Hasbro and Fathom Entertainment have provided more details on the end credits sequence that has been teased for the last few months for the re-release of Transformers: The Movie to theaters from September 17 to 22 (but varies by region). Tickets can found found at Fathom Entertainment. It has been confirmed this is the final performance of Peter Cullen as Optimus Prime.
From the short writer Ryan Parrott on Twitter saying "I can confirm that I wrote "OPTIMUS PRIME AWAKENING," the upcoming 12 minute short following the 40th anniversary celebration of "THE TRANSFORMERS THE MOVIE" and the final performance of the iconic PETER CULLEN as Optimus Prime. It was a dream come true and I hope you enjoy it."
In relation to this there is a new 40th Anniversary 40th 4K UHD Steelbook set for release on November 17. Referenced as "Animated Coda", confirming it will be included with the release. Full details on the special edition is here. Pre-orders are up too.
Peter Cullen has died at the age of 85. He is the voice of what heroism sounds like. He is the voice of so many characters over his long career that he is knowingly and unknowingly influenced generations with his voice work. His most famous role is the voice of Optimus Prime in the animated series and live action movies and second most famous is Eeyore for Winnie the Pooh but his voice work went well beyond that.
His family spoke to TMZ, "Peter Cullen passed away peacefully, surrounded by his loving family - and held in the hearts of his many friends and countless fans worldwide. His family asks that you honor his remarkable legacy by serving your communities and leading others with compassion, integrity, and loyalty and always remember 'be strong enough to be gentle."
Peter Cullen was born on July 28, 1941 in Montreal, Canada where he began his career in Canadian radio. His big break came when he was hired to be the announcer for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in 1967. From there he moved into doing various shows on TV but starting in the 1980s he became a key voice in animation racking up over 200 voice credits, most of them as part of the huge stream of cartoons that hit the airwaves in the 1980s to 1990s. He provided voice work for DuckTales, Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers, Voltron: Defender of the Universe, Alvin & the Chipmunks, Rainbow Bright, G.I. Joe, Thaedus in Invincible and more.
He continued to provide voice work and was more than happy to answer the call anytime he was asked to reprise voices, something he frequently did especially for Eeyore and Optimus Prime which he did for the movies, video games and more.
“A lot of us pushed for Peter to be the voice of Optimus in the movie because he was iconic and would be the connection to the classic animated series,” producer Don Murphy told TheWrap. “He was incredible. All of his voice work, not only ‘Transformers,’ will always be the stuff of legend. A great man.”
“He was a wonderful human being who understood the responsibility he had to millions of fans and gave it his all in every performance. His spark will live on forever.” said FJ DeSanto (Transformers: War for Cybertron).
Condolences to his family, friends and the wide Transformers community. A true legend who will be missed.
If you are into card collecting, keep an eye out in September for a new Upper Deck set featuring the 40th Anniversary of The Transformers: The Movie. The set is part of a merchandising agreement that Upper Deck signed with Hasbro to bring their various properties to trading cards and games. Future plans will including Power Rangers, G.I. Joe, M.A.S.K. and more.
Upper Deck has been a long time producer of sports related trading cards for decades as I know I have their cards from long ago sitting in storage somewhere but they frequently spread out to other areas like comic related cards. I think this is the first heard of toy franchise related sets. I am interpreting the press release as two Transformers related sets are coming out. One with Upper Deck branding and another with Fleer (owned by Upper Deck). Details like price and release date were not revealed.
