Chris Hemsworth to lead cast of animated ‘Transformers’ movie

Thor’s Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry and Scarlett Johansson will lend their lungs to Transformers One, an animated prequel about the epic rivalry between the Autobots and the Decepticons.

According to Variety, Aussie actor Hemsworth is playing young Optimus Prime, Henry is voicing young Megatron in the origin story about how the brothers-in-arms turned into sworn enemies. Johansson will voice Elita, Keegan-Michael Key, Bumblebee, Jon Hamm is Sentinel Prime and Laurence Fishburne is Alpha Trion.

“I’m so excited and proud to be working with Hasbro and eOne to bring the first animated ‘Transformers’ movie to theaters for a never-before-told story,” said Ramsey Naito, president of Paramount Animation and Nickelodeon Animation, who announced the cast at CinemaCon. The news drew applause from the room of theater owners in Las Vegas.

Naito added, “I’m honored to have such incredible talents come together to portray these well-known and much-loved characters in an origin story at the heart of the franchise.”

Josh Cooley is directing the film from a screenplay by Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari. It’s set to release in theaters on July 19, 2024.