Michael Kelly gives an uncertain response to the future of the Transformers franchise following its G.I. Joe crossover tease in the final moments of Rise of the Beasts. The 2023 sequel saw the Autobots face two new Cybertronian factions locked in combat over an artifact that could either bring them home, or lure devastating destruction to Earth. Kelly portrayed Agent Burke in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts‘ ending, who makes his first appearance in the final moments of the movie to recruit Anthony Ramos’ Noah into the organization following his fight against Unicron and the Predacons.
Despite a year passing since audiences were teased with a new corner of the Transformers universe, Kelly has revealed to People that the future of the franchise may not be guaranteed. The actor revealed that while his sequence was a last-minute addition to reshoots, he had been told that he may be called upon to reprise his role in the future:
They shot the film, and then they were doing reshoots, and they added what was going to be a post-credits [scene]. One of those little pop-up things. And then they’re like, ‘No, we’re going to make that the end of the movie.’ I was like, ‘Really?!’ So even that happened after we shot it. It was pitched to me as a post-credit thing that if we move forward, we’d like your character to do that world.
Despite this, Kelly stated that he had heard nothing since, leaving him to wonder whether he had been removed from both franchises, or whether any future Transformers and G.I. Joe crossover would go ahead at all. However, the actor is eager to return and is overall pleased with the part he played in expanding the franchise. Check out the rest of what he said below:
That being said, I haven’t heard anything since. So maybe they either didn’t like what I did, or they’re not doing it, or I don’t know. I haven’t heard anything yet. Hopefully, I do. Because I would love to. I mean, again, that goes [back to me] as a kid – to be the guy who’s responsible, even in a way if they could move forward, even without me, it’s like, I was able to introduce the crossover of those two worlds.
Box Office Numbers May Hamper Plans
When looking at Kelly’s Burke, the character was largely undefined despite the intended impact of his role in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’ ending. “Burke” was established as a cover, but the true G.I. Joe member behind the figure was kept largely unremarkable intentionally, lacking any trademark qualities of any established role. While this can leave the character open to be any character future writers may wish, it, unfortunately, leaves it so that “Burke” could be a supporting character, meaning despite his appearance implications, Kelly may not play a major role going forward.
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Furthermore, while Derek Conolly was recruited to write the next Transformers installment, Rise of the Beasts and the recently released Transformers One underperformed at the box office, in spite of both garnering generally favorable reviews from audiences and the latter getting critical acclaim. As such, the issue may not lie with Kelly despite his concerns, and instead be the studio is wary of how to move forward and reinvigorate both franchises.
Our Thoughts On Kelly’s Transformers & G.I. Status Update
The Crossover Will Have To Overcome Several Hurdles
Introducing the world of G.I. Joe into the world of Transformers is no small task, despite any set-up Rise of the Beasts may have established. Even though recent releases in the franchise have been an undeniable success, the Joes have had past difficulties in making the leap into live-action, meaning any future would have to overcome any preconceptions of the series a viewer may have.
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Transformers: Rise of the Beasts arrived in 2023, and that set the table for several more movies in the franchise that will arrive down the line.
As such, while Kelly may be eager to go, it is undeniable that the franchise’s past and the box office performances of Transformers: Rise of the Beasts and Transformers One may have left creatives and studio heads wary. While more time may leave plenty of opportunities for creatives to give their best work, it could also hamper any hopes of Kelly’s return.
Source: People
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is a sci-fi action movie set after the events of 2018’s Bumblebee as a series reboot of sorts and is heavily inspired by the Beast Wars series. The film follows two archaeologists who find themselves following the heroic Autobots as they come face to face with several other tribes of intergalactic transformers.
- Director
- Steven Caple Jr.
- Release Date
- June 9, 2023
- Studio(s)
- Paramount Pictures
- Distributor(s)
- Paramount Pictures
- Writers
- Joby Harold , Matt Holloway , Art Marcum , Darnell Metayer , Ken Nolan , Josh Peters
- Budget
- $200 million
- Main Genre
- Sci-Fi