TheTransformersfranchise is getting in on the recent bout of 80s nostalgia withBumblebee.Transformers: The Last Knightlooks like it is going to be all over the place, in terms of its timeline. So we can’t definitively say that we won’t see Mark Wahlberg and Optimus Prime hanging out with E.T. just yet. But next year, it is going to be Bumblebee jamming out to synth pop and hair metal. According to a new report, the upcomingBumblebeespin-off movie is going to be set in the 1980s.
Empire Magazine recently released a fairly in-depth article on theTransformerscinematic universe, detailing the writer’s room that mapped out the future of the franchise, including the upcomingTransformers: The Last Knight.Transformers World 2005got hold of the article and in it, the reveal is made that theBumblebeemovie is going to be a period piece set in the 80s. That’s one way to make this movie different from the otherTransformersmovies. Here’s what the Empire article had to say about the first ever spin-off set in this universe.
“A Bumblebee spin-off, conceived and written by Christina Hodson, is being directed by Kubo And The Two Strings' Travis Knight for a 2018 release. Set in the 1980s, it will feature considerably fewer Transformers, concentrating on the big, yellow star (who in the movies so far can only talk via snippets of radio broadcasts) and likely pitching a little younger, tonally.”
Much of that information is old news. We have known for a good while that Christina Hodson, whose stock has been rising in Hollywood lately, as she has also been tapped to writeGotham City Sirensfor Warner Bros., is aboard here. It was also revealed several months ago thatKubo and the Two Strings' Travis Knightwill make his live-action feature directing debut with theBumblebeemovie, which will mark the first time aTransformers moviehas not been directed by Michael Bay. While many may consider that a good thing, Bay has made the franchise very successful, at least financially speaking. So Paramount is taking a bit of a risk here.
As for the setting, thanks to shows likeStranger Things, 80s nostalgia is pretty big right now. Not to mention that theTransformersanimated series was airing during that time, so that could be interesting to play with in theBumblebee spin-off movie. It is hard to comment on it further, since plot details on the movie are being kept under wraps for now. Beyond that, we do know thatEdge of SeventeenstarHailee Steinfeldhas been tapped to play the lead in the firstTransformersspin-off.
It has been said previously that theBumblebeemovie, which is set to hit theaters onJune 8, 2018, will be a cheaper movie to make than most of the otherTransformersmovies. Having less big, expensive CGI robots in the movie is one way to do that. Also, aiming it at a younger audience is something interesting to consider. In any case, since the firstTransformersmovie took place in 2007 and, at least at the time, it seemed like Bumblebee was new to Earth, there will have to be some sort of explanation as to why he is hanging around on our planet in the 1980s. Then again, this is aTransformersmovie and that may be asking a bit much.
