Watching the Transformers movies used to be simple. You started with the 2007 original, where Shia LaBeouf teamed up with a yellow Camaro named Bumblebee, and went from there. Eventually, though, the timeline started transforming, too.
Bumblebee jumped backward to the 1980s. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts followed with a story set in the 1990s. Then Transformers One went considerably further, heading to Cybertron before Optimus Prime and Megatron were even enemies. And that’s before you factor in the 1986 animated movie.
The result is a franchise with multiple continuities, two animated theatrical movies and seven live-action films that don’t all fit neatly into one uninterrupted storyline.
So, what’s the best way to watch them? For most viewers, release order is still the easiest option. But if you’re trying to follow events chronologically, things require a little more explanation.
Here’s how to watch every Transformers movie in order—and exactly where Bumblebee and Transformers One fit.
WARNING: Potential Spoilers Ahead!
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How Many Transformers Movies Are There?
There have been nine theatrically released Transformers feature films as of 2026. That total includes:
- Seven live-action movies
- The 1986 animated The Transformers: The Movie
- The 2024 animated Transformers One
Transformers One, released in 2024, became the franchise’s first fully computer-animated theatrical movie. And the original animated movie from 1986 belongs to an entirely different continuity tied to the classic Transformers animated series.
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Transformers Movies in Release Order
The simplest way to watch the franchise is the same way audiences experienced it.
1. The Transformers: The Movie (1986)
Long before Michael Bay brought the Autobots to live action, the franchise reached theaters with The Transformers: The Movie. The animated film continues the story from the original 1980s television series and takes place primarily in the then-futuristic year 2005.
That means it doesn’t connect to the later live-action movies. Instead, think of it as its own branch of Transformers history—a big-screen continuation of the original Generation 1 era.
It also introduced one of the franchise’s biggest villains, Unicron, while permanently changing the lineup of familiar Autobots and Decepticons.
If you’re only interested in the modern live-action franchise, you can skip it. But if you’re watching every theatrical Transformers movie, start here.
2. Transformers (2007)
This is where the modern movie franchise really begins.
Michael Bay’s Transformers brought Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Megatron and the rest of the Autobots and Decepticons into live action, with Shia LaBeouf starring as teenager Sam Witwicky. The movie follows Sam as he discovers that his beat-up Camaro is actually Bumblebee and becomes caught in a war between the Autobots and Decepticons.
The movie established the continuity that would carry through the next four films.
3. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)
Two years after the events of Transformers, Sam heads to college and discovers that his connection to the Transformers is far from over.
Revenge of the Fallen expands the mythology with an ancient Decepticon known as the Fallen and takes the action all the way to Egypt. It also raises the stakes for the Autobots with a surprise twist that forces Sam to seek out the Matrix of Leadership.
While the plot gets chaotic, it firmly cements the franchise’s penchant for globe-trotting set pieces and massive Cybertronian lore.
4. Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)
The third movie rewrites part of the Space Race. Dark of the Moon reveals that the Apollo 11 moon landing secretly involved the discovery of a Cybertronian spacecraft. It also raises the stakes by introducing Sentinel Prime, Optimus’ predecessor, whose hidden agenda pulls humanity directly into the crossfire.
Shia LaBeouf returns as Sam for the final time, while the conflict between the Autobots and Decepticons culminates in a massive battle for Chicago.
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5. Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014)
With Sam’s story complete, the fourth movie introduces a new human chapter. Mark Wahlberg stars as inventor Cade Yeager, who discovers a damaged Optimus Prime in a world where government task forces are actively hunting the Transformers.
The film takes place in the wake of Chicago’s devastation and marks the live-action debut of the legendary Dinobots.
6. Transformers: The Last Knight (2017)
Michael Bay’s fifth—and final—Transformers movie as director digs even deeper into Earth’s hidden connection to Cybertron.
Cade Yeager returns, while Optimus Prime comes under the influence of Quintessa and begins working against his former allies. The Last Knight remains part of the same continuity as the previous four Bay movies. After this one, however, the franchise changes direction.
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Where Does Bumblebee Fit in the Transformers Timeline?
7. Bumblebee (2018)
Bumblebee takes place in 1987, making it a prequel in terms of setting—but its relationship to the Michael Bay movies is more complicated than that.
The movie follows Bumblebee after he arrives on Earth and forms a friendship with Charlie Watson, played by Hailee Steinfeld.
Originally, Bumblebee could be viewed as a loose prequel to the Bay films. But its designs, character histories and later sequel make much more sense if you treat it as the beginning of a new live-action continuity. That’s especially true once Rise of the Beasts enters the picture.
So while Bumblebee takes place before 2007’s Transformers chronologically, you don’t need to watch it first. In fact, release order works better.
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Where Does Transformers: Rise of the Beasts Fit?
8. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023)
Rise of the Beasts takes place in 1994, seven years after the events of Bumblebee.
The story introduces Noah Diaz and Elena Wallace while bringing the Maximals into the live-action franchise. In the film, Optimus Prime and the Autobots must join forces in order to stop a threat capable of destroying Earth.
The movie functions as a follow-up to Bumblebee, not as another chapter in Michael Bay’s original five-film storyline. That distinction matters because some events in Bumblebee and Rise of the Beasts don’t line up cleanly with the history established in the Bay movies.
Where Does Transformers One Fit?
9. Transformers One (2024)
Transformers One goes further back than any other movie in the franchise. The animated story takes place on Cybertron, before Optimus Prime and Megatron become the leaders fans know.
Chris Hemsworth voices Orion Pax, the future Optimus Prime, while Brian Tyree Henry voices D-16, who eventually becomes Megatron.
Paramount describes the movie as the untold origin story of two friends who ultimately become sworn enemies and change the fate of Cybertron. But here’s the important part: It is not a direct prequel to the live-action movies.
Director Josh Cooley specifically said he would not describe Transformers One as a direct prequel to the live-action series, calling it its own take on the characters’ origins. Franchise producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura similarly said creating a direct connection to the live-action films would be difficult.
So while Transformers One takes place earliest in terms of the characters’ lives, it belongs in its own continuity. It’s still an origin story. Just not the origin story for every version of Optimus Prime you’ve seen on screen.
How To Watch the Transformers Movies in Chronological Order
This is where things get tricky. There is no single chronological order that perfectly connects all nine films because they belong to different continuities. However, if you’re simply arranging the modern movies by when their main stories take place, the order looks something like this:
- Transformers One
- Bumblebee — 1987
- Transformers: Rise of the Beasts — 1994
- Transformers — 2007-era setting
- Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
- Transformers: Dark of the Moon
- Transformers: Age of Extinction
- Transformers: The Last Knight
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What Is the Best Order To Watch the Transformers Movies?
For a first-time viewer, release order is the best choice.
That means:
- The Transformers: The Movie (1986), if you want the complete theatrical history
- Transformers (2007)
- Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)
- Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)
- Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014)
- Transformers: The Last Knight (2017)
- Bumblebee (2018)
- Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023)
- Transformers One (2024)
If you’re mainly interested in the modern franchise, you can start with 2007’s Transformers and save the 1986 animated movie for later.
Release order also avoids the continuity headache. You get the Bay saga exactly as audiences originally saw it, then watch the franchise pivot with Bumblebee, continue that newer direction with Rise of the Beasts and finally head back to Cybertron with Transformers One.
Is Bumblebee a Prequel or a Reboot?
The answer is basically both—but reboot is the more useful way to think about it now.
Bumblebee was developed and marketed as a prequel, and Paramount still describes it that way. But the franchise eventually used the movie as the foundation for a new direction.
By Rise of the Beasts, the story is operating much more like a separate continuity than a carefully connected setup for the 2007 movie. That’s why trying to force Bumblebee directly into the Michael Bay timeline creates unnecessary problems.
Watch it after The Last Knight. Then treat it as a fresh start.
Is Transformers One Connected to Bumblebee?
Not directly. Both movies explore earlier versions of familiar characters, but Transformers One is its own animated continuity.
As discussed above, director Josh Cooley explained that the film was designed as a new take on the mythology rather than a direct lead-in to the live-action movies. That means Chris Hemsworth’s Orion Pax shouldn’t be viewed as the younger version of Peter Cullen‘s live-action Optimus Prime in a strict continuity sense.
They’re different interpretations of the same character. Which, at this point, is probably the easiest way to approach the entire franchise.
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This article was drafted with the assistance of AI and thoroughly reviewed, edited and fact-checked by Parade editors. See our complete AI Policy.