After five increasingly exhausting films from Michael Bay, the new Bumblebee spinoff could be exactly what the franchise needs at this point. Paramount aren’t hitting the reset button on Transformers just yet, either, and from what we understand, Travis Knight’s entry into the series still exists within the continuity of its widely disparaged predecessors.
Therefore, it makes perfect sense that the yellow Volkswagen Beetle won’t be the only giant robot to star in the upcoming blockbuster. It was already confirmed that head honcho Optimus Prime would have a part in the film, too, and he makes a brief appearance in this latest full-length trailer for the movie. It follows on from a few teasers that dropped over the weekend and along with the international version (seen below), paints a picture of what’s to come this winter.
Packed full of action, teases of a coming of age story and a surprising amount of heart, it looks like Bumblebee will be a bit of a departure from what we’re used to when it comes to the Transformers franchise, but as we said above, it also might be just what it needs after the last few entries have underwhelmed. If nothing else, it looks a heck of a lot better than The Last Knight.
Speaking of which, in the wake of the relatively mediocre box office figures of last year’s release, this once monstrously successful property is now at something of a creative crossroads, suggesting that the lower-budgeted, modestly scaled Bumblebee may not be the worst direction in which to take the sci-fi series.
Transformers producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura thinks it’s time for a change, too, and recently explained that the upcoming spinoff explores new territory as a way of helping the franchise to adapt and survive.
If you don’t change up, you’re also taking a risk. It’s one of those things where there is no simple answer. You’re taking a risk no matter what you do when you make a big expensive movie, so why not change the formula completely and really hang in there?
Bumblebee rolls into theaters on December 21st and shares its US premiere date with James Wan’s Aquaman. The former will also herald a soft reboot of the Transformers franchise, one that’s being helmed by someone other than Michael Bay – which is certainly a good thing, wouldn’t you say?