“Damn, this is kind of dark”: After Mark Wahlberg Exit, $4.8B Transformers Franchise Forced to Cut Optimus Prime Fight Scene in ‘Rise of the Beasts’ to Keep it Family-friendly

"Damn, this is kind of dark": After Mark Wahlberg Exit, $4.8B Transformers Franchise Forced to Cut Optimus Prime Fight Scene in 'Rise of the Beasts' to Keep it Family-friendly
Featured Video

After leading two of the previous installments of the mega-franchise Transformers, Mark Wahlberg announced his exit from the Transformers franchise. Ever since his exit was marked because of the chronology of the sequel, the filmmakers proposed removing a terrifying fight scene from the recent installment, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.

Advertisement
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts

Discussing with Collider, director Steven Caple Jr. mentioned the reason behind his decision to remove the epic fight sequel. Calling the scene “too dark” that happened to have been hampering the family-friendly tag, the director proposed cutting the painful scene and ensuring clarity. Following Mark Wahlberg’s exit, Steven Caple Jr. tried avoiding further complexities and making the movie worthy of enjoyment. 

Also read: “We were close to securing the rights”: Mark Wahlberg Almost Fired His Entire Team in Fury After Losing Rights to $1.3B Erotica Franchise With Dakota Johnson

Advertisement

Mark Wahlberg Exited Transformers Franchise

Mark Wahlberg had been a major part of the $4.8B Transformers franchise following his debut as Cade Yeager. Being introduced in the fourth installment of the film series, through Michael Bay and Paramount, Wahlberg led Transformers: Age of Extinction. Further, witnessing the success of the movie, the actor re-teamed for Transformers: The Last Knight

Mark Wahlberg
Mark Wahlberg

However, Mark Wahlberg had to bid adieu to the franchise for the recently released installment, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. Set in 1994, the recent sequel takes place years before the events of Michael Bay’s Transformers movies. And since Cade Yeager’s story with the billion-dollar franchise did not begin until 2018, Wahlberg will not be appearing in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. 

Mark Wahlberg
Mark Wahlberg in Transformers: The Last Knight

Being a celebrated actor and a beloved part of the Transformers franchise, Mark Wahlberg‘s exit created a terrible impact. So much so that Paramount needed to push the franchise in a new direction. Previously gaining audiences’ interest and thus plummeting at the box office, the notable franchise is trying hard to maintain the same popularity with their recently released movie. Thus spinning the wheels of creativity, the latest installment is said to use a new cast entirely.  

Advertisement

Also read: Bumblebee Director Travis Knight Rejected Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, Forcing Paramount to Go With Steven Caple Jr

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts Removed Terrifying Fight Scene

Trying not to take a dip in reviews and attract a diverse audience base, the latest installment of Transformers is trying hard to maintain relatability. Running towards perfection, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts director Steven Caple Jr removed an epic fight scene between Optimus Prime and his mortal enemies, the Decepticons. Calling Optimus Prime’s hunting of the Decepticons “too dark,” the director made the cut. 

Steven Caple Jr
Director Steven Caple Jr

While the franchise is trying to introduce new and chaotic mighty robot factions into the classic Autobot and Decepticon mix, they are also chasing the family-friendly tag. Miserably failing to attain either, the director is making calls to remove fight scenes to avoid brutality and offense. Discussing with Collider, the director stated, “I tend to keep my director’s cut pretty tight…but there’s small scenes in there that just cause confusion” 

Advertisement

Like, one was this Decepticon scene; Transit that I’ve been talking about…It was a really epic fight scene, and then you saw Optimus Prime dump his body in the Hudson River, and all these Decepticons were dead and you saw that he’s been hunting for the last few years”. Steven Caple Jr detailed. 

Steven Caple Jr
Steven Caple Jr removed brutal fight scenes

Further stating how the scene was pointed out to be brutal during the screening process, the director stated, “So when we screened it, people were like, ‘Damn, this is kind of dark.‘”. Thus Caple wanted to dive into the Maximal origin story and understand the mythology of the Beast Wars and edit the scenes accordingly. However, he soon realized how it went extremely confusing and therefore decided “rewriting and editing and pulse” to bring clarity and remove excessive brutality. 

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts screening at your nearest theatres. 

Read more: “I was getting thrown 30 feet in the air”: ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’ Actors Went Through Excruciating Pain For the Deadly Action Sequences

Advertisement

Source: Collider, Screenrant

Avatar

Written by Krittika Mukherjee

Articles Published: 1407

Krittika is a News Writer at FandomWire with 2 years of prior experience in lifestyle and web content writing. With her previous works available on HubPages and Medium, she has woven over 1000 stories with us, about fan-favorite actors, movies, and shows. Post-graduate in Journalism and Honors-graduate in English Literature, when this art enthusiast isn't crafting your next favorite article, she finds her escapism in coffee, fiction, and the Wizarding World.