Transformers Rise of the Beasts Crossover Ending Explained

Considering Transformers: Rise of the Beasts takes place before the events of Michael Bay’s five Transformers movies, you might expect it to be devoid of surprises. Obviously, Optimus Prime doesn’t die. Obviously, Bumblebee doesn’t die. Obviously, the Autobots win. And that’s all true.

But don’t forget, Rise of the Beasts adds characters, both human and robot, that don’t appear in the Michael Bay films, which leaves the door open for new stories. And what amazing new stories they may end up being, if the film’s ending is to be believed. Let’s talk about it.

After helping the Autobots defeat Scourge and his Terricons, and thwart Unicron (for now at least), Noah (Anthony Ramos) goes home. He saved the world and wore a Transformer suit like Spike in the 1986 animated film, but what does he have to show for it? Well, he does get a job interview… for something mysterious. The man he speaks to (played by House of Cards’ Michael Kelly) seems to know more than he should about Noah’s adventures—where he was, who he was with, and even what he’s been saying on the phone. He gives Noah his card and asks him to join the team. Noah turns the card over and reveals the logo: G.I. Joe.

G.I. Joe, of course, is another ultra-famous toy turned multimedia franchise that, like Transformers, gained mainstream popularity in the 1980s; it’s been made into several big-budget live-action movies, with a seemingly random reboot more recently. Both brands are owned by Hasbro and, in the past, there have been crossovers between them, mostly in comic books. Fans have long wanted to see G.I. Joe and Transformers on the screen together, but it’s seemed as if the people running the Transformers franchise had no interest. Now, though, it seems like they do. We’ll have more on how it happened next week.

Plus, in the film’s mid-credits scene, we learn that Noah—who we assume has accepted the job at G.I. Joe—has brought his thought-to-be-dead Autobot pal, Mirage, back to life. So that means while it may not be Optimus Prime and Bumblebee who help out the “real American heroes” (since they head off into the Bayverse), maybe some other Autobots could do just that.

Obviously, we have so many questions at this point. Will Paramount and Hasbro full reboot G.I. Joe? Will Henry Golding stay on after Snake Eyes? Will things go right into a Transformers/G.I. Joe movie? Will they team up or will they go against each other? Which Joes will be a part of it? Which Transformers? How closely will this adhere to the canon of the other movies? We could go on and on.

Without a doubt, ending Rise of the Beasts with the G.I. Joe tease 100% marks this film as something more than a prequel. It’s the start of a whole new tangent and almost certainly, if audiences show up, a precursor to a crossover.

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is now in theaters.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

Considering Transformers: Rise of the Beasts takes place before the events of Michael Bay’s five Transformers movies, you might expect it to be devoid of surprises. Obviously, Optimus Prime doesn’t die. Obviously, Bumblebee doesn’t die. Obviously, the Autobots win. And that’s all true.

But don’t forget, Rise of the Beasts adds characters, both human and robot, that don’t appear in the Michael Bay films, which leaves the door open for new stories. And what amazing new stories they may end up being, if the film’s ending is to be believed. Let’s talk about it.

After helping the Autobots defeat Scourge and his Terricons, and thwart Unicron (for now at least), Noah (Anthony Ramos) goes home. He saved the world and wore a Transformer suit like Spike in the 1986 animated film, but what does he have to show for it? Well, he does get a job interview… for something mysterious. The man he speaks to (played by House of Cards’ Michael Kelly) seems to know more than he should about Noah’s adventures—where he was, who he was with, and even what he’s been saying on the phone. He gives Noah his card and asks him to join the team. Noah turns the card over and reveals the logo: G.I. Joe.

G.I. Joe, of course, is another ultra-famous toy turned multimedia franchise that, like Transformers, gained mainstream popularity in the 1980s; it’s been made into several big-budget live-action movies, with a seemingly random reboot more recently. Both brands are owned by Hasbro and, in the past, there have been crossovers between them, mostly in comic books. Fans have long wanted to see G.I. Joe and Transformers on the screen together, but it’s seemed as if the people running the Transformers franchise had no interest. Now, though, it seems like they do. We’ll have more on how it happened next week.

Plus, in the film’s mid-credits scene, we learn that Noah—who we assume has accepted the job at G.I. Joe—has brought his thought-to-be-dead Autobot pal, Mirage, back to life. So that means while it may not be Optimus Prime and Bumblebee who help out the “real American heroes” (since they head off into the Bayverse), maybe some other Autobots could do just that.

Obviously, we have so many questions at this point. Will Paramount and Hasbro full reboot G.I. Joe? Will Henry Golding stay on after Snake Eyes? Will things go right into a Transformers/G.I. Joe movie? Will they team up or will they go against each other? Which Joes will be a part of it? Which Transformers? How closely will this adhere to the canon of the other movies? We could go on and on.

Without a doubt, ending Rise of the Beasts with the G.I. Joe tease 100% marks this film as something more than a prequel. It’s the start of a whole new tangent and almost certainly, if audiences show up, a precursor to a crossover.

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is now in theaters.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.