A Major Change In Transformers History Hurt The Movies (But Was Necessary) | Pretty Reel

Galvatron’s origin was changed to a human creation in Transformers: Age of Extinction. This change was necessary but hampered the franchise.

Transformers: Age of Extinction made a very significant change to Galvatron’s origins, which ultimately ended up hurting Michael Bay’s live-action Transformers franchise. In the film, Galvatron was the result of the efforts of the KSI corporation, led by Joshua Joyce (Stanley Tucci), to create an army of Transformers using the metal alloy “Transformium”. Galvatron was created using Megatron’s destroyed head, with this new Transformer becoming a reincarnation of the character.

Galvatron’s origin in Transformers: Age of Extinction differed significantly from the character’s original cartoon origins in 1986’s Transformers: The Movie, which was a reborn, reconstituted Megatron. Transformers: Age of Extinction screenwriter Ehren Kruger wanted to pay homage to this original origin for Galvatron but also went in a new direction by making the character a human creation. This ended up hampering the movies and the franchise since Galvatron was much scarier when he wasn’t a human creation. It was a missed opportunity to not stay true to the original backstory.

Galvatron’s Cartoon Backstory Explained

The first act of Transformers: The Movie ends with a final battle between Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen) and Megatron (Frank Welker), which ends in a mortal wound. Megatron was thrown into space by the traitorous Starscream (Chris Latta) and found by the film’s planet-eating villain, Unicron (Orson Welles). Unicron gave Megatron a new body in exchange for destroying the Matrix of Leadership. He is reborn as Galvatron (Leonard Nimoy), who quickly kills Starscream and regains control of the Deceptions.

How Galvatron’s Cartoon Backstory Would Have Changed Transformers: Age of Extinction

Galvatron’s origin was changed for Transformers: Age of Extinction since the Michael Bay films were to have their own separate identity. However, the character had very little consideration for the film’s plot since the Cybertronian Lockdown assassin (Mark Ryan) was the film’s main antagonist. When the character returned in Transformers: The Last Knight, he was once again called Megatron. This was a major missed opportunity for the live-action Transformers franchise, as staying true to Galvatron’s cartoon backstory would also have opened up the possibility of introducing Unicron as a possible antagonist, negating the need for human villains such as Joshua. Joyce and KSI. While Transformers: The Last Knight finally hinted at Unicron, it’s with the puzzling revelation that the planet-devouring Transformer is Earth itself.

One thing that Transformers: Age of Extinction got right about Galvatron’s origin is the change of voice actor to signify he’s a reborn character. In this case, it offered the opportunity for original Megatron voice actor Frank Welker to reprise the role after Hugo Weaving voiced the character in the first three Transformers movies. While it did well as fan service, Frank Welker’s cast was too small, too late, as Transformers: Age of Extinction marked the moment when the live-action franchise passed its prime.