Megatron from the Transformers is one of the most iconic villains in pop culture history. He’s so awesome that he managed to overcome the frankly absurd Generation 1 transformation power of turning into a handheld gun that another character has to hold and shoot. Since then, Megatron has taken several different forms, including a jet, a Tyrannosaurus Rex, and various iterations of tanks and cannons.
In Transformers One, audiences finally get to see the origin story of Megatron’s rivalry with his arch enemy, Optimus Prime. Voiced by the incredibly talented Brian Tyree Henry, this latest version of Megatron, or D-16, shows the legendary Decepticon leader before he fell fully into his villainy.
Senior Writer Elijah Isaiah Johnson sat down with Henry to talk about his approach to the character and the elements that he wanted to add to one of the most well known characters in pop culture.
“Because Transformers One is starting at the beginning, before he becomes Megatron, I got an opportunity to actually create and develop what I thought his youthfulness looked like. You got to see him, what I think is like the right of passage age,” Henry said about what he wanted to add to the character of Megatron. “To me, I was like, ‘Well he feels like he’s like early 20s, 21,’ and I thought about myself at that time in my prime, being in college, just like thrust into the world, trying to figure out who I am, the friendships that I developed, and also the disillusionment I went through when I realized that the world, it wasn’t exactly the way that I thought it was going to be.”
Interestingly, Henry approached the development of the character as one who turned into a villain in part because of the injustice that he was faced with.
“When you see that transition of him actually becoming Megatron, what I’m hoping is that the viewers also go along with it. I really wanted people to feel what he felt when he saw injustice; to feel for him, to see his heart more than anything….I wanted people to leave and be like, ‘You know what? I rock with Megatron,'” Henry said.
Watch our full conversation with Henry below. Transformers One is in theaters now and it’s one of the best Transformers films in years!
About Transformers One:
TRANSFORMERS ONE is the untold origin story of Optimus Prime and Megatron, better known as sworn enemies, but once were friends bonded like brothers who changed the fate of Cybertron forever. In the first-ever fully CG-animated Transformers movie, TRANSFORMERS ONE features a star-studded voice cast, including Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry, Scarlett Johansson, Keegan-Michael Key, Steve Buscemi with Laurence Fishburne and Jon Hamm.
Ron is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of POC Culture. He is a big believer in the power and impact of pop culture and the importance of representation in media.
