No one was quite sure what to think when news first broke that the ‘Transformers’ franchise would be spinning fan-favorite character Bumblebee off into his own movie, but now it looks like the movie might be a step in the right direction for the franchise. Abandoning series director Michael Bay for Travis Knight (famous for working with stop-motion studio Laika on such films as ‘Paranorman,’ ‘Kubo and the Two Strings,’ and ‘Coraline’), Knight looks to be bringing a fresh perspective to the universe, and potentially a level of, almost art, to a franchise that has long been defined by loud noises and violent chaos.
In the featurette, Knight stated:
“At Laika, we try to find an artful balance of darkness and light and intensity and warmth and humor and heart. The idea of being able to bring that kind of philosophy to Bumblebee was really exciting…I was a child of the ‘80s. I grew up loving those classic, Spielbergian coming-of-age tales, and that was something that I wanted to bring to Bumblebee.”
The featurette has interviews with Knight and star Hailee Steinfeld speaking on the specialness of the movie, the fun of going “back in time” to see the origins of Bumblebee on Earth and what makes him tick, and how they hope to bring a whole new perspective to the franchise with this movie. Make sure to check out the full featurette for yourself (right below), and share your thoughts on the film (which will hit theaters this December) in the comments below!
And here’s the latest synopsis for the film:
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.