Transformers movies in order

Five Bay films, a soft reboot that quietly replaced them, and an animated origin set before all of it.

Updated 4 August 2026 · 8 titles tracked

Transformers looks like a straight run of sequels and is not. Bumblebee (2018) is set in 1987, contradicts details of the Bay films it supposedly precedes, and functions as a soft reboot. Rise of the Beasts then follows Bumblebee rather than continuing Bay's series.

Transformers One (2024) goes further back still — an animated origin story on Cybertron, before any of them reach Earth.

Every Transformers film in order

Grouped by era. Bumblebee (1987) and Rise of the Beasts (1994) are prequels; Transformers One is earlier still.

Open the interactive Transformers list

The continuity does not fully reconcile

Bumblebee shows events that the 2007 film describes differently, and the franchise has never resolved it. Treat Bumblebee and Rise of the Beasts as a newer, cleaner line, and the five Bay films as an older one.

Chronological order — Transformers One, Bumblebee, Rise of the Beasts, then the Bay films — is coherent to watch. It is not evidence that the films agree with each other.

The short version

Watch Bumblebee and Transformers One. They are the two good ones, and neither requires anything else.

Bumblebee is a small, sincere 1980s film about a girl and her car. Transformers One is a genuinely well-made origin story about how two friends become Optimus Prime and Megatron. Together they are about three and a half hours, and they are the best the franchise has to offer.

If you want the Bay films

Watch them in release order: Transformers, Revenge of the Fallen, Dark of the Moon, Age of Extinction, The Last Knight. The first is comfortably the best. Revenge of the Fallen was written during a writers' strike and it shows.

Common questions

What order should I watch the Transformers movies?

Release order is safest. Chronologically it is Transformers One, Bumblebee (1987), Rise of the Beasts (1994), then the five Michael Bay films — though the continuities do not fully agree.

Is Bumblebee a prequel or a reboot?

Both, effectively. It is set in 1987 before the Bay films but contradicts them in places, and Rise of the Beasts follows Bumblebee rather than continuing Bay's series.

Do I need to watch the other films before Transformers One?

No. It is an animated origin story set on Cybertron and assumes no prior knowledge.

How many Transformers movies are there?

Eight: five Michael Bay films, Bumblebee, Rise of the Beasts, and the animated Transformers One.