Summary
- Scarlett Johansson will play Elita-One in Transformers One in 2024, an important character in Optimus Prime’s story since the 1980s.
- The Transformers One trailer introduces Elita-One as one of three characters to fight alongside Chris Hemsworth’s Optimus Prime.
- Elita-One’s past appearances in comics and toylines set the stage for her role in Transformers One, a prequel to the series.
Despite missing out on all the live-action films, Scarlet Johansson’s film Transformers One the character is clearly a crucial part of Optimus Prime’s story. For Paramount’s 2024 animation Transformers film, the MCU veteran will lend her voice to Elita-One, a character whose roots in the franchise date back to the 1980s. As the Transformers One The trailer confirms that Elita-One will be one of at least three characters to fight alongside Chris Hemsworth’s Optimus Prime during his next adventure on Cybertron.
Over the years, Elita-One has been featured in a number of Transformers comic books, toy lines, and animated projects, most notably the 1980s cartoon series. Due to his numerous appearances and status as Optimus Prime’s love interest, there are quite a few lore around his character and his connection to the franchise’s central protagonist. But even though the film franchise has been around for 17 years now, it will take the release of Transformers One for the character to finally get his due on the big screen.
Why Optimus Prime has a different name in the new 2024 Transformers movie
Shown at CinemaCon 2024, images from Transformers One confirm that Optimus Prime will be called Orion. Its history explains the name change.
Why Elita-One makes perfect sense for Transformers One, even though it’s not necessary for the other films
Any of Michael Bay Transformers the films technically could have made room for Elita-One as an ally of Optimus Prime, but the focus of the films was always elsewhere. Typically, the focus is on Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, and Megatron, with the other Autobots and Decepticons often appearing as tertiary characters.. Elita-One could have filled any of these roles, but Bay’s films prioritized the other members of Optimus Prime’s Autubots team, whether for the powers they brought, their designs or other aspects of their characters. As for Elita, none of the films needed her involvement.
Transformers One, however, is a very different case. The film is essentially the origin story of Optimus Prime that live-action films have never provided. While their events largely focus around Earth and the battles that took place after Orion Pax became Optimus Prime, Transformers One deals directly with his beginnings, a period in the Transformers Timeline with which Elita has close ties. After all, she is Optimus Prime’s main love interest and the character he was romantically involved with early in his story in multiple continuities, including the original cartoon.
Elita-One is credited with an appearance in a live-action film (but that doesn’t count)
While Transformers One is poised to become her most high-profile appearance in Transformers To date, in the media it is worth noting that his name was associated with one of the live-action films. One of the female Autobots from Transformers: Revenge is retroactively named Elita-One. But not only does the character design bear little resemblance to the traditional incarnation of the hero, it’s a name only given to her by a tie-in comic, as the film never actually recognizes her as Elita-One.
This is probably for the best, however, given that his limited role and quick death would be an insult to the classic character if the connection had been more overt. As for Transformers One Elita, the marketing is a sure sign that the animated film intends to do justice to the hero. As one of four characters on the main team, Elita-One is able to get her most spotlight yet.
Transformers One
- Director
- Josh Cooley
- Release date
- September 20, 2024
- Studio(s)
- Entertainment One, Hasbro, Nickelodeon Movies
- Distributor(s)
- Paramount Pictures
- Writers
- Andrew Barrer, Steve Desmond, Gabriel Ferrari