Having spawned more than one hit animated television series and a blockbuster live-action/CG feature film, Hasbro’s Transformers toy line is now being developed as a new theme-park attraction for Universal Studios. Universal Parks & Resorts has teamed with Hasbro Inc. and DreamWorks Pictures to fuse 3-D media, special effects and robotics to plunge park attendees into a world where giant, shape-shifting robots clash over the fate of the Universe. The ride is scheduled to debut in early 2011, first at Universal Studios Singapore and then at Universal Studios Hollywood.
Filmmaker Steven Spielberg, who exec produced director Michael Bay’s big-screen take on the Transformers property, serves as creative consultant to Universal Parks & Resorts, and has worked closely with the company in the creation of a number of innovative theme-park attractions. To date, he has seen rides made from his hit films Jurassic Park, E.T. and War of the Worlds, among others.
Tan Hee Teck, CEO of Resorts World at Sentosa, the resort that houses Universal Studios Singapore, comments, ‘It is great that Asia will be the launch pad for the first Transformers attraction. Transformers was introduced in the United States in 1983 but traces its roots to Asia. Optimus Prime, Bumblebee and Megatron are familiar names to Asian audiences, who grew up with the robot toys and love the movie.’
The Transformers movie hit theaters in the summer of 2007, breaking box-office records on its way to a worldwide gross of more than $706 million. The action flick also garnered Academy Award nominations for visual effects, sound and sound editing. A sequel, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, is scheduled to be released by Paramount Pictures in the U.S. on June 26, 2009.
