Season 9 Discussion Thread [Warning: SPOILERS!!!!!]

My biggest fear was, they would shelf the mane six and start over. But that would be crazy from a business point of view. The mane six are the franchise. They’re a proven success. Why ditch that and go with untested unknowns?

@Applelight Limited  
The way I see it they’re no different from characters like Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Megatron, etc.,
 
I don’t want them to remove the core of the characters, but I would like to see them try new things with them as well.

@Kiryu-Chan  
You hit the nail on the head.
 
The mane six are now as important to mlp as those characters are to transformers. Sure, mess around with their designs and put them in new settings but don’t ditch them.

I just hope we get some news about G5 soon. It’s very unlikely, but it still may happen!

@Kiryu-Chan  
According to Vector Prime, Equestrians and Cybertronians already met before

I really doubt G5 will try to do anything remotely similar to G4, mostly to avoid being compared to it.

@Anonycat  
Outside of maybe having some of the background characters from G4, it would be best to see some newer characters and the like for G5 for that very reason.

@The Equestrian Zodiac  
I mean, it’s obvious it will use the same characters, but I don’t think they will even try to make them behave the same way their G4 versions did, or much less refer to anything from G4 to avoid being compared to that generation.

@Anonycat  
I doubt they’ll resist a few jokes.
 
“Her, a princess? Pfft! yeah right.”

@Applelight Limited  
I think you’re being a bit myopic there. It’s too soon to expect any more of a connection than from G3 to G4.

@Latecomer  

 
It did seem like they were going that way, but it’s been a long time since the leaks.
 
Personally, I’m not entirely on board with just recycling the cast. Talking about Transformers, I remember when Bulkhead and Ratchet pretty much leapt from “Animated” to “Prime” as nearly exactly the same characters, just with new voice actors. It felt… uncomfortable (though to be fair, I did learn to love them).
 
…still every time I question changing up the cast, I feel like I’m championing the “Let’s kill Applejack” people.
 
At the end of the day, if it’s done well I’ll accept almost any solution to the issue. Though I will be disappointed if more than one of the cast is pretty much identical to her G4 self, as… I mean, after ten years, we really do need a clean break.

I still think that going with rebooted G1 characters would be a better idea.

@Mildgyth  
yeaaaah naah.

@Mildgyth  
I will note that the Tranformers Prime Optimus and Megatron pretty much were their G1 selves complete with the same voice actors, updated for the new era and given a portrayal routed in their decades of experience since. They’re easily my two favorite interpretations of the characters.
 
I would much prefer that over G4 redux. G4 redux would be great… in a couple of decades. But not the very next generation, that doesn’t even get the ‘nostalgia’ excuse for creative sterility.

@Mildgyth  
Wasn’t that the plan for G4, but changed because they actually couldn’t?

Hmm.

@Philweasel  
So are you saying that you’d like to see the middle aged mane six? In the show as secondary characters?

@Applelight Limited  
Huh? How does that fit with what philweasel said?

@Latecomer  
philweasel said that TP Optimus and Megatron were their G1 selves updated for the new era and with the experience added on.
 
I just assumed that if the same thing was applied to the mane six, we’d have wiser middle aged mane six. They did say they’d prefer something like that over a G4 redux.

Watched Big Mac Question.
 
Why does it feel like the characters were given the Idiot Ball for the plot to work?

@Applelight Limited  
The actors were older and wiser.
 
Well… the characters too, but how much does a couple thousand years mean to a Transformer?
 
Though there was an element of age there, I mean Peter Cullen is 78, but that was less portrayed as a physical thing and more a quieter, more cynical depiction that presented them less as relatable figures for kids, and more as figures of authority. It’s an example how you can add depth and new facets to a very recognisable character, while still having them very much the same people.

@Philweasel  
Oh I get you now.
 
So would you want the mane six to stay or go? Or just take a back seat?

@Latecomer
 
Yes.

@Applelight Limited  
As I said, done well I would accept anything. But I would prefer the characters substantially changed at the very least, and honestly would feel most comfortable if they completely changed the lineup.
 
If Twilight’s a purple unicorn mary sue with anxiety issues, let’s just say my interest in G5 starts getting a little shaky.