‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’ post-credits scene, explained

Warning: This article contains full spoilers for Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has changed cinema in countless ways, but the biggest might just be the fact that a post-credits scene is now seen as an obligatory inclusion for the latest installment of every blockbuster movie franchise going. Sure enough, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, the grand return of Hasbro’s robots in disguise to the big screen after five years away, follows the ubiquitous trend.

Both a follow-up to 2018’s 1980s-set Bumblebee and a loose prequel to the earlier Michael Bay movies, Rise of the Beasts takes place in 1994 and stars Anthony Ramos as new human protagonist Noah, who ends up forming a friendship with Autobot Mirage (Pete Davidson). Together, they join forces with both Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen) and Optimus Primal (Ron Perlman), the leader of the Maximals, to prevent the planet-sized Unicron from chowing down on planet Earth.

If you just had to dash after the movie concluded or else didn’t think to wait around for more, here’s exactly what happened in Rise of the Beasts‘ mid-credits sequence.

What happens in the Transformers: Rise of the Beasts post-credits scene?

Simply put, everything comes to a head in Rise of the Beasts‘ third act when the Autobots and the Maximals do battle against Unicron’s heralds, the Terrorcons, to stop them from activating the Transwarp Key, an ancient device that opens portals across space/time, and allowing Unicron to consume the world. The skirmish takes a tragic turn, however, when Mirage sacrifices himself to save Noah from an attack from Terrorcon leader Scourge (Peter Dinklage).

Fortunately, Mirage is able to transform his metal body into an armored exo-suit for Noah himself to wear into battle, giving us the franchise’s first human/Transformer hybrid. Sure enough, Scourge and the Terrorcons are defeated, Noah and Primal manage to rescue Optimus Prime from oblivion, and even Bumblebee, who had earlier been killed, is brought back to life thanks to the Transwarp Key’s energy. So it’s a happy ending all around.

This extends into the film’s mid-credits scene. Short and sweet as tag scenes go, the scene features Noah repairing Mirage, promising that Davidson’s fast-talking Porsche will return for future installments — something that felt like a given, anyway. Curiously, the much bigger surprise is already dropped in the movie’s final scene before the credits, which teases a major crossover to come in Transformers 8.

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is playing in theaters now.