Optimus Prime Catches the Bus In New 'Transformers: Rise of the ...

Optimus Prime battles the bus-based Decepticon Transit in a newly-released deleted scene from Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. Director Steven Caple Jr. cut the scene from the finished film after test audiences found it too dark.

In the scene, released by IGN, Autobot leader Optimus Prime (voiced by Peter Cullen) takes on the Decepticon warrior Transit (John DiMaggio), who turns into one of the least-glamorous alternate modes in Transformers history: a city bus, adorned with a poster for the period-appropriate Beverly Hills Cop III. The clip shows their brutal bus-depot brawl, in which the animation varies from preliminary to nearly-complete. The scene was to have ended with Prime killing Transit and dumping him in the Hudson River, where he would join dozens of other Decepticon corpses slain by the legendary Autobot. In an interview with Collider, Caple Jr. explained that "when we screened it, people were like, “Damn, this is kind of dark.” [Laughs] It was kind of dark, but I thought it was a movie I wanted to make, but then I started to realize it is dark, and it felt a little darker. So we pulled back on that..." The scene was ultimately cut, but late enough in production that DiMaggio is credited as playing Transit in the closing credits.

A fairly obscure part of Transformers canon, Transit has made two appearances in various incarnations before (almost) making it to the big screen, both in comic books published by IDW. Like his big-screen counterpart, Transit is a Decepticon who transforms into a bus, although in one issue, his alternate mode is a slightly more exotic British double-decker bus. Transit, in fact, would have been the only living Decepticon in the movie, and his absence makes this the first Transformers film without any of the traditional Cybertronian villains; the heroic Autobots and Maximals in the film instead face off against the fearsome Terrorcons, who are minions of the world-devouring space god Unicron. This would have been his first on-screen appearance, in which he would have been voiced by DiMaggio, who will reprise his role as Bender in the upcoming Hulu revival of Futurama. DiMaggio is no stranger to Transformers, having voiced Leadfoot in Dark of the Moon, Crosshairs in Age of Extinction and The Last Knight, and Stratosphere in Rise of the Beasts.

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Rise of the Beasts has recently surpassed the $400 million mark at the global box office, and will be making its way to home video imminently. The Optimus/Transit scene will be one of numerous special features on Rise of the Beasts' digital and DVD/Blu-Ray release. It will also include behind-the-scenes content, featurettes on the film's characters and '90s backdrop, and several other deleted scenes.

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts will be released digitally on July 11, and on physical media October 10. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates, and check out Optimus Prime's battle with Transit below.