Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.Amidimpressive box office totalsand the promise of greater intergalactic destruction on the horizon,Transformers: Rise of the Beastshas set itself up for plenty more action in the sci-fi franchise thanks to a jaw-dropping ending in its seventh installment. Audiences were in for a treat when the final moments of the summer blockbuster teased how Transformers would soon be crossing over into G.I. Joe territory with the help of actorMichael Kelly, as Agent Burke. In an exclusive interview with Collider in support of the Paramount+ series premiere ofSpecial Ops: Lionesslater this month, Kelly revealed there was a lot more involved in thatTransformersscene than audiences think.
In the final moments of theSteven Caple Jr.-directed feature, Burke attempts to recruit Noah Diaz (Anthony Ramos) and informs him of his agency’s mission to stop Unicron. The G.I. Joe member reveals how there is a larger conflict brewing beyond the scope of the Transformers. The entire scene is a big one as it promises more to come and a steady fulfillment in Noah’s arc following his world-saving antics alongside the Autobots and Maximals. After Burke hands Noah a business card with the G.I. Joe insignia, he walks through doors that lead to a bunker filled with teams working on alien spacecrafts. Kelly tells Collider that while the final moment leads to a bigger world for the movies, there was a lot happening behind the scenes to make it happen.
“[Steven Caple Jr.] called me, and he pitched to me what this was in this film, which originally was going to be apost-credits scene, and then they ended up making it the last scene of the film for whatever reason,” Kelly tells Collider exclusively. “When he pitched it to me, he was like, ‘And then there’s this wholeG.I. Joeworld that we’re not sure that we have the rights to yet, but we really want to tie in the two worlds, and I just think it would be this really cool idea.’”
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While the audience seesone card handed to Noah, Kelly says it was more complicated in shooting than that. “When we shot it, we shot it with a couple of different cards that I give him. The one that you see is not the only one we shot,” he laughs.
Michael Kelly’sRise of the BeastsCameo Was a Long Time Coming
Being calledafter principal photographyto shoot the scenes, Kelly says his addition to the film was a long time coming. “I had met Steven… many years ago and we had a coffee in Los Angeles. It was set up by our agents or whatever, you know, ‘Let’s have coffee with this guy. He’s a great up-and-coming director.’ He had just finished doing [Creed II], and I was like, ‘Yeah, I wanna meet him!’ We sat down, and the two of us hit it off, and we talked for like an hour or two. It was years ago, pre-pandemic, and nothing ever came of it. Never talked to him again. And then one day, I get this call out of the blue saying, “Hey, Steven wants to jump on the phone with you… he wants to talk to you about an idea he had.”
Kelly adds that he was “so thrilled” to be a part of it, especially being the father of an 11-year-old. “I was like, ‘This is gonna be cool when [my son] sees it!’ And I thought it would be fun to jump into one of those franchise worlds, especially one that I grew up on,Transformers, G.I. Joe,” he said. “You know, I’m 54, I grew up with both of those. So for me to be a part of that, it was just, it was thrilling, man. It was really cool.”
While Kelly isn’t sure what will come of the final scene and how the movie willcross over into G.I. Joe with the Transformers, Caple toldEntertainment Weeklyhe is “deep into developing” the sequel toRise of the Beasts, which is “definitely gonna incorporate some Joes characters, but it won’t go into, maybe, the true origin of the Joes.”
Whether Kelly will be back for more and lead the charge like Nick Fury of this cinematic world, the actor laughs with Collider: “Your lips to God’s ears!”
