Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Transformers: Rise of the BeastsAlthough 2018's Bumblebee initiated a new era for the Transformers franchise, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts still breaks the canon of the Michael Bay-directed films more than once. Set in 1994, Rise of the Beasts is a prequel set 13 years before the events of the first live-action Transformers film in 2007. However, elements established in the original films have either been altered or forgotten completely with this new prequel/reboot.
Bumblebee and Rise of the Beasts are both considered the start of a "soft reboot" for Paramount and Hasbro's Transformers franchise. This means future films can choose what they want to keep from the old continuity while leaving behind less desirable elements. Keeping that in mind, there are quite a few moments in Rise of the Beasts that break the Michael Bay canon while technically still being part of the same timeline (though some changes are quite significant).
11 Unicron Is Not Earth
In Transformers: The Last Knight, it was revealed that Earth itself was secretly Unicron, the ultimate embodiment of evil in Transformers lore. Unicron was essentially the Earth's core with the rest of the planet forming around him over billions of years. Thanks to the efforts of the Creator Quintessa, Unicron's life force was going to be used to save Cybertron, the Transformers' original home world that had become a dead planet depleted of resources. However, Earth would have been destroyed in the process hence the Autobots standing with the TRF to stop Quintessa's plan.
However, Rise of the Beasts establishes that Unicron is a separate entity from Earth, consuming whole planets across the galaxy. Likewise, Scourge and the Terrorcons serve as his heralds and minions as they travel from world to world preparing for his arrival. While the alliance between the Autobots and Maximals defeated the Terrorcons and prevented Unicron's initial attack on Earth, it's confirmed that he's still out there in the cosmos, the first main deviation from the Michael Bay movies.
10 The Maximals Pre-Date The Autobots On Earth
The Michael Bay movies established that the Autobots and even some Decepticons had been on Earth for several years throughout history. However, it's been changed so that their time on Earth is much smaller compared to the Maximals of Beast Wars fame. Fleeing from their home in the future as it was consumed by Unicron, the Maximals were sent to Earth deep into the past thanks to the Transwarp Key, their appearances and symbols being recorded throughout history as seen in Rise of the Beasts.
9 The Autobots Do Not Have A Secret History On Earth
In the same vein, the secret history of the Autobots on Earth no longer seems to be canon. This includes Bumblebee's time fighting Nazis in WWII as was referenced in The Last Knight. This omission was first suggested in 2018's Bumblebee which showed the Autobot scout's first adventure with humans in 1987. Now, Rise of the Beasts has further confirmed that the Autobots' history has been altered compared to what had been established in the Bay films.
8 Arcee Comes To Earth Earlier
In the Michael Bay movies, Arcee came to Earth and reed Optimus Prime's forces along with her sisters in 2009's Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. However, Rise of the Beasts features Arcee as a member of Prime's Autobots from the very beginning when they all landed on Earth in the 90s, becoming stranded refugees from war-torn Cybertron. Interestingly, this calls back and redeems the original script for 2007's Transformers which originally had Arcee before she was cut from the first film's roster.
7 Mark Wahlberg Is An Actor, Not Cade Yeager
Transformers: Age of Extinction and The Last Knight featured Mark Wahlberg in the role of Cade Yeager. Cade was introduced as the new human protagonist of the franchise following Shia LaBeoufs Sam Witwicky in the first three Transformers movies. However, Rise of the Beasts sees Autobot Mirage commenting on the 90's news that "Marky Mark is going to focus on his acting career", seemingly implying that Wahlberg is just an actor in this quasi-new Transformers continuity.
6 Primus Is The Autobots' Creator
Although The Last Knight's Quintessa was one of the Creators and called herself the "Prime of Life", the Transformers' actual god Primus finally gets a name-drop in Rise of the Beasts. Quintessa was effectively a creation for the movies, while Primus is the true creator of the Transformer race from the original lore, a cosmic deity who transformed himself into Cybertron itself. Additionally, Primus is the embodiment of good with Unicron being his evil twin. The Primes are an extension of his will via the Matrix of Leadership, and the god connects the franchise much closer to the original source material as opposed to Quintessa in the Michael Bay movies.
5 Earth Becomes The Autobots' Home Before 2007
Rather than Optimus Prime and his core team of Autobots arriving on Earth in 2007, the Bumblebee movie established that they instead came in 1987 to reunite with Bumblebee who had been sent ahead as a scout. This means that the Autobots have been stranded on Earth for 7 years before the events of Rise of the Beasts, having done all they could to stay hidden and avoid humanity at all costs.
4 Optimus Prime Has A Different Autobots Battlecry
Going beyond the classic "Autobots...Roll Out!" and "One shall stand...one shall fall" lines heard in the Michael Bay movies, Optimus Prime gets a stronger battle cry with connections to the original cartoon and animated Transformers movie: "Till all are one". This ties into the Transformers' belief to keep fighting until the end of the Great War where factions will be ignored, or until all the Transformers are reed with the Allspark of Primus himself. This further proves the reboot's greater intention and ties to the original Transformers source material.
3 The War For Cybertron Is Still Ongoing
As confirmed by Optimus Prime in Rise of the Beasts, Earth was only meant to be a pit-stop that would allow the Autobots to regroup before heading back to Cybertron to keep fighting in the war that's yet to fully migrate to Earth. This helps explain where the Decepticons are during Rise of the Beasts, though the true benefit is that future movies can either pull new Autobots and/or Decepticons from Cybertron to venture to Earth. Likewise, the Autobots themselves could perhaps return to Cybertron one day when and if they find a means to get off-world.
2 Noah Gets Transformers Upgrade Other Human Leads Didn't
The closest Sam Witwicky got to having upgrades was a grappling hook and some explosive charges in Dark of the Moon. Likewise, Cade Yeager got an alien rifle in Age of Extinction and a talisman that transformed into a sword as seen in The Last Knight. In comparison, the exosuit worn by Rise of Beasts' Noah Diaz (Anthony Ramos) definitely blows the gear belonging to the prior human leads out of the water. Made using parts from Mirage himself, exosuits were never seen in the Michael Bay films despite being a classic staple of the cartoon series and animated movie. Exosuits would have been game-changers in Bay's films.
