johansson as Elita-1, and Keegan-Michael Key as B-127. The supporting cast included Steve Buscemi (Starscream), Laurence Fishburne (Alpha Trion), and Jon Hamm (Sentinel Prime).
Critics and fans were largely on board, earning the movie a solid 83% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 7.3 average rating. But that wasn’t enough to make up for a sluggish box office haul of just $129.4 million worldwide against a reported $75 million budget. Not disastrous, but not the return Paramount or Hasbro were hoping for.
The fallout has been quick. Hasbro recently announced it would no longer co-finance theatrical films based on its brands, which is a move that all but slams the brakes on any future Transformers feature films, animated or otherwise.
This decision reflects broader struggles at Paramount to figure out what Transformers is supposed to be in a post-Michael Bay era. The franchise was once a license to print money, especially from 2007 to 2014, but it’s been sputtering ever since The Last Knight in 2017.
It’s disappointing news for fans who hoped this film would be the creative reboot the series needed. But sometimes, doing making a good first movie just isn’t enough to get a sequel.
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