It’s not often you can add new cast members to a film just a couple of months before it opens, but it’s just been revealed that director Michael Bay has tapped John Goodman and Ken Watanabe to voice two of the new Autobots in Transformers: Age Of Extinction.
Goodman and Watanabe join legendary voice actors Peter Cullen and Frank Welker. Goodman will play Autobot Hound, Watanabe will play Drift, while Cullen reprises his role as the voice of Optimus Prime, and Welker (who’s voiced numerous characters in the earlier movies) takes on another new character, Galvatron.
“I am pleased to welcome two gifted and versatile actors, John Goodman and Ken Watanabe, to the world of Transformers,” said Bay. “And to reteam with Peter and Frank, who have brought Transformers characters alive from the beginning. I’ve been fortunate to work with some of the best voice talent in the business, and together we will introduce several exciting new robots to fans of the franchise around the world.”
Rounding out the voice-over cast are actors John DiMaggio, Mark Ryan, Robert Foxworth and Reno Wilson. DiMaggio and Ryan will take on the new characters Crosshairs and Lockdown, while Foxworth reprises the role of Ratchet and Wilson returns as Brains.
The all new human cast includes Mark Wahlberg, Stanley Tucci, Li Bingbing , Kelsey Grammer, Sophia Myles, T. J. Miller, Nicola Peltz, Jack Reynor and Titus Welliver.
Here’s the synopsis: ‘Transformers: Age Of Extinction begins after an epic battle that left a great city torn, but with the world saved. As humanity picks up the pieces, a shadowy group reveals itself in an attempt to control the direction of history… while an ancient, powerful new menace sets Earth in its crosshairs. With help from a new cast of humans, Optimus Prime and the Autobots rise to meet their most fearsome challenge yet. In an incredible adventure, they are swept up in a war of good and evil, ultimately leading to a climactic battle across the world.’
The film is due out in July.