After many years of thanklessly being a badass, Michelle Yeoh is finally getting the recognition that she deserves as a bonafide movie star. American audiences likely first saw her in "Tomorrow Never Dies," but they really started to take notice thanks to 2000's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." Since then, she has been working consistently in things like "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor," "Marco Polo," and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny."
However, after appearing in "Crazy Rich Asians" and "Star Trek: Discovery" in the late 2010s, a whole new generation learned of Yeoh's badassery. This was especially the case when those projects were followed by "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" and "Everything Everywhere All At Once." Now, she is incredibly in demand all over town. Her upcoming schedule already includes high-profile projects such as "The Witcher: Blood Origin" for Netflix, the adaptation of the seminal Asian American graphic novel "American Born Chinese" at Disney+, and the long-gestating "Avatar" sequels from James Cameron.
Although, apparently she's not busy enough as she has just joined another major movie franchise: "Transformers."
Robots In Disguise
According to Deadline, Yeoh has joined the cast of the seventh major motion picture based on the beloved Hasbro toys titled "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts." In the movie, the Autobots and Decepticons are joined by the Maximals and the Terrorcons in the eternal battle between these warring factions of an alien robot race that found their way to Earth. The acclaimed actor will lend her voice to Airazor, a Maximal that has a knack for recon and surveillance due to taking the form of a bird.
In addition to Yeoh and the previously announced cast members that include Anthony Ramos, Dominique Fishback, and Ron Perlman, filmmaker Steven Caple Jr. has also added "Saturday Night Live" alum and "King of Staten Island" star Pete Davidson to the mix. He will voice the Terrorcon named Mirage. The character is known to be a jokester that plays pranks, but despite being part of "Transformers" history known as "Beast Machines," Mirage takes the form of a modified formula one car.
That will likely change as this film is said to be more of a live-action adaptation of the fan-favorite series "Transformers: Beast Wars" and will start a new trilogy of "Transformers" movies produced by Michael Bay. And as we know, the divisive filmmaker and others involved with these movies have been known to take liberties with the previously established canon, so we'll see what Pete Davidson looks like as a Transformer soon enough. If they're sticking with a car, my guess is an AMC Gremlin.
"Transformers: Rise of the Beasts" premieres in theaters on June 9, 2023.
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