Peter Cullen has died at the age of 85. While many will remember him as the voice of Optimus Prime from the animated series all the way into the movies, he has also been the voice of many other iconic characters. He took on the voice of Mario in the “Donkey Kong” TV series and even voiced Eeyore throughout many “Winnie-the-Pooh” movies.
Of course, there is the wish to honor the icon, and that means looking out for the last projects. While his last movie was in 2023, he was on our TV screens for the last three years, and some of them may surprise you!
Peter Cullen’s Last Movie Was a ‘Transformers’ One
GettyOne of the works most people know Cullen for is “Transformers.” From the 1980s, he took on the voice of Optimus Prime, and there is nobody else we can imagine doing it now. There was never any mistaking him, and when the Michael Bay movies happened in the 2000s, he came back to reprise that role in style.
His last ever movie role was a “Transformers” one. He returned to bring us Optimus Prime one more time in “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts,” and it’s possibly one of the best for the character. Throughout the film, the Autobots had to work with new human allies as another threat came after them, and Optimus Prime makes it clear that while evil cannot ever be fully vanquished, it can be trapped, and together, the Autobots would stand a chance.
One of the standout lines from the entire movie is when Optimus says: “Time to show you the real POWER OF A PRIME!!!”
Unfortunately, “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” is currently streaming on Paramount+ with a subscription. You can also purchase it on Digital via Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play, or wherever you get your digital releases, or on DVD and Blu-ray, so you can watch whenever you want.
He unfortunately didn’t return for the animated movie “Transformers One,” made in 2024. This was an origins story for Optimus Prime, and Chris Hemsworth voiced the character.
Peter Cullen Was on Our TV Screens Even In 2026
GettyDespite not in movies after 2023, Cullen was still on our screens. In fact, he returned to the voice of Optimus Prime on two occasions in surprising ways. The first was in the video game “Fortnite: Chapter 4,” and the second was on “The Masked Singer.”
Then in 2026, he voiced a character who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect what he believed was right, and now that ending is sad for many. He voiced Thadeus, the first Viltrumite to turn against his own empire. After assassinating the ruling Emperor Argall, he founded the Coalition of Planets with Allen the Alien becoming his closest ally.
During “Invincible” Season 4, he decided it was time to join Nolan and Mark to fight against Planet Viltrum, but it led to his death, following the same storyline told in the graphic novels.
You can stream all four seasons of “Invincible” on Prime Video. There is a fifth season in the works, and that’s expected to arrive in 2027. There may be more of a memorial to Thadeus as a way to honor Cullen’s work within the role.
