Every Transformer In Optimus Prime: Awakening (& Who Voices Them)

The Transformers franchise expands with a special 12-minute short, Optimus Prime: Awakening, that brings back many familiar Autobots and Decepticons. Hasbro's shape-shifting toys have inspired multiple movies and shows over the decades. To honor the Transformers' first movie, the Energon-rich universe has received a new story.

Released in theaters alongside the 40th anniversary re-release of The Transformers: The Movie, Hasbro created a fresh short film. The short focuses on Optimus Prime's journey through the afterlife following the Autobot's death. The fearless and wise leader experiences glimpses of the past and possible futures as he wrestles with accepting his true purpose.

Throughout this adventure, Optimus encounters several Transformers. Some of his most trustworthy Autobot companions are back, as are a few of his most dangerous Decepticon enemies. In some cases, they are voiced by Transformers icons, while other characters are recast to bring new actors aboard. A few don't even speak, but they are all Transformers featured at some point in Optimus Prime: Awakening.

In each case, the Transformers are seen in classic G-1 designs pulled right out of the original 1980s material. They are all updated slightly to fit the stylish animation featured in Optimus Prime: Awakening.

9 Optimus Prime

Optimus Prime is the main Transformer featured in Optimus Prime: Awakening. The short begins by showing a recreation of his traumatic death from The Transformers: The Movie. Optimus then floats through eternity until he is reawakened and confronted with his legacy. This leads him through several scenarios until he understands what is truly necessary to end the cycle of war.

Peter Cullen voices Optimus Prime in the Transformers short. It is the actor's final original voice performance after more than 40 years of voicing the Autobot's leader across various animated shows, video games, and the live-action movies. Awakening is dedicated to Cullen, who passed away in August 2026, less than a month before the short's debut.

8 Megatron

Megatron returns in Optimus Prime: Awakening for the final sequence. The Decepticon leader is seen fighting Bumblebee on Cybertron. He's ready to kill the yellow Autobot before Optimus intervenes, launching a new Megatron versus Optimus Prime fight as they attempt to settle the longstanding Transformers war once again.

Frank Welker reprises his role as Megatron in Optimus Prime: Awakening. Welker voiced the villain in the original animated Transformers series and the 1986 movie. He went on to portray the character in additional animated shows and video games. Welker eventually got to voice Megatron in the movies with Transformers: The Last Knight, after voicing Galvatron in Transformers: Age of Extinction.

Welker shared a statement on what Optimus Prime: Awakening has meant to him in the wake of Cullen's passing:

Optimus Prime and Megatron were made for each other. After all, one needs the perfect hero against the epitome of evil to create great drama. Peter’s portrayal of Prime was born of his own personal beliefs; honesty, loyalty, and always insisting on doing the right thing. This made it easy to be friends. Returning as Megatron and Soundwave for one final story opposite Peter’s Optimus in “Optimus Prime: Awakening” was a real gift. I will miss my friend, but that voice and his heart and values will always be part of Optimus Prime.

7 The One

The Transformers' god-like being known as The One is central to Optimus Prime: Awakening. The entity is responsible for awakening Optimus after his death. From there, The One attempts to teach Optimus about his true place in the universe, arguing that he's become too focused on protecting Cybertron, Earth, and the Matrix of Leadership to see the truth.

The One is voiced by Simon Henderson in Optimus Prime: Awakening. This is the first time he's portrayed the character. Henderson's previous credits include roles on The Boys and Cross​​​​​​.

6 Bumblebee

Bumblebee has a rather substantial role in Optimus Prime: Awakening. He's featured in the first sequence as the leader of the Decepticons. This alternate future version of the loyal Autobot is a reflection of Optimus' failures over the years, leading to a fight between the two allies. Bumblebee then returns for the Cybertron-set sequence, where he is badly injured but still pushes to help Optimus try to defeat Megatron.

A new actor becomes the voice of Bumblebee in Optimus Prime: Awakening, with Jarret LeMaster taking on the role. The actor has previously appeared in Lanterns and Homestead. LeMaster replaces Dan Gilvezan from The Transformers: The Movie, as well as more recent Bumblebee voice actors like Will Friedle and Jeremy Levy.

5 Soundwave

Soundwave is the first Decepticon featured in Optimus Prime: Awakening. He is joined by other Decepticons as they chase Optimus Prime across a moon. Soundwave successfully attacks Optimus, sending the Autobot leader crashing through a part of the terrain. He then reveals himself to be an ally for Bumblebee's Decepticon forces.

Welker pulls double duty in Awakening by also returning to voice Soundwave. The actor has voiced the character just as long as with Megatron. This includes portraying Soundwave in multiple animated shows and the live-action movies, having done the latter with Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Transformers: Dark of the Moon.

4 Starscream

Megatron's trusted lieutenant Starscream is back in action for Optimus Prime: Awakening. The Decepticon is part of the group that attacks Optimus during the first sequence The One puts him through. Starscream attacks the Autobot leader but is not successful. He ultimately is shown to have given his allegiance to Bumblebee's Decepticon regime.

Mathieu Bourassa provides the voice of Starscream in the Transformers short. The actor's previous credits include appearances in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and the Taken TV show. Christopher Collins was the original voice actor for Starscream in The Transformers: The Movie, but he passed away in 1994.

3 Kickback

The Insecticons factor into Optimus Prime: Awakening through two members, the first of which is Kickback. The grasshopper-looking robot is another attacker from the short's first section. He fails to take down Optimus on his own or with the help of his fellow Insecticon. Kickback is loyal to the alternate Bumblebee.

Scott Law voices Kickback in Optimus Prime: Awakening. He is a voice actor who previously has credits on Top Wing, Globies, and Bakugan: Battle Planet. Law takes over the role voiced by Clive Revill in the 1986 movie following the actor's passing in March 2025.

2 Shrapnel

Shrapnel joins Kickback as the other Insecticon featured in Optimus Prime: Awakening. He takes on his beetle-like form to bite at Optimus as he flees in the initial sequence. Shrapnel is also a dedicated follower of Decepticon Bumblebee, along with Kickback, Soundwave, and Starscream.

The few lines that Shrapnel does have in the Transformers short are provided by Gray Powell. The actor is best known for roles in Brilliant Minds and The Last Frontier. While this is Powell's first time voicing Shrapnel, the character was previously featured in The Transformers: The Movie with Hal Rayle voicing him.

1 Ultra Magnus, Arcee, Hot Rod, Kup, & Perceptor

There are five more notable Autobots who get small, non-speaking roles in Optimus Prime: Awakening. Since the short opens with a recreation of Optimus' death from The Transformers: The Movie, viewers are treated to the sights of Ultra Magnus, Arcee, Hot Rod, Kup, and Perceptor.

Just like in the movie, Ultra Magnus, Arcee, Hot Rod, and Kup surround a wounded Optimus as he takes his last breaths and bestows the responsibility of protecting the Matrix of Leadership to Ultra Magnus. Once the shot zooms out and above Optimus' lifeless body, Perceptor can also be seen. Notably, Daniel Witwicky is nowhere to be seen in the recreation, even though he's part of the sequence in the original film.

These five Autobots do not return at any point in the rest of Optimus Prime: Awakening. Their lack of speaking also meant the short did not need to cast new actors for Kup and Magnus after Lionel Stander and Robert Stack's deaths or bring back Transformers veterans in Judd Nelson as Hot Rod, Susan Blu as Arcee, or Paul Eiding as Perceptor.