Returning Netflix Action Franchise Officially Beats Transformers & GI Joe At Their Own Game
Published Jun 5, 2026, 10:15 PM EDT
Dhruv is a Lead Writer in Screen Rant's New TV division. He has been consistently contributing to the website for over two years and has written thousands of articles covering streaming trends, movie/TV analysis, and pop culture breakdowns.
Before Screen Rant, he was a Senior Writer for The Cinemaholic, covering everything from anime to television, from reality TV to movies.
After high school, he was on his way to become a Civil Engineer. However, he soon realized that writing was his true calling. As a result, he took a leap and never looked back.
A Netflix action franchise's return has been confirmed, which promises that it is beating both Transformers and G.I. Joe at their own game. After Transformers: Rise of the Beasts' ending hinted at a potential crossover between the Autobots and the G.I. Joe, it became hard not to anticipate the franchise's future. Initially, there were also rumors that Chris Hemsworth was being eyed for a role in the crossover.
While it is unfortunate that Transformers: Rise of the Beasts' cliffhanger will not get a worthy payoff, viewers who were looking forward to the crossover can now invest their time in another franchise. Netflix's War Machine is officially getting a sequel after performing incredibly well on the streaming service. Considering its similarities with Transformers & G.I. Joe, it seems like their perfect replacement.
Transformers & GI Joe’s Live-Action Crossover May Never Happen, But War Machine Is The Next Best Thing
War Machine is not directly connected to the Transformers and G.I. Joe franchises. It has also been compared to 1987's Predator. However, a closer look at its action and storytelling seems to suggest it can easily qualify as a Transformers and G.I. Joe crossover. Alan Ritchson's character in the movie, "81," seems to perfectly fall into the Duke or Roadblock archetype.
Other main heroes in the series also belong to the Ranger Assessment and Selection Program (RASP), making them reminiscent of the G.I. Joes. Even the overarching alien threat in War Machine seems less like the Yautja or the Xenomorphs. Instead, it is portrayed as a large piece of mecha terror that has the ability to disguise itself as a military settlement.
When the rangers in the movie try to attack it, it literally transforms itself into a full-fledged machine that uses advanced machinery to attack the soldiers. Its transformation alone makes it reminiscent of Transformers. It comes off more as an evil Decepticon when it mindlessly targets humans and attempts to eliminate them.
Early moments from Netflix's War Machine also establish that the alien threat arrived on Earth through a comet, likely from a distant planet. This again reminds one of Cybertronian lore where Decepticons and Autobots gradually arrive on Earth after their war-torn planet, Cybertron, begins to crumble.
War Machine's ending moments further cement it as an unofficial G.I. Joe versus Transformers movie when it reveals that the "asteroid" was actually an entire vanguard of alien war machines launching a global invasion.
With Ritchson's "81" getting the opportunity to lead humanity's resistance against the evil alien threat in the upcoming sequel, War Machine will become a high-octane mashup of military action and robot warfare, echoing the core premise that has long defined the G.I. Joe–Transformers crossover fantasy.
War Machine Is The Transformers Vs. GI Joe Live-Action Replacement We’ve Wanted For Years
Given how War Machine has already established its alien characters as major threats to humanity, it will probably not feature another friendly set of aliens like the Autobots. If it does, though, it could potentially become even more like Transformers.
Interestingly, even though War Machine received more of a lukewarm response from critics, it seems to have a far more emotional and relatable story than all the G.I. Joe movies. Instead of merely relying on spectacle, the film also effectively makes a narrative device out of its main character's PTSD and guilt to walk through a cathartic story.
This arguably makes it far more memorable and well-rounded than the G.I. Joe movies.
As War Machine will further expand the scale of its storytelling and mecha action sequences, it will potentially feel more and more like a worthy Transformers replacement. While the Transformers and G.I. Joe live-action crossover may not ever happen, Netflix's War Machine seems to scratch the same itch by riffing on the best ingredients that have previously made both franchises work on the big screens.
What's Your Reaction?
Like
0
Dislike
0
Love
0
Funny
0
Wow
0
Sad
0
Angry
0
Comments (0)