Had a wonderful time with the comic cover thread the other week, so I'm going to try something of that ilk again here.

Here's the scenario: You've got an idea for a Transformers film (or films), which you're pitching to the folks at Paramount/Hasbro who make things happen.

What's the outline you give them? Who are the characters featured? Is it an adaptation or an original idea, a continuation or a reboot?

Couple of loose rules for the thread:

1) Make as many different pitches as you want.
2) Have fun, but make a sincere effort at a pitch, rather than taking the opportunity to have a go at aspects of the films or the franchise at large you don't like. Good luck talking the execs around to your two-week time-lapse of Sam Witwicky slowly succumbing to the boats. If you want to to take the opportunity to redress or deconstruct things you take issue with, more power to you-- I sure as hell am-- but write about things you constructively want to see, rather than simply bashing on things you don't.
3) Please be civil to each other. Agree to disagree if necessary. Conversely, don't post deliberate flame bait with the idea of starting an argument.

Here's my pitch for a spin-off in the current universe:

After the events of Dark of the Moon, Ironhide, Mudflap and Skids wake up intact in another dimension, on the dead world Antilla (home of Cosmic Rust in G1). It quickly becomes obvious Sentinel has transported other capable adversaries he wishes to one day win over to this low-energy Shadowzone, including the dormant Metroplex, who has seeded life on life on the planet in the form of a sparkfield. The three of them must repair Metroplex's spacebridge, and keep the sparks safe from a big-name 'Con who has found his way to Antilla. Right now, that role's a coin toss between a Starscream-possessed Sunstorm and Thunderwing and his Pretender army (with Bludgeon serving as his number two).

The twins confronting their insecurities and developing from a couple of scared, jive-talking kids to accomplished Autobots is the main focus of the film, with Ironhide in a supporting role as the cool dad/mentor type.

Insecurity really is sort of the theme of the film, with hints that even rough-and-ready Ironhide was starting to take issue with Optimus' bloodlust, and the villain of the piece ultimately undone when the twins' deliberate irreverence wounds his ego and blinds him to some kind of misdirection. Pretenders would make more sense for the environment and I'm beating the "surprise resurrection" trope to death as it is, but I really like the idea of coming back to Starscream here, with the idea that he's been patiently biding his his time for the right moment to ascend to the top, only for a couple of mouthy kids to pull it all out from underneath him a la Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker.

Midway through the film, one of the twins (haven't decided who yet) does something deeply flawed, which strains their relationship up until the climax, when Skids temporarily dies. Mudflap manages to place his spark in a blank hatchling/protoform, but at the cost of Skids' memories being destroyed. Depending on who the wrongdoer was, their arc in subsequent films could be either a) Mudflap trying to hide his own failure from the Skids, or b) realizing his amnesiac brother is beyond accountability and forgiving him.

 

1. A movie focused primarily on the decepticons.

2. Direct-to-video movies based on IDW comics

3. An lost light movie

4. More spin offs based on Ultra Magnus and Hot Rodimus

5. A movie that takes place before the war

6. A war set on cybertron

 

First pitch: a solo Optimus outing which doubles as a sequel to TLK.

It's eight years after TLK. Earth is a dystopic hellhole in which society has collapsed, law and order have completely broken down, and nobody cares about anybody's survival but their own, all thanks to the revelation that the entire ***damn planet is a giant death robot who could wipe out every living thing on it in an instant just by waking up. Efforts to rally humankind by launching a Pillar-assisted nuclear attack on Cybertron have only succeeded in getting Optimus Prime stripped of the Matrix and forever banished from his homeworld; Megatron's been AWOL since TLK. Eking out a living as a champion in the robot battles with which human encampments entertain themselves these days (under the guise of pretending to be remote-controlled), Optimus is approached by members of what now passes for a government in North America, a group called Unit E, who need him to locate Daniel Witwicky, the 21-year-old illegitimate son of Sam Witwicky and Mikaela Banes; Daniel has telekinetic abilities that enable him to refashion any Earth-made machine for any purpose with one touch - a holdover from his dad's brief possession of the Allspark's energies. The survival of what's left of humankind long enough to get off this rock before it starts yawning may be dependent upon that talent; unfortunately, the Heralds of Unicron - the chief religious cult that's sprung into being in the shadow of that ginormous horn - are also aware of this and consider such ambitions blasphemous. Optimus doesn't particularly give a crap what happens to Earth anymore, even with himself on it, but out of loyalty to the long-deceased Sam he relents, swaps out the red-flames-on-blue for black, changes his voice (actor), and poses as a Decepticon bounty hunter named Scourge with the intent of offering his services to the Heralds' L.A.-based compound to find Daniel. Someone should probably tell him, though, that his disguise is likely to be seen right through by the enigmatic, never-actually-seen head of the Heralds movement - who also sounds a lot like Frank Welker, come to think of it...

Second pitch: Sequel to above.

Two years later. Optimus and Unit E are hunting down Megatron's scattered Heralds in the search for answers regarding something the 'Con's been planning called Operation Shining Star, while Daniel has been helping create a Seed-like device capable of endowing elements needed to sustain human life into planetary bodies. The latter puts Unit E at ground zero of a fast-brewing holy war - the Heralds want the device destroyed and its creators killed because they offend their glorious horned overlord (so Megatron says), while the humans-only People of Earth led by wheelchair-bound Josephine Beller want the device to save those who are still loyal to humankind above all else, even though the POE also wants to execute Daniel and his co-workers as criminals against humanity for working with a rogue robot. Making matters worse, a third faction shows up that just wants to wipe out Earth itself and everyone on it, human or Cybertronian: the Cybertron-based New Order led by that planet's new Lord High Protector, Jhiaxus, who plans to reverse the effects of the terraforming device to destroy Earth in the hope of taking Unicron with it, rallying most of the surviving Cybertronians by channeling their old war-based hatreds with the anti-human rhetoric with which he has had an army of Vehicons created in place of spilling more innocent Energon. There are, however, a few Cybertronians who don't buy his B.S. - a group of 'Bot sympathizers and ex-'Cons led by a female commander named Nova Maxima (aided by an unseen presence with which Nova remains in constant contact - something called Omega Supreme), as well as a returning Bumblebee and Hound. And their arrival couldn't be more timely, since it turns out Operation Shining Star is really Megatron's way of using the same KSI-based tech with which he cloned his dead underlings to mass-produce an entire army of Seekers. Of course, somebody should tell HIM that Beller's had a little industrial sabotage performed on his plans - by slipping a certain long-dormant spark retrieved from the Battle of Chicago into one of the Seekers...

Third pitch: Final chapter of the trilogy, then it can be somebody else's problem.  

Two more years later. With the help of Optimus, Bumblebee, Hound and Omega Supreme (who remained on Earth at the end of the previous film when Nova and her crew departed aboard Jhiaxus' escape ship, after throwing him off it), Unit E has located a planet within the reach of their Cybertronian-reversed-engineered spacecraft and already commenced initial terraforming procedures (via drone ships/tech). However, this gets the attention of an extraterrestrial race that's also run afoul of the Cybertronian conflict - the Nebulons - and the last thing THEY want is for more Cybertronians, or sympathizers of such, to extend their infernal presence any further in the cosmos. To that end, the Nebulon military, under the dictato--er, leadership of Lord Zarak, have forced their sharpest mind, the pacifistic ministress of science Ginrai Hi'Q, to devise a biochemical means of contaminating Earth's fuel and power sources, which would not only fatally poison the Cybertronians still on Earth, but also deprive humans of the fuel sources needed to escape their atmosphere; and once that's successful, they'll launch a second round to Cybertron itself and put that mutt out of its misery. Ginrai and her most loyal crewmates manage to escape military custody and flee to Earth to warn Unit E, but by that point Lord Zarak has already commenced his stealth assault: Optimus has already devoted the rest of Unit E's uncontaminated fuel rations to the other 'Bots and the launch team, and been exposed to the contaminant himself - he's dying. The Heralds attempt their own counter-offensive against the waiting Nebulon fleet but to little avail: Megatron's Seeker army is taken out by the Nebulons themselves, who - being partially floronic in nature, it turns out - possess the biological ability to tap into and channel massive, concentrated amounts of solar energy; the POE's military led by the resurrected Starscream, who's sweet-talked his way into Beller's confidence (he thinks), doesn't fare much better. In the end, human, Autobot, Decepticon, Jhiaxian and rogue Nebulon are going to have to suck it up, get over themselves and work together to ward off this new threat - and, assuming either of them survives the battle to come, Ginrai has no intention of letting Optimus Prime die (again)...

 

Mine would probably be like those superhero movies that start with the person already having the powers but except with transformers.

For example, the movie starts with humans and Autobots already fighting Decepticon together. As for why they are earth I would say it's because the atmosphere on earth is very similar to the one on Cybertron and both the bots along with the cons need a place to stay since Cybertron is dying/dead. The main plot would be about the Decepticons trying to breed humans into fighting machines because Megatron is getting sad seeing his species ripe each other apart.

 

I want to see Charlie Bean (the guy who did Tron: Uprising) turn this into an animated series.

 

so where does the films go from there? a Beast Wars trilogy perhaps? would the Nebulons look alien or will they just be green skinned star trek aliens?

 

Animated films based on the Marvel and Marvel UK comics. I think Target 2006 or Fallen Angel could be epic.

 

Well, as I said, I'd led it be someone else's problem after that.  

Bit of both, I figure. I imagine they'd still have green skin and pointed ears, but beyond that they'd probably have to be mo-cap CGI (especially when it comes time for them to start using the photosynthetic abilities I'd give them), so they just as well look more alien within those parameters. They'd probably also "grow" their own protective armored exosuits from thorns that spread out and crystallize all over their bodies, and I'd probably extend that organic motif to their technology, too, including their ships, just for the sake of having something other than typical-looking metallic spaceships.

Which brings me to how exactly the human/Cybertronian/rogue Nebulon alliance would deal with Zarak's military force; I figure the climax of the movie would have a "Guns of Navarone"-styled, WWII-influenced type of "mission inside enemy territory" feel, with a group of them inside Zarak's personal warship, the Blackzarak, which is continuing to discharge the contaminant into Earth's atmosphere with a full military escort (which would end up engaging the Seeker clones and Vehicons). As for how the Nebulon army would deal with THEM, though, I figure they'd probably have gotten their own hands on Cybertronian tech and similarly reverse-engineered it to specifications far hardier than their own biological capabilities would allow, and would therefore have what they call Transtech - which includes mentally-controlled shape-shifting armor that produces built-in weaponry (like gauntlets that turn into arm blasters), as well as assault vehicles and fighter craft that similarly transform into powered suits (Transtectors, I guess you'd call them - and yes, that would imply that these things' own built-in capabilities get ramped up considerably when their Nebulon operators go solar).

 

I’d want what-if stories like:

What if Sentinel succeeded in enslaving humanity?
What if Sam allied with Barricade instead?

I think these what-if stories can generate reasonable interest

 

i think the nebulons should be brought to life threw a mixture of cgi and practical effects.

 

I made this pitch a while ago for a different thread. Some people seemed to like it.

 

Transformers: Noir

The time 1947.

The Leads: Arcee in the form of Harley-Davidson WLA and Jack Darby, a young PI and WWII vet. They've been working together since they saved each other's lives during WWII.

The basic plot: A hand full of Autobots that have chanced on to earth are trying to stop the Decepticon warlord Bludgeon and his pretenders from accelerating the cold war arms race to ultimately use humanity to create weapons that can end the Autobots for good.

In genrenal it should be a small scale affair with the idea of Robots in Disguise really played up as both sides have a lot to loose as Bludgeon is reliant on his infiltrators, and the autobots because they fear their alien appearance in this climate of fear will lead to their destruction.

 

Pitch#1

"Prime"

Synopsis: Set before arrival to Earth. After discovered a plan to kidnap and kill Autobots' leader: Zeta Prime, Orion Pax must form a team with Ironhide and Warpath to save him and prevent Autobots' downfall.

Autobots: Orion Pax, Ironhide, Warpath, Arcee, Wheeljack, Zeta Prime

Decepticons: Shockwave, Soundwave, Megatron, Brawl, Decepticons' soldiers

Tone: a movie with a "spy" theme for the robots in disguise. Also we will see how Orion Pax got his title as "Optimus Prime".

Pitch#2

"Shockwave"

Synopsis: A fearsome, cold and genius Decepticon: Shockwave must gets out alive from Dinobots' ambush in deserted planet using only his will and wit.

Decepticons: Shockwave, Megatron (cameo), Soundwave (cameo)

Autobots: Grimlock, Swoop, Snarl, Slug, Sludge

Tone: An action-packed solo Transformers movie. The movie could lead to the creation of Trypticon that Shockwave actually trying to build with Soundwave

 

Heck with it, I'll toss in a spinoff or two...

Fourth pitch: Caper/revenge spinoff set between my second and third pitches.

Post-Heralds L.A. The city is once again a crime-ridden free-for-all now that Megatron and his enforcers have been scattered. Given that the streets are scarcely safe enough to traverse as needed even in the daytime (the few troops that Unit E can afford to assign the city are too hopelessly outnumbered to dare risk any direct engagements), automobiles in general are hot commodities, as is the talent to customize them such as to withstand the ravages of all that street crime. That's where former tabloid-news-cameraman-turned-professional-auto-thief-&-customizer Raoul Ramirez comes in. He's got a natural talent for both vocations, which of course leads to high demand for his services from pretty much every criminal fiefdom that's divvied up the city. That is, every criminal fiefdom that's divvied up the city except one - the one whose chassis-snatcher-in-chief is 'Wrench' Forbes, the city's oldest and most experienced still-living car thief extraordinaire. It's bad enough Forbes sees enough of his own rise to greatness in Raoul to see the THREAT the younger one poses to his own employment, and with the approval of his current boss he sends a group of his best muscle to torch Raoul out of hiding, "deal with" anyone who's harboring him or otherwise gets in their way, and beat him six feet under. What stops them from finishing the job is the opening of a Spacebridge, smaller and more localized than the one the 'Cons created over Chicago all those years ago, and they're immediately run off by the arrival of a group of 'Bots working for Nova Maxima - Blaster, Perceptor, Red Alert, Ramhorn, Tracks, Pipes and Huffer. The rogue 'Bots take a liking to Raoul, admitting that their own purpose on Earth isn't exactly legal by their standards, either: they've traced Jhiaxus' mass-production of Vehicons back to Earth - he's producing too many for what resources and botpower are available on the decimated Cybertron, and after tracking transmissions to and from his citadel, evidence is pointing to him having someone in L.A. acting as a supplier. And Blaster's pretty sure he knows who that supplier is, too: Jhiaxus' twin brother Straxus (his robot mode would be virtually identical to Jhiaxus' only colored black & blue in place of J's gray & gold, more mounted weapons and a more prominent battle mask, and with a land-based assault transport mode in place of Jhiaxus' jet alt). Blaster isn't saying just yet HOW he knows that, though, but it's clear that this reveal is going to make Raoul's intention to even the score rather more interesting, especially after Straxus gets wind from the Wrench of the 'Bots' arrival (oh come on, like Straxus being the Wrench's boss was really gonna be a surprise - if this were real, it probably would've been trailer fodder  ) and decides to give the Wrench's posse a couple of beefed-up loaner Vehicons with which to lay an ambush for Raoul's new "crew". It does not go well for the 'Bots in their first clash: Ramhorn is killed, Pipes is captured, and Straxus nearly beats Blaster to a metal pulp and leaves him for dead before the remaining 'Bots scatter. It will take the help of the minimal Unit E forces, some of Raoul's friendlier (or at least less aggressive) contacts among the automotive underworld, and Blaster pulling himself back together on fumes of Energon and a much more focused rage (which may have something to do with his own reasons for going after Straxus, come to think of it...) to mount any kind of counterattack.

 

I'm not much for serious fan suggestions, but I might as well have some fun with this one...

200 million years age. Unicron, the being at the core of Planet Earth, is throwing a chaotic tantrum that results in the break-up of Pangaea, violent volcanic eruptions, and a mass extinction that wipes out the dinosaurs' main competitors and many other life forms. When the smoke has cleared, moss and ferns begin to grow on fields of cool, solidified lava as early dinosaurs forage on the open landscape. Over time forests grow. Dinosaurs become massive titans that tower over any Earthly beings that have ever lived.

135 million years later, the Quintessons, the guardians of balance in the universe between chaos, Unicron, and order, Primus, note how organic life in the universe, on terrestrial planets with chaotic geology as a result of Unicron's power over Earth and the millions of other terrestrial planets in the universe. To counter the growing chaos, they plan on creating mechanical beings that follow their every order. They detonate the Seeds on thousands of worlds across many galaxies, resulting in the giant dinosaurs of the Mesozoic going extinct. From the newly made Transformium they make mindless, soulless robots as slaves. One of the Quintessons, Quintessa, uploads her mind into a new body that controls the Transformers remotely.

The Transformers are commanded by Quintessa to fight back against the chaotic beings of organic matter still resisting Quintesson efforts at balance throughout the universe. The fiercest opposition comes from a race of pudgy green beings known as Ogres that dwell in a remote swamp planet. Despite their ogre-whelming power, the Transformers controlled by Quintessa are mercilessly effective against the Ogres, who stand at the edge of extinction. Their bravest member, Shrek, attempts a last minute mission to stop the Transformers from annihilating his species; Shrek plans on making the Transformers alive with an ancient relic, and their resulting sentience will hopefully make them rebel against their Quintesson masters. He boldly sneaks into the Quintesson-maintained factories and headquarters of the Transformers on Cybertron with a mysterious item of unknown origin known as the Allspark. Against all odds, the mission is a success, for Shrek has given the Transformers the capabilities of love and life, and in the resulting rebellion the first living Transformers, the Dynasty of Primes, drive away their Quintesson masters, while the majority of Transformers are given life later, thus the Quintessons remain unknown to the vast majority of Cybertronians.

Millions of years later, the lonely, decapitated head of Onslaught, about the size and shape of a giant onion, lies in the sands of what was once a Dakota town. Cybertron has separated from Earth and gone back to its own place in the universe. The surviving Autobots, Decepticons, and Knights have left Earth with Cybertron. Without warning Unicron erupts in chaos again, causing massive global devastation. Humanity survives, but survives in a medieval state of existence. Their greatest leader is the diminutive Lord Farquaad of Duloc.

However, Unicron's chaotic tantrum has also resulted in the rapid evolution of fairy tale creatures in the swamps and forests and fields of Earth. Furthermore, the energy from Unicron's quaking reactivated the many dead Transformers left over from past wars. The life of Shrek awakening them, the head of Onslaught becomes alive, forming the first Deshrekticon, Drekatron, who becomes their leader, with Swampwave as his loyal servant. Meanwhile, the head of Sentinel Prime is reformed to become Onionus Prime, the smelly, but layered leader of the Ogrebots. The two factions war across Duloc and other regions of Earth, angering the egotistical Lord Farquaad. Detesting the Ogrebots, Deshrekticons, and fairy tale creatures, he hires the bounty hunter...no, Freelance Peacekeeping Agent Drek's Head to hunt the Ogrebots and Deshrekticons and regain control of Duloc.

Onionus Prime bravely leads the Ogrebots against the Deshrekticons and Drek's Head, and when it looks like all hope is lost, his ogre-whelming onion breath and the love of Shrek strengthen him to defeat his foes...until next time, that is.

Get Shrekt!

 

I can't find the thread I posted them in, but I remember coming up with ideas for two future Bumblebee spin-offs set between the first three movies, with both involving Charlie Watson returning to aid him.

Bumblebee 2 would involve the title character working on his own to protect the second wave of Autobots (Arcee, Jolt, Sideswipe, and Sunstreaker, with the twins conveniently off-screen) from Starscream and the Constructicons. Sunstreaker is killed by Devastator, but the other Autobots manage to take down the Combiner by outwitting him. Starscream's pride is severely wounded when ultimately his defeat comes down to one Autobot and his human friend.

Bumblebee 3 would involve Bumblebee trying to prove himself in the field again, after joining N.E.S.T. Ironhide and Ratchet would be by his side, with Ironhide having less patience with 'Bee. They get an anonymous tip about Megatron's and Starscream's location, which reveals itself to be Charlie. It's a race to stop the Decepticons from reaching a human city, that ends with Ratchet and Ironhide luring Megatron to a gas station (evacuated by Charlie), where Bumblebee blows it, himself, and Megatron up. Starscream, having been cowed into submission over the course of the film by Megatron, knocks out Ratchet and Ironhide long enough to escape with Megatron. Bumblebee bemoans his failure, but is assured by his fellow Autobots that outsmarting Megatron is still fairly impressive. Charlie disappears, promising to see them again.

I have reworked Transformers 6 in my head. New characters would consist of Windblade, Chromia, Ultra Magnus, Perceptor, and Thundercracker. Sideswipe, Dino/Mirage, Topspin, and Roadbuster would return, as well. The story is thus. Autobot and human relations would be steadily improving, but all is not well. Tremors caused by Unicron's awakening are fanning the fire of anti-Transformer hate groups, and the Autobots struggle to maintain public relations. Megatron is alive, too, broken and insane and carrying around Starscream's head, talking to his lieutenant as if he were still alive. Quintessa appears to him and revives Starscream, convincing the two of the need to join forces with the Autobots against their common foe. When they arrive on Cybertron, Optimus is reluctant to trust them, but begrudgingly agrees to help them. Perceptor surmises a way of teleporting Unicron out of Earth's core before his transformation rips the world apart by using Sentinel's space bridge - which he has recreated in the event of such an emergency. Meanwhile, Bumblebee, Windblade, and Izabella discover a camp of Autobot and Decepticon survivors who went missing after the Chicago war and evaded Cemetery Wind's kill squads, run by Robert Epps and Charlie Watson. Barricade is there, and he and Bumblebee are at each other's throats, but reigned in by their allies. Sensing his enemies are making a move against him, Unicron reanimates every Decepticon that died over the course of their movies to stall his enemies. Bumblebee an co. contacted by Optimus Prime, who orders them, along with every Autobot and Decepticon on Cybertron to go down to Earth and use the bridge at the locations of Unicron's horns to teleport him out. They succeed, but don't have enough power to teleport him far enough away, and the Chaos Bringer looms ominously above Earth and Cybertron, ending on a cliffhanger...

Transformers 7 would follow up on it, with the Autobots and Decepticons having to return to Cybertron, leaving the Dinobots behind to deal with the remaining zombie-cons. Perceptor is tapping into Cybertron's core to use gravity fields to hold the Earth together. Quintessa informs Optimus that the Matrix within him was initially meant to be a failsafe that, if united with Unicron's anti-spark, would destroy him. While Optimus and Megatron try to journey inside Unicron, Bumblebee and Barricade journey to Cybertron's core to awaken Primus, learning to let go of their rivalry. The other Autobots and Decepticons are losing badly (Hound, Crosshairs, Drift, Wheelie, and Brains would make a heroic sacrifice by crashing into Unicron's eye) until Primus awakens to hold Unicron off. However, Primus is weakened by the use of the gravity fields keeping the solar system in place. Optimus and Megatron do manage to infiltrate Unicron through his shattered eye, but are stalled when the reanimated corpses of Jazz, Ratchet, and Ironhide begin blaming Optimus for their deaths, while a reanimated Sentinel says that he is unworthy of being a Prime. Megatron shoots them down, countering that he is more responsible for their deaths than Optimus, and admits that perhaps Optimus was more worthy to lead than he gave him credit for. The two make it into Unicron's spark chamber, but Megatron is wounded by zombies of Shockwave and Soundwave. Optimus unites the Matrix with Unicron, causing his body to rip itself apart, and flies out into space with Megatron. With the Chaos Bringer destroyed, Optimus and Megatron agree on a truce. Starscream ponders returning to his treacherous ways, but quickly realizes he will have no allies if he does so. Cut to a few days later, and Bumblebee, Windblade, Charlie, and Izabella are speaking to a crowd, informing them that the war is over, that Autobots and Decepticons have made peace, and that both will assist in helping humanity rebuild. The camera pans out, and all seems well... until the head of Unicron hovers by, having been caught in Earth's orbit...

 

would there be a beast wars movie following this?

 

Even though I liked the idea

 

Glad you liked it!

But why be real, when you can be Shrektastic?

Seriously speaking, I like to have fun with Transformer ideas, because too many fans take this brand for kids' toys way too seriously, and Transformers, far from being narrowly defined, is actually extremely broad in terms of possibilities, so why not there be Lord Farquaad, Ogrebots, Deshrekticons, Swampions, and Drek's Head?

 

I’m reading this with the Blue Danube Waltz on in the background right now and the tempo matches up with the pace I’m reading it at and it makes too much sense and I need to go to bed.

Weirdly enough, though, this legit sounds like amazing IDW crossover ready to spring forth from John Barber’s head in full Greek battle armor.