Two weeks ago, generations of Transformers fans were shocked when news broke that Peter Cullen, the iconic voice actor who had brought Optimus Prime to life for decades, had passed away. Cullen’s death took fans by surprise not only because of his consistent place in the beloved franchise, but also because it occurred alongside other high-profile celebrity deaths, including Dolly Parton and Tim Curry. Making his debut as Optimus Prime in the Transformers animated series, Cullen reprised the role in the ’80s feature film and continued to bring him to life when the series made the switch to live-action, a consistent place in a franchise that shows no signs of stopping.
It didn’t take long after Cullen’s death was confirmed, though, for news of his final performance as the character to be confirmed. To make things even more bittersweet, it was confirmed that the upcoming re-release of The Transformers: The Movie (the same film that traumatized kids after Optimus himself dies on screen very early on) would also be the place that featured Cullen’s last time as the character. Ahead of its debut, a clip from the upcoming Optimus Prime: Awakening has been revealed, and it will already make fans emotional.
When Optimus Prime: Awakening makes its debut next week with the re-release of The Transformers: The Movie, it will clock in at just twelve minutes long, to that end it’s no surprise that the official clip is a short one, but it packs a punch already in the shadow of Cullen’s death. Featuring Optimus being hunted down by Soundwave on a remote planet, one of the only lines of dialogue spoken in the clip features Bumblebee remarking to the leader of the Autobots, “No matter how many times you fall, you just keep getting back up.”
That line alone should be enough to make fans get chills after Cullen’s departure but there’s another twist up the sleeve of this clip, as Bumblebee is revealed to not be there to help Optimus, but to be functioning as an agent of the Decepticons now. It remains to be seen what the larger context of this moment will be, or whether Optimus Prime: Awakening will be literal and the whole thing was a dream, but the new short film is already guaranteed to make longtime fans an emotional mess when it debuts.
The Transformers: The Movie will officially return to theaters next Thursday, September 17th, with the Optimus Prime: Awakening short set to screen after the film itself has concluded. As if you needed a reason to stay in your seat while Stan Bush’s song “The Touch” plays on the big screen, the fact that this final chapter for the entire franchise will play afterward is just the cherry on top of it all.
Cullen’s time as Optimus Prime was previously just a fixture of the 1980s, though he continued to perform as a voice actor after the show concluded; he wouldn’t return to the role until the 2007 live-action movie from Michael Bay. After that, Cullen voiced Optimus Prime in all seven movies, plus multiple TV shows, video games, and even theme park rides. In less than a week, his last performance as the character will finally be revealed to the world.
