Summary
Megatron is far from another villain inTransformers One, according to Brian Tyree Henry at this year’sSan Diego Comic-Con. Henry is set to play D-16 in the upcomingTransformersprequel. The story will reveal how D-16 and Chris Hemsworth’s Orion Pax eventually become the iconic Megatron and Optimus Prime. Despite starting the story as best friends, the two eventually evolve into bitter enemies.Transformers Oneis set for releaseon September 20.
Screen Rantspoke to Henry at San Diego Comic-Con, where the actor shared his perspective on Megatron’s character. While he admits that Megatron is undoubtedly a villain, he believes that there is far more to the character than meets the eye. Henry’s experiences in college helped him relate to D-16, ashe was alsodisillusioned by the larger worldand struggled to establish an identity that helped him cope with that. All the while, helost friendships and relationships, just as Megatron does, which helped him connect with the Decepticons. Check out Henry’s full quote below:
There were challenges because, at the end of the day, here we have this wonderful origin story about these two friends, best friends — brothers really — but also watching his character become completely disillusioned by what he thought to be true and real and having to actually rebel against that was hard. But I also understood it. I was like, I’ve been there.I absolutely understand that.I remember going away - I pulled a lot of my experiences from college and put ‘em in there once I was 18, and I was out on my own trying to figure out who I was, what it was like when I was like, oh, all of this is not real. All of this is actually not what I thought it was. And I remember that feeling of just realizing that things aren’t always what they seem, and having to pick and choose my heart over, I don’t know, friendships sometimes and relationships in different instances. And I felt like that’s exactly where we find D-16. AndI just wanted to bring some heart to him. I wanted people to really feel for him, to really understand, because villains get a bad rap, right? They usually just present the villains to us, and we don’t know anything else about them. But I was like, no, there’s something that happened to him. There was a challenge there, and I wanted to show that level to him.
Megatron Will Become A Relatable Villain
Transformers One Will Reveal That Megatron Was Not Always Evil
Megatron’s first appearance inthe live-actionTransformersfranchisecame in 2007’sTransformers, where he served as an unambiguously evil character. Unlike the Autobots, who intended to use the AllSpark to revive Cybertron and preserve its people, Megatron and his Decepticons intended to use it to control the entire universe. Unlike the ever-heroic Optimus Prime,Megatron was nothing but a villainwith cruel motivations and an unimportant backstory.Transformers Onewill finally offer Megatron the opportunity to tell his story.
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Starscream will serve as the villainof the upcoming prequel, but it will also reveal Megatron’s slow descent into darkness. Starscream (Steve Buscemi) is a well-known Decepticon, who generally works under Megatron later in their lives. In this movie, however, he will likely serve as the spark that forces Megatron into villainy. After all, Megatron will be introduced as D-16, a lowly worker robot with little control of his environment and few concerns about his wider world. After reaching the surface, however,D-16 becomes aware of the corruption in Cybertronand begins turning against his fellow Cybertronians.
That descent is relatable for Henry, but it is also comprehensible for the wider audience. With Megatron forced to spend so much of his life deprived of power or influence, it is understandable that he would attempt to cling to that control after gaining the ability to transform. Cybertron will be revealed to be a flawed society, so it is not altogether surprising that he would work to undermine it. Brian Tyree Henry is determined to make Megatron a relatable villain inTransformers Oneby finally telling that story and revealing exactly why Megatron turned against Cybertron.
Transformers One
Cast
Transformers One is an animated action-adventure movie that marks the first animated feature-length film for the series in decades. The film will be a prequel to the franchise, and will tell the story of Optimus Prime and Megatron in their early years, how they met, and a closer look at the war on their home planet, Cybertron.
