Yesterday, at the Global Consumer Conference, Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner spoke fairly candidly about their plans for the expanded Transformers Cinematic Universe. The biggest news is the hint at a future spin-off film focusing on Autobot Bumblebee.
According to TFW2005.com (via Coming Soon), Goldner says, “As we go forward, we would imagine several more Transformers movies. Not just in the current lineage but also spinoffs and focusing on certain key characters that a beloved by the world over. Many of you know Bumblebee; the yellow Camaro… formally known as a yellow VW Bug and he is a beloved character by kids all over the world. We could see stories told around Bumblebee and other characters.”
The idea of expanding the Transformers franchise is an obvious choice for the studio and Hasbro. Last year, Transformers: Age of Extinction was the only film to cross the $1 billion dollar mark globally, while also receiving horrible reviews, proving this franchise is one of the biggest money-makers in Hollywood. I’m curious to see how they’ll expand the series and how much involvement key players like Michael Bay will have moving forward.
With Bumblebee, Paramount and Hasbro have a golden opportunity to go with a smaller scale film. Bumblebee is a character loved by audiences because of his deep affection for his human companions and, I’d argue, the heart of the film series to date. Sure, Optimus Prime provides the best action scenes and dialogue for the robots, but Bumblebee steals many of the scenes. Hire a younger actor to pair with Bumblebee and give the film a more intimate setting, and you have the chance to create a memorable film that’s more than just explosions and exotic locations.
Like it or not, the world is going to be getting a lot more Transformers in the future. In the last couple weeks, we’ve heard about the writers being brought on to shape the universe, and even a potential prequel film set on the Transformers’ home planet of Cybertron. Now with the hint at a Bumblebee film, it looks like we’ll be getting a steady stream of Autobots vs. Decepticons in the future.
