This December, Paramount Pictures and Hasbro take their first step in shifting the Transformers franchise from the ‘Bayverse’ with the release of the series’ first spinoff movie, the 80s-set Bumblebee. And, according to producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura, another fan favourite Autobot may well be next in line for the solo movie treatment.
“We’ve gotten a lot of feedback from the fans that they wanted us to do a deep dive on one or two of the robots, because they wanted to get to know them better,” di Bonaventura tells EW. “Bumblebee was selected because he’s such a loved figure, and he’s also more emotional than Optimus. Those were the two likely characters.
[Optimus] is a stoic leader, and you can count on him, whereas Bumblebee is the one who is more emotionally volatile. He has a lot of ups and downs. So it seemed like the best character to try for the first time zeroing in on one Autobot. I’d certainly like to do [an Optimus Prime movie]. It would be a very different kind of movie than a Bumblebee movie, but equally interesting and different.”
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It has been rumoured that Optimus Prime will make an appearance in the Bumblebee spinoff, which means we may well get to see a live-action take on the classic 1980s Generation One Optimus design this December – something that is sure to prove a memorable Christmas present for long time Transformers fans.
On the run in the year 1987, Bumblebee finds refuge in a junkyard in a small Californian beach town. Charlie (Hailee Steinfeld), on the cusp of turning 18 and trying to find her place in the world, discovers Bumblebee, battle-scarred and broken. When Charlie revives him, she quickly learns this is no ordinary, yellow VW bug.
Bumblebee is directed by Travis Knight (Kubo and the Two Strings), and stars Hailee Steinfeld (Edge of Seventeen), Pamela Adlon (Better Things), John Cena (Daddy’s Home 2), Stephen Schneider (Broad City), Jorge Lendeborg Jr. (Spider-Man: Homecoming), Jason Drucker (Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul), Kenneth Choi (American Crime Story), Ricardo Hoyos (Degrassi: Next Class), Abby Quinn (Landline), Rachel Crow (Deidra & Laney Rob a Train), Grace Dzienny (Zoo) and John Ortiz (Kong: Skull Island). It is set for release on December 21st 2018.
