Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

Move over, Megatron: Anthony Hopkins adds some class to Transformers 5

anthony hopkins transformers the last knight thor dark world
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Anthony Hopkins is such a serious actor that he can bring a bit of gravitas to even the most frivolous of films. For proof of this, look no further than the Thor franchise, where his turn as the irascible Odin lent instant credibility to a superhero story that could easily have come off as silly/campy.

According to Entertainment Weekly, he’ll soon do the same for Michael Bay’s Transformers: The Last Knight, the fifth film in the franchise that pits oversized metamorphosing robots against one another as the fate of humanity hangs in the balance. As others have pointed out, hearing Hopkins voice emanate from a skyscraper-sized robot would be quite an experience, but, unsurprisingly, it looks like the actor will be playing an actual human being. What sort of human being remains a mystery, however, as the details of his role are still pretty well under wraps.

At this point, there are plenty of moviegoers whose eyes will roll at the mere mention of Michael Bay, so getting Hopkins really was a coup if this project is looking to make a play for those interested something beyond the typical “popcorn flick” experience. It should help with the critics as well, as the franchise’s first four films were all rated “rotten” on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.

The message below was posted to the film’s Facebook page earlier today and those associated with the film seem pretty excited to have him on board.

The role adds to a busy slate for the 79-year-old Hopkins, who recently filmed HBO’s Westworld and will also appear in the upcoming thriller Collide, as well as in Thor: Ragnarok. We probably speak for most movie fans when we say that we hope the actor never slows down.

Transformers: The Last Knight hits theaters June 23, 2017, and also stars Mark Wahlberg, Josh Duhamel, and Isabela Moner (Growing Up Fisher).

Adam Poltrack
Adam is an A/V News Writer for Digital Trends, and is responsible for bringing you the latest advances in A/V…
Why you should watch The Amazing Spider-Man 2 on Netflix
Andrew Garfield in The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

This month, Netflix has welcomed The Amazing Spider-Man 2 back to its lineup, and it has quickly become one of the most popular movies on Netflix. That makes this the perfect opportunity to tell you why you should watch The Amazing Spider-Man 2 on Netflix.

Now, we would never argue that The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is the best Spider-Man film or even a great one. It's got a lot of problems, including a truly grotesque Green Goblin design, a very unconvincing performance by Dane DeHaan as Harry Osborn, and a take on Electro (Jamie Foxx) that feels like it was lifted directly from Batman Forever. This film also tries so hard to set up an MCU-style Spider-Man universe that it wildly underperformed at the box office and led Sony Pictures to partner directly with Marvel Studios for the Tom Holland-led Spider-Man flicks.

Read more
Only Murders in the Building season 3 ending, explained
Meryl Streep wide eyed and shocked in a scene from Only Murders in the Building season 3.

Each season, Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building brings an exciting new whodunit murder mystery complete with a new set of potential killers. Every season also adds impressive cast members, and for season three, that includes Paul Rudd and Meryl Streep in pivotal roles. As usual, the episodes follow Mabel (Selena Gomez), Oliver (Martin Short), and Charles (Steve Martin) as they run their own investigation to uncover the truth, creating podcast episodes to chronicle each discovery and theory.

The story in season 3 picks up where season 2 ended, with Rudd’s character Ben dying on stage in front of a crowd during the opening night of Oliver’s play. Mabel, looking on from the audience, has that “oh no, not again” face. But how does it all play out?
Everyone is a suspect

Read more
Discovery+ raises price for ad-free subscriptions
HBO Max and Discovery+ app icons.

The Discovery+ streaming service survived the mega-merger that birthed Warner Bros. Discovery, and also still exists following the launch of the combined Max service. But we might well see more folks make the switch now that Discovery+ has announced a pricing increase.

The "ad-lite" option — that's the one that has advertising in the on-demand content — will remain unchanged in the U.S. But if you want to get rid of ads, you'll have to pay $9 a month going forward, up from $7 a month. (That's just about a 29% increase if you do the math.)

Read more