My complete Transformers/G.I. Joe crossover movie wishlist

As some of you already know by now, a theatrical crossover film with Transformers and G.I. Joe is in development. I'm pretty psyched for it, actually. It has the potential to be more than just an enjoyable popcorn flick!

Here's my wishlist for the forthcoming film.

NOTE: Some spoilers for Transformers: ROTB abound. If you haven't seen the film, or plan to not watch it at all, don't read this. Also, this is a lengthy blog post. Just a heads up!

1. A good mix of a character-focused story with crunchy action sequences. One of the best parts of ROTB, to me, and to critics and several audiences, from what I have heard, the Bumblebee movie that came out a few years prior to the former film, (I didn't see BB2018, TBH), is that it had a good blend of a story that emphasized developing characters with several crowd-pleasing Good Transformer on Evil Transformer battles sprinkled throughout. This is what the rebooted continuity of the Transformers Film Series is following the trend of - half of a story developing characters, and half action-packed scenes. I want the forthcoming G.I. Joe crossover film to follow both BB2018 and ROTB in providing a just fine, if not well-written, story that places good focus on character development peppered with action-packed sequences throughout.

2. Try and give several, if not all, of the characters good focus. I have heard several complaints that, for ROTB, the Maximals, although they are the titular "Beasts" in the film, they get little focus. They first appear in the prologue, then Airazor comes in at the tail end of Act I, then Primal, Cheetor and Rhinox are reintroduced in Act II, and then they join forces with the Autobots and the humans all throughout the final act. Look, in a movie with a large cast of characters, I understand that juggling character arcs is not feasible, but at least give nearly every major and/or supporting character ample screen time, please? Hopefully the forthcoming crossover film will fix that. 

3. Delve deeper into human/Autobot relationships. It was delightful seeing Noah and Mirage's friendship grow throughout much of ROTB, to the point that the two individuals become true friends with each other. It was also heartwarming to see Optimus Prime warm up to humans, albeit slowly, over the course of the film. In fact, ROTB arguably isn't just about saving the world from apocalyptic threats that endanger everyone, it's about both humans and heroic Cybertonians alike learning to accept that their lives are better with each other. One of the main messages of the film is that any human can be friends with a heroic Transformer - regardless of age, gender, race, life situation, or occupation. The friendship between human and heroic Transformer alike is why ROTB was solid, and I hope to see the theme of togetherness continue in the G.I. Joe crossover.  

4. Provide genuine humor. The Michael Bay-directed films were derided for their use of sophomoric humor, and ROTB, like its predecessor film, smartly dials down the juvenile comedy. Casting Pete Davidson, who's a real-life comedian, to voice Mirage, also helped. Mirage, being the comedian of the Autobot faction, also gave ROTB some light moments to balance out the darker and more higher-stakes tone. We want more moments of real comedy for the crossover movie!   

5. Continue Noah Diaz's character arc. Noah's character arc in ROTB was about him going from a selfish, struggling, individual who lacked any confidence in protecting the world for all of his friends, only focusing on his family - heck, even to the point of self-preservation - but he overcomes his flaws by befriending Mirage, and, ultimately, decides to toss out his selfish side and agree to work together with the Autobots and the Maximals, ultimately ending up saving Earth alongside them, and in the end, as a result of his newfound friendship with the two Cybertronian factions, ultimately gains confidence in protecting the planet for all of the people that he loves in his life, and becomes a new recruit for G.I. Joe. ("If I'm going to save the world for all of the people that I love, well that's what I'm going to do.") Like I said, ROTB isn't just about robot-on-robot spectacle - it also has a character-focused story at its center. And yes, Noah did make a mistake and screwed up, but he got over it, and became a hero. I would love to see what direction Noah's arc goes in now that he got accepted into G.I. Joe alongside his new friends. Maybe we could go even deeper into his past. I can't wait to see how Noah's arc might unfold in the forthcoming crossover. 

6. More of Mirage, please! One of the newest characters to appear in ROTB, the Autobot Mirage instantly became a beloved character, and has become popular ever since the movie's release. As mentioned above, his comedic chops helped to lighten up the more serious tone of the film, and his friendship with Noah was amazing - he gave the main human character's story arc layers. He may be comedic, but is selfless and is willing to protect the individuals that he has befriended. Luckily, he survived the whole ordeal in the climax and was brought back to good health at the very end of ROTB. Noah and Mirage's arc is slated to continue in the forthcoming crossover movie, and considering his appearance in the final scene of ROTB (that's the mid-credits scene, mind you), we might see him in either a new alt-mode or, similar to Bumblebee after he was revived, an alt-mode identical to his original self (I'm thinking a 993-gen Porsche 911). In other words, I can't wait to see Mirage kick some bad Transformer butt again! 

7. Stay true, or at least try to stay true, to the G1-inspired designs. Now, I understand that, for some people, they saw that, when the Autobot Wheeljack got redesigned for ROTB, they howled out in shock and rage. They expected his G1-accurate design to appear in the film, but the opposite actually happened. On the other hand, I didn't mind Mirage's look in ROTB, he looks pretty sweet, and both Bee and Optimus Prime get a free pass for keeping their G1-inspired looks in the follow-up, albeit with some changes. Whenever possible, ultimately, have the Transformers keep their G1-inspired looks in the forthcoming crossover movie.

8. Continue Optimus Prime's story arc. Rise of The Beasts saw Prime going from bitter and mistrusting towards humans and Earth to learning to trust both the species and the planet itself. At first, he just wanted to try and find a way to get off of planet Earth and get back home along with his Autobot comrades. However, after witnessing the humans take care of the Maximals, as the animal-themed Cybertronians taught him, through his interactions with Noah and Elena, and after witnessing Noah's heroic and selfless actions, Prime ultimately has a change of Spark, forgives humankind and all of Earth, and resolves to protect Earth as much as he does with Cybertron, and fully accepts humankind as his ally. He and Noah both did screw up in ROTB, but eventually they fought their own internal problems and resolved to become selfless individuals, and both end up saving the world along with the others. For the forthcoming G.I. Joe crossover, I'd like to see Prime have friendly interactions with the Joes and the rest of the Autobots, and have some fun taking down Cobra and the Decepticons. 

9. Bumblebee. He was the character focus of his own movie, and he appeared in ROTB, but unfortunately got slayed by Scourge early on, and was revived during the film's climax. Upon being revived, he also gets a vehicle alt-mode similar to his original, but with an off-road fitting (His vehicle alt-mode is a vintage Camaro, BTW). And, if you have seen ROTB, you can tell that Scourge's cruel murder of Bee greatly affected Prime, putting him into "Revenge" mode towards the Terrorcon commander or much of the movie. Prime's anger over Scourge for what he had done to Bee is no different from the Guardians' ire towards the High Evolutionary for his horrendous treatment towards Rocket in GOTG Vol. 3. For the G.I. Joe crossover, I hope Bee stays alive all the way through, no matter how much of an annoyance he can be to several people. 

10. If new characters are introduced just for the film, give them arcs. Some characters get introduced for just one specific film, and they never return for the next installment. If the movie is going to introduce characters just for the G.I. Joe crossover, at least give them a self-contained arc - beginning, middle, and end. Don't leave them hanging, and make everyone forget the characters by the end of the narrative. I know Elena might be a one-and-done character (barring a small cameo), so I'm glad that her story in ROTB went the way it did. It was a complete arc. 

11. Deliver a hefty amount of heart to the movie. One of the factors that made ROTB entertaining was that it had plenty of heart in it. From Noah and Mirage's friendship resulting in the Autobot being the human's best friend and personal guardian, setting the foundation for Noah's future friendship with the rest of the Autobots, the Maximals, and Elena, and the Autobots, the Maximals, and the humans - all going from three different groups of individuals who don't even know each other to eventually becoming good friends who depend on each other after saving the world from disaster. Especially Noah and Optimus Prime, after working together with the others. I want the G.I. Joe crossover film to deliver even more heart, if not the same amount of, ROTB.

Anyhoo, this is what I wish to see in the forthcoming Transformers and G.I. Joe crossover movie. This is all my opinion, so I respect you if you disagree with me. See you for the next blog post!