Rise Of The Beasts' Villain Explained

The new trailer for Transformers: Rise of the Beasts provides a glimpse into the franchise's new villain, Unicron. But who exactly is he?

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts features the Transformers villain Unicron, a major antagonist in the franchise. In the new movie, the character is pulling the strings of the Terrorcons in the movie, and this is exciting news for fans of the franchise. Unicron is a villain that dwarfs any other who has appeared in previous movies. The Autobots and Decepticons have always had a fairly even battlefield, with both groups able to match up well against each other, and even good and bad bots having similar powers. However, Unicron is much bigger than that.

Typically, it’s Megatron that the characters in the Transformers movies have to contend with. But this time around, their primary threat will come in the form of a very different kind of adversary. The entity known as Unicron is the source of their troubles, and as the Autobots say, he is bigger than anything they have faced. It would seem that defeating him will be the ultimate goal of the Autobots and their new allies. As for what to expect from the movie’s depiction of the character, the history in the franchise as a whole shows his powers and what threat he possesses.

Unicron's Origins In Transformers

Unlike so many characters, the Transformers villain Unicron didn’t originate as an action figure. Instead, he made his debut in the 1986 animated classic, Transformers: The Movie. Serving as the film’s central antagonist, Unicorn was characterized as a sentient, planet-shaped being. To fulfill his evil plans, Unicron transformed Megatron, the Transformers’ greatest villain, into Galvetron. As Galvetron, Megatron became a puppet of Unicorn, who wound up becoming a common enemy of the Autobots and the Decepticons. Later stories touched on where Unicron came from.

His origins predate Earth and have differed from adaptation to adaptation, with Marvel Comics telling the character’s first full origin story. Most versions adhere to the idea that Unicron is the product of an all-powerful, cosmic entity known as The One. The One held within himself two other astral presences, which were called Chaos and Order. Order became Primus, while Chaos became Unicron. Born from different sides of the same power, the twin cosmic lifeforms developed a rivalry. Their fighting eventually culminated in Unicron’s defeat, but he has since returned to menace the multiverse in a variety of Transformers stories.

Unicron's Powers Explained: Planet-Eating, Multiverse Travel & More

The Transformers villain Unicron was regarded as a nearly unbeatable opponent – and for good reason. Large as a planet, Unicron is a destructive force driven by a desire to consume all life within the multiverse. Unicron’s abilities explain what makes this possibility a real concern in the Transformers world. Capable of interdimensional travel, Unicron can warp across multiple realities, looking for planets to absorb. What ultimately determines his actions are the highly sophisticated quantum computers in his body, which he can use to calculate countless probabilities. The character having this information makes him difficult to beat.

What’s worse is that Unicron can also fight. It’s important to note he isn’t just a planet-sized being floating in outer space; like most characters in the franchise, he can transform into a humanoid robot. In his robot form, Unicron possesses the ability to resurrect the dead, shoot powerful beams of energy from his eyes, and empower others. With his off-the-charts power level, he’s arguably the strongest foe the Autobots have ever faced. It’s on account of this that it’s essential that a legion of Autobots team up whenever he’s the villain of a Transformers arc. He’s not someone that any single character - even Optimus Prime - can take down.

Unicron's History In The Transformers Movies

Before Rise of the Beasts, Unicron had one live-action appearance. Drawing upon his portrayal in the Transformers: Prime cartoon, The Last Knight revealed that Unicron resides inside Earth. Unbeknownst to humans until the events of the movie, Earth formed millions of years ago around Unicron’s body, meaning the robot is secretly the planet’s core. Unicorn’s life force being slowly drained by Quintessa is what resulted in its six horns protruding from the Earth’s surface in The Last Knight. At the end of the movie, Quintessa promised to assist the humans in killing Unicron, though it's unclear what consequences his death would bring for Earth.

Who Voices Unicron In Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts

Colman Domingo voices the Transformers villain Unicron in Rise of the Beasts. The actor appeared in various movies and shows, including Selma and Euphoria. But his best-known role is Victor Strand, one of the principal characters in AMC’s Walking Dead spinoff, Fear the Walking Dead. As for his take on Unicron, it’s all but guaranteed Unicron won’t be utilized simply as a planet-sized, life-consuming organism. With the voice actor involved, Unicron interacts with the others as a character in the movie in his robot form.

What Is Known About Unicron's Role In Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts

The movie’s interpretation of the Transformers villain Unicron remains consistent with how he’s traditionally seen. However, this makes things confusing thanks to The Last Knight (which takes place in the present), where it was understood Unicron basically was the Earth. That doesn’t line up with Rise of the Beasts, which makes it abundantly clear this is not the definition of the character the new installment will be using. Rather, its version of Unicorn is a separate entity whose impending arrival threatens Earth.

However, Unicron's ability to travel the multiverse opens up numerous possibilities. One Optimus Prime line mentions, “Everything you care for will be consumed,” which sets the stakes extremely high. Unicorn’s planet-eating ability, which is mentioned directly in the trailer, seems to facilitate this threat. And though Unicorn’s power is dangerous enough on its own, he’ll have allies to boot in the Terrorcons. Thanks to what movie fans have learned about the multiverse, Unicron will likely give Transformers fans a Thanos-level threat, and it all started in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.