Ron Perlman to voice Optimus Primal in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts

Ron Perlman will lend his voice to 'Transformers: Rise of the Beasts'.

The 71-year-old actor has been tapped to voice Optimus Primal in the latest film in the franchise.

Optimus Primal is the fearless leader of the Maximals and Perlman has previously voiced the character in the animated series 'Transformers: Power of the Primes'.

The film will be set in 1994 and takes place in New York and Machu Pichu, even though the central characters are based in Brooklyn.

The motion picture will be directed by Steven Caple Jr and produced by Lorenzo Di Bonaventura. Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback are to feature in starring roles.

The film is slated for release next year and there will be clashes between different tribes of alien robots. One of the breeds, referenced in the title, is known as Beast Wars.

The story sees the Beast War robots go to war with natural enemies the Predacons, meaning that the Autobots and Maximals must team up to save the world.

Lorenzo recently hinted to fans that there will be "villains you've never seen" in the new flick.

He said: "You're going to see villains you've never seen, Autobots you've never seen, elements we've never done before.

"One of the driving decisions along the way is, 'Have we done that before?' Whether that's an action scene or a character."

Anthony also gave fans a hint of what they can expect from his character, the former military electronics expert Noah.

The 29-year-old actor said: "He's all about taking care of the people he loves. (He comes) from a lower-income home, so Noah's always hustling.

"The one thing I love about Noah is his tenacity and his heart, and his will to never quit, in spite of all the crazy things life is throwing at him.

"Then, it's amazing to see his journey when we venture out into the world, when the humans meet bots and things start to happen."