The First Clip From Peter Cullen’s Final Optimus Prime Performance Has Arrived

Transformers fans have spent the past two weeks processing an emotional loss, and now they’re getting their first real glimpse of the tribute built to honor it. Peter Cullen, the voice behind Optimus Prime since the character’s earliest days, passed away on August 26 at age 85, surrounded by family at his Los Angeles home.

In the days following his death, Hasbro and Fathom Entertainment revealed that Cullen had already recorded one final performance as the Autobot leader before he passed, tucked into a 12-minute animated short called ‘Optimus Prime: Awakening.’ The project had been in production as a surprise companion piece to the 40th-anniversary theatrical re-release of ‘The Transformers: The Movie,’ and its existence became a genuinely bittersweet gift for fans mourning Cullen’s passing.

Now, the first clip from that short has officially been released, giving audiences their earliest look at Cullen’s final moments voicing the character. The footage arrives ahead of the short’s full theatrical debut, which will screen following select 40th-anniversary showings of the original 1986 film beginning September 17.

The short reunites Cullen with longtime co-star Frank Welker, who returns to voice both Megatron and Soundwave for one last story opposite his old friend. Welker reflected on that reunion in a statement, saying, “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.” He continued, “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.”

Behind the scenes, the short is directed by Josh Wassung from a script written by Ryan Parrott, with music composed by Bobby Krlic and animation handled by The Third Floor. Hasbro has described the project as “a love letter to the Transformers community and the late Peter Cullen,” noting that his performance reveals a deeper vulnerability while still retaining the strength and authority fans have associated with the character for decades.

The timing carries extra emotional weight given how ‘The Transformers: The Movie’ originally handled Optimus Prime’s story. The 1986 film famously killed off the character in its opening act, only to bring him back the following year in ‘Transformers: The Return of Optimus Prime.’ With no official plot synopsis released for ‘Awakening,’ fans have speculated the short may work to bridge that gap, though its full content is being kept under wraps until it actually screens in theaters.

That theatrical rollout has continued expanding in scope since the announcement first broke. Screenings are confirmed across the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Germany, and France, with additional markets including Singapore, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, and Peru added in the weeks since. Fathom Entertainment has confirmed that every one of its screenings of the anniversary re-release will include the short.

Cullen’s family addressed his passing directly in the days following his death, asking fans to honor his legacy by serving their communities and leading others with compassion, integrity, and loyalty. For longtime fans who grew up with his voice defining what heroism sounded like, ‘Optimus Prime: Awakening’ offers a rare and deeply personal way to say goodbye.

With the full short still just weeks away from its theatrical debut, this first clip gives fans an early, emotional preview of what promises to be one of the most talked-about moments in the franchise’s history.

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