Peter Cullen
Transformers fans will get to hear the late Peter Cullen as Optimus Prime one final time.
Hasbro has revealed new details about Optimus Prime: Awakening, a brand-new 12-minute animated short that features Peter‘s final performance as the iconic Autobot leader.
The USA news comes less than a week after Peter died at age 85. Hasbro confirmed the short will accompany the upcoming 40th-anniversary theatrical screenings of the 1986 Transformers movie.
“Optimus Prime and Megatron were made for each other,” Frank Welker said. “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.”
Peter Cullen will voice Optimus Prime one final time in a new animated short from Hasbro. The 12-minute Optimus Prime: Awakening will be shown alongside select screenings of The Transformers: The Movie during its 40th-anniversary theatrical return.
The newly released poster puts Optimus Prime at the center in his familiar red and blue armor. Two translucent, glowing figures stand behind him, teasing the appearance of other major characters.
Cullen viewed his return as a homecoming to the character he had shaped for more than four decades. The short is also expected to bring a more emotional dimension to Optimus Prime while retaining his familiar strength and authority.
The short will be presented as a standalone theatrical feature rather than a traditional bonus scene. It will play after the credits during the anniversary screening.
The project also promises an emotional story alongside its action. Frank Welker is returning to voice Megatron and Soundwave. He said, "Optimus Prime and Megatron were made for each other. 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," Welker added.
Meanwhile, The Transformers: The Movie will return in 4K beginning September 17 through September 22. Fathom Entertainment has confirmed additional screenings in France, Singapore, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, and Peru.
Marvel has revealed a fresh look at Avengers: Doomsday. The reveal comes with brand-new posters highlighting the X-Men and Fantastic Four.
A bunch of new promotional posters have surfaced inside the Clappers Diner at the Grand Cinema Sunshine in Tokyo, Japan. Marvel Studios' official Japanese account shared the news on X.
Notably, the exclusive artwork will remain on display for a limited time, until October 1, 2026. The latest posters feature the team logos for the X-Men, Black Panther, and Fantastic Four. A standee of Doctor Doom can also be seen. The anticipated MCU movie is helmed by Joe and Anthony Russo.
Anticipation for the upcoming movie is at an all-time high following the release of recent trailers showcasing iconic Marvel heroes. Comic book fans are extremely curious to see their beloved Fantastic Four and X-Men characters share the screen with the Avengers.
The team of Fantastic Four will see Pedro Pascal returning as Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm/Human Torch, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm/The Thing.
The team of Avengers will see various iconic actors making their returns, including Chris Evans as Steve Rogers, Letitia Wright as Shuri, Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson/Captain America, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Paul Rudd as Scott Lang/Ant Man, Kathryn Newton as Cassie Lang, Danny Ramirez as Joaquín Torres/Falcon, Winston Duke as M'Baku, Mabel Cadena as Namora, Tenoch Huerta Mejia as Namor, Sebastian Stan as Winter Soldier, Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova/Black Widow, and David Harbour as Red Guardian, among others.
Michael has since put together a tribute video honoring Cullen ... looking back at the man and the voice that defined Optimus Prime.
He says he'll never forget hearing Cullen record Optimus for the first time ... stunned that such a booming voice was coming from a relatively small, cowboy boot-wearing horse guy.
Peter Cullen, Optimus Prime in Transformers, Dies at 85
“Optimus Prime: Awakening is a fully realized, 12-minute animated short designed as a love letter to the Transformers community and the late Peter Cullen, the legendary talent and voice of Optimus Prime. Optimus Prime: Awakening builds on the acclaimed storytelling and visuals of The Transformers: The Movie (1986), giving audiences the rare opportunity to experience the iconic cultural moment from the franchise’s past while exploring its future on the big screen.”
Hasbro and Fathom said, “Peter’s performance [in Optimus Prime: Awakening] reveals a deeper vulnerability while retaining the unmistakable strength and authority that made his portrayal iconic.”
“Optimus Prime and Megatron were made for each other. 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 returns to theatres internationally in 4K from September 17–22, 2026. Fathom has just announced new screenings in France, Singapore, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama and Peru.
This was a week full of surprising celebrity deaths, with Peter Cullen among those who passed. Though his most recent role was on Prime Video’s Invincible as Thaedus, he famously voiced Optimus Prime for Transformers.Cullen was a constant for the Hasbro franchise, going all the way back to the original 1984 series and its movie to various TV shows and games. The Autobot leader has had a hold on fans ever since his first death in 1986, but for those of a younger demographic, Michael Bay’s movies were likely their intro or foundation for the character. And that’s very funny, because the live-action Optimus Prime is a full-on psychopath. From the first movie to the reboot timeline, he’s constantly on one: he mutilates his enemies (and beats them with their own limbs), viciously executes them when he gets the chance, and always makes it clear he is not the one to mess with.
Optimus’ gradual distaste for humanity’s nonsense makes his end-of-movie monologues hilariously out of step with what’s onscreen, and in another world, it feels like another filmmaker would give him a proper villain arc. At a time when Superman was always under fire for not being his most well-known, hopeful self, live-action Optimus notably avoided catching the same ongoing, loud flak, despite the Transformers movies’ continued success. Maybe Cullen’s ability to bring robotic gravitas was just that good, or maybe it was how focused Optimus’ ire was. He found friends in Sam and Cade while specifically hating government authority and tech giants degrading the corpses of his people, letting him be righteously violent in a way the films’ actual villains couldn’t.
However true that actually is, Cullen clearly loved playing Optimus, something Paramount was content to just let him do for as long as he wanted. If and when the studio gets another Transformers movie started up, and provided there’s no digital necromancy at play, whoever’s up next in the booth has some big shoes to fill. It won’t be an impossible feat—Garry Chalk and David Kaye voiced Prime in past cartoons without trying to imitate Cullen. More recently, Transformers One saw Chris Hemsworth voice a young Optimus, with his voice gradually shifting to a Cullen-like register over the course of that film.
It’s a subtle, but impressive bit of voice work that likely would’ve made for a compelling evolution had One been big enough to warrant a sequel, and time will tell whether he made enough of an impression to get another go at the role when the time comes. Whatever actor takes up that task, it’s safe to say no one will be forgetting Cullen anytime soon. Like how Kevin Conroy is always Batman no matter who picks up the torch alongside or after him, the same’s true here. Hopefully the next full-time Optimus gets a fair shake to make the role their own, as fans still hold the most famous voice in their hearts.
Posted on 2026/09/02 08:24 AM