Though some fans are struggling to adjust to his version of Optimus Prime, Chris Hemsworth is clearly putting a lot of work into the performance, masking his regular speaking voice and even bringing in some light tones of Peter Cullen’s low register throughout the “Transformers One” trailer. But that’s the thing about taking over a role that one person has become so famous for — the shoes are never going to be easy to fill.
“This looks fine, but man is it weird not hearing Peter Cullen voice Optimus Prime,” X user @ParryManilow wrote in response to the trailer. This has been the more resounding sentiment — not that Hemsworth is doing a bad job, but just that it’s hard to hear anyone other than Cullen doing the voice at this point. It’s worth noting, of course, that several other voice actors have tackled the role in different projects over the years. Garry Chalk voiced Optimus in the early 2000s “Transformers” cartoons, and Alan Tudyk played the Autobot leader in “Transformers: EarthSpark,” just to name two examples.
While the resounding response to the “Transformers One” trailer from longtime fans has been trepidation, many are already praising Hemsworth for putting in the work. “It’ll take a little time to adjust to not hearing Peter Cullen’s as Optimus,” X user @thewealthdad wrote in a post. “But this looks like a pretty solid family watch.” User @ResonantJustice echoed the positivity, writing, “He actually sounds pretty good for a young Prime.”