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Then there’s the film’s other lead; D-16, or the future Decepticon leader Megatron (played by Brian Tyree Henry). Unlike Cullen as Optimus, Megatron doesn’t have a singular voice actor who everyone agrees is the definite one. This makes the villain more flexible for reinterpretation than his heroic counterpart.
Frank Welker first played Megatron in “The Transformers” by employing a screechy voice of arrogance and bluster. Like Cullen, Welker’s Megatron voice has changed over the years — even more so, becoming much deeper and scarier.
Compare this:
To this:
David Kaye (the only actor who’s played both Optimus Prime and Megatron as a regular role) voiced “Beast Wars” Megatron like he was reading Shakespeare. Corey Burton in “Transformers Animated,” meanwhile, voiced the Decepticon leader with a voice as deep and cold as a frozen cavern. Then, in some previous stunt casting, Hugo Weaving was brought in to voice Megatron in the first three live-action “Transformers” movies. Weaving can do a good villain in his sleep, but he’s admitted Megatron was just a paycheck gig; it’s a competent performance, but an indistinctive one.
How does Brian Tyree Henry compare? For the first half, his voice seems very unlike Megatron, and that’s the point! D-16 sounds very normal and evenly-pitched, a chill dude if a bit of a worrywart, because when the story begins that’s all he is. But as D-16 grows angrier, Henry’s performance grows more and more intense.
The reborn Megatron captivates crowds with righteous anger, but it’s not only the loud moments when Henry excels. His delivery when Megatron chooses to let Orion die, swearing “I’m done saving you”? Chilling.
Each major Megatron voice actor most excels at one quality of the character. Welker is sinister, Kaye is grandiose, and Burton is calculating. Henry, meanwhile, nails Megatron’s fury. He doesn’t sound like a smirking villain or a cold mastermind; he’s a young revolutionary driven to right injustices, unaware he’s driving off the deep end. His Megatron voice feels like it could almost come out of a heroic character’s mouth — underlining how D-16 didn’t have to go down such a dark path.
The short of it? If “Transformers One” winds up being a new beginning for more animated movies, fans should have every confidence in Hemsworth and Henry as this franchise’s new anchors.
“Transformers One” is now playing in theaters.
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