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New Transformers animated short will feature Peter Cullen’s final performance as Optimus Prime

By Kevin Fraser

Posted 7 seconds ago

Transformers animated short, Optimus Prime: Awakening, Peter Cullen

Peter Cullen, the iconic voice behind Optimus Prime, sadly died last week, but he leaves behind one final gift for Transformers fans. A new animated short, Optimus Prime: Awakening, is slated to play after the upcoming 40th anniversary screenings of The Transformers: The Movie. It will feature Cullen’s final original voice performance as Optimus Prime.

Optimus Prime: Awakening

Fathom Entertainment said the 12-minute short will follow the storyline of the original film and serve as a “love letter to the Transformers community and the late Peter Cullen.” The short also features the voice of Frank Welker, who returns as Megatron and Soundwave.

“Optimus Prime and Megatron were made for each other.” Welker said in a statement. “After all, one needs the perfect hero against the epitome of evil to create great drama. Peter’s portrayal of Prime was born of his own personal beliefs; honesty, loyalty, and always insisting on doing the right thing. This made it easy to be friends. Returning as Megatron and Soundwave for one final story opposite Peter’s Optimus in ‘Optimus Prime: Awakening’ was a real gift. I will miss my friend, but that voice and his heart and values will always be part of Optimus Prime.“

The Transformers: The Movie 40th Anniversary

The Transformers: The Movie will soon be returning to theaters in what Hasbro and Fathom Entertainment are dubbing the “Apology Tour” due to the dark moment in which Optimus Prime was killed off. It will launch in theaters across the U.S. from September 17 to September 21.

Hasbro’s Vice President, Global Brand & Franchise Strategy, Action Brands, Alyse D’Antuono, said, “For decades, Transformers fans have carried this film with them, which is a testament to its storytelling and lasting cultural impact. Bringing it back to theaters is an opportunity for longtime fans to relive it together, and for new audiences to experience a defining chapter of Transformers history.” Fathom CEO Ray Nutt added, “Even 40 years later, this animated feature film remains a defining moment for fans across generations.“

Shout Factory is also releasing a new 4K Steelbook of the film to celebrate the 40th anniversary on November 17.

Source: Fathom Entertainment

Tags: Peter Cullen, Transformers: The Movie

About the Author

Kevin Fraser

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Favorite Movies: Alien, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, read more Braveheart, The Bridge on the River Kwai, City of God, Cloud Atlas, Creature from the Black Lagoon, The Edge, The Fifth Element, Galaxy Quest, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Godfather Parts I & II, Goodfellas, The Good the Bad and the Ugly, Gladiator, Lawrence of Arabia, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, The Magnificent Seven, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, The Prestige, Prisoners, Psycho, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Rear Window, The Shining, Sorcerer, The Talented Mr. Ripley, There Will be Blood, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Zodiac

Likes: Drawing, cooking, watching movies, trying and failing to come up with read more more items for my likes list.

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