“Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” — the seventh and latest installment of the Transformers franchise — is set to release June 9 and features a star-studded cast featuring Anthony Ramos Jr. and Michelle Yeoh. Serving as a prequel to 2008’s “Transformers,” the film is set in the 1990s; a time of vibrant cultural hallmarks which have quickly returned to the mainstream. Here are five nineties trends we anticipate to see in “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.”
Music
Photo Courtesy / YouTube A Tribe Called Quest
Music is a cultural staple of the nineties, and with a trailer accompanied by the late DMX’s 1998 hit “Ruff Ryders Anthem,” it’s clear the film will incorporate nineties hits to capture the essence of the decade. From A Tribe Called Quest, Nas, LL COOL J and more, the film’s official playlist features chart-topping nineties’ hip-hop classics. How the film will incorporate the music into the scenes comes into question.
Fashion
Photo Courtesy / YouTube Keri Kelly
The nineties were a time of eclectic, grunge and alternative fashion. Any Google search of the decade’s apparel will feature baggy jeans, flannel patterns, bomber jackets and lots of color. While the bots aren’t seen donning the period’s fashions, the human characters (principally played by Ramos Jr. and Dominique Fishback) will hopefully give audiences a nostalgia boost and a glimpse into nineties’ trends.
Technology
Photo Courtesy / YouTube Techmoan
Despite the feats of the Transformers robots, one clear technological advancement was missing in the nineties — the smartphone. Do the Transformers have car phones built in? Will the soundtrack be played through the headphones of someone’s Sony Walkman? Since “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” is a sci-fi movie, it will be interesting to see how this film accurately portrays the technology of the nineties.
New York City
The ever-changing NYC skyline is displayed front and center in this upcoming film. The city in the nineties was certainly a different culture than it is today, and with the addition of robots wandering the streets, it will be interesting to see how the futuristic components intermix with nineties NYC street culture.
The Cars Themselves
Photo Courtesy / YouTube RMC Miami
What kind of car models can we expect these Transformers to be? Ramos Jr. is thrown out of a 1994 Porsche Mirage that would change gears to drive itself and later turn into a robot in the film’s trailer. With both futuristic aspects of a transforming car and the retro models of the nineties, viewers can anticipate a morphing of the decades.
