Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is right on our doorsteps, optimally primed and ready to deliver a relatively triumphant return to a franchise that deserved so much better. With the Autobots, Maximals, Terrorcons, and Predacons all getting involved under the looming threat of Unicron, we can at least expect Rise of the Beasts to nail it in the spectacle department.
But if there’s one thing that the Transformers franchise knows better than anybody, it’s that change is a positive thing; the gameplan that involved giving Michael Bay the keys to the castle changed in 2018 with Bumblebee, and as we move forward with 2023 and beyond, so too will change come to the state of under-representation that continues to permeate Hollywood.
Rise of the Beasts hopes to be a part of that change, with one Anthony Ramos leading the charge as Noah Diaz, a Brooklyn-based electronics expert and the film’s human protagonist; a position he couldn’t be more thrilled to occupy.
In an interview with The Playlist, Ramos touched on the incredible feeling that came with spearheading a massive franchise film as the hero. Specifically, putting a working class Latino front and center as the protagonist was incredibly special for Ramos; a feeling that will no doubt be shared with many a moviegoer who identify with Noah.
“It feels amazing for all of those reasons. It’s a blessing, and it was fun to be able to bring my culture and myself to a role like this. You don’t see characters like me, Latino working class, being the hero in a franchise movie.”
Most eyes may be on the titular robots, but human stories have always played an enormous role in Transformers, and we can only hope that the world continues to change by recognizing just how diverse those human stories really are.
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is due in theaters on June 9.