Warning: Major spoilers for Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’ ending are in play. If you don’t want anything spoiled, you’ve officially been warned.
Another round of intergalactic carnage is now upon us, thanks to Transformers: Rise of the Beasts bringing the action. And by the time it's done, new doors are left opened for the franchise as a result of this sci-fi movie’s ending, especially with one big reveal setting the stage for a pretty huge potential team-up. That wasn’t always the case though, as a very different result could've played out. Here now is the story of why the creative team chose that seriously surprising name-drop that could define the future -- and it involved shooting two different endings and a two-year chain of approvals. Consider this your last call to maximize your chances of avoiding spoilers.
Why Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts Shot Two Endings For Its Big Tease
In short, the ending of Transformers: Rise of the Beasts sees hero Noah Diaz (Anthony Ramos) being recruited by the enigmatic Agent Burke (Michael Kelly) for a pretty sweet gig. As it turns out, this man is part of the organization know as “G.I. Joe” and, apparently, Noah’s exploits with his “friends” have convinced them to recruit him into their ranks.
Cue the moment that blows up the minds of everyone in the audience, which is when Anthony Ramos’ character flips over that business card to reveal the insignia of the famed military toy line’s cinematic incarnation. I couldn’t resist asking for more details on how this ending came to be. So during my time at the movie's press day, I asked both producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura and director Steven Caple Jr. about their recollections on the matter.
While the bad news is there’s no script or idea in the works just yet, the producer did give some further details into why that scene came to pass. Here’s what he told CinemaBlend:
No. We don’t think of it as a crossover either, which is interesting. The terminology, for me, I find it limiting. We’ve been debating the Joes, the fanbase has been debating it forever. You know, they’re like, ‘C’mon! When are you gonna do it? When are you gonna do it?’ We’ve wanted to do it, but we never really found an organic situation to do it with. So what happened in this case is when we came up with a character who can’t get a job, it was like the greatest idea that he’s gonna get the greatest job ever. Right? And so it was really, otherwise it feels like you’re just jamming it in. It feels like it’s the payoff to the movie.
I’ll be honest, while watching that entire final scene of Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, I was expecting a big reveal. However, knowing that this movie does connect with Michael Bay’s Transformers entries, I was fully banking on business card to read either “NEST” or “Sector 7” once it was flipped. As it turns out, my assumption wasn’t totally incorrect.
While Lorenzo di Bonaventura continued on with our interview , he revealed that a Sector 7 reveal was shot. So Noah Diaz was always going to get the job of a lifetime, it just depended which on made more sense. With both options in hand, di Bonaventura acknowledged one final detail about of his end of the process that led to the team deciding to finally Go Joe:
We wanted to experience it ourselves. It was important to us that it felt very organic. So we didn’t know until we saw it that it was like, ‘Ok, it works.’ That we had that chill, that tingle down the spine that like [says] ‘Joe.’
That tingle may not be connected to the still in-development G.I. Joe 3, which has been on the table since 2017, but it’s a start. And that start came from another beginning, which saw the notion of the Joes and Optimus Prime teaming up originating on paper. Just as Lorenzo di Bonaventura was looking for this angle that'd make it all work, apparently Steven Caple Jr. helped find it.
How Steven Caple Jr. Pitched That G.I. Joe Ending To His Transformers Bosses
With the idea of G.I. Joe and Transformers crossing paths in the air, all it took was screening both endings of Rise of the Beasts to make the decision. However, there was the fact that the idea needed to be approved by all the relevant parties. Di Steven Caple Jr. was on hand to discuss with CinemaBlend his piece of the puzzle, beginning with how the picture’s producers reacted when they read the first draft to integrate the Joes:
I was excited about it. I remember presenting it to the studio when I first turned in a draft of the script to the producers and everybody. And they were like, ‘Well, this is crazy. This is a leap.’ But I saw it on everyone’s faces that they were kinda excited about it. Like it led us to a new direction, and all the possibilities now went like this. But I was just like, in terms of the that specific franchise, that’s the one where I did have the toys growing up. … And I was like, if there’s a way I can combine these, and create something natural and organic so fans could appreciate, to see them sort of working together would be cool. ... I’m a fan of the graphic novels too, and the comics, and there is a few special edition comics that kind of hint at it. So when I pitched it to the studio, and said where we could go with it, they were excited. It just took two years for us to get all the yeses that we needed to move forward on it.
When all was said and done, it took a line of approvals similar to the process that landed Chip & Dale: Rescue Rangers’ cameos. It was worth it though, as Transformers fan Steven Caple Jr. knew the easter eggs die hard fans would love; including this G.I. Joe tease.
Further exhibiting the handle he has on the material, the filmmaker capped off this story with yet another Hasbro/Paramount reference that could mean quite a bit. Provided, of course, that Transformers: Rise of the Beasts rises to the occasion at this weekend’s box office.
That is, of course, your cue to see Transformers: Rise of the Beasts at a theater near you! And if you haven't already, you can start piecing together all of the connections between the past and the present, as select previous installments are currently streaming for Paramount+ subscription holders. Though for the record, you may only need to watch Bumblebee to get the full picture.
