How to Watch the Transformers Movies in Order
If you’re into the Transformers franchise that Michael Bay made famous, you know that there are a lot of titles to keep track of. The newest release, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, is only one of many movies within the franchise. If you’re overwhelmed and want to know how to watch each transformers movie in order of chronology, you’ve come to the right place.
Transformers have been around since the 1980s and have flourished in one form or another ever since. They started off as a Japanese toy line of mechanical robots that could transform into vehicles or other alternative forms. As its popularity began to explode, the franchise branched out into comic books, cartoons, video games, and, of course, movies. No matter how many decades go by, Transformers seem to find fans, old and new, and keep them coming back for more. For now, we’ll be sticking with the films for this article. Otherwise we’ll be here all day.
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Transformer Movies in Chronological Order
So here’s the thing. These movies are all over the place, timeline wise. Prequels, sequels, reboots, it’s enough to make your head explode. To be honest, you can watch the movies any which way that makes you happy. That said, if you want to be chronological about it, look no further than the list below! By the way, for the sake of brevity, we’re going to assume you know a few basics, such as who the Autobots, Optimus Prime, Sentinel Prime, Nemesis Prime, and the Decepticons are. Now, without further fanfare, here’s the official chronological Transformers movie order.
1. Bumblebee
Chronologically, this is the first of all the films, taking place in 1987, despite its late release order. It is also one of the higher rated of the franchise, even though Michael Bay was not a part of it.
Movie summary: On their home planet of Cybertron, the Autobots are in danger of losing their massive war against the Decepticons. Optimus Prime, their leader, is preparing to evacuate his people but they are ambushed before they can be successful. So Optimus Prime sends a scout, B-127, to Earth to set up a base where they can recover and regroup. Once on Earth, he is hunted by both the Decepticons and human Sector 7 agents, who mistakenly see him as a threat. He’s soon befriended by a human teenager named Charlie, who names him Bumblebee, and the pair try to escape danger together.
Release date: 2018
Cast:
- Hailee Steinfeld
- John Cena
- Jorge Lendeborg Jr.
- John Ortiz
- Jason Drucker
- Pamela Adlon
- Stephen Schneider
- Len Cariou
Where to watch:
You can stream it on:
- FXNOW
- Fubo
- Paramount+
You can also rent or purchase it from:
- Prime Video
- Google Play
- YoutTube, Apple TV
- Vudu
- Redbox
- DirectTV
- Flix Fling
- Microsoft
2. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts
Rise of the Beasts is the most recent of the Transformers films actually takes place second in the chronological timeline, in 1994. It is in a category of its own. Many call it a sequel, a prequel, and something of a franchise reboot too. Starring Anthony Ramos, rather than Hailee Steinfeld, it can actually stand on its own, in case there are movie goers who are seeing this as their first movie in the Transformers universe.
Movie summary: The Autobots must team up with a new faction of Transformers, called the Maximals. The Maximals can transform into animal-type forms, and together they must face the planet destroyer, Unicron.
Release date: 2023
Cast:
- Michelle Yeoh
- Pete Davidson
- Ron Perlman
- Peter Dinklage
- Peter Cullen
- Anthony Ramos
- Dominique Fishback
- Colman Domingo
Where to watch:
This film hit theaters not long ago, so you may still have to go there to see it, though you can also rent/buy it from Prime Video.
3. The Transformers: The Movie
Ok, this one isn’t technically part of the modern day Transformers movie franchise, but hey, it’s a Transformer’s movie and that means it makes the list! Actually, it’s technically the first Transformers movie, which is noteworthy itself. This animated offering came after the original cartoon series, debuting in 1986, but it took place in 2005. Hence it is presented third in our chronological order list if you want to watch each Transformers movie in order.
Movie summary: Optimus Prime and the Autobots’ home planet, Cybertron, is being invaded by the Decepticons in an aggressive attack. On top of this, they must also fight against Unicron, an enormous planet-devouring transformer the likes of which they’ve never faced.
Interesting that this old enemy is the subject of the newest film!
Release Date: 1986
Cast:
There are some big names in this one, surprisingly. These are just some of the more notable ones. A bit of trivia, this was actually Orson Welles’ last role, he recorded his lines shortly before his death.
- Orson Welles
- Robert Stack
- Leonard Nimoy
- Judd Nelson
- Peter Cullen
Where to watch:
This title is a little more obscure than the others on this list, due to its age, but there are a number of ways to watch this Transformers film.
You can rent or purchase it on these platforms:
- GooglePlay
- YouTube
- Redbox
- Vudu
- Apple TV
4. Transformers
This is the most well-known of all the Transformers movies on this list. In fact, here’s a link to the Transformers IMDb page. If you’re not familiar with the franchise, it’s an excellent place to start as it’s the first installment of the live action films. Many people have at least seen Transformers, even if they haven’t seen the others, and it still reigns as the highest rated of the entire franchise, so far, even beating out newer films like Bumblebee and Rise of the Beasts. It helped launch Megan Fox and Shia LaBeouf’s careers, launching the rest of the film series and the Transformers saga itself.
Movie summary: Taking place in 2007, Teenager Sam buys his first car, unwitting that it is, in fact, an alien robot in disguise. Other Autobots have also arrived on Earth, looking for the Allspark, a powerful Cybertronian artifact that the Decepticons are also looking for. The safety of the world is at stake as the Decepticons will do anything to gain the power of the artifact.
Release Date: 2007
Cast:
- Peter Cullen
- Mark Ryan
- Hugo Weaving
- Shia LaBeouf
- Josh Duhamel
- Megan Fox
- Tyrese Gibson
- Rachael Taylor
- Anthony Anderson
- John Turturro
- Jon Voight
Where to watch:
You can stream it on:
- Direct TV
- TNT
- TBS
- TrueTV
You can rent or purchase it on:
- Microsoft
- Amazon or Prime Video
- Apple TV
- Google Play
- YouTube
- Vudu
- Redbox
- Direct TV
- Spectrum
5. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
A direct sequel to Transformers, this film takes place in 2009 and features much of the same cast, though it was not so well received as its predecessor. Still, it did well enough at the box office to help spur on the whole franchise.
Movie summary: Sam, the human teen from the previous movie, has started having visions of Cybertronian symbols, which leads him to be hunted by the Decepticons. An ancient Decepticon, called “The Fallen,” wants revenge on Earth by locating a machine that would destroy the Earth and the Sun, energizing the machine and giving The Fallen his revenge. It turns out the alien glyphs that Sam is seeing will lead the Decepticons to the artifact they need for their destructive machine.
Release Date: 2009
Cast:
- Peter Cullen
- Hugo Weaving
- Tony Todd
- Shia LaBeouf
- Megan Fox
- Josh Duhamel
- Tyrese Gibson
- John Turturro
- Ramon Rodriguez
- John Benjamin Hickey
- Glenn Morshower
- Rainn Wilson
Where to watch:
You can stream it on:
- Max
- Direct TV
You can rent/buy it on:
- Microsoft
- Amazon
- Apple TV
- Google Play
- YouTube
- Vudu
- RedboxDirect TV
- Spectrum
- AMC Theatres on Demand
6. Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Dark of the Moon marks the third of the original modern trilogy, ending Sam’s appearances in these films as they move on to new protagonists after this one. It takes place in 2011, two years after the events in Revenge of the Fallen and also marks a new female lead, Rosie Huntington Whiteley, as Megan Fox declined to star in this one. It would be the end of the new trilogy of Transformers movies, but plenty of reboots and prequels would further propel the live action films.
Movie summary: Optimus Prime and the Autobots are still battling the ever problematic Decepticons. This time, the two sides are also pulled into a dangerous space race between the U.S. and Russia, as each country tries to reach a Cybertronian vessel on the moon and discover its secrets.
Release Date: 2011
Cast:
- Peter Cullen
- Hugo Weaving
- Leonard Nimoy
- Shia LaBeouf
- Josh Duhamel
- John Turturro
- Tyrese Gibson
- Rosie Huntington-Whiteley
- Patrick Dempsey
- John Malkovich
- Frances McDormand
Where to watch:
You can stream it on:
- Paramount+
You can rent or buy it on:
- Microsoft
- Amazon
- Google Play
- YouTube
- Apple TV
- Vudu
- Redbox
- Direct TV
- AMC Theatres on Demand
7. Transformers: Age of Extinction
Transformers, Age of Extinction is the first of the live action Transformers movies to feature a new human main character. This seventh film has the more mature Mark Wahlberg as the one to befriend the Autobots, giving it a very different feel from the other films that tend to feature more inexperienced, wide-eyed main characters. It’s good to note that this is not considered a reboot. It takes place in the same timeline as the first three Transformers movies, not too long after the events of Dark of the Moon.
Movie summary: Five years after defeating the Decepticons in Chicago, the Autobots are in hiding. The government considers all Transformers as dangerous and have been hunting them down and replacing them with their own Transformers, having obtained the technology to do so from other fallen transformers. Now the Autobots must evade the government and a new threat in the form of a Cybertronic bounty hunter after Optimus Prime, all while learning to trust a human mechanic named Cade.
Release Date: 2014
Cast:
- Peter Cullen
- Frank Welker
- John Goodman
- Ken Watanabe
- Mark Wahlberg
- Kelsey Grammer
- Nicola Peltz
- Jack Reynor
- Stanley Tucci
- Sophia Myles
- Li Bingbing
- Titus Welliver
- T.J. Miller
Where to Watch:
Where to stream:
- MGM+
- Paramount+
Where to rent/buy:
- Microsoft
- Apple TV
- Amazon
- YouTube
- Google Play
- Vudu
- Redbox
- Direct TV
- Spectrum
- AMC Theatres on Demand
8. Transformers: The Last Knight
The Last Knight is the last of the modern timelines of the Transformers movies, so far. If you watched each Transformers movie in order, this would be your last stop, chronologically. This movie, though last timeline wise, is actually the sixth film in release order, and the last involving Michael Bay. The newer Transformers movies were helmed by a new director and different cast, targeting a new generation of Transformers fans for the next installment.
Movie summary: A direct sequel to Age of Extinction, Last Knight features the same new protagonist, Cade, once again enmeshed with the Autobots and their fight. This time, Optimus Prime discovers he was responsible for his home planet, Cybertron’s, destruction. He needs to find an artifact hidden on Earth in order to bring it back to life. That said, all is not what it seems…Oh, and you should know, it’s got King Arthur lore in it! Because why the heck not?
Release Date: 2017
Cast:
- Peter Cullen
- Frank Welker
- Gemma Chan
- Mark Wahlberg
- Josh Duhamel
- Stanley Tucci
- Anthony Hopkins
- Laura Haddock
- Isabela Moner
- Jerrod Carmichael
- Santiago Cabrera
- John Turturro
- Glenn Morshower
Where to watch:
You can stream it here:
- Direct TV
You can rent/buy it here:
- Microsoft
- Apple TV
- Amazon
- Google Play
- YouTube
- Vudu
- Redbox
- Direct TV
- Spectrum
- AMC Theatres on Demand
How to watch the Transformers movies in release order
If you don’t care about the chronological order and just want to watch all the movies by dates, the Transformer movie order by release date is as follows:
- The Transformers: The movie (1986)
- Transformers (2007)
- Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)
- Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)
- Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014)
- Transformers: The Last Knight (2017)
- Bumblebee (2018)
- Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023)
Where are the Transformers movies streaming?
As you can probably already tell, streaming the Transformers movies can be a bit frustrating. At the current time of this writing, there isn’t any single streaming platform that has the entire collection available in one place. Unless, of course, you don’t mind renting or buying them.
If you want to stream them as part of a service you already subscribe to, however, one of your best bets is Paramount Plus. It currently has four out of eight of the Transformers movies, which is no surprise since Paramount Pictures was heavily involved in the making of the actual films. Otherwise, Direct TV has a fair number of them too. Still, you will likely find you need to pay for at least a couple of the films, especially the more obscure ones like the animated title. That said, if you want to gain access to several animated features and series, Netflix has plenty of Transformers material any fan would love. Here’s more Netflix tips, if you want to see what else they have
If you’re frustrated at the prospect of paying to watch the Transformers franchise, you might have better luck with other titles. Here’s the 8 best free moving streaming apps of 2024
Conclusion
The Transformers have been a massive part of so many childhoods since the 1980s. Whether it be in cartoon series form or on the big screen, live action movies, or even just the toys themselves, people in the present day still geek out over Optimus Prime and the alien race of Autobots. My husband even had the Transformers cartoon theme song play at our wedding reception, no lie! Paramount pictures has already spoken of the next new movie that will follow Rise of the beasts. As long as they keep bringing back Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, and a stellar voice cast, people will watch the transformers movies.
