MediaWiki - User contributions [en]

MediaWiki talk:Community Portal

2024-09-17T15:01:30Z

96megatron: /* CHECKPOINT (2024/09/16) */

__NEWSECTIONLINK__

This is the place for discussion of topics that affect the entire wiki. For less wide-reaching subjects, either use articles' individual talk pages or [https://discord.com/invite/N99Bygq our Discord server.]

Some topics that would ordinarily be here have merited their own pages:

{{chapters|title=Specific Discussion Subjects|align=left|content=
<div class="list-header">'''Moving From Wikia:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Arriving|Arriving]]
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Leaving|Leaving]]
* [[Transformers Wiki:Community Portal/Complaints|Complaints]]
<br/><div class="list-header">'''New Ad Policy:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki:Ads|Ads]]
<br/><div class="list-header">'''Bookworm Database-Crash:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Damage Control Central|Damage Control Central]]
* [[Project:Bookworm Crash]]
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Leaving2|Leaving Take 2]]
<br/><div class="list-header">'''Server Move:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Arriving2|Arriving Take 2]]
<br/><div class="list-header">'''Relicensing:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Relicensing|Relicensing]]
<br/><div class="list-header">'''Dealing With Vandalism:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Vandalism|Vandalism]]
<br/><div class="list-header">'''GoBots Sister Wiki:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/GoBots|Discussion on the place of GoBots in this wiki]]
<br/> <div class="list-header">'''Wiki Technical Information:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki:Tech|A Not So Brief Summary of the Horrible Things That McFly and Co. Have Done To Keep This Wiki From Melting Down]]
}}<br/>

{{:{{FULLPAGENAMEE}}/Archive}}


== Press release or logo for 30,000 articles? ==
Is it worth putting something together as we get very very close? Maybe something like:
* 3 from Thrilling 30 logo
* 0 from the 40th logo
* 0 from the Vector Sigma "Featured" logo
* 0 from the cosmic-streaking O in the TFTM opener
* 0 from GO!

Just a suggestion.... --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 13:45, 10 November 2023 (EST)
:If we wanted to go down that route, maybe tie into some of the contemporary material? Say, the "O"s from [[Energon Universe]] or [[Transformers: Legacy#Legacy: Evolution|Evolution]]? (Though the latter isn't exactly straight-on...) --[[User:Broadside|Broadside]] ([[User talk:Broadside|talk]]) 14:38, 10 November 2023 (EST)
::Sure! I lean towards the Energon Universe choice. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 15:48, 10 November 2023 (EST)
:Apologies, I've corrected the count on the main page as it was inaccurate, so we're not as close as it looked like we were. --[[User:Abates|abates]] ([[User talk:Abates|talk]]) 16:20, 10 November 2023 (EST)
::That just means we have more time to decide and, if so, pull things together. :) -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 16:51, 10 November 2023 (EST)
:::Feels like we just leapt up 40 new articles in the last 2-3 days. Is it worth putting a graphic together? --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 22:47, 18 January 2024 (EST)

=="Multi-pack" vs "gift set" and suchlike==
Incoming semantics, but... as I've been going through the toy entries, been trying to standardize/streamline a lot of stuff, and I think maybe a set of consistent terms/definitions for "a bunch of separate toys packed together" is in order. So lemme throw this out here for discussion/future reference...
*'''Multi-pack''' — A pack of toys where the contents (or at least most/some/any of them) are exclusive to this release, not sold in other packaging. Most multi-toy releases nowadays would fall under this umbrella by default.
*'''Gift set''' — A pack of toys where all of the contents are/were concurrently (or close enough) sold individually as well, without changes, in the same market. Like all the various G1 combiner sets.
The latter brings up the question of if we want to label all the Takara "VS" packs and the various UT-era "VALUE PACK!" sets under that umbrella, which I'm ambivalent-to-marginally-in-favor-of over. Especially as Takara's been putting out new "VS" packs where the toys are new decos not available elsewhere... also we kinda made up the "VS pack" term anyway, as memory serves, so. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 20:15, 8 January 2024 (EST)
:Hasbro has used the word "[[Giftset]]" to refer to unique variants not available separately. I'm inclined to think we shouldn't directly contradict that. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 21:21, 8 January 2024 (EST)
::and damn but does that article need updating. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 21:22, 8 January 2024 (EST)
:::I'm inclined to think that Hasbro uses lots of terms in ways that are not exactly conducive to organizing a wiki. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 21:29, 8 January 2024 (EST)

==More bullet point insignia?==
Okay so... I recall there were some other possible faction symbol bullet points we could maybe use. I ran across a few with this batch of toy pics we might consider adding. I'll list them here, see if people can think of more. I feel like there might be a couple more two-faction matchups out there.
* Rescue Bots
* The various BotBots squads
* My First Transformers

I'm not un-convinced that we should have the bespoke insignia for stuff like the Disney Label, since they do use them on the packaging. So uh... there. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 01:51, 13 January 2024 (EST)
:Also, while looking at the list of all the bullets on the template page... maybe we should see if we can split the list up a smidge? Like, put all the mutli-faction icons in one section, a section just for BotBots since there's gonna be quite a few of them? Alphabetizing them might also be in order. (I have exactly zero idea how those templates are coded, so uh, lemme know if that's doable.) --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 04:42, 13 January 2024 (EST)
::There's also the [[Star Wars Transformers]]... though I'm not sure if using ''Star Wars'' insignia falls too much out of this wiki's scope, although we do use at least use them on the actual characters' pages (see [[Darth Vader]]). [[User:Turborun|Turborun]] ([[User talk:Turborun|talk]]) 10:34, 13 January 2024 (EST)
:::I don't think we'd use SW insignia because, near as I can tell, the toy packaging doesn't mark the toys that way. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 05:27, 14 January 2024 (EST)

== Idea for reducing the size of toy sections by compacting unchanged toy entries ==

I've come up with an idea that I think would make toy sections on character pages a little better and more intuitive. Instead of having a long list of entries for multiple releases of the exact same toy completely unchanged, we could just compact them all in a single entry, describing how the toy was available both individually and unchanged in a bunch of multipacks. This could be especially helpful with toy sections that are way too long, such as both the Movie Optimus Prime and Bumblebee toy pages that have been subject to a lot of discussion already.

[[User:Fritz/Optimus Prime (Movie)/toys|I used the 2007 Legends Class section of the Movie Optimus Prime toy page to make a quick example out of it.]] The entries would be reduced from four to two toys, since 3/4 of them are the same toy anyway, and a lot of white space would be removed. As for the images of the multipacks, I don't think we would be losing much in removing them since the wiki has never prioritized images of packagings for anything really and, as I know is written somewhere in the "rules", the wiki isn't supposed to be used as an image hosting website in the first place.

So, any thoughts? --[[User:Fritz|Fritz]] ([[User talk:Fritz|talk]]) 20:18, 20 January 2024 (EST)
: We used to do this and it was actually kind of worse. There's also complications when unchanged toys end up being sold under different franchise headers, and when you add in all the other bullet point data a toy/set might have, you could end up with a lonnnnng list of bullet points before you get to the actual writeup, plus describing the multi-packs' contents... you're not really saving space while also kinda hurting the demi-chronological flow of the information. And deleting the multi-pack package imagery feels very wrong. It's one of those cases where there's no real ideal situation, but there's a least-bad one.
:That said, it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to make sure the first entry mentions these "repacks" alongside the redecoes and links to the relevant items. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 21:34, 21 January 2024 (EST)
::Good points, as usual. Now that you mentioned it, I think I do have a vague memory of this being done in the past. I was going to suggest the repacks from different toylines should remain separate, though. My mentality was that maybe we could have a way to highlight the "main" releases (original and redecoes/retools) from the "minor" ones (unchanged repacks) to make it easier to identify in a glance how many actually-different toys were released within a toyline, but I wouldn't want it to cause ''more'' confusion than ''less''. Anyway thanks for taking the time to evaluate the idea. --[[User:Fritz|Fritz]] ([[User talk:Fritz|talk]]) 05:54, 22 January 2024 (EST)

==Repurposings, continuity transplants, and using Template:Main/Template:See to improve navigability==
I've gone back to the drawing board to come up with a way to signal to readers where closely-related pages exist, as I don't think [[Help:Disambiguation|disambiguation]] pages are enough and have found [[Template:OtherVersions]] to be unideal. [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Archive70#Proposal re: G1 pages|Previously]], I'd suggested merging a bunch of pages for so-called "[[Continuity family|continuity]] transplants", but other users convinced me this would be a poor solution. One alternative suggestion, from [[User:Broadside]], was to use [[Template:Main]] to put key links to a character's appearances in other continuity families directly in the fiction section—[[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Archive70#Handling of "former GoBots" and "former Diaclone" characters on the wiki|reactions at the time]] were neutral-positive. You can see mockups for [[User:Broadside/Sandbox:Cy-Kill|Cy-Kill]] and [[User:Broadside/Sandbox:Bug Bite|Bug Bite]]. This strikes me as the best of both worlds, because it keeps the consistent schema (which helps for page length and organisation) but also puts a link to the information in the place where your typical reader is expecting to find it (on the page for the highest-profile first incarnation of the character).

With the same philosophy in mind, I've also designed two new templates. The first, [[Template:Toyappeared]], is intended for use in toy write-ups as a way of linking to fiction write-ups and character pages. It covers [[repurposing]]s, "continuity transplants", notable instances of [[Show-accuracy|toy-accuracy]], in-fiction [[Reformatting|powerups]], [[Redeco#"Virtual" redecos|"virtual" redecos]], you name it. Toy write-ups are increasingly being duplicated across multiple character pages, which creates maintenance overhead, as both instances must be manually kept in sync. My suggestion is to use [[Template:See]] to link to the full information regarding a toy on the original page, with the repurposed instance giving only brief information of what the toy is and ''why'' it was repurposed or whatever. The second of my new templates has a much more specific intended use case: [[Template:Bwucharacter]] provides an easy way of explaining how/why a character was reinterpreted for their ''Uprising'' appearance, as ''Uprising'' accounts for most of the situations I view as being problematic.

I realise I'm proposing like five things at once here, so [[User:The Wadapan/sandbox/repurposing|my sandbox]] has [[User:The Wadapan/sandbox/repurposing#Full example|a full example]] demonstrating how it all works together, along with tons of individual examples of the templates' usage and a more thorough explanation of what I'm trying to address with them. Take a look, and let me know which aspects you like, which parts you don't like, or any ideas you have to add! —[[User:The Wadapan|The Wadapan]] ([[User talk:The Wadapan|talk]]) 06:24, 12 February 2024 (EST)
:I can vouch for these templates! [[User:ShootingStar7X|ShootingStar7X]] ([[User talk:ShootingStar7X|talk]]) 15:38, 26 February 2024 (EST)
: I'm seeing a lot of problems with the implementation of some of this, and a lot of future headaches. The ones rolled out put what look like stub headers in a fiction section with just a small normal missable note up top; and in Override's case in specific, multiple stubs with completely redundant information. What this is ''going'' to do is get new people thinking that these are missing information that needs to be filled, then we gotta revert it and tell them no all that goes elsewhere, which is utterly unintuitive and will just lead to arguments and headaches all around.
: As for toys, in the instances of BWU-type stuff where it's a one-toy Mini-Con or whatever, I feel like NOT having the actual toy info for them on the BWU page, as with the Mini-Con Snow Cat toy currently, is not doing the reader any favors. Quite the opposite. Why are we making them jump to a different page for information that has no reason to not be right there? I don't like making readers jump through hoops needlessly, and that's all this feels like. And it's not like the toy sections of most of these are gonna see major changes, so lack of cross-updating is very, very, very unlikely to be an issue.
: I really don't think these require new templates and a bunch of new-editor landmines. At most, there's a decent argument to be made for re-positioning the "you look familiar" template that already exists, maybe below the main character writeup (above feels like a bad layout choice, pushing all kinds of stuff down.) --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 02:11, 28 February 2024 (EST)

== Listings and accessories ==

When I was making the description for cannonball based on the Walmart listing, there was mention of a Gatling gun and hammer not shown in the stock images,and left them out.

If I run into this type of situation again, what do I do?[[User:Poliwag06|Poliwag06]] ([[User talk:Poliwag06|talk]]) 10:56, 7 March 2024 (EST)

== A few suggestions ==

Gallery pages should only include images that aren't easily accessed by going to the main page, to avoid cluttering. I guess this is not an issue now since the current gallery pages are fairly short.

There should be more dedication in listing alt-modes of characters. Maybe there should be a header or something. For example, if the Dreamwave version of [[Sunstorm (G1)#Dreamwave Generation One continuity|Sunstorm]] transforms into an F-16 jet, it should be listed in the beginning with a header for the sake of easy access to the said information.--[[User:Primestar3|Primestar3]] ([[User talk:Primestar3|talk]]) 13:59, 17 March 2024 (EDT)

== Will we get an article on The Masked Singer? ==

Will there be an article on TFWiki about The Masked Singer, specifically their recent "Transformers Night" episode (https://the-masked-singer.fandom.com/wiki/Transformers_Night)? --[[User:John Pannozzi|John Pannozzi]] ([[User talk:John Pannozzi|talk]]) 20:01, 12 April 2024 (EDT)

: Assuming it's a licensed appearance (I can't check the credits myself :C ), I can't think why it wouldn't be [[User:AkibaSilver|AkibaSilver]] ([[User talk:AkibaSilver|talk]]) 21:15, 12 April 2024 (EDT)

:: It was indeed licensed. --[[User:John Pannozzi|John Pannozzi]] ([[User talk:John Pannozzi|talk]]) 22:30, 12 April 2024 (EDT)
:::Yes, as an official Hasbro-sanctioned piece of TF media, the episode does meet our requirements for inclusion. It just needs someone to write it up. -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 23:22, 12 April 2024 (EDT)

== Franchise articles ==
So I was looking at the franchise pages to try and get an idea of what the standard is supposed to be for how they are written. Should all of them be updated to be more like the [[Beast Wars: Transformers (franchise)]] article? What was making me wonder this was that on the [[Transformers: Energon (franchise)]] article it had a section for "Homages" and one for "New characters" which I don't think any other franchise article has. --[[User:1levichurch|1levichurch]] ([[User talk:1levichurch||talk]]) 22:57, 21 April 2024 (UTC)

== AI upscaled images ==
With fresh offsite talks about the matter, I put forth we add an official policy against posting AI upscaled images of any kind to the wiki, owing to their subpar performance in "enhancing" the quality of images. [[User:McBaggins|McBaggins]] ([[User talk:McBaggins|talk]]) 23:52, 1 May 2024 (EDT)
:Agreed. It's literally faking information and presenting it as official. (Also often noticeably terrible.) Sometimes the best quality available of something sucks, but we simply have to deal. [[User:Saix|Saix]] ([[User talk:Saix|talk]]) 23:57, 1 May 2024 (EDT)
::100 percent agreed. It's called "artificial" for a reason. Plenty of details would be lost out through the upscaling, and several times errors on the wiki somehow became official through Hastak using the wiki for references (the whole [[Circular reporting]] thing). If we start allowing AI upscaled images, then we're likely to have things lost to the annals of time. Potato quality is better than lost quality[[User:Singularity|Singularity]] ([[User talk:Singularity|talk]]) 00:11, 2 May 2024 (EDT)
: Sure. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 00:43, 2 May 2024 (EDT)

== Ending addition of high-end statues ==
This is something I doubt other people have noticed, but I'm putting down a tent-peg on it: After having built the entries for dozens of high-end collectable TF statues in the last 2-3 years, from firms like Diamond Select, Imaginarium, Azure Sea, XM Studios, etc., and then seeing most of them either officially cancelled or never spoken of again with no reported purchases, I am going to stop adding such items here. If someone else feels like cataloguing them, great.

It really may not be possible for us to keep up with toy-like non-transforming merchandise (figurines and statues) the way we used to. There are at least two ''released'' series of G1 core cast micro-figurines with micro-comics and magnifying glasses, which would have been the rage of the fandom in 2005, that nobody ever got around to adding, and it feels like too much of a chore for me to start. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 10:35, 3 May 2024 (EDT)
: It's an unfortunate but very real thing that once you enter the world of licensed merch, we're ''gonna'' have big gaps. It's... a lot, on top of the "a lot" that is the regular TF toyline and fictional output today. I've said that the work involved in keeping up with all of TF's merch ought to be a full-time paying job, and I genuinely mean it. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 16:39, 3 May 2024 (EDT)

== Transformers Roleplaying Game releases on the front page and sidebar ==

The [[Transformers Roleplaying Game]] is getting pretty frequent releases of both sourcebooks and pre-written adventures, and it occurs to me that it might be a good idea to have it on the "current releases" section of the front page and/or the navigation sidebar. How would people feel about that? --[[User:Broadside|Broadside]] ([[User talk:Broadside|talk]]) 15:49, 4 May 2024 (EDT)
: I think that makes a lot of sense, as long as we have people keeping up with the new releases to document them. -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 15:51, 4 May 2024 (EDT)

==How we handle weapons' toy/merch sections==
Okay, so like... I'm not really convinced that what we've been doing is the best way to handle the weapon pages' toys/merch sections. Honestly, they end up looking... really shoddy. There's just tiny scraps of info, vast wads of whitespace, few to no links, the images are tons of different sizes. <br>
I'm thinking that instead of all this... maybe this is a place where a gallery is in order, just a chronological procession. Have the captions just say what lines/toys the weapons came with and link to the toys directly on the character page. It's not like there's much to say about any of these, why not let the toy listing on the character page say it? Why make people scroll through screens of mostly-emptiness, which I feel they're increasingly unlikely to do? I may do a sandbox if I'm feeling up to it. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 22:24, 6 May 2024 (EDT)
:[[User:M Sipher/Sandbox:WeaponPageToysSection]] - So... this, basically. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 22:39, 6 May 2024 (EDT)
:I'd be on board with that. --[[User:Broadside|Broadside]] ([[User talk:Broadside|talk]]) 22:34, 6 May 2024 (EDT)
:I like it. It would be far more compact than our current approach for, say, [[Fusion cannon#Toys]], while still getting the point across. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 11:13, 10 May 2024 (EDT)

==Proposal for Unproduced or Unreleased Template==
I don't think the Apocrypha template is particularly useful. It was created specifically for Alignment, but most of the things in it don't fit that criteria. Something like Unproduced or Unreleased Transformer media would be more self explanatory. [[User:WillR113|WillR113]] ([[User talk:WillR113|talk]]) 07:05, 11 May 2024 (EDT)

== Use of pictures from ebay, fan sites, etc ==

Is it appropriate to use pictures of toys from ebay, fan reviews, video review screenshots and the like? Under fair use and with source credit? Sometimes rarer items we don't have good pictures of on the wiki show up in these places. In particular I found a ebay seller with good images of EZ collection toys and and old Japanese review blog with images of Takara variants of HFTD/Autobot Alliance toys so that got me wondering. —[[User:BluJayWarrior|BluJayWarrior]] ([[User talk:BluJayWarrior|talk]]) 10:10, 12 May 2024 (EDT)
:Images from eBay and other fan sites have been and can continue to be used, giving the fullest source credit feasible. I don't think we've ever needed to rely on video review screenshots and would always prefer to have a "normal" still image instead whenever possible. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 11:02, 16 May 2024 (EDT)

== ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' “再構成版” エピソード視聴ガイド "Re-Configuration Version" aka "Re-Constructed Version" Episode Viewing Guide ==

We really need to document the "canon" Japanese viewing order for ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' & ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers 2010'' originally included with the ''Pioneer'' Laserdisc booklets & later apparently revised by [[Hirofumi Ichikawa]] (市川裕文) for the DVD BOX SET 2 Instruction Booklet as it would help clean-up the chronology on many wiki pages here. From what I've been able to gather this particular viewing order differs from both the US/Japan production orders, the US-Airing order and the Japanese-Airing order. So what exactly is the order of the episodes of these two series according to these documents? Does anyone own them and able to list the specific order in which the episodes appear in those LD/DVD "Instruction Booklets" word-for-word? As it stands, we've only mentioned that a "narrative viewing order" exists but do not have it listed anywhere. For further clarification, it is not the order in which the episodes appear on the Japanese DVDs. [[User:Astrobotix|Astrobotix]] ([[User talk:Astrobotix|talk]]) 01:09, 15 May 2024 (EDT)
:While this information would be valuable and is worth documenting, it's unlikely to result in us making any major changes to the way our information is structured. -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 17:31, 16 May 2024 (EDT)
:Okay, having seen the booklets in question, it just lists the episodes in production order, continuity errors and all. So...absolutely no change, then. -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 20:44, 17 May 2024 (EDT)

== Documenting MSRP? ==

Would it be worth documenting MSRP prices (in usd at least)? For the regular retail classes that's for the most part covered by the [[size class]] page, but we don't keep track of them for more specialty items like Masterpieces, multipacks, exclusives, one-off releases not in a normal size class, special lines like Missing Link, etc. It's something I find personally interesting and would've liked to know for older figures and someone in the future might want to know about today's releases. It can also offer some neat bits of info like how Premium Finish releases were generally one price point up compared to the figure's size or how the upcoming United Cliffjumper multipack is a whole $30 off what the individual figures would cost --[[User:BluJayWarrior|BluJayWarrior]] ([[User talk:BluJayWarrior|talk]]) 14:20, 21 May 2024 (EDT)
:I think this would be very interesting, particularly when you scroll down pages for G1 toys that got multiple reissues like the Seekers, Insecticons, and tape players. It's just that - like the Designer Notes and the proper insignias on each and every toy - it would take forever to add and would probably wind up being one super-dedicated person having to do most of the work. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 14:28, 21 May 2024 (EDT)
::I might try to do what I can, going back to recatalogue everything would definitely be a chore. But at the very least I strongly believe it's something we can and should implement for future toy entries. I've started a [[User:BluJayWarrior/Sandbox|MSRP Sandbox]] to try out a few formats, any feedback is appreciated. --[[User:BluJayWarrior|BluJayWarrior]] ([[User talk:BluJayWarrior|talk]]) 05:18, 23 May 2024 (EDT)
::Cleaned up the sandbox page. Anyone have anything to say about the format? Might try applying Style 1 to a few pages this weekend if no one makes any objections. [[User:BluJayWarrior|BluJayWarrior]] ([[User talk:BluJayWarrior|talk]]) 12:58, 24 May 2024 (EDT)
:::Of those options I like Style 1 the best. As you already noted, the [[size class]] pages covers basically all normal U.S. retail from BW through Legacy, missing things like Platinum and MP. To find contemporary G1 prices, here are some good resources:
:::https://web.archive.org/web/20181125082555/https://pleasesavemerobots.com/vstp/vstptf84.html
:::https://web.archive.org/web/20191114081109/http://pleasesavemerobots.com/vstp/vstptf85.html
:::https://web.archive.org/web/20191114091052/http://pleasesavemerobots.com/vstp/vstptf86.html
:::https://web.archive.org/web/20191114090836/http://pleasesavemerobots.com/vstp/vstptf87.html
:::https://web.archive.org/web/20191114084922/http://pleasesavemerobots.com/vstp/vstptf88.html
:::https://web.archive.org/web/20191114081716/http://pleasesavemerobots.com/vstp/vstptf89.html
:::https://web.archive.org/web/20191114085830/http://pleasesavemerobots.com/vstp/vstptf90.html
:::https://www.tfw2005.com/boards/threads/g1-original-retail-price-listing.1167895/
:::I tried looking for G2 MSRP but couldn't find anything as obvious. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 13:24, 24 May 2024 (EDT)
::::Thanks for the sources, gonna have to sort through that later. Planning to start with new ROTB characters since they're smaller pages and prices can still be found. I've decided to add prices for retail classes for reader convenience; not everyone will know to go to the size class page for them and its not linked often enough to make it reasonable they would. [[User:BluJayWarrior|BluJayWarrior]] ([[User talk:BluJayWarrior|talk]]) 14:22, 24 May 2024 (EDT)

: I'd been working on a project like this a long time ago, had originally proposed adding this to the wiki, but then kinda stopped... mostly because near as I could tell, the MSRP in the 80s was something retailers could just make the hell up. The price ranges for any given toy were kinda all over the damn place, and the MSRP was something some retailers used to go "no really we're cheaper SEE?" then make up some price they supposedly "discounted" down from... you know, the thing that got Kay-Bee in legal-type troubles. I was increasingly unsure how to handle that wild price variance concisely on the wiki. In fact...
::https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1PBE2i9vLE6fkr933GQbXosA1cxIqB3CkOSnzW0BMdwc/edit#gid=448439989
: Take a look-see. There's at least three different MSRP values for the standard Headmasters, never mind actual sticker prices. Like, I ''want'' to provide this kind of context, I really do, and it's pretty easy once we get to the unified price points of BW on... but for G1 and G2? Woof. That's going to take a bit of mulling. "Average" price maybe, but there's gonna be some Prices Georg here and there throwing shit off. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 16:35, 24 May 2024 (EDT)
::RE: The sandbox... I'm gonna have to vote against Style 1, because, as noted, price info is very likely going to get... cluttered, and the longer that parenthetical is, the worse it is. I'd REALLY like to keep that to just "size class/type (if not obvious) and release year". And don't forget Takara-release prices, which can be more flexible even within a size class... but at least those have been ''extensively'' documented. I think we need to talk about bit more about everything we'd need to cover and ''how'' before we go implementing anything, and get a few more people in on the discussion. (Sorry for all the add-ons, lightly scattered today.) --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 18:18, 24 May 2024 (EDT)
:::Fair enough on the old stuff since that gets convoluted, but the newer stuff is comparatively easier to do and I'd rather start sooner before some MSRP prices get harder to find (ROTB Autobots Unite subline prices seem to have disappeared already). Added the ROTB Airazor page I was gonna start with to the sandbox so you can see how the page might look as a whole. Since you object to Style 1 I added a Style 2 version too. --[[User:BluJayWarrior|BluJayWarrior]] ([[User talk:BluJayWarrior|talk]]) 18:38, 24 May 2024 (EDT)
:::: Assemble the data, sure, but I am going to say do ''not'' actually apply any of this to live articles. Again, there's barely been any time or discussion on a project that is... vast in scope, and we simply do not jump on stuff like this right away, because that means things will get not considered and then we have to re-do hundreds to thousands of pages... and we absolutely do ''not'' do it when there's a giant obvious gap (the first decade of the franchise) that still needs to be considered, as how we handle ''that'' will affect how we handle all the others, because we try and keep things consistent.
:::: Like, just off the top of my head, there's non-US-or-Japan markets to consider for just about everything normal-retail. Which makes me think we may want to look into a collapsible template, like with the toy designers and voice actors, to handle the other markets without overloading the bullet point sections, some of which are already a bit husky. There's the fact that Walmart and Target just dropped the prices on TF Deluxes in the US... but apparently, Hasbro didn't change their "MSRP"/cost at all. In fact a quick jump to Hasbro Pulse shows they're still charging $25 for a ''Legacy/Studio'' Deluxe, while I can pop to the local Target/Walmart and buy 'em at $20, so we gotta consider ranges just like with G1/G2. And again... ''I'm moderately convinced that "MSRP" in the USA was bullshit all along,'' so I don't know that it's the term we even want to use in the first place. Maybe "Retail price" would be better. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 00:17, 25 May 2024 (EDT)
:::::I think just documenting the MSRP, if we know it, is enough. No need to go down the rabbit hole of tracking down what individual retailers sell them at when they disregard the MSRP (which as, after all, only a suggested price). In my opinion, at least, it's little different from listing the cover prices of books - the only difference is that Hasbro doesn't print their suggested price directly on the box.
:::::Totally hear you on waiting to the pull the trigger until it's been properly discussed, though. Also, I prefer BluJay's Style 2 as well. -- [[User:Dark T Zeratul|Dark T Zeratul]] ([[User talk:Dark T Zeratul|talk]]) 03:46, 25 May 2024 (EDT)
:::::: Um, the problem is, again... I really don't think we HAVE any actual MSRPs outside of Takara's. What's been cataloged here are just "prices they were sold at", which isn't ''specifically'' a Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price, the specific price suggested specifically by the manufacturer. Those we'd need a source for, and as I've pointed out, the handful of stated "MSRP"s we've seen for Hasbro stuff... well, someone was lying, likely multiple someones. For BW on we have a pretty strong ''inference'' of MSRP, but, well. And even that's not reliable... I just remembered that Walmart and Target were charging markedly different prices for the ''EarthSpark'' Tacticons, like, a $2 diff.
:::::: What I'm saying is, we might want to just not call it "MSRP" because of that (also, frankly I question how many people even recognize that acronym). And because of the wide variance in prices for older stuff, no, we don't need to list every price at every retailer (there were a billion retailers in the 80s... man, remember when actual competition in the market was a thing?), but we really OUGHT to account for the variance somehow, because it can be wide and ''full''. "''Original price''" might be best, since that's what we're actually reporting here, with something like "$2.99 - $4.99 (US) / ¥500 (Japan) <expand>". I'd rather do a range than a single-price "average" on old stuff, especially when we have so MUCH data on what these were sold at across the nation that we can see the trends and when a particularly high or low price is an outlier adn should not have been counted. "Modern" stuff we can certainly ignore, say, Kohl's's higher prices and just do the average probable-MSRP-if-those-actually-exist prices most places (all two of them) charge. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 17:10, 25 May 2024 (EDT)
::::Alright, I'll make a [[User:BluJayWarrior/MSRP Catalog|separate sub page]] to catalog prices for now while that gets sorted out
::::As Dark T said, I think prioritizing initial Hasbro MSRP is best as it is the "intended" price (this is what [https://brickset.com Brickset] does for Lego). It's a point of consistency since historically different retailers tend have slight variations on the price anyway (Target/Walmart sometimes being slightly lower, Kohls/BBTS being higher, general lag on reflecting the msrp price increases a few years ago, etc) and I don't think that whole range needs to be noted. Admittedly the current Target/Walmart prices drops are pretty unusual (a whole $5?!) but unless it becomes something more widespread I personally wouldn't consider it as a data point. Might be worth making a note of somewhere if anything, though I'm not sure where --[[User:BluJayWarrior|BluJayWarrior]] ([[User talk:BluJayWarrior|talk]]) 04:26, 25 May 2024 (EDT)

==Micronauts, etc.==
Why are we suddenly gaining detailed issue write-ups for so much of Micronauts, which contains no TF elements at all? Isn't that the point of the IDW Hasbroverse wiki? --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 13:14, 1 August 2024 (EDT)
:Oh and look, now whole issues of M.A.S.K. written 7 years ago with no TF content whatsoever are being pasted from the Hasbroverse wiki. Is the other site going offline or something? --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 14:26, 1 August 2024 (EDT)
::I don't think it was really our intention to formally unveil the project until we were further along, but some of us have been doing a fair bit of work towards creating a [https://gijoe.miraheze.org/wiki/Main_Page sister wiki for ''G.I. Joe''] where the [https://gijoe.miraheze.org/wiki/Comics#IDW_Publishing_3 out-of-scope IDW Joe coverage] has already been re-homed. The Joe crew hasn't made any calls about what do with non-Joe stuff to be clear (we're sort of preoccupied, there's so much Joe you guys) but I'm guessing the idea here is to align the rest with our [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Archive71#Energon Universe coverage|current approach]] to [[Energon Universe|Skybound's shared universe]] and sundown the IDW one? --[[User:AzimuthAcolyte|AzimuthAcolyte]] ([[User talk:AzimuthAcolyte|talk]]) 15:43, 1 August 2024 (EDT)
:::That is more or less the intention, yeah. The Hasbroverse wiki was built at a time where it was perhaps anticipated to be grander than it ended up being, and it wasn't certain how long it was going to run; with the end result being "not very", having this other vestigial site for what is ultimately not a lot of content just doesn't feel practical. The exception, of course, is pre-V5 Joe, which has ''always'' been the sticking point in discussions about moving Hasbroverse content here, both for the amount and for how little it has to do with the IDW Transformers line. Having a dedicated Joe wiki solves that problem and frees up the rest of the Hasbroverse stuff to be reintegrated. Plus, there's still new Joe material being released to this day; arguably having a complete and better curated site for the franchise as a whole that continues to be updated with new releases is more likely to drive traffic and get other people to contribute than it would be linking to a dead wiki for a long-ended comic line that's had the same featured articles for five years because no one cares to add anything to it anymore. -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 15:59, 1 August 2024 (EDT)
::::It does look like a rough consensus was reached to do this back in 2021 ([[Transformers_Wiki_talk:Community_Portal/Archive69#Reintegration_of_Hasbroverse_wiki_content|Archive 69]]), it was just never implemented. --[[User:Xaaron|Xaaron]] ([[User talk:Xaaron|talk]]) 16:10, 1 August 2024 (EDT)
::Like half of MASK issues have something from Transformers in them. Picking and choosing which select issues to cover here is hair-splitting and obnoxious for readers. It's immensely better to just have all the information in one, easily-accessible spot and regard Hasbro Universe as a de facto spinoff of Transformers, much like Beastformers and Energon Universe are. [[User:Saix|Saix]] ([[User talk:Saix|talk]]) 17:10, 1 August 2024 (EDT)

==One spoilers==
I propose that information about this movie be withheld until it actually opens in its largest market next weekend. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 11:04, 14 September 2024 (EDT)
: Agreed. [[User:Locoman|Locoman]] ([[User talk:Locoman|talk]]) 11:08, 14 September 2024 (EDT)

==Transformers One and the conversation we've all been waiting for==

On September 12th, Lorenzo di Bonaventura [https://comicbook.com/movies/news/is-transformers-one-a-prequel-optimus-prime-origin-story-exclusive/ clarified the relationship] between ''Transformers One'' and the live-action ''Transformers'' films, describing them as "two universes" that will be "separate". For some, this kind of explicit confirmation may come as a relief after years of wishy-washy answers regarding ''Bumblebee'' and ''Rise of the Beasts'', but it also leaves us with questions on how to best handle ''One''-related information going forward. Around 2015, we adopted a unique layout we applied to all the movie characters, where we organized their movie appearances at the top of the page, regardless of chronological order of release (see "[[Optimus Prime (Movie)#Movies]]"). Obviously, this leads to some questions regarding how we should handle our ''One'' coverage going forward.

The way I see it, we have three options:

* '''Keep the page format as is, and keep''' '''''One''''' '''up with the rest of the movies''': For obvious reasons I think this is probably our weakest possible solution; it's pretty clear at this point that our current solution for classifying the films is not really sustainable, and mashing them all together under a single loosely-affiliated umbrella is already confusing and frustrating people who aren't intimately acquainted with the mechanics of the wiki.

* '''Reorganize movie character pages so that we acknowledge the live-action films and''' '''''One''''' '''as separate continuities within one continuity family, similar to how our G1 pages cover Sunbow, Marvel, JG1, IDW, etc.''': Historically speaking, this is probably the safest option, but from what I understand there is very little "connective tissue"—visually, character-wise, plot-beats—between the live-action films and ''One'' beyond the inertia of "they were both made by Paramount". As some people have discussed in the past, this could lead to a full or partial reformat of our movie character coverage to more clearly reflect the ambiguous "prequel" status of ''Bumblebee'' and ''Rise of the Beasts'', but this may be a conversation for another time.

* '''Separate''' '''''One''''' '''as an entirely new continuity family and split out the relevant information so we have pages for "Optimus Prime (One)", "Megatron (One)", etc.''' Probably the most radical proposal, but this is honestly where I'm at right now: from what I understand the movie is a pretty radical departure from everything that's gone before, with entirely new interpretations of old ''Transformers'' lore—I'd classify it as the start of a new "franchise" in the same way that we distinguish ''Earthspark'' and ''Cyberverse'' despite them both clearly drawing on the same well of post-Aligned lore, and these days "new franchise" is generally synonymous with "new continuity family" for the ease of wiki bookkeeping.

We would appreciate hearing your thoughts on the matter! '''As the film is not out yet in all regions please refrain from posting spoilers here'''. [[User:Locoman|Locoman]] ([[User talk:Locoman|talk]]) 08:56, 15 September 2024 (EDT)

:I could see option 3 being the way we go, but what holds me back from that is that beyond just Paramount, Spielberg and Bay are still executive producers on the film. [[User:Escargon|Escargon]] ([[User talk:Escargon|talk]]) 09:39, 15 September 2024 (EDT)

::I think we should put them on the Earthspark Continuity pages to satisfy no-one /j - but yeah, the film is drawing from the same vaguely Binder Of Revelation backstory as everything else for the last 10 years, and unless they have been hiding The Fallen twisting D-16 to evil or the twist that the Creators were the Quintessons all along, One feels pretty decoupled from the rest of the movies. The big issue I see with splitting out fully is that people wondering why we do not do the same for Bumblebee/ROTB, but that more easily passes a "vibe check" as being "Movie-adjacent" and belonging on the same page as the Bay 5-dom than One so far. Agree that trying to put them directly alongside the other movies as a prequel feels both unwieldy and confusing. [[User:AkibaSilver|AkibaSilver]] ([[User talk:AkibaSilver|talk]]) 09:41, 15 September 2024 (EDT)

:I vote for '''option 3''', I think creating separate pages is the way to go. [[User:MrRald|MrRald]] ([[User talk:MrRald|talk]]) 09:54, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
::I vote for '''option 2'''. To me the movie is different enough to be a separate universe but not an entirely different continuity. Josh Cooley himself on April 18 when asked whether the film is a fresh start, a prequel to the live-action films, or its own thing, replied with: "yes to all of the above" https://comicbook.com/movies/news/transformers-one-director-confirms-new-movies-canon-status. (And having seen the movie I can confirm those connections to the live-action series do exist). [[User:Grievous Prime|Grievous Prime]] ([[User talk:Grievous Prime|talk]]) 10:05, 15 September 2024 (EDT)

:I vote for '''option 3'''. One has always felt very different to the previous live action movies so I feel it should get its own dedicated pages. As for BB and ROTB, there is "connective tissue" to the Bayverse movies so I feel they can stay on the pre-existing movie pages. [[User:PublicCrown|PublicCrown]] ([[User talk:PublicCrown|talk]]) 10:25, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
:Having viewed the film at an advance screening, I think there are easily enough references and homages to previous films that '''option two''' makes the most sense. - [[User:Archforce|Archforce]] ([[User talk:Archforce|talk]]) 10:45, 15 September 2024 (EDT)

::I'm favorable for the '''3rd option''', it is still produced under Paramount & there are some producers attached to the project that were on previous movies, but my stance is that we should judge based on the final product & having seen the movie, it doesn't try to be in line to what came before (there are some similarities in design & names, but it stops there since every popular TF stories has influence over the next ones), helped by the new team of writers & creatives. If we can treat each new cartoon as its own entity (even tho in recent years they are streamlined in some areas), I think we can do the same for the recent movies that have more contradictory elements to the Bayverse –[[User:MahXyme|MahXyme/MahXymal]] ([[User talk:MahXyme|talk]]) 10:49, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
:'''<nowiki>#3</nowiki>''' is the cleanest option to me. [[User:Saix|Saix]] ([[User talk:Saix|talk]]) 11:32, 15 September 2024 (EDT)

:I think from a practical perspective, '''#3''' is the only real option. Looking at the loose guidelines for a new family on our [[continuity family]] page:
:*"a fresh continuity" — Yep, even Lorenzo's acknowledged this. Even if we questioned that, there's stuff like the AllSpark being absent (with the Matrix pretty much taking exactly the role the AllSpark would have), Megatronus being a good guy, and Sentinel's role being entirely irreconcilable with Dark of the Moon.
:*"within a separate franchise" — Yep. New franchise, and the marketing hasn't done anything to allude to the live-action films specifically.
:*"significantly different in cast, theme, style, etc." — This is the big sticking point for me. One makes no attempt to align with the visual style or characterisations of the live-action films. The sole real connective point is B-127 (name from ''Bumblebee'', he has the big cheeks and antenna of the movie guy, and his talking a lot is clearly a meta-gag about him losing his voice), but even he's characterised completely differently, as the "comedy crazy guy" who's a peer to Optimus and co instead of the cool-but-rude big brother figure from Bay/Bee/Beasts.
:I'm sympathetic to the Paramount/Bay/Spielberg/Di Bonaventura connective tissue, but my big rebuttal there is that we don't consider ''EarthSpark'' to be Aligned because Nicole Dubuc is the showrunner. Ultimately, if we hadn't had pre-release producer statements (now contradicted) calling it a prequel to the other movies, there's absolutely no way this would be in question — we'd already have it as a separate continuity family. And from a wiki organisation standpoint I don't think there's any way to, say, write up Sentinel Prime's opening paragraph in a way that adequately covers both the DOTM and One characters without genericising it to the point of uselessness. --[[User:Broadside|Broadside]] ([[User talk:Broadside|talk]]) 12:33, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
::Yeah, I think '''#3''' is straightforward and likely the approach we'd take if we were presented with the film, as a story, with zero context on the studio releasing it or EPs involved or whatever. I also think there's a high likelihood that the next live-action film will have Elita appear and be like "hey Optimus remember when we were in Transformers One?" and we'll all groan and have to reconsider, but until then, I think the real-world context is basically the only thing separating One from just being the next Broadly Aligned-y New Thing like Cyberverse and EarthSpark before it, which we consistently split out for organisation reasons. [[User:Jalaguy|Jalaguy]] ([[User talk:Jalaguy|talk]]) 13:45, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
:Toss me in for '''Option 3''' of an entirely new continuity given how ''different'' the story details has been laid out when compared to the original 2007 film-verse and then later what's set by ''Bumblebee''. --[[User:Lonegamer78|Lonegamer78]] ([[User talk:Lonegamer78|talk]]) 14:38, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
:Voting for '''option #2'''. While we would still have the outlier of TF:TAM 86 being a theatrically released movie in the G1 continuity family, I see no reason why "movie continuity family" would not only include transmedia spinoffs from feature films (''Reign of Starscream'', toy redeco Tech Specs, etc. etc.) but also feature films which are belonging different timelines and story universes. This would also free us from having to reconcile Movie 'Bee's history -- did he come to Earth in the 1940s or the 1980s? -- and put to bed *that* long running argument about whether the Bay-directed films were the same universe as BB and RotB or not -- now they don't have to be! [[User:Banpei the Mini-Con|Banpei the Mini-Con]] ([[User talk:Banpei the Mini-Con|talk]]) 14:58, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
:Having seen the movie, I think '''#3''' is our cleanest option. Between the Lorenzo interview and, without going into spoilers, the numerous discrepencies there are, I don't think we can get away with suiting it out ala G1. The time may come when we do that for Bumblebee onwards but as far as One goes, I say we treat it as a new continuity. [[User:Ezim93|Ezim93]] ([[User talk:Ezim93|talk]]) 19:53, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
:'''#3'''. #2 was close for me, but TFOne (having seen the movie) is so artistically different from the live action movies, it feels pointless to keep it on the same page like G1/IDW. Ironically, we could give Bayverse/BB&ROTB the G1/IDW treatment. [[User:Boingus|--Boingus]] ([[User talk:Boingus|talk]]) 23:23, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
:I think 3 is where I'm leaning after seeing the film. Keeping this as "movie continuity" simply because it was released theatrically doesn't make sense to me. We wouldn't do that with a new comic or show because it was the same medium, why do it for a movie just because of that? Yes There is some CNA here to the live action films, but it could be argued it has just as much pulled from G1. One is it's own thing in the end. Trying to fit it into the live action movie box just doesn't feel right in this case.--[[User:ParadoxFactor|ParadoxFactor]] ([[User talk:ParadoxFactor|talk]]) 05:47, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
:I vote for '''Option 3''' for all the reasons previously mentioned as well as size concerns. --[[User:Khajidha|Khajidha]] ([[User talk:Khajidha|talk]]) 09:29, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
:'''Option 3''', I believe the movie was clearly made with a new continuity in mind.-[[User:TitaniumToughGuy|TitaniumToughGuy]] ([[User talk:TitaniumToughGuy|talk]]) 09:38, 16 September 2024 (EDT)

:I'm voting '''Option 3'''; much of my reasons are the same as others have stated above, and I do apologise for opening this bags of worms on the ''One'' talk page. It's not that I don't understand why some people are opposed to creating a new set if pages, but for argument's sake, if ''One'' gets one or more sequels, it would likely draw further away from the established live-action films and become its own continuity/franchise (though that's more of a what-if right now). Overall, I personally think that separating live-action films and animated ones into their own continuities is a reasonable option, and I believe that ''One'' has proven itself a different entity. [[User:Prime Temple|Prime Temple]] ([[User talk:Prime Temple|talk]]) 06:26, 17 September 2024 (EDT)

:Screen Rant: I vote for '''Option 1''' This came out from ScreenRant today. Is Transformers One considered a prequel to the recent movies of Bumblebee and Rise of the Beast or the original live-action film starting in 2007? Or is it something completely, entirely new? ... Lorenzo di Bonaventura: "It obviously exists beforehand. I think we figured it out. It was like 300 million years before the first Michael Bay movie, so if that's a prequel, that's a prequel. But we're really following the lore about where it starts, and so we really just think about it as the beginning of the story. The origin, yes, but literally the beginning of the thing that we've all come to appreciate." https://screenrant.com/transformers-one-lorenzo-di-bonaventura-and-josh-cooley-interview/ [[User:96megatron|96megatron]] ([[User talk:96megatron|talk]]) 10:56, 17 September 2024 (EDT)

===CHECKPOINT (2024/09/16)===
*Votes for Option 1: 1 (96megatron)
*Votes for Option 2: 3 (GrievousPrime, Archforce, Banpei the Mini-Con)
*Votes for Option 3: 15 (Locoman, AkibaSilver, MrRald, PublicCrown, MahXyme, Saix, Broadside, Jalaguy, Lonegamer, Ezim93, Boingus, ParadoxFactor, Khajidha, TitaniumToughGuy, CyberLink420)
As it stands, current consensus is pretty overwhelmingly in favor of Option 3 by a ratio of 5:1. I know it's only been a day, but barring a sudden swell of support for #2, it might be prudent to start switching everything over. -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 10:20, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
: I'm reluctant to make actual changes until the movie hits wide release and the general public can make informed input. Give it a few more days. --[[User:Broadside|Broadside]] ([[User talk:Broadside|talk]]) 10:40, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
::::This. Let people... SEE the movie before we make important decisions. --[[User:ItsWalky|ItsWalky]] ([[User talk:ItsWalky|talk]]) 19:49, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
::::Right. We can wait a few days for more than a small handful of people to see this and base their decision on, you know, '''''the actual movie''''' rather than whatever someone who had something to do with it says ''this'' week, which historically has waffled between "vague" and "contradictory". Hell, even ''now'' some of them are still being all "well maybe it is and maybe it isn't" and frankly I have no faith they won't ride that ambiguity for a long time like they've done since ''Bumblebee''. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 20:49, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
::I've said ever since Keegan Michael Key tweeted as much that One should be treated as a separate continuity. '''Option 3''' for sure. {{unsigned|jmcdavid}}
:'''Option 3'''. I've seen the movie and other users have covered why that seems like the best choice. It feels as different from the previous movies as Prime is from Animated, or Earthspark from Sunbow (which, despite directly homaging/referencing Sunbow, Earthspark is considered separate from). [[User:Ashendawn|Ashendawn]] ([[User talk:Ashendawn|talk]]) 18:01, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
:I vote '''Option 2'''. There seems to be a large focus on whether or not the film fits in continuity with the prior films, but considering how little they fit with each other that feels irrelevant to me. The creators have been rather unclear whether this film should be considered separate from the ongoing live-action series in terms of production, just in terms of universe. If we had a sense this was the springboard for an entirely separate animated film series I'd say Option 3, but it feels unwarranted at this time. [[User:Indridcold13|Indridcold13]] ([[User talk:Indridcold13|talk]]) 20:29, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
:Also '''Option 3''' . In tone, content, continuity, style, story, just feels too different to me from the Michael Bay and other films, really only having the method of release in common. It feels more separate from the other movies than even Cyberverse from G1, and that’s happily separate. —[[User:MissDaria|MissDaria]] ([[User talk:MissDaria|talk]]) 10:05, 17 September 2024 (EDT)

MediaWiki talk:Community Portal

2024-09-17T14:59:50Z

96megatron: /* Transformers One and the conversation we've all been waiting for */

__NEWSECTIONLINK__

This is the place for discussion of topics that affect the entire wiki. For less wide-reaching subjects, either use articles' individual talk pages or [https://discord.com/invite/N99Bygq our Discord server.]

Some topics that would ordinarily be here have merited their own pages:

{{chapters|title=Specific Discussion Subjects|align=left|content=
<div class="list-header">'''Moving From Wikia:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Arriving|Arriving]]
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Leaving|Leaving]]
* [[Transformers Wiki:Community Portal/Complaints|Complaints]]
<br/><div class="list-header">'''New Ad Policy:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki:Ads|Ads]]
<br/><div class="list-header">'''Bookworm Database-Crash:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Damage Control Central|Damage Control Central]]
* [[Project:Bookworm Crash]]
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Leaving2|Leaving Take 2]]
<br/><div class="list-header">'''Server Move:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Arriving2|Arriving Take 2]]
<br/><div class="list-header">'''Relicensing:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Relicensing|Relicensing]]
<br/><div class="list-header">'''Dealing With Vandalism:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Vandalism|Vandalism]]
<br/><div class="list-header">'''GoBots Sister Wiki:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/GoBots|Discussion on the place of GoBots in this wiki]]
<br/> <div class="list-header">'''Wiki Technical Information:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki:Tech|A Not So Brief Summary of the Horrible Things That McFly and Co. Have Done To Keep This Wiki From Melting Down]]
}}<br/>

{{:{{FULLPAGENAMEE}}/Archive}}


== Press release or logo for 30,000 articles? ==
Is it worth putting something together as we get very very close? Maybe something like:
* 3 from Thrilling 30 logo
* 0 from the 40th logo
* 0 from the Vector Sigma "Featured" logo
* 0 from the cosmic-streaking O in the TFTM opener
* 0 from GO!

Just a suggestion.... --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 13:45, 10 November 2023 (EST)
:If we wanted to go down that route, maybe tie into some of the contemporary material? Say, the "O"s from [[Energon Universe]] or [[Transformers: Legacy#Legacy: Evolution|Evolution]]? (Though the latter isn't exactly straight-on...) --[[User:Broadside|Broadside]] ([[User talk:Broadside|talk]]) 14:38, 10 November 2023 (EST)
::Sure! I lean towards the Energon Universe choice. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 15:48, 10 November 2023 (EST)
:Apologies, I've corrected the count on the main page as it was inaccurate, so we're not as close as it looked like we were. --[[User:Abates|abates]] ([[User talk:Abates|talk]]) 16:20, 10 November 2023 (EST)
::That just means we have more time to decide and, if so, pull things together. :) -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 16:51, 10 November 2023 (EST)
:::Feels like we just leapt up 40 new articles in the last 2-3 days. Is it worth putting a graphic together? --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 22:47, 18 January 2024 (EST)

=="Multi-pack" vs "gift set" and suchlike==
Incoming semantics, but... as I've been going through the toy entries, been trying to standardize/streamline a lot of stuff, and I think maybe a set of consistent terms/definitions for "a bunch of separate toys packed together" is in order. So lemme throw this out here for discussion/future reference...
*'''Multi-pack''' — A pack of toys where the contents (or at least most/some/any of them) are exclusive to this release, not sold in other packaging. Most multi-toy releases nowadays would fall under this umbrella by default.
*'''Gift set''' — A pack of toys where all of the contents are/were concurrently (or close enough) sold individually as well, without changes, in the same market. Like all the various G1 combiner sets.
The latter brings up the question of if we want to label all the Takara "VS" packs and the various UT-era "VALUE PACK!" sets under that umbrella, which I'm ambivalent-to-marginally-in-favor-of over. Especially as Takara's been putting out new "VS" packs where the toys are new decos not available elsewhere... also we kinda made up the "VS pack" term anyway, as memory serves, so. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 20:15, 8 January 2024 (EST)
:Hasbro has used the word "[[Giftset]]" to refer to unique variants not available separately. I'm inclined to think we shouldn't directly contradict that. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 21:21, 8 January 2024 (EST)
::and damn but does that article need updating. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 21:22, 8 January 2024 (EST)
:::I'm inclined to think that Hasbro uses lots of terms in ways that are not exactly conducive to organizing a wiki. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 21:29, 8 January 2024 (EST)

==More bullet point insignia?==
Okay so... I recall there were some other possible faction symbol bullet points we could maybe use. I ran across a few with this batch of toy pics we might consider adding. I'll list them here, see if people can think of more. I feel like there might be a couple more two-faction matchups out there.
* Rescue Bots
* The various BotBots squads
* My First Transformers

I'm not un-convinced that we should have the bespoke insignia for stuff like the Disney Label, since they do use them on the packaging. So uh... there. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 01:51, 13 January 2024 (EST)
:Also, while looking at the list of all the bullets on the template page... maybe we should see if we can split the list up a smidge? Like, put all the mutli-faction icons in one section, a section just for BotBots since there's gonna be quite a few of them? Alphabetizing them might also be in order. (I have exactly zero idea how those templates are coded, so uh, lemme know if that's doable.) --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 04:42, 13 January 2024 (EST)
::There's also the [[Star Wars Transformers]]... though I'm not sure if using ''Star Wars'' insignia falls too much out of this wiki's scope, although we do use at least use them on the actual characters' pages (see [[Darth Vader]]). [[User:Turborun|Turborun]] ([[User talk:Turborun|talk]]) 10:34, 13 January 2024 (EST)
:::I don't think we'd use SW insignia because, near as I can tell, the toy packaging doesn't mark the toys that way. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 05:27, 14 January 2024 (EST)

== Idea for reducing the size of toy sections by compacting unchanged toy entries ==

I've come up with an idea that I think would make toy sections on character pages a little better and more intuitive. Instead of having a long list of entries for multiple releases of the exact same toy completely unchanged, we could just compact them all in a single entry, describing how the toy was available both individually and unchanged in a bunch of multipacks. This could be especially helpful with toy sections that are way too long, such as both the Movie Optimus Prime and Bumblebee toy pages that have been subject to a lot of discussion already.

[[User:Fritz/Optimus Prime (Movie)/toys|I used the 2007 Legends Class section of the Movie Optimus Prime toy page to make a quick example out of it.]] The entries would be reduced from four to two toys, since 3/4 of them are the same toy anyway, and a lot of white space would be removed. As for the images of the multipacks, I don't think we would be losing much in removing them since the wiki has never prioritized images of packagings for anything really and, as I know is written somewhere in the "rules", the wiki isn't supposed to be used as an image hosting website in the first place.

So, any thoughts? --[[User:Fritz|Fritz]] ([[User talk:Fritz|talk]]) 20:18, 20 January 2024 (EST)
: We used to do this and it was actually kind of worse. There's also complications when unchanged toys end up being sold under different franchise headers, and when you add in all the other bullet point data a toy/set might have, you could end up with a lonnnnng list of bullet points before you get to the actual writeup, plus describing the multi-packs' contents... you're not really saving space while also kinda hurting the demi-chronological flow of the information. And deleting the multi-pack package imagery feels very wrong. It's one of those cases where there's no real ideal situation, but there's a least-bad one.
:That said, it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to make sure the first entry mentions these "repacks" alongside the redecoes and links to the relevant items. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 21:34, 21 January 2024 (EST)
::Good points, as usual. Now that you mentioned it, I think I do have a vague memory of this being done in the past. I was going to suggest the repacks from different toylines should remain separate, though. My mentality was that maybe we could have a way to highlight the "main" releases (original and redecoes/retools) from the "minor" ones (unchanged repacks) to make it easier to identify in a glance how many actually-different toys were released within a toyline, but I wouldn't want it to cause ''more'' confusion than ''less''. Anyway thanks for taking the time to evaluate the idea. --[[User:Fritz|Fritz]] ([[User talk:Fritz|talk]]) 05:54, 22 January 2024 (EST)

==Repurposings, continuity transplants, and using Template:Main/Template:See to improve navigability==
I've gone back to the drawing board to come up with a way to signal to readers where closely-related pages exist, as I don't think [[Help:Disambiguation|disambiguation]] pages are enough and have found [[Template:OtherVersions]] to be unideal. [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Archive70#Proposal re: G1 pages|Previously]], I'd suggested merging a bunch of pages for so-called "[[Continuity family|continuity]] transplants", but other users convinced me this would be a poor solution. One alternative suggestion, from [[User:Broadside]], was to use [[Template:Main]] to put key links to a character's appearances in other continuity families directly in the fiction section—[[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Archive70#Handling of "former GoBots" and "former Diaclone" characters on the wiki|reactions at the time]] were neutral-positive. You can see mockups for [[User:Broadside/Sandbox:Cy-Kill|Cy-Kill]] and [[User:Broadside/Sandbox:Bug Bite|Bug Bite]]. This strikes me as the best of both worlds, because it keeps the consistent schema (which helps for page length and organisation) but also puts a link to the information in the place where your typical reader is expecting to find it (on the page for the highest-profile first incarnation of the character).

With the same philosophy in mind, I've also designed two new templates. The first, [[Template:Toyappeared]], is intended for use in toy write-ups as a way of linking to fiction write-ups and character pages. It covers [[repurposing]]s, "continuity transplants", notable instances of [[Show-accuracy|toy-accuracy]], in-fiction [[Reformatting|powerups]], [[Redeco#"Virtual" redecos|"virtual" redecos]], you name it. Toy write-ups are increasingly being duplicated across multiple character pages, which creates maintenance overhead, as both instances must be manually kept in sync. My suggestion is to use [[Template:See]] to link to the full information regarding a toy on the original page, with the repurposed instance giving only brief information of what the toy is and ''why'' it was repurposed or whatever. The second of my new templates has a much more specific intended use case: [[Template:Bwucharacter]] provides an easy way of explaining how/why a character was reinterpreted for their ''Uprising'' appearance, as ''Uprising'' accounts for most of the situations I view as being problematic.

I realise I'm proposing like five things at once here, so [[User:The Wadapan/sandbox/repurposing|my sandbox]] has [[User:The Wadapan/sandbox/repurposing#Full example|a full example]] demonstrating how it all works together, along with tons of individual examples of the templates' usage and a more thorough explanation of what I'm trying to address with them. Take a look, and let me know which aspects you like, which parts you don't like, or any ideas you have to add! —[[User:The Wadapan|The Wadapan]] ([[User talk:The Wadapan|talk]]) 06:24, 12 February 2024 (EST)
:I can vouch for these templates! [[User:ShootingStar7X|ShootingStar7X]] ([[User talk:ShootingStar7X|talk]]) 15:38, 26 February 2024 (EST)
: I'm seeing a lot of problems with the implementation of some of this, and a lot of future headaches. The ones rolled out put what look like stub headers in a fiction section with just a small normal missable note up top; and in Override's case in specific, multiple stubs with completely redundant information. What this is ''going'' to do is get new people thinking that these are missing information that needs to be filled, then we gotta revert it and tell them no all that goes elsewhere, which is utterly unintuitive and will just lead to arguments and headaches all around.
: As for toys, in the instances of BWU-type stuff where it's a one-toy Mini-Con or whatever, I feel like NOT having the actual toy info for them on the BWU page, as with the Mini-Con Snow Cat toy currently, is not doing the reader any favors. Quite the opposite. Why are we making them jump to a different page for information that has no reason to not be right there? I don't like making readers jump through hoops needlessly, and that's all this feels like. And it's not like the toy sections of most of these are gonna see major changes, so lack of cross-updating is very, very, very unlikely to be an issue.
: I really don't think these require new templates and a bunch of new-editor landmines. At most, there's a decent argument to be made for re-positioning the "you look familiar" template that already exists, maybe below the main character writeup (above feels like a bad layout choice, pushing all kinds of stuff down.) --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 02:11, 28 February 2024 (EST)

== Listings and accessories ==

When I was making the description for cannonball based on the Walmart listing, there was mention of a Gatling gun and hammer not shown in the stock images,and left them out.

If I run into this type of situation again, what do I do?[[User:Poliwag06|Poliwag06]] ([[User talk:Poliwag06|talk]]) 10:56, 7 March 2024 (EST)

== A few suggestions ==

Gallery pages should only include images that aren't easily accessed by going to the main page, to avoid cluttering. I guess this is not an issue now since the current gallery pages are fairly short.

There should be more dedication in listing alt-modes of characters. Maybe there should be a header or something. For example, if the Dreamwave version of [[Sunstorm (G1)#Dreamwave Generation One continuity|Sunstorm]] transforms into an F-16 jet, it should be listed in the beginning with a header for the sake of easy access to the said information.--[[User:Primestar3|Primestar3]] ([[User talk:Primestar3|talk]]) 13:59, 17 March 2024 (EDT)

== Will we get an article on The Masked Singer? ==

Will there be an article on TFWiki about The Masked Singer, specifically their recent "Transformers Night" episode (https://the-masked-singer.fandom.com/wiki/Transformers_Night)? --[[User:John Pannozzi|John Pannozzi]] ([[User talk:John Pannozzi|talk]]) 20:01, 12 April 2024 (EDT)

: Assuming it's a licensed appearance (I can't check the credits myself :C ), I can't think why it wouldn't be [[User:AkibaSilver|AkibaSilver]] ([[User talk:AkibaSilver|talk]]) 21:15, 12 April 2024 (EDT)

:: It was indeed licensed. --[[User:John Pannozzi|John Pannozzi]] ([[User talk:John Pannozzi|talk]]) 22:30, 12 April 2024 (EDT)
:::Yes, as an official Hasbro-sanctioned piece of TF media, the episode does meet our requirements for inclusion. It just needs someone to write it up. -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 23:22, 12 April 2024 (EDT)

== Franchise articles ==
So I was looking at the franchise pages to try and get an idea of what the standard is supposed to be for how they are written. Should all of them be updated to be more like the [[Beast Wars: Transformers (franchise)]] article? What was making me wonder this was that on the [[Transformers: Energon (franchise)]] article it had a section for "Homages" and one for "New characters" which I don't think any other franchise article has. --[[User:1levichurch|1levichurch]] ([[User talk:1levichurch||talk]]) 22:57, 21 April 2024 (UTC)

== AI upscaled images ==
With fresh offsite talks about the matter, I put forth we add an official policy against posting AI upscaled images of any kind to the wiki, owing to their subpar performance in "enhancing" the quality of images. [[User:McBaggins|McBaggins]] ([[User talk:McBaggins|talk]]) 23:52, 1 May 2024 (EDT)
:Agreed. It's literally faking information and presenting it as official. (Also often noticeably terrible.) Sometimes the best quality available of something sucks, but we simply have to deal. [[User:Saix|Saix]] ([[User talk:Saix|talk]]) 23:57, 1 May 2024 (EDT)
::100 percent agreed. It's called "artificial" for a reason. Plenty of details would be lost out through the upscaling, and several times errors on the wiki somehow became official through Hastak using the wiki for references (the whole [[Circular reporting]] thing). If we start allowing AI upscaled images, then we're likely to have things lost to the annals of time. Potato quality is better than lost quality[[User:Singularity|Singularity]] ([[User talk:Singularity|talk]]) 00:11, 2 May 2024 (EDT)
: Sure. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 00:43, 2 May 2024 (EDT)

== Ending addition of high-end statues ==
This is something I doubt other people have noticed, but I'm putting down a tent-peg on it: After having built the entries for dozens of high-end collectable TF statues in the last 2-3 years, from firms like Diamond Select, Imaginarium, Azure Sea, XM Studios, etc., and then seeing most of them either officially cancelled or never spoken of again with no reported purchases, I am going to stop adding such items here. If someone else feels like cataloguing them, great.

It really may not be possible for us to keep up with toy-like non-transforming merchandise (figurines and statues) the way we used to. There are at least two ''released'' series of G1 core cast micro-figurines with micro-comics and magnifying glasses, which would have been the rage of the fandom in 2005, that nobody ever got around to adding, and it feels like too much of a chore for me to start. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 10:35, 3 May 2024 (EDT)
: It's an unfortunate but very real thing that once you enter the world of licensed merch, we're ''gonna'' have big gaps. It's... a lot, on top of the "a lot" that is the regular TF toyline and fictional output today. I've said that the work involved in keeping up with all of TF's merch ought to be a full-time paying job, and I genuinely mean it. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 16:39, 3 May 2024 (EDT)

== Transformers Roleplaying Game releases on the front page and sidebar ==

The [[Transformers Roleplaying Game]] is getting pretty frequent releases of both sourcebooks and pre-written adventures, and it occurs to me that it might be a good idea to have it on the "current releases" section of the front page and/or the navigation sidebar. How would people feel about that? --[[User:Broadside|Broadside]] ([[User talk:Broadside|talk]]) 15:49, 4 May 2024 (EDT)
: I think that makes a lot of sense, as long as we have people keeping up with the new releases to document them. -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 15:51, 4 May 2024 (EDT)

==How we handle weapons' toy/merch sections==
Okay, so like... I'm not really convinced that what we've been doing is the best way to handle the weapon pages' toys/merch sections. Honestly, they end up looking... really shoddy. There's just tiny scraps of info, vast wads of whitespace, few to no links, the images are tons of different sizes. <br>
I'm thinking that instead of all this... maybe this is a place where a gallery is in order, just a chronological procession. Have the captions just say what lines/toys the weapons came with and link to the toys directly on the character page. It's not like there's much to say about any of these, why not let the toy listing on the character page say it? Why make people scroll through screens of mostly-emptiness, which I feel they're increasingly unlikely to do? I may do a sandbox if I'm feeling up to it. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 22:24, 6 May 2024 (EDT)
:[[User:M Sipher/Sandbox:WeaponPageToysSection]] - So... this, basically. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 22:39, 6 May 2024 (EDT)
:I'd be on board with that. --[[User:Broadside|Broadside]] ([[User talk:Broadside|talk]]) 22:34, 6 May 2024 (EDT)
:I like it. It would be far more compact than our current approach for, say, [[Fusion cannon#Toys]], while still getting the point across. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 11:13, 10 May 2024 (EDT)

==Proposal for Unproduced or Unreleased Template==
I don't think the Apocrypha template is particularly useful. It was created specifically for Alignment, but most of the things in it don't fit that criteria. Something like Unproduced or Unreleased Transformer media would be more self explanatory. [[User:WillR113|WillR113]] ([[User talk:WillR113|talk]]) 07:05, 11 May 2024 (EDT)

== Use of pictures from ebay, fan sites, etc ==

Is it appropriate to use pictures of toys from ebay, fan reviews, video review screenshots and the like? Under fair use and with source credit? Sometimes rarer items we don't have good pictures of on the wiki show up in these places. In particular I found a ebay seller with good images of EZ collection toys and and old Japanese review blog with images of Takara variants of HFTD/Autobot Alliance toys so that got me wondering. —[[User:BluJayWarrior|BluJayWarrior]] ([[User talk:BluJayWarrior|talk]]) 10:10, 12 May 2024 (EDT)
:Images from eBay and other fan sites have been and can continue to be used, giving the fullest source credit feasible. I don't think we've ever needed to rely on video review screenshots and would always prefer to have a "normal" still image instead whenever possible. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 11:02, 16 May 2024 (EDT)

== ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' “再構成版” エピソード視聴ガイド "Re-Configuration Version" aka "Re-Constructed Version" Episode Viewing Guide ==

We really need to document the "canon" Japanese viewing order for ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' & ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers 2010'' originally included with the ''Pioneer'' Laserdisc booklets & later apparently revised by [[Hirofumi Ichikawa]] (市川裕文) for the DVD BOX SET 2 Instruction Booklet as it would help clean-up the chronology on many wiki pages here. From what I've been able to gather this particular viewing order differs from both the US/Japan production orders, the US-Airing order and the Japanese-Airing order. So what exactly is the order of the episodes of these two series according to these documents? Does anyone own them and able to list the specific order in which the episodes appear in those LD/DVD "Instruction Booklets" word-for-word? As it stands, we've only mentioned that a "narrative viewing order" exists but do not have it listed anywhere. For further clarification, it is not the order in which the episodes appear on the Japanese DVDs. [[User:Astrobotix|Astrobotix]] ([[User talk:Astrobotix|talk]]) 01:09, 15 May 2024 (EDT)
:While this information would be valuable and is worth documenting, it's unlikely to result in us making any major changes to the way our information is structured. -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 17:31, 16 May 2024 (EDT)
:Okay, having seen the booklets in question, it just lists the episodes in production order, continuity errors and all. So...absolutely no change, then. -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 20:44, 17 May 2024 (EDT)

== Documenting MSRP? ==

Would it be worth documenting MSRP prices (in usd at least)? For the regular retail classes that's for the most part covered by the [[size class]] page, but we don't keep track of them for more specialty items like Masterpieces, multipacks, exclusives, one-off releases not in a normal size class, special lines like Missing Link, etc. It's something I find personally interesting and would've liked to know for older figures and someone in the future might want to know about today's releases. It can also offer some neat bits of info like how Premium Finish releases were generally one price point up compared to the figure's size or how the upcoming United Cliffjumper multipack is a whole $30 off what the individual figures would cost --[[User:BluJayWarrior|BluJayWarrior]] ([[User talk:BluJayWarrior|talk]]) 14:20, 21 May 2024 (EDT)
:I think this would be very interesting, particularly when you scroll down pages for G1 toys that got multiple reissues like the Seekers, Insecticons, and tape players. It's just that - like the Designer Notes and the proper insignias on each and every toy - it would take forever to add and would probably wind up being one super-dedicated person having to do most of the work. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 14:28, 21 May 2024 (EDT)
::I might try to do what I can, going back to recatalogue everything would definitely be a chore. But at the very least I strongly believe it's something we can and should implement for future toy entries. I've started a [[User:BluJayWarrior/Sandbox|MSRP Sandbox]] to try out a few formats, any feedback is appreciated. --[[User:BluJayWarrior|BluJayWarrior]] ([[User talk:BluJayWarrior|talk]]) 05:18, 23 May 2024 (EDT)
::Cleaned up the sandbox page. Anyone have anything to say about the format? Might try applying Style 1 to a few pages this weekend if no one makes any objections. [[User:BluJayWarrior|BluJayWarrior]] ([[User talk:BluJayWarrior|talk]]) 12:58, 24 May 2024 (EDT)
:::Of those options I like Style 1 the best. As you already noted, the [[size class]] pages covers basically all normal U.S. retail from BW through Legacy, missing things like Platinum and MP. To find contemporary G1 prices, here are some good resources:
:::https://web.archive.org/web/20181125082555/https://pleasesavemerobots.com/vstp/vstptf84.html
:::https://web.archive.org/web/20191114081109/http://pleasesavemerobots.com/vstp/vstptf85.html
:::https://web.archive.org/web/20191114091052/http://pleasesavemerobots.com/vstp/vstptf86.html
:::https://web.archive.org/web/20191114090836/http://pleasesavemerobots.com/vstp/vstptf87.html
:::https://web.archive.org/web/20191114084922/http://pleasesavemerobots.com/vstp/vstptf88.html
:::https://web.archive.org/web/20191114081716/http://pleasesavemerobots.com/vstp/vstptf89.html
:::https://web.archive.org/web/20191114085830/http://pleasesavemerobots.com/vstp/vstptf90.html
:::https://www.tfw2005.com/boards/threads/g1-original-retail-price-listing.1167895/
:::I tried looking for G2 MSRP but couldn't find anything as obvious. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 13:24, 24 May 2024 (EDT)
::::Thanks for the sources, gonna have to sort through that later. Planning to start with new ROTB characters since they're smaller pages and prices can still be found. I've decided to add prices for retail classes for reader convenience; not everyone will know to go to the size class page for them and its not linked often enough to make it reasonable they would. [[User:BluJayWarrior|BluJayWarrior]] ([[User talk:BluJayWarrior|talk]]) 14:22, 24 May 2024 (EDT)

: I'd been working on a project like this a long time ago, had originally proposed adding this to the wiki, but then kinda stopped... mostly because near as I could tell, the MSRP in the 80s was something retailers could just make the hell up. The price ranges for any given toy were kinda all over the damn place, and the MSRP was something some retailers used to go "no really we're cheaper SEE?" then make up some price they supposedly "discounted" down from... you know, the thing that got Kay-Bee in legal-type troubles. I was increasingly unsure how to handle that wild price variance concisely on the wiki. In fact...
::https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1PBE2i9vLE6fkr933GQbXosA1cxIqB3CkOSnzW0BMdwc/edit#gid=448439989
: Take a look-see. There's at least three different MSRP values for the standard Headmasters, never mind actual sticker prices. Like, I ''want'' to provide this kind of context, I really do, and it's pretty easy once we get to the unified price points of BW on... but for G1 and G2? Woof. That's going to take a bit of mulling. "Average" price maybe, but there's gonna be some Prices Georg here and there throwing shit off. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 16:35, 24 May 2024 (EDT)
::RE: The sandbox... I'm gonna have to vote against Style 1, because, as noted, price info is very likely going to get... cluttered, and the longer that parenthetical is, the worse it is. I'd REALLY like to keep that to just "size class/type (if not obvious) and release year". And don't forget Takara-release prices, which can be more flexible even within a size class... but at least those have been ''extensively'' documented. I think we need to talk about bit more about everything we'd need to cover and ''how'' before we go implementing anything, and get a few more people in on the discussion. (Sorry for all the add-ons, lightly scattered today.) --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 18:18, 24 May 2024 (EDT)
:::Fair enough on the old stuff since that gets convoluted, but the newer stuff is comparatively easier to do and I'd rather start sooner before some MSRP prices get harder to find (ROTB Autobots Unite subline prices seem to have disappeared already). Added the ROTB Airazor page I was gonna start with to the sandbox so you can see how the page might look as a whole. Since you object to Style 1 I added a Style 2 version too. --[[User:BluJayWarrior|BluJayWarrior]] ([[User talk:BluJayWarrior|talk]]) 18:38, 24 May 2024 (EDT)
:::: Assemble the data, sure, but I am going to say do ''not'' actually apply any of this to live articles. Again, there's barely been any time or discussion on a project that is... vast in scope, and we simply do not jump on stuff like this right away, because that means things will get not considered and then we have to re-do hundreds to thousands of pages... and we absolutely do ''not'' do it when there's a giant obvious gap (the first decade of the franchise) that still needs to be considered, as how we handle ''that'' will affect how we handle all the others, because we try and keep things consistent.
:::: Like, just off the top of my head, there's non-US-or-Japan markets to consider for just about everything normal-retail. Which makes me think we may want to look into a collapsible template, like with the toy designers and voice actors, to handle the other markets without overloading the bullet point sections, some of which are already a bit husky. There's the fact that Walmart and Target just dropped the prices on TF Deluxes in the US... but apparently, Hasbro didn't change their "MSRP"/cost at all. In fact a quick jump to Hasbro Pulse shows they're still charging $25 for a ''Legacy/Studio'' Deluxe, while I can pop to the local Target/Walmart and buy 'em at $20, so we gotta consider ranges just like with G1/G2. And again... ''I'm moderately convinced that "MSRP" in the USA was bullshit all along,'' so I don't know that it's the term we even want to use in the first place. Maybe "Retail price" would be better. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 00:17, 25 May 2024 (EDT)
:::::I think just documenting the MSRP, if we know it, is enough. No need to go down the rabbit hole of tracking down what individual retailers sell them at when they disregard the MSRP (which as, after all, only a suggested price). In my opinion, at least, it's little different from listing the cover prices of books - the only difference is that Hasbro doesn't print their suggested price directly on the box.
:::::Totally hear you on waiting to the pull the trigger until it's been properly discussed, though. Also, I prefer BluJay's Style 2 as well. -- [[User:Dark T Zeratul|Dark T Zeratul]] ([[User talk:Dark T Zeratul|talk]]) 03:46, 25 May 2024 (EDT)
:::::: Um, the problem is, again... I really don't think we HAVE any actual MSRPs outside of Takara's. What's been cataloged here are just "prices they were sold at", which isn't ''specifically'' a Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price, the specific price suggested specifically by the manufacturer. Those we'd need a source for, and as I've pointed out, the handful of stated "MSRP"s we've seen for Hasbro stuff... well, someone was lying, likely multiple someones. For BW on we have a pretty strong ''inference'' of MSRP, but, well. And even that's not reliable... I just remembered that Walmart and Target were charging markedly different prices for the ''EarthSpark'' Tacticons, like, a $2 diff.
:::::: What I'm saying is, we might want to just not call it "MSRP" because of that (also, frankly I question how many people even recognize that acronym). And because of the wide variance in prices for older stuff, no, we don't need to list every price at every retailer (there were a billion retailers in the 80s... man, remember when actual competition in the market was a thing?), but we really OUGHT to account for the variance somehow, because it can be wide and ''full''. "''Original price''" might be best, since that's what we're actually reporting here, with something like "$2.99 - $4.99 (US) / ¥500 (Japan) <expand>". I'd rather do a range than a single-price "average" on old stuff, especially when we have so MUCH data on what these were sold at across the nation that we can see the trends and when a particularly high or low price is an outlier adn should not have been counted. "Modern" stuff we can certainly ignore, say, Kohl's's higher prices and just do the average probable-MSRP-if-those-actually-exist prices most places (all two of them) charge. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 17:10, 25 May 2024 (EDT)
::::Alright, I'll make a [[User:BluJayWarrior/MSRP Catalog|separate sub page]] to catalog prices for now while that gets sorted out
::::As Dark T said, I think prioritizing initial Hasbro MSRP is best as it is the "intended" price (this is what [https://brickset.com Brickset] does for Lego). It's a point of consistency since historically different retailers tend have slight variations on the price anyway (Target/Walmart sometimes being slightly lower, Kohls/BBTS being higher, general lag on reflecting the msrp price increases a few years ago, etc) and I don't think that whole range needs to be noted. Admittedly the current Target/Walmart prices drops are pretty unusual (a whole $5?!) but unless it becomes something more widespread I personally wouldn't consider it as a data point. Might be worth making a note of somewhere if anything, though I'm not sure where --[[User:BluJayWarrior|BluJayWarrior]] ([[User talk:BluJayWarrior|talk]]) 04:26, 25 May 2024 (EDT)

==Micronauts, etc.==
Why are we suddenly gaining detailed issue write-ups for so much of Micronauts, which contains no TF elements at all? Isn't that the point of the IDW Hasbroverse wiki? --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 13:14, 1 August 2024 (EDT)
:Oh and look, now whole issues of M.A.S.K. written 7 years ago with no TF content whatsoever are being pasted from the Hasbroverse wiki. Is the other site going offline or something? --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 14:26, 1 August 2024 (EDT)
::I don't think it was really our intention to formally unveil the project until we were further along, but some of us have been doing a fair bit of work towards creating a [https://gijoe.miraheze.org/wiki/Main_Page sister wiki for ''G.I. Joe''] where the [https://gijoe.miraheze.org/wiki/Comics#IDW_Publishing_3 out-of-scope IDW Joe coverage] has already been re-homed. The Joe crew hasn't made any calls about what do with non-Joe stuff to be clear (we're sort of preoccupied, there's so much Joe you guys) but I'm guessing the idea here is to align the rest with our [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Archive71#Energon Universe coverage|current approach]] to [[Energon Universe|Skybound's shared universe]] and sundown the IDW one? --[[User:AzimuthAcolyte|AzimuthAcolyte]] ([[User talk:AzimuthAcolyte|talk]]) 15:43, 1 August 2024 (EDT)
:::That is more or less the intention, yeah. The Hasbroverse wiki was built at a time where it was perhaps anticipated to be grander than it ended up being, and it wasn't certain how long it was going to run; with the end result being "not very", having this other vestigial site for what is ultimately not a lot of content just doesn't feel practical. The exception, of course, is pre-V5 Joe, which has ''always'' been the sticking point in discussions about moving Hasbroverse content here, both for the amount and for how little it has to do with the IDW Transformers line. Having a dedicated Joe wiki solves that problem and frees up the rest of the Hasbroverse stuff to be reintegrated. Plus, there's still new Joe material being released to this day; arguably having a complete and better curated site for the franchise as a whole that continues to be updated with new releases is more likely to drive traffic and get other people to contribute than it would be linking to a dead wiki for a long-ended comic line that's had the same featured articles for five years because no one cares to add anything to it anymore. -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 15:59, 1 August 2024 (EDT)
::::It does look like a rough consensus was reached to do this back in 2021 ([[Transformers_Wiki_talk:Community_Portal/Archive69#Reintegration_of_Hasbroverse_wiki_content|Archive 69]]), it was just never implemented. --[[User:Xaaron|Xaaron]] ([[User talk:Xaaron|talk]]) 16:10, 1 August 2024 (EDT)
::Like half of MASK issues have something from Transformers in them. Picking and choosing which select issues to cover here is hair-splitting and obnoxious for readers. It's immensely better to just have all the information in one, easily-accessible spot and regard Hasbro Universe as a de facto spinoff of Transformers, much like Beastformers and Energon Universe are. [[User:Saix|Saix]] ([[User talk:Saix|talk]]) 17:10, 1 August 2024 (EDT)

==One spoilers==
I propose that information about this movie be withheld until it actually opens in its largest market next weekend. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 11:04, 14 September 2024 (EDT)
: Agreed. [[User:Locoman|Locoman]] ([[User talk:Locoman|talk]]) 11:08, 14 September 2024 (EDT)

==Transformers One and the conversation we've all been waiting for==

On September 12th, Lorenzo di Bonaventura [https://comicbook.com/movies/news/is-transformers-one-a-prequel-optimus-prime-origin-story-exclusive/ clarified the relationship] between ''Transformers One'' and the live-action ''Transformers'' films, describing them as "two universes" that will be "separate". For some, this kind of explicit confirmation may come as a relief after years of wishy-washy answers regarding ''Bumblebee'' and ''Rise of the Beasts'', but it also leaves us with questions on how to best handle ''One''-related information going forward. Around 2015, we adopted a unique layout we applied to all the movie characters, where we organized their movie appearances at the top of the page, regardless of chronological order of release (see "[[Optimus Prime (Movie)#Movies]]"). Obviously, this leads to some questions regarding how we should handle our ''One'' coverage going forward.

The way I see it, we have three options:

* '''Keep the page format as is, and keep''' '''''One''''' '''up with the rest of the movies''': For obvious reasons I think this is probably our weakest possible solution; it's pretty clear at this point that our current solution for classifying the films is not really sustainable, and mashing them all together under a single loosely-affiliated umbrella is already confusing and frustrating people who aren't intimately acquainted with the mechanics of the wiki.

* '''Reorganize movie character pages so that we acknowledge the live-action films and''' '''''One''''' '''as separate continuities within one continuity family, similar to how our G1 pages cover Sunbow, Marvel, JG1, IDW, etc.''': Historically speaking, this is probably the safest option, but from what I understand there is very little "connective tissue"—visually, character-wise, plot-beats—between the live-action films and ''One'' beyond the inertia of "they were both made by Paramount". As some people have discussed in the past, this could lead to a full or partial reformat of our movie character coverage to more clearly reflect the ambiguous "prequel" status of ''Bumblebee'' and ''Rise of the Beasts'', but this may be a conversation for another time.

* '''Separate''' '''''One''''' '''as an entirely new continuity family and split out the relevant information so we have pages for "Optimus Prime (One)", "Megatron (One)", etc.''' Probably the most radical proposal, but this is honestly where I'm at right now: from what I understand the movie is a pretty radical departure from everything that's gone before, with entirely new interpretations of old ''Transformers'' lore—I'd classify it as the start of a new "franchise" in the same way that we distinguish ''Earthspark'' and ''Cyberverse'' despite them both clearly drawing on the same well of post-Aligned lore, and these days "new franchise" is generally synonymous with "new continuity family" for the ease of wiki bookkeeping.

We would appreciate hearing your thoughts on the matter! '''As the film is not out yet in all regions please refrain from posting spoilers here'''. [[User:Locoman|Locoman]] ([[User talk:Locoman|talk]]) 08:56, 15 September 2024 (EDT)

:I could see option 3 being the way we go, but what holds me back from that is that beyond just Paramount, Spielberg and Bay are still executive producers on the film. [[User:Escargon|Escargon]] ([[User talk:Escargon|talk]]) 09:39, 15 September 2024 (EDT)

::I think we should put them on the Earthspark Continuity pages to satisfy no-one /j - but yeah, the film is drawing from the same vaguely Binder Of Revelation backstory as everything else for the last 10 years, and unless they have been hiding The Fallen twisting D-16 to evil or the twist that the Creators were the Quintessons all along, One feels pretty decoupled from the rest of the movies. The big issue I see with splitting out fully is that people wondering why we do not do the same for Bumblebee/ROTB, but that more easily passes a "vibe check" as being "Movie-adjacent" and belonging on the same page as the Bay 5-dom than One so far. Agree that trying to put them directly alongside the other movies as a prequel feels both unwieldy and confusing. [[User:AkibaSilver|AkibaSilver]] ([[User talk:AkibaSilver|talk]]) 09:41, 15 September 2024 (EDT)

:I vote for '''option 3''', I think creating separate pages is the way to go. [[User:MrRald|MrRald]] ([[User talk:MrRald|talk]]) 09:54, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
::I vote for '''option 2'''. To me the movie is different enough to be a separate universe but not an entirely different continuity. Josh Cooley himself on April 18 when asked whether the film is a fresh start, a prequel to the live-action films, or its own thing, replied with: "yes to all of the above" https://comicbook.com/movies/news/transformers-one-director-confirms-new-movies-canon-status. (And having seen the movie I can confirm those connections to the live-action series do exist). [[User:Grievous Prime|Grievous Prime]] ([[User talk:Grievous Prime|talk]]) 10:05, 15 September 2024 (EDT)

:I vote for '''option 3'''. One has always felt very different to the previous live action movies so I feel it should get its own dedicated pages. As for BB and ROTB, there is "connective tissue" to the Bayverse movies so I feel they can stay on the pre-existing movie pages. [[User:PublicCrown|PublicCrown]] ([[User talk:PublicCrown|talk]]) 10:25, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
:Having viewed the film at an advance screening, I think there are easily enough references and homages to previous films that '''option two''' makes the most sense. - [[User:Archforce|Archforce]] ([[User talk:Archforce|talk]]) 10:45, 15 September 2024 (EDT)

::I'm favorable for the '''3rd option''', it is still produced under Paramount & there are some producers attached to the project that were on previous movies, but my stance is that we should judge based on the final product & having seen the movie, it doesn't try to be in line to what came before (there are some similarities in design & names, but it stops there since every popular TF stories has influence over the next ones), helped by the new team of writers & creatives. If we can treat each new cartoon as its own entity (even tho in recent years they are streamlined in some areas), I think we can do the same for the recent movies that have more contradictory elements to the Bayverse –[[User:MahXyme|MahXyme/MahXymal]] ([[User talk:MahXyme|talk]]) 10:49, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
:'''<nowiki>#3</nowiki>''' is the cleanest option to me. [[User:Saix|Saix]] ([[User talk:Saix|talk]]) 11:32, 15 September 2024 (EDT)

:I think from a practical perspective, '''#3''' is the only real option. Looking at the loose guidelines for a new family on our [[continuity family]] page:
:*"a fresh continuity" — Yep, even Lorenzo's acknowledged this. Even if we questioned that, there's stuff like the AllSpark being absent (with the Matrix pretty much taking exactly the role the AllSpark would have), Megatronus being a good guy, and Sentinel's role being entirely irreconcilable with Dark of the Moon.
:*"within a separate franchise" — Yep. New franchise, and the marketing hasn't done anything to allude to the live-action films specifically.
:*"significantly different in cast, theme, style, etc." — This is the big sticking point for me. One makes no attempt to align with the visual style or characterisations of the live-action films. The sole real connective point is B-127 (name from ''Bumblebee'', he has the big cheeks and antenna of the movie guy, and his talking a lot is clearly a meta-gag about him losing his voice), but even he's characterised completely differently, as the "comedy crazy guy" who's a peer to Optimus and co instead of the cool-but-rude big brother figure from Bay/Bee/Beasts.
:I'm sympathetic to the Paramount/Bay/Spielberg/Di Bonaventura connective tissue, but my big rebuttal there is that we don't consider ''EarthSpark'' to be Aligned because Nicole Dubuc is the showrunner. Ultimately, if we hadn't had pre-release producer statements (now contradicted) calling it a prequel to the other movies, there's absolutely no way this would be in question — we'd already have it as a separate continuity family. And from a wiki organisation standpoint I don't think there's any way to, say, write up Sentinel Prime's opening paragraph in a way that adequately covers both the DOTM and One characters without genericising it to the point of uselessness. --[[User:Broadside|Broadside]] ([[User talk:Broadside|talk]]) 12:33, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
::Yeah, I think '''#3''' is straightforward and likely the approach we'd take if we were presented with the film, as a story, with zero context on the studio releasing it or EPs involved or whatever. I also think there's a high likelihood that the next live-action film will have Elita appear and be like "hey Optimus remember when we were in Transformers One?" and we'll all groan and have to reconsider, but until then, I think the real-world context is basically the only thing separating One from just being the next Broadly Aligned-y New Thing like Cyberverse and EarthSpark before it, which we consistently split out for organisation reasons. [[User:Jalaguy|Jalaguy]] ([[User talk:Jalaguy|talk]]) 13:45, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
:Toss me in for '''Option 3''' of an entirely new continuity given how ''different'' the story details has been laid out when compared to the original 2007 film-verse and then later what's set by ''Bumblebee''. --[[User:Lonegamer78|Lonegamer78]] ([[User talk:Lonegamer78|talk]]) 14:38, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
:Voting for '''option #2'''. While we would still have the outlier of TF:TAM 86 being a theatrically released movie in the G1 continuity family, I see no reason why "movie continuity family" would not only include transmedia spinoffs from feature films (''Reign of Starscream'', toy redeco Tech Specs, etc. etc.) but also feature films which are belonging different timelines and story universes. This would also free us from having to reconcile Movie 'Bee's history -- did he come to Earth in the 1940s or the 1980s? -- and put to bed *that* long running argument about whether the Bay-directed films were the same universe as BB and RotB or not -- now they don't have to be! [[User:Banpei the Mini-Con|Banpei the Mini-Con]] ([[User talk:Banpei the Mini-Con|talk]]) 14:58, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
:Having seen the movie, I think '''#3''' is our cleanest option. Between the Lorenzo interview and, without going into spoilers, the numerous discrepencies there are, I don't think we can get away with suiting it out ala G1. The time may come when we do that for Bumblebee onwards but as far as One goes, I say we treat it as a new continuity. [[User:Ezim93|Ezim93]] ([[User talk:Ezim93|talk]]) 19:53, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
:'''#3'''. #2 was close for me, but TFOne (having seen the movie) is so artistically different from the live action movies, it feels pointless to keep it on the same page like G1/IDW. Ironically, we could give Bayverse/BB&ROTB the G1/IDW treatment. [[User:Boingus|--Boingus]] ([[User talk:Boingus|talk]]) 23:23, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
:I think 3 is where I'm leaning after seeing the film. Keeping this as "movie continuity" simply because it was released theatrically doesn't make sense to me. We wouldn't do that with a new comic or show because it was the same medium, why do it for a movie just because of that? Yes There is some CNA here to the live action films, but it could be argued it has just as much pulled from G1. One is it's own thing in the end. Trying to fit it into the live action movie box just doesn't feel right in this case.--[[User:ParadoxFactor|ParadoxFactor]] ([[User talk:ParadoxFactor|talk]]) 05:47, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
:I vote for '''Option 3''' for all the reasons previously mentioned as well as size concerns. --[[User:Khajidha|Khajidha]] ([[User talk:Khajidha|talk]]) 09:29, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
:'''Option 3''', I believe the movie was clearly made with a new continuity in mind.-[[User:TitaniumToughGuy|TitaniumToughGuy]] ([[User talk:TitaniumToughGuy|talk]]) 09:38, 16 September 2024 (EDT)

:I'm voting '''Option 3'''; much of my reasons are the same as others have stated above, and I do apologise for opening this bags of worms on the ''One'' talk page. It's not that I don't understand why some people are opposed to creating a new set if pages, but for argument's sake, if ''One'' gets one or more sequels, it would likely draw further away from the established live-action films and become its own continuity/franchise (though that's more of a what-if right now). Overall, I personally think that separating live-action films and animated ones into their own continuities is a reasonable option, and I believe that ''One'' has proven itself a different entity. [[User:Prime Temple|Prime Temple]] ([[User talk:Prime Temple|talk]]) 06:26, 17 September 2024 (EDT)

:Screen Rant: I vote for '''Option 1''' This came out from ScreenRant today. Is Transformers One considered a prequel to the recent movies of Bumblebee and Rise of the Beast or the original live-action film starting in 2007? Or is it something completely, entirely new? ... Lorenzo di Bonaventura: "It obviously exists beforehand. I think we figured it out. It was like 300 million years before the first Michael Bay movie, so if that's a prequel, that's a prequel. But we're really following the lore about where it starts, and so we really just think about it as the beginning of the story. The origin, yes, but literally the beginning of the thing that we've all come to appreciate." https://screenrant.com/transformers-one-lorenzo-di-bonaventura-and-josh-cooley-interview/ [[User:96megatron|96megatron]] ([[User talk:96megatron|talk]]) 10:56, 17 September 2024 (EDT)

===CHECKPOINT (2024/09/16)===
*Votes for Option 1: 0
*Votes for Option 2: 3 (GrievousPrime, Archforce, Banpei the Mini-Con)
*Votes for Option 3: 15 (Locoman, AkibaSilver, MrRald, PublicCrown, MahXyme, Saix, Broadside, Jalaguy, Lonegamer, Ezim93, Boingus, ParadoxFactor, Khajidha, TitaniumToughGuy, CyberLink420)
As it stands, current consensus is pretty overwhelmingly in favor of Option 3 by a ratio of 5:1. I know it's only been a day, but barring a sudden swell of support for #2, it might be prudent to start switching everything over. -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 10:20, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
: I'm reluctant to make actual changes until the movie hits wide release and the general public can make informed input. Give it a few more days. --[[User:Broadside|Broadside]] ([[User talk:Broadside|talk]]) 10:40, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
::::This. Let people... SEE the movie before we make important decisions. --[[User:ItsWalky|ItsWalky]] ([[User talk:ItsWalky|talk]]) 19:49, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
::::Right. We can wait a few days for more than a small handful of people to see this and base their decision on, you know, '''''the actual movie''''' rather than whatever someone who had something to do with it says ''this'' week, which historically has waffled between "vague" and "contradictory". Hell, even ''now'' some of them are still being all "well maybe it is and maybe it isn't" and frankly I have no faith they won't ride that ambiguity for a long time like they've done since ''Bumblebee''. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 20:49, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
::I've said ever since Keegan Michael Key tweeted as much that One should be treated as a separate continuity. '''Option 3''' for sure. {{unsigned|jmcdavid}}
:'''Option 3'''. I've seen the movie and other users have covered why that seems like the best choice. It feels as different from the previous movies as Prime is from Animated, or Earthspark from Sunbow (which, despite directly homaging/referencing Sunbow, Earthspark is considered separate from). [[User:Ashendawn|Ashendawn]] ([[User talk:Ashendawn|talk]]) 18:01, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
:I vote '''Option 2'''. There seems to be a large focus on whether or not the film fits in continuity with the prior films, but considering how little they fit with each other that feels irrelevant to me. The creators have been rather unclear whether this film should be considered separate from the ongoing live-action series in terms of production, just in terms of universe. If we had a sense this was the springboard for an entirely separate animated film series I'd say Option 3, but it feels unwarranted at this time. [[User:Indridcold13|Indridcold13]] ([[User talk:Indridcold13|talk]]) 20:29, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
:Also '''Option 3''' . In tone, content, continuity, style, story, just feels too different to me from the Michael Bay and other films, really only having the method of release in common. It feels more separate from the other movies than even Cyberverse from G1, and that’s happily separate. —[[User:MissDaria|MissDaria]] ([[User talk:MissDaria|talk]]) 10:05, 17 September 2024 (EDT)

MediaWiki talk:Community Portal

2024-09-17T14:56:34Z

96megatron: /* CHECKPOINT (2024/09/16) */

__NEWSECTIONLINK__

This is the place for discussion of topics that affect the entire wiki. For less wide-reaching subjects, either use articles' individual talk pages or [https://discord.com/invite/N99Bygq our Discord server.]

Some topics that would ordinarily be here have merited their own pages:

{{chapters|title=Specific Discussion Subjects|align=left|content=
<div class="list-header">'''Moving From Wikia:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Arriving|Arriving]]
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Leaving|Leaving]]
* [[Transformers Wiki:Community Portal/Complaints|Complaints]]
<br/><div class="list-header">'''New Ad Policy:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki:Ads|Ads]]
<br/><div class="list-header">'''Bookworm Database-Crash:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Damage Control Central|Damage Control Central]]
* [[Project:Bookworm Crash]]
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Leaving2|Leaving Take 2]]
<br/><div class="list-header">'''Server Move:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Arriving2|Arriving Take 2]]
<br/><div class="list-header">'''Relicensing:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Relicensing|Relicensing]]
<br/><div class="list-header">'''Dealing With Vandalism:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Vandalism|Vandalism]]
<br/><div class="list-header">'''GoBots Sister Wiki:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/GoBots|Discussion on the place of GoBots in this wiki]]
<br/> <div class="list-header">'''Wiki Technical Information:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki:Tech|A Not So Brief Summary of the Horrible Things That McFly and Co. Have Done To Keep This Wiki From Melting Down]]
}}<br/>

{{:{{FULLPAGENAMEE}}/Archive}}


== Press release or logo for 30,000 articles? ==
Is it worth putting something together as we get very very close? Maybe something like:
* 3 from Thrilling 30 logo
* 0 from the 40th logo
* 0 from the Vector Sigma "Featured" logo
* 0 from the cosmic-streaking O in the TFTM opener
* 0 from GO!

Just a suggestion.... --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 13:45, 10 November 2023 (EST)
:If we wanted to go down that route, maybe tie into some of the contemporary material? Say, the "O"s from [[Energon Universe]] or [[Transformers: Legacy#Legacy: Evolution|Evolution]]? (Though the latter isn't exactly straight-on...) --[[User:Broadside|Broadside]] ([[User talk:Broadside|talk]]) 14:38, 10 November 2023 (EST)
::Sure! I lean towards the Energon Universe choice. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 15:48, 10 November 2023 (EST)
:Apologies, I've corrected the count on the main page as it was inaccurate, so we're not as close as it looked like we were. --[[User:Abates|abates]] ([[User talk:Abates|talk]]) 16:20, 10 November 2023 (EST)
::That just means we have more time to decide and, if so, pull things together. :) -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 16:51, 10 November 2023 (EST)
:::Feels like we just leapt up 40 new articles in the last 2-3 days. Is it worth putting a graphic together? --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 22:47, 18 January 2024 (EST)

=="Multi-pack" vs "gift set" and suchlike==
Incoming semantics, but... as I've been going through the toy entries, been trying to standardize/streamline a lot of stuff, and I think maybe a set of consistent terms/definitions for "a bunch of separate toys packed together" is in order. So lemme throw this out here for discussion/future reference...
*'''Multi-pack''' — A pack of toys where the contents (or at least most/some/any of them) are exclusive to this release, not sold in other packaging. Most multi-toy releases nowadays would fall under this umbrella by default.
*'''Gift set''' — A pack of toys where all of the contents are/were concurrently (or close enough) sold individually as well, without changes, in the same market. Like all the various G1 combiner sets.
The latter brings up the question of if we want to label all the Takara "VS" packs and the various UT-era "VALUE PACK!" sets under that umbrella, which I'm ambivalent-to-marginally-in-favor-of over. Especially as Takara's been putting out new "VS" packs where the toys are new decos not available elsewhere... also we kinda made up the "VS pack" term anyway, as memory serves, so. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 20:15, 8 January 2024 (EST)
:Hasbro has used the word "[[Giftset]]" to refer to unique variants not available separately. I'm inclined to think we shouldn't directly contradict that. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 21:21, 8 January 2024 (EST)
::and damn but does that article need updating. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 21:22, 8 January 2024 (EST)
:::I'm inclined to think that Hasbro uses lots of terms in ways that are not exactly conducive to organizing a wiki. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 21:29, 8 January 2024 (EST)

==More bullet point insignia?==
Okay so... I recall there were some other possible faction symbol bullet points we could maybe use. I ran across a few with this batch of toy pics we might consider adding. I'll list them here, see if people can think of more. I feel like there might be a couple more two-faction matchups out there.
* Rescue Bots
* The various BotBots squads
* My First Transformers

I'm not un-convinced that we should have the bespoke insignia for stuff like the Disney Label, since they do use them on the packaging. So uh... there. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 01:51, 13 January 2024 (EST)
:Also, while looking at the list of all the bullets on the template page... maybe we should see if we can split the list up a smidge? Like, put all the mutli-faction icons in one section, a section just for BotBots since there's gonna be quite a few of them? Alphabetizing them might also be in order. (I have exactly zero idea how those templates are coded, so uh, lemme know if that's doable.) --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 04:42, 13 January 2024 (EST)
::There's also the [[Star Wars Transformers]]... though I'm not sure if using ''Star Wars'' insignia falls too much out of this wiki's scope, although we do use at least use them on the actual characters' pages (see [[Darth Vader]]). [[User:Turborun|Turborun]] ([[User talk:Turborun|talk]]) 10:34, 13 January 2024 (EST)
:::I don't think we'd use SW insignia because, near as I can tell, the toy packaging doesn't mark the toys that way. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 05:27, 14 January 2024 (EST)

== Idea for reducing the size of toy sections by compacting unchanged toy entries ==

I've come up with an idea that I think would make toy sections on character pages a little better and more intuitive. Instead of having a long list of entries for multiple releases of the exact same toy completely unchanged, we could just compact them all in a single entry, describing how the toy was available both individually and unchanged in a bunch of multipacks. This could be especially helpful with toy sections that are way too long, such as both the Movie Optimus Prime and Bumblebee toy pages that have been subject to a lot of discussion already.

[[User:Fritz/Optimus Prime (Movie)/toys|I used the 2007 Legends Class section of the Movie Optimus Prime toy page to make a quick example out of it.]] The entries would be reduced from four to two toys, since 3/4 of them are the same toy anyway, and a lot of white space would be removed. As for the images of the multipacks, I don't think we would be losing much in removing them since the wiki has never prioritized images of packagings for anything really and, as I know is written somewhere in the "rules", the wiki isn't supposed to be used as an image hosting website in the first place.

So, any thoughts? --[[User:Fritz|Fritz]] ([[User talk:Fritz|talk]]) 20:18, 20 January 2024 (EST)
: We used to do this and it was actually kind of worse. There's also complications when unchanged toys end up being sold under different franchise headers, and when you add in all the other bullet point data a toy/set might have, you could end up with a lonnnnng list of bullet points before you get to the actual writeup, plus describing the multi-packs' contents... you're not really saving space while also kinda hurting the demi-chronological flow of the information. And deleting the multi-pack package imagery feels very wrong. It's one of those cases where there's no real ideal situation, but there's a least-bad one.
:That said, it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to make sure the first entry mentions these "repacks" alongside the redecoes and links to the relevant items. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 21:34, 21 January 2024 (EST)
::Good points, as usual. Now that you mentioned it, I think I do have a vague memory of this being done in the past. I was going to suggest the repacks from different toylines should remain separate, though. My mentality was that maybe we could have a way to highlight the "main" releases (original and redecoes/retools) from the "minor" ones (unchanged repacks) to make it easier to identify in a glance how many actually-different toys were released within a toyline, but I wouldn't want it to cause ''more'' confusion than ''less''. Anyway thanks for taking the time to evaluate the idea. --[[User:Fritz|Fritz]] ([[User talk:Fritz|talk]]) 05:54, 22 January 2024 (EST)

==Repurposings, continuity transplants, and using Template:Main/Template:See to improve navigability==
I've gone back to the drawing board to come up with a way to signal to readers where closely-related pages exist, as I don't think [[Help:Disambiguation|disambiguation]] pages are enough and have found [[Template:OtherVersions]] to be unideal. [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Archive70#Proposal re: G1 pages|Previously]], I'd suggested merging a bunch of pages for so-called "[[Continuity family|continuity]] transplants", but other users convinced me this would be a poor solution. One alternative suggestion, from [[User:Broadside]], was to use [[Template:Main]] to put key links to a character's appearances in other continuity families directly in the fiction section—[[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Archive70#Handling of "former GoBots" and "former Diaclone" characters on the wiki|reactions at the time]] were neutral-positive. You can see mockups for [[User:Broadside/Sandbox:Cy-Kill|Cy-Kill]] and [[User:Broadside/Sandbox:Bug Bite|Bug Bite]]. This strikes me as the best of both worlds, because it keeps the consistent schema (which helps for page length and organisation) but also puts a link to the information in the place where your typical reader is expecting to find it (on the page for the highest-profile first incarnation of the character).

With the same philosophy in mind, I've also designed two new templates. The first, [[Template:Toyappeared]], is intended for use in toy write-ups as a way of linking to fiction write-ups and character pages. It covers [[repurposing]]s, "continuity transplants", notable instances of [[Show-accuracy|toy-accuracy]], in-fiction [[Reformatting|powerups]], [[Redeco#"Virtual" redecos|"virtual" redecos]], you name it. Toy write-ups are increasingly being duplicated across multiple character pages, which creates maintenance overhead, as both instances must be manually kept in sync. My suggestion is to use [[Template:See]] to link to the full information regarding a toy on the original page, with the repurposed instance giving only brief information of what the toy is and ''why'' it was repurposed or whatever. The second of my new templates has a much more specific intended use case: [[Template:Bwucharacter]] provides an easy way of explaining how/why a character was reinterpreted for their ''Uprising'' appearance, as ''Uprising'' accounts for most of the situations I view as being problematic.

I realise I'm proposing like five things at once here, so [[User:The Wadapan/sandbox/repurposing|my sandbox]] has [[User:The Wadapan/sandbox/repurposing#Full example|a full example]] demonstrating how it all works together, along with tons of individual examples of the templates' usage and a more thorough explanation of what I'm trying to address with them. Take a look, and let me know which aspects you like, which parts you don't like, or any ideas you have to add! —[[User:The Wadapan|The Wadapan]] ([[User talk:The Wadapan|talk]]) 06:24, 12 February 2024 (EST)
:I can vouch for these templates! [[User:ShootingStar7X|ShootingStar7X]] ([[User talk:ShootingStar7X|talk]]) 15:38, 26 February 2024 (EST)
: I'm seeing a lot of problems with the implementation of some of this, and a lot of future headaches. The ones rolled out put what look like stub headers in a fiction section with just a small normal missable note up top; and in Override's case in specific, multiple stubs with completely redundant information. What this is ''going'' to do is get new people thinking that these are missing information that needs to be filled, then we gotta revert it and tell them no all that goes elsewhere, which is utterly unintuitive and will just lead to arguments and headaches all around.
: As for toys, in the instances of BWU-type stuff where it's a one-toy Mini-Con or whatever, I feel like NOT having the actual toy info for them on the BWU page, as with the Mini-Con Snow Cat toy currently, is not doing the reader any favors. Quite the opposite. Why are we making them jump to a different page for information that has no reason to not be right there? I don't like making readers jump through hoops needlessly, and that's all this feels like. And it's not like the toy sections of most of these are gonna see major changes, so lack of cross-updating is very, very, very unlikely to be an issue.
: I really don't think these require new templates and a bunch of new-editor landmines. At most, there's a decent argument to be made for re-positioning the "you look familiar" template that already exists, maybe below the main character writeup (above feels like a bad layout choice, pushing all kinds of stuff down.) --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 02:11, 28 February 2024 (EST)

== Listings and accessories ==

When I was making the description for cannonball based on the Walmart listing, there was mention of a Gatling gun and hammer not shown in the stock images,and left them out.

If I run into this type of situation again, what do I do?[[User:Poliwag06|Poliwag06]] ([[User talk:Poliwag06|talk]]) 10:56, 7 March 2024 (EST)

== A few suggestions ==

Gallery pages should only include images that aren't easily accessed by going to the main page, to avoid cluttering. I guess this is not an issue now since the current gallery pages are fairly short.

There should be more dedication in listing alt-modes of characters. Maybe there should be a header or something. For example, if the Dreamwave version of [[Sunstorm (G1)#Dreamwave Generation One continuity|Sunstorm]] transforms into an F-16 jet, it should be listed in the beginning with a header for the sake of easy access to the said information.--[[User:Primestar3|Primestar3]] ([[User talk:Primestar3|talk]]) 13:59, 17 March 2024 (EDT)

== Will we get an article on The Masked Singer? ==

Will there be an article on TFWiki about The Masked Singer, specifically their recent "Transformers Night" episode (https://the-masked-singer.fandom.com/wiki/Transformers_Night)? --[[User:John Pannozzi|John Pannozzi]] ([[User talk:John Pannozzi|talk]]) 20:01, 12 April 2024 (EDT)

: Assuming it's a licensed appearance (I can't check the credits myself :C ), I can't think why it wouldn't be [[User:AkibaSilver|AkibaSilver]] ([[User talk:AkibaSilver|talk]]) 21:15, 12 April 2024 (EDT)

:: It was indeed licensed. --[[User:John Pannozzi|John Pannozzi]] ([[User talk:John Pannozzi|talk]]) 22:30, 12 April 2024 (EDT)
:::Yes, as an official Hasbro-sanctioned piece of TF media, the episode does meet our requirements for inclusion. It just needs someone to write it up. -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 23:22, 12 April 2024 (EDT)

== Franchise articles ==
So I was looking at the franchise pages to try and get an idea of what the standard is supposed to be for how they are written. Should all of them be updated to be more like the [[Beast Wars: Transformers (franchise)]] article? What was making me wonder this was that on the [[Transformers: Energon (franchise)]] article it had a section for "Homages" and one for "New characters" which I don't think any other franchise article has. --[[User:1levichurch|1levichurch]] ([[User talk:1levichurch||talk]]) 22:57, 21 April 2024 (UTC)

== AI upscaled images ==
With fresh offsite talks about the matter, I put forth we add an official policy against posting AI upscaled images of any kind to the wiki, owing to their subpar performance in "enhancing" the quality of images. [[User:McBaggins|McBaggins]] ([[User talk:McBaggins|talk]]) 23:52, 1 May 2024 (EDT)
:Agreed. It's literally faking information and presenting it as official. (Also often noticeably terrible.) Sometimes the best quality available of something sucks, but we simply have to deal. [[User:Saix|Saix]] ([[User talk:Saix|talk]]) 23:57, 1 May 2024 (EDT)
::100 percent agreed. It's called "artificial" for a reason. Plenty of details would be lost out through the upscaling, and several times errors on the wiki somehow became official through Hastak using the wiki for references (the whole [[Circular reporting]] thing). If we start allowing AI upscaled images, then we're likely to have things lost to the annals of time. Potato quality is better than lost quality[[User:Singularity|Singularity]] ([[User talk:Singularity|talk]]) 00:11, 2 May 2024 (EDT)
: Sure. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 00:43, 2 May 2024 (EDT)

== Ending addition of high-end statues ==
This is something I doubt other people have noticed, but I'm putting down a tent-peg on it: After having built the entries for dozens of high-end collectable TF statues in the last 2-3 years, from firms like Diamond Select, Imaginarium, Azure Sea, XM Studios, etc., and then seeing most of them either officially cancelled or never spoken of again with no reported purchases, I am going to stop adding such items here. If someone else feels like cataloguing them, great.

It really may not be possible for us to keep up with toy-like non-transforming merchandise (figurines and statues) the way we used to. There are at least two ''released'' series of G1 core cast micro-figurines with micro-comics and magnifying glasses, which would have been the rage of the fandom in 2005, that nobody ever got around to adding, and it feels like too much of a chore for me to start. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 10:35, 3 May 2024 (EDT)
: It's an unfortunate but very real thing that once you enter the world of licensed merch, we're ''gonna'' have big gaps. It's... a lot, on top of the "a lot" that is the regular TF toyline and fictional output today. I've said that the work involved in keeping up with all of TF's merch ought to be a full-time paying job, and I genuinely mean it. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 16:39, 3 May 2024 (EDT)

== Transformers Roleplaying Game releases on the front page and sidebar ==

The [[Transformers Roleplaying Game]] is getting pretty frequent releases of both sourcebooks and pre-written adventures, and it occurs to me that it might be a good idea to have it on the "current releases" section of the front page and/or the navigation sidebar. How would people feel about that? --[[User:Broadside|Broadside]] ([[User talk:Broadside|talk]]) 15:49, 4 May 2024 (EDT)
: I think that makes a lot of sense, as long as we have people keeping up with the new releases to document them. -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 15:51, 4 May 2024 (EDT)

==How we handle weapons' toy/merch sections==
Okay, so like... I'm not really convinced that what we've been doing is the best way to handle the weapon pages' toys/merch sections. Honestly, they end up looking... really shoddy. There's just tiny scraps of info, vast wads of whitespace, few to no links, the images are tons of different sizes. <br>
I'm thinking that instead of all this... maybe this is a place where a gallery is in order, just a chronological procession. Have the captions just say what lines/toys the weapons came with and link to the toys directly on the character page. It's not like there's much to say about any of these, why not let the toy listing on the character page say it? Why make people scroll through screens of mostly-emptiness, which I feel they're increasingly unlikely to do? I may do a sandbox if I'm feeling up to it. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 22:24, 6 May 2024 (EDT)
:[[User:M Sipher/Sandbox:WeaponPageToysSection]] - So... this, basically. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 22:39, 6 May 2024 (EDT)
:I'd be on board with that. --[[User:Broadside|Broadside]] ([[User talk:Broadside|talk]]) 22:34, 6 May 2024 (EDT)
:I like it. It would be far more compact than our current approach for, say, [[Fusion cannon#Toys]], while still getting the point across. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 11:13, 10 May 2024 (EDT)

==Proposal for Unproduced or Unreleased Template==
I don't think the Apocrypha template is particularly useful. It was created specifically for Alignment, but most of the things in it don't fit that criteria. Something like Unproduced or Unreleased Transformer media would be more self explanatory. [[User:WillR113|WillR113]] ([[User talk:WillR113|talk]]) 07:05, 11 May 2024 (EDT)

== Use of pictures from ebay, fan sites, etc ==

Is it appropriate to use pictures of toys from ebay, fan reviews, video review screenshots and the like? Under fair use and with source credit? Sometimes rarer items we don't have good pictures of on the wiki show up in these places. In particular I found a ebay seller with good images of EZ collection toys and and old Japanese review blog with images of Takara variants of HFTD/Autobot Alliance toys so that got me wondering. —[[User:BluJayWarrior|BluJayWarrior]] ([[User talk:BluJayWarrior|talk]]) 10:10, 12 May 2024 (EDT)
:Images from eBay and other fan sites have been and can continue to be used, giving the fullest source credit feasible. I don't think we've ever needed to rely on video review screenshots and would always prefer to have a "normal" still image instead whenever possible. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 11:02, 16 May 2024 (EDT)

== ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' “再構成版” エピソード視聴ガイド "Re-Configuration Version" aka "Re-Constructed Version" Episode Viewing Guide ==

We really need to document the "canon" Japanese viewing order for ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' & ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers 2010'' originally included with the ''Pioneer'' Laserdisc booklets & later apparently revised by [[Hirofumi Ichikawa]] (市川裕文) for the DVD BOX SET 2 Instruction Booklet as it would help clean-up the chronology on many wiki pages here. From what I've been able to gather this particular viewing order differs from both the US/Japan production orders, the US-Airing order and the Japanese-Airing order. So what exactly is the order of the episodes of these two series according to these documents? Does anyone own them and able to list the specific order in which the episodes appear in those LD/DVD "Instruction Booklets" word-for-word? As it stands, we've only mentioned that a "narrative viewing order" exists but do not have it listed anywhere. For further clarification, it is not the order in which the episodes appear on the Japanese DVDs. [[User:Astrobotix|Astrobotix]] ([[User talk:Astrobotix|talk]]) 01:09, 15 May 2024 (EDT)
:While this information would be valuable and is worth documenting, it's unlikely to result in us making any major changes to the way our information is structured. -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 17:31, 16 May 2024 (EDT)
:Okay, having seen the booklets in question, it just lists the episodes in production order, continuity errors and all. So...absolutely no change, then. -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 20:44, 17 May 2024 (EDT)

== Documenting MSRP? ==

Would it be worth documenting MSRP prices (in usd at least)? For the regular retail classes that's for the most part covered by the [[size class]] page, but we don't keep track of them for more specialty items like Masterpieces, multipacks, exclusives, one-off releases not in a normal size class, special lines like Missing Link, etc. It's something I find personally interesting and would've liked to know for older figures and someone in the future might want to know about today's releases. It can also offer some neat bits of info like how Premium Finish releases were generally one price point up compared to the figure's size or how the upcoming United Cliffjumper multipack is a whole $30 off what the individual figures would cost --[[User:BluJayWarrior|BluJayWarrior]] ([[User talk:BluJayWarrior|talk]]) 14:20, 21 May 2024 (EDT)
:I think this would be very interesting, particularly when you scroll down pages for G1 toys that got multiple reissues like the Seekers, Insecticons, and tape players. It's just that - like the Designer Notes and the proper insignias on each and every toy - it would take forever to add and would probably wind up being one super-dedicated person having to do most of the work. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 14:28, 21 May 2024 (EDT)
::I might try to do what I can, going back to recatalogue everything would definitely be a chore. But at the very least I strongly believe it's something we can and should implement for future toy entries. I've started a [[User:BluJayWarrior/Sandbox|MSRP Sandbox]] to try out a few formats, any feedback is appreciated. --[[User:BluJayWarrior|BluJayWarrior]] ([[User talk:BluJayWarrior|talk]]) 05:18, 23 May 2024 (EDT)
::Cleaned up the sandbox page. Anyone have anything to say about the format? Might try applying Style 1 to a few pages this weekend if no one makes any objections. [[User:BluJayWarrior|BluJayWarrior]] ([[User talk:BluJayWarrior|talk]]) 12:58, 24 May 2024 (EDT)
:::Of those options I like Style 1 the best. As you already noted, the [[size class]] pages covers basically all normal U.S. retail from BW through Legacy, missing things like Platinum and MP. To find contemporary G1 prices, here are some good resources:
:::https://web.archive.org/web/20181125082555/https://pleasesavemerobots.com/vstp/vstptf84.html
:::https://web.archive.org/web/20191114081109/http://pleasesavemerobots.com/vstp/vstptf85.html
:::https://web.archive.org/web/20191114091052/http://pleasesavemerobots.com/vstp/vstptf86.html
:::https://web.archive.org/web/20191114090836/http://pleasesavemerobots.com/vstp/vstptf87.html
:::https://web.archive.org/web/20191114084922/http://pleasesavemerobots.com/vstp/vstptf88.html
:::https://web.archive.org/web/20191114081716/http://pleasesavemerobots.com/vstp/vstptf89.html
:::https://web.archive.org/web/20191114085830/http://pleasesavemerobots.com/vstp/vstptf90.html
:::https://www.tfw2005.com/boards/threads/g1-original-retail-price-listing.1167895/
:::I tried looking for G2 MSRP but couldn't find anything as obvious. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 13:24, 24 May 2024 (EDT)
::::Thanks for the sources, gonna have to sort through that later. Planning to start with new ROTB characters since they're smaller pages and prices can still be found. I've decided to add prices for retail classes for reader convenience; not everyone will know to go to the size class page for them and its not linked often enough to make it reasonable they would. [[User:BluJayWarrior|BluJayWarrior]] ([[User talk:BluJayWarrior|talk]]) 14:22, 24 May 2024 (EDT)

: I'd been working on a project like this a long time ago, had originally proposed adding this to the wiki, but then kinda stopped... mostly because near as I could tell, the MSRP in the 80s was something retailers could just make the hell up. The price ranges for any given toy were kinda all over the damn place, and the MSRP was something some retailers used to go "no really we're cheaper SEE?" then make up some price they supposedly "discounted" down from... you know, the thing that got Kay-Bee in legal-type troubles. I was increasingly unsure how to handle that wild price variance concisely on the wiki. In fact...
::https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1PBE2i9vLE6fkr933GQbXosA1cxIqB3CkOSnzW0BMdwc/edit#gid=448439989
: Take a look-see. There's at least three different MSRP values for the standard Headmasters, never mind actual sticker prices. Like, I ''want'' to provide this kind of context, I really do, and it's pretty easy once we get to the unified price points of BW on... but for G1 and G2? Woof. That's going to take a bit of mulling. "Average" price maybe, but there's gonna be some Prices Georg here and there throwing shit off. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 16:35, 24 May 2024 (EDT)
::RE: The sandbox... I'm gonna have to vote against Style 1, because, as noted, price info is very likely going to get... cluttered, and the longer that parenthetical is, the worse it is. I'd REALLY like to keep that to just "size class/type (if not obvious) and release year". And don't forget Takara-release prices, which can be more flexible even within a size class... but at least those have been ''extensively'' documented. I think we need to talk about bit more about everything we'd need to cover and ''how'' before we go implementing anything, and get a few more people in on the discussion. (Sorry for all the add-ons, lightly scattered today.) --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 18:18, 24 May 2024 (EDT)
:::Fair enough on the old stuff since that gets convoluted, but the newer stuff is comparatively easier to do and I'd rather start sooner before some MSRP prices get harder to find (ROTB Autobots Unite subline prices seem to have disappeared already). Added the ROTB Airazor page I was gonna start with to the sandbox so you can see how the page might look as a whole. Since you object to Style 1 I added a Style 2 version too. --[[User:BluJayWarrior|BluJayWarrior]] ([[User talk:BluJayWarrior|talk]]) 18:38, 24 May 2024 (EDT)
:::: Assemble the data, sure, but I am going to say do ''not'' actually apply any of this to live articles. Again, there's barely been any time or discussion on a project that is... vast in scope, and we simply do not jump on stuff like this right away, because that means things will get not considered and then we have to re-do hundreds to thousands of pages... and we absolutely do ''not'' do it when there's a giant obvious gap (the first decade of the franchise) that still needs to be considered, as how we handle ''that'' will affect how we handle all the others, because we try and keep things consistent.
:::: Like, just off the top of my head, there's non-US-or-Japan markets to consider for just about everything normal-retail. Which makes me think we may want to look into a collapsible template, like with the toy designers and voice actors, to handle the other markets without overloading the bullet point sections, some of which are already a bit husky. There's the fact that Walmart and Target just dropped the prices on TF Deluxes in the US... but apparently, Hasbro didn't change their "MSRP"/cost at all. In fact a quick jump to Hasbro Pulse shows they're still charging $25 for a ''Legacy/Studio'' Deluxe, while I can pop to the local Target/Walmart and buy 'em at $20, so we gotta consider ranges just like with G1/G2. And again... ''I'm moderately convinced that "MSRP" in the USA was bullshit all along,'' so I don't know that it's the term we even want to use in the first place. Maybe "Retail price" would be better. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 00:17, 25 May 2024 (EDT)
:::::I think just documenting the MSRP, if we know it, is enough. No need to go down the rabbit hole of tracking down what individual retailers sell them at when they disregard the MSRP (which as, after all, only a suggested price). In my opinion, at least, it's little different from listing the cover prices of books - the only difference is that Hasbro doesn't print their suggested price directly on the box.
:::::Totally hear you on waiting to the pull the trigger until it's been properly discussed, though. Also, I prefer BluJay's Style 2 as well. -- [[User:Dark T Zeratul|Dark T Zeratul]] ([[User talk:Dark T Zeratul|talk]]) 03:46, 25 May 2024 (EDT)
:::::: Um, the problem is, again... I really don't think we HAVE any actual MSRPs outside of Takara's. What's been cataloged here are just "prices they were sold at", which isn't ''specifically'' a Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price, the specific price suggested specifically by the manufacturer. Those we'd need a source for, and as I've pointed out, the handful of stated "MSRP"s we've seen for Hasbro stuff... well, someone was lying, likely multiple someones. For BW on we have a pretty strong ''inference'' of MSRP, but, well. And even that's not reliable... I just remembered that Walmart and Target were charging markedly different prices for the ''EarthSpark'' Tacticons, like, a $2 diff.
:::::: What I'm saying is, we might want to just not call it "MSRP" because of that (also, frankly I question how many people even recognize that acronym). And because of the wide variance in prices for older stuff, no, we don't need to list every price at every retailer (there were a billion retailers in the 80s... man, remember when actual competition in the market was a thing?), but we really OUGHT to account for the variance somehow, because it can be wide and ''full''. "''Original price''" might be best, since that's what we're actually reporting here, with something like "$2.99 - $4.99 (US) / ¥500 (Japan) <expand>". I'd rather do a range than a single-price "average" on old stuff, especially when we have so MUCH data on what these were sold at across the nation that we can see the trends and when a particularly high or low price is an outlier adn should not have been counted. "Modern" stuff we can certainly ignore, say, Kohl's's higher prices and just do the average probable-MSRP-if-those-actually-exist prices most places (all two of them) charge. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 17:10, 25 May 2024 (EDT)
::::Alright, I'll make a [[User:BluJayWarrior/MSRP Catalog|separate sub page]] to catalog prices for now while that gets sorted out
::::As Dark T said, I think prioritizing initial Hasbro MSRP is best as it is the "intended" price (this is what [https://brickset.com Brickset] does for Lego). It's a point of consistency since historically different retailers tend have slight variations on the price anyway (Target/Walmart sometimes being slightly lower, Kohls/BBTS being higher, general lag on reflecting the msrp price increases a few years ago, etc) and I don't think that whole range needs to be noted. Admittedly the current Target/Walmart prices drops are pretty unusual (a whole $5?!) but unless it becomes something more widespread I personally wouldn't consider it as a data point. Might be worth making a note of somewhere if anything, though I'm not sure where --[[User:BluJayWarrior|BluJayWarrior]] ([[User talk:BluJayWarrior|talk]]) 04:26, 25 May 2024 (EDT)

==Micronauts, etc.==
Why are we suddenly gaining detailed issue write-ups for so much of Micronauts, which contains no TF elements at all? Isn't that the point of the IDW Hasbroverse wiki? --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 13:14, 1 August 2024 (EDT)
:Oh and look, now whole issues of M.A.S.K. written 7 years ago with no TF content whatsoever are being pasted from the Hasbroverse wiki. Is the other site going offline or something? --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 14:26, 1 August 2024 (EDT)
::I don't think it was really our intention to formally unveil the project until we were further along, but some of us have been doing a fair bit of work towards creating a [https://gijoe.miraheze.org/wiki/Main_Page sister wiki for ''G.I. Joe''] where the [https://gijoe.miraheze.org/wiki/Comics#IDW_Publishing_3 out-of-scope IDW Joe coverage] has already been re-homed. The Joe crew hasn't made any calls about what do with non-Joe stuff to be clear (we're sort of preoccupied, there's so much Joe you guys) but I'm guessing the idea here is to align the rest with our [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Archive71#Energon Universe coverage|current approach]] to [[Energon Universe|Skybound's shared universe]] and sundown the IDW one? --[[User:AzimuthAcolyte|AzimuthAcolyte]] ([[User talk:AzimuthAcolyte|talk]]) 15:43, 1 August 2024 (EDT)
:::That is more or less the intention, yeah. The Hasbroverse wiki was built at a time where it was perhaps anticipated to be grander than it ended up being, and it wasn't certain how long it was going to run; with the end result being "not very", having this other vestigial site for what is ultimately not a lot of content just doesn't feel practical. The exception, of course, is pre-V5 Joe, which has ''always'' been the sticking point in discussions about moving Hasbroverse content here, both for the amount and for how little it has to do with the IDW Transformers line. Having a dedicated Joe wiki solves that problem and frees up the rest of the Hasbroverse stuff to be reintegrated. Plus, there's still new Joe material being released to this day; arguably having a complete and better curated site for the franchise as a whole that continues to be updated with new releases is more likely to drive traffic and get other people to contribute than it would be linking to a dead wiki for a long-ended comic line that's had the same featured articles for five years because no one cares to add anything to it anymore. -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 15:59, 1 August 2024 (EDT)
::::It does look like a rough consensus was reached to do this back in 2021 ([[Transformers_Wiki_talk:Community_Portal/Archive69#Reintegration_of_Hasbroverse_wiki_content|Archive 69]]), it was just never implemented. --[[User:Xaaron|Xaaron]] ([[User talk:Xaaron|talk]]) 16:10, 1 August 2024 (EDT)
::Like half of MASK issues have something from Transformers in them. Picking and choosing which select issues to cover here is hair-splitting and obnoxious for readers. It's immensely better to just have all the information in one, easily-accessible spot and regard Hasbro Universe as a de facto spinoff of Transformers, much like Beastformers and Energon Universe are. [[User:Saix|Saix]] ([[User talk:Saix|talk]]) 17:10, 1 August 2024 (EDT)

==One spoilers==
I propose that information about this movie be withheld until it actually opens in its largest market next weekend. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 11:04, 14 September 2024 (EDT)
: Agreed. [[User:Locoman|Locoman]] ([[User talk:Locoman|talk]]) 11:08, 14 September 2024 (EDT)

==Transformers One and the conversation we've all been waiting for==

On September 12th, Lorenzo di Bonaventura [https://comicbook.com/movies/news/is-transformers-one-a-prequel-optimus-prime-origin-story-exclusive/ clarified the relationship] between ''Transformers One'' and the live-action ''Transformers'' films, describing them as "two universes" that will be "separate". For some, this kind of explicit confirmation may come as a relief after years of wishy-washy answers regarding ''Bumblebee'' and ''Rise of the Beasts'', but it also leaves us with questions on how to best handle ''One''-related information going forward. Around 2015, we adopted a unique layout we applied to all the movie characters, where we organized their movie appearances at the top of the page, regardless of chronological order of release (see "[[Optimus Prime (Movie)#Movies]]"). Obviously, this leads to some questions regarding how we should handle our ''One'' coverage going forward.

The way I see it, we have three options:

* '''Keep the page format as is, and keep''' '''''One''''' '''up with the rest of the movies''': For obvious reasons I think this is probably our weakest possible solution; it's pretty clear at this point that our current solution for classifying the films is not really sustainable, and mashing them all together under a single loosely-affiliated umbrella is already confusing and frustrating people who aren't intimately acquainted with the mechanics of the wiki.

* '''Reorganize movie character pages so that we acknowledge the live-action films and''' '''''One''''' '''as separate continuities within one continuity family, similar to how our G1 pages cover Sunbow, Marvel, JG1, IDW, etc.''': Historically speaking, this is probably the safest option, but from what I understand there is very little "connective tissue"—visually, character-wise, plot-beats—between the live-action films and ''One'' beyond the inertia of "they were both made by Paramount". As some people have discussed in the past, this could lead to a full or partial reformat of our movie character coverage to more clearly reflect the ambiguous "prequel" status of ''Bumblebee'' and ''Rise of the Beasts'', but this may be a conversation for another time.

* '''Separate''' '''''One''''' '''as an entirely new continuity family and split out the relevant information so we have pages for "Optimus Prime (One)", "Megatron (One)", etc.''' Probably the most radical proposal, but this is honestly where I'm at right now: from what I understand the movie is a pretty radical departure from everything that's gone before, with entirely new interpretations of old ''Transformers'' lore—I'd classify it as the start of a new "franchise" in the same way that we distinguish ''Earthspark'' and ''Cyberverse'' despite them both clearly drawing on the same well of post-Aligned lore, and these days "new franchise" is generally synonymous with "new continuity family" for the ease of wiki bookkeeping.

We would appreciate hearing your thoughts on the matter! '''As the film is not out yet in all regions please refrain from posting spoilers here'''. [[User:Locoman|Locoman]] ([[User talk:Locoman|talk]]) 08:56, 15 September 2024 (EDT)

:I could see option 3 being the way we go, but what holds me back from that is that beyond just Paramount, Spielberg and Bay are still executive producers on the film. [[User:Escargon|Escargon]] ([[User talk:Escargon|talk]]) 09:39, 15 September 2024 (EDT)

::I think we should put them on the Earthspark Continuity pages to satisfy no-one /j - but yeah, the film is drawing from the same vaguely Binder Of Revelation backstory as everything else for the last 10 years, and unless they have been hiding The Fallen twisting D-16 to evil or the twist that the Creators were the Quintessons all along, One feels pretty decoupled from the rest of the movies. The big issue I see with splitting out fully is that people wondering why we do not do the same for Bumblebee/ROTB, but that more easily passes a "vibe check" as being "Movie-adjacent" and belonging on the same page as the Bay 5-dom than One so far. Agree that trying to put them directly alongside the other movies as a prequel feels both unwieldy and confusing. [[User:AkibaSilver|AkibaSilver]] ([[User talk:AkibaSilver|talk]]) 09:41, 15 September 2024 (EDT)

:I vote for '''option 3''', I think creating separate pages is the way to go. [[User:MrRald|MrRald]] ([[User talk:MrRald|talk]]) 09:54, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
::I vote for '''option 2'''. To me the movie is different enough to be a separate universe but not an entirely different continuity. Josh Cooley himself on April 18 when asked whether the film is a fresh start, a prequel to the live-action films, or its own thing, replied with: "yes to all of the above" https://comicbook.com/movies/news/transformers-one-director-confirms-new-movies-canon-status. (And having seen the movie I can confirm those connections to the live-action series do exist). [[User:Grievous Prime|Grievous Prime]] ([[User talk:Grievous Prime|talk]]) 10:05, 15 September 2024 (EDT)

:I vote for '''option 3'''. One has always felt very different to the previous live action movies so I feel it should get its own dedicated pages. As for BB and ROTB, there is "connective tissue" to the Bayverse movies so I feel they can stay on the pre-existing movie pages. [[User:PublicCrown|PublicCrown]] ([[User talk:PublicCrown|talk]]) 10:25, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
:Having viewed the film at an advance screening, I think there are easily enough references and homages to previous films that '''option two''' makes the most sense. - [[User:Archforce|Archforce]] ([[User talk:Archforce|talk]]) 10:45, 15 September 2024 (EDT)

::I'm favorable for the '''3rd option''', it is still produced under Paramount & there are some producers attached to the project that were on previous movies, but my stance is that we should judge based on the final product & having seen the movie, it doesn't try to be in line to what came before (there are some similarities in design & names, but it stops there since every popular TF stories has influence over the next ones), helped by the new team of writers & creatives. If we can treat each new cartoon as its own entity (even tho in recent years they are streamlined in some areas), I think we can do the same for the recent movies that have more contradictory elements to the Bayverse –[[User:MahXyme|MahXyme/MahXymal]] ([[User talk:MahXyme|talk]]) 10:49, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
:'''<nowiki>#3</nowiki>''' is the cleanest option to me. [[User:Saix|Saix]] ([[User talk:Saix|talk]]) 11:32, 15 September 2024 (EDT)

:I think from a practical perspective, '''#3''' is the only real option. Looking at the loose guidelines for a new family on our [[continuity family]] page:
:*"a fresh continuity" — Yep, even Lorenzo's acknowledged this. Even if we questioned that, there's stuff like the AllSpark being absent (with the Matrix pretty much taking exactly the role the AllSpark would have), Megatronus being a good guy, and Sentinel's role being entirely irreconcilable with Dark of the Moon.
:*"within a separate franchise" — Yep. New franchise, and the marketing hasn't done anything to allude to the live-action films specifically.
:*"significantly different in cast, theme, style, etc." — This is the big sticking point for me. One makes no attempt to align with the visual style or characterisations of the live-action films. The sole real connective point is B-127 (name from ''Bumblebee'', he has the big cheeks and antenna of the movie guy, and his talking a lot is clearly a meta-gag about him losing his voice), but even he's characterised completely differently, as the "comedy crazy guy" who's a peer to Optimus and co instead of the cool-but-rude big brother figure from Bay/Bee/Beasts.
:I'm sympathetic to the Paramount/Bay/Spielberg/Di Bonaventura connective tissue, but my big rebuttal there is that we don't consider ''EarthSpark'' to be Aligned because Nicole Dubuc is the showrunner. Ultimately, if we hadn't had pre-release producer statements (now contradicted) calling it a prequel to the other movies, there's absolutely no way this would be in question — we'd already have it as a separate continuity family. And from a wiki organisation standpoint I don't think there's any way to, say, write up Sentinel Prime's opening paragraph in a way that adequately covers both the DOTM and One characters without genericising it to the point of uselessness. --[[User:Broadside|Broadside]] ([[User talk:Broadside|talk]]) 12:33, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
::Yeah, I think '''#3''' is straightforward and likely the approach we'd take if we were presented with the film, as a story, with zero context on the studio releasing it or EPs involved or whatever. I also think there's a high likelihood that the next live-action film will have Elita appear and be like "hey Optimus remember when we were in Transformers One?" and we'll all groan and have to reconsider, but until then, I think the real-world context is basically the only thing separating One from just being the next Broadly Aligned-y New Thing like Cyberverse and EarthSpark before it, which we consistently split out for organisation reasons. [[User:Jalaguy|Jalaguy]] ([[User talk:Jalaguy|talk]]) 13:45, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
:Toss me in for '''Option 3''' of an entirely new continuity given how ''different'' the story details has been laid out when compared to the original 2007 film-verse and then later what's set by ''Bumblebee''. --[[User:Lonegamer78|Lonegamer78]] ([[User talk:Lonegamer78|talk]]) 14:38, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
:Voting for '''option #2'''. While we would still have the outlier of TF:TAM 86 being a theatrically released movie in the G1 continuity family, I see no reason why "movie continuity family" would not only include transmedia spinoffs from feature films (''Reign of Starscream'', toy redeco Tech Specs, etc. etc.) but also feature films which are belonging different timelines and story universes. This would also free us from having to reconcile Movie 'Bee's history -- did he come to Earth in the 1940s or the 1980s? -- and put to bed *that* long running argument about whether the Bay-directed films were the same universe as BB and RotB or not -- now they don't have to be! [[User:Banpei the Mini-Con|Banpei the Mini-Con]] ([[User talk:Banpei the Mini-Con|talk]]) 14:58, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
:Having seen the movie, I think '''#3''' is our cleanest option. Between the Lorenzo interview and, without going into spoilers, the numerous discrepencies there are, I don't think we can get away with suiting it out ala G1. The time may come when we do that for Bumblebee onwards but as far as One goes, I say we treat it as a new continuity. [[User:Ezim93|Ezim93]] ([[User talk:Ezim93|talk]]) 19:53, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
:'''#3'''. #2 was close for me, but TFOne (having seen the movie) is so artistically different from the live action movies, it feels pointless to keep it on the same page like G1/IDW. Ironically, we could give Bayverse/BB&ROTB the G1/IDW treatment. [[User:Boingus|--Boingus]] ([[User talk:Boingus|talk]]) 23:23, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
:I think 3 is where I'm leaning after seeing the film. Keeping this as "movie continuity" simply because it was released theatrically doesn't make sense to me. We wouldn't do that with a new comic or show because it was the same medium, why do it for a movie just because of that? Yes There is some CNA here to the live action films, but it could be argued it has just as much pulled from G1. One is it's own thing in the end. Trying to fit it into the live action movie box just doesn't feel right in this case.--[[User:ParadoxFactor|ParadoxFactor]] ([[User talk:ParadoxFactor|talk]]) 05:47, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
:I vote for '''Option 3''' for all the reasons previously mentioned as well as size concerns. --[[User:Khajidha|Khajidha]] ([[User talk:Khajidha|talk]]) 09:29, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
:'''Option 3''', I believe the movie was clearly made with a new continuity in mind.-[[User:TitaniumToughGuy|TitaniumToughGuy]] ([[User talk:TitaniumToughGuy|talk]]) 09:38, 16 September 2024 (EDT)

:I'm voting '''Option 3'''; much of my reasons are the same as others have stated above, and I do apologise for opening this bags of worms on the ''One'' talk page. It's not that I don't understand why some people are opposed to creating a new set if pages, but for argument's sake, if ''One'' gets one or more sequels, it would likely draw further away from the established live-action films and become its own continuity/franchise (though that's more of a what-if right now). Overall, I personally think that separating live-action films and animated ones into their own continuities is a reasonable option, and I believe that ''One'' has proven itself a different entity. [[User:Prime Temple|Prime Temple]] ([[User talk:Prime Temple|talk]]) 06:26, 17 September 2024 (EDT)

===CHECKPOINT (2024/09/16)===
*Votes for Option 1: 0
*Votes for Option 2: 3 (GrievousPrime, Archforce, Banpei the Mini-Con)
*Votes for Option 3: 15 (Locoman, AkibaSilver, MrRald, PublicCrown, MahXyme, Saix, Broadside, Jalaguy, Lonegamer, Ezim93, Boingus, ParadoxFactor, Khajidha, TitaniumToughGuy, CyberLink420)
As it stands, current consensus is pretty overwhelmingly in favor of Option 3 by a ratio of 5:1. I know it's only been a day, but barring a sudden swell of support for #2, it might be prudent to start switching everything over. -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 10:20, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
: I'm reluctant to make actual changes until the movie hits wide release and the general public can make informed input. Give it a few more days. --[[User:Broadside|Broadside]] ([[User talk:Broadside|talk]]) 10:40, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
::::This. Let people... SEE the movie before we make important decisions. --[[User:ItsWalky|ItsWalky]] ([[User talk:ItsWalky|talk]]) 19:49, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
::::Right. We can wait a few days for more than a small handful of people to see this and base their decision on, you know, '''''the actual movie''''' rather than whatever someone who had something to do with it says ''this'' week, which historically has waffled between "vague" and "contradictory". Hell, even ''now'' some of them are still being all "well maybe it is and maybe it isn't" and frankly I have no faith they won't ride that ambiguity for a long time like they've done since ''Bumblebee''. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 20:49, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
::I've said ever since Keegan Michael Key tweeted as much that One should be treated as a separate continuity. '''Option 3''' for sure. {{unsigned|jmcdavid}}
:'''Option 3'''. I've seen the movie and other users have covered why that seems like the best choice. It feels as different from the previous movies as Prime is from Animated, or Earthspark from Sunbow (which, despite directly homaging/referencing Sunbow, Earthspark is considered separate from). [[User:Ashendawn|Ashendawn]] ([[User talk:Ashendawn|talk]]) 18:01, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
:I vote '''Option 2'''. There seems to be a large focus on whether or not the film fits in continuity with the prior films, but considering how little they fit with each other that feels irrelevant to me. The creators have been rather unclear whether this film should be considered separate from the ongoing live-action series in terms of production, just in terms of universe. If we had a sense this was the springboard for an entirely separate animated film series I'd say Option 3, but it feels unwarranted at this time. [[User:Indridcold13|Indridcold13]] ([[User talk:Indridcold13|talk]]) 20:29, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
:Also '''Option 3''' . In tone, content, continuity, style, story, just feels too different to me from the Michael Bay and other films, really only having the method of release in common. It feels more separate from the other movies than even Cyberverse from G1, and that’s happily separate. —[[User:MissDaria|MissDaria]] ([[User talk:MissDaria|talk]]) 10:05, 17 September 2024 (EDT)

MediaWiki talk:Community Portal

2024-09-17T14:56:13Z

96megatron: /* Transformers One and the conversation we've all been waiting for */

__NEWSECTIONLINK__

This is the place for discussion of topics that affect the entire wiki. For less wide-reaching subjects, either use articles' individual talk pages or [https://discord.com/invite/N99Bygq our Discord server.]

Some topics that would ordinarily be here have merited their own pages:

{{chapters|title=Specific Discussion Subjects|align=left|content=
<div class="list-header">'''Moving From Wikia:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Arriving|Arriving]]
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Leaving|Leaving]]
* [[Transformers Wiki:Community Portal/Complaints|Complaints]]
<br/><div class="list-header">'''New Ad Policy:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki:Ads|Ads]]
<br/><div class="list-header">'''Bookworm Database-Crash:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Damage Control Central|Damage Control Central]]
* [[Project:Bookworm Crash]]
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Leaving2|Leaving Take 2]]
<br/><div class="list-header">'''Server Move:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Arriving2|Arriving Take 2]]
<br/><div class="list-header">'''Relicensing:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Relicensing|Relicensing]]
<br/><div class="list-header">'''Dealing With Vandalism:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Vandalism|Vandalism]]
<br/><div class="list-header">'''GoBots Sister Wiki:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/GoBots|Discussion on the place of GoBots in this wiki]]
<br/> <div class="list-header">'''Wiki Technical Information:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki:Tech|A Not So Brief Summary of the Horrible Things That McFly and Co. Have Done To Keep This Wiki From Melting Down]]
}}<br/>

{{:{{FULLPAGENAMEE}}/Archive}}


== Press release or logo for 30,000 articles? ==
Is it worth putting something together as we get very very close? Maybe something like:
* 3 from Thrilling 30 logo
* 0 from the 40th logo
* 0 from the Vector Sigma "Featured" logo
* 0 from the cosmic-streaking O in the TFTM opener
* 0 from GO!

Just a suggestion.... --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 13:45, 10 November 2023 (EST)
:If we wanted to go down that route, maybe tie into some of the contemporary material? Say, the "O"s from [[Energon Universe]] or [[Transformers: Legacy#Legacy: Evolution|Evolution]]? (Though the latter isn't exactly straight-on...) --[[User:Broadside|Broadside]] ([[User talk:Broadside|talk]]) 14:38, 10 November 2023 (EST)
::Sure! I lean towards the Energon Universe choice. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 15:48, 10 November 2023 (EST)
:Apologies, I've corrected the count on the main page as it was inaccurate, so we're not as close as it looked like we were. --[[User:Abates|abates]] ([[User talk:Abates|talk]]) 16:20, 10 November 2023 (EST)
::That just means we have more time to decide and, if so, pull things together. :) -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 16:51, 10 November 2023 (EST)
:::Feels like we just leapt up 40 new articles in the last 2-3 days. Is it worth putting a graphic together? --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 22:47, 18 January 2024 (EST)

=="Multi-pack" vs "gift set" and suchlike==
Incoming semantics, but... as I've been going through the toy entries, been trying to standardize/streamline a lot of stuff, and I think maybe a set of consistent terms/definitions for "a bunch of separate toys packed together" is in order. So lemme throw this out here for discussion/future reference...
*'''Multi-pack''' — A pack of toys where the contents (or at least most/some/any of them) are exclusive to this release, not sold in other packaging. Most multi-toy releases nowadays would fall under this umbrella by default.
*'''Gift set''' — A pack of toys where all of the contents are/were concurrently (or close enough) sold individually as well, without changes, in the same market. Like all the various G1 combiner sets.
The latter brings up the question of if we want to label all the Takara "VS" packs and the various UT-era "VALUE PACK!" sets under that umbrella, which I'm ambivalent-to-marginally-in-favor-of over. Especially as Takara's been putting out new "VS" packs where the toys are new decos not available elsewhere... also we kinda made up the "VS pack" term anyway, as memory serves, so. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 20:15, 8 January 2024 (EST)
:Hasbro has used the word "[[Giftset]]" to refer to unique variants not available separately. I'm inclined to think we shouldn't directly contradict that. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 21:21, 8 January 2024 (EST)
::and damn but does that article need updating. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 21:22, 8 January 2024 (EST)
:::I'm inclined to think that Hasbro uses lots of terms in ways that are not exactly conducive to organizing a wiki. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 21:29, 8 January 2024 (EST)

==More bullet point insignia?==
Okay so... I recall there were some other possible faction symbol bullet points we could maybe use. I ran across a few with this batch of toy pics we might consider adding. I'll list them here, see if people can think of more. I feel like there might be a couple more two-faction matchups out there.
* Rescue Bots
* The various BotBots squads
* My First Transformers

I'm not un-convinced that we should have the bespoke insignia for stuff like the Disney Label, since they do use them on the packaging. So uh... there. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 01:51, 13 January 2024 (EST)
:Also, while looking at the list of all the bullets on the template page... maybe we should see if we can split the list up a smidge? Like, put all the mutli-faction icons in one section, a section just for BotBots since there's gonna be quite a few of them? Alphabetizing them might also be in order. (I have exactly zero idea how those templates are coded, so uh, lemme know if that's doable.) --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 04:42, 13 January 2024 (EST)
::There's also the [[Star Wars Transformers]]... though I'm not sure if using ''Star Wars'' insignia falls too much out of this wiki's scope, although we do use at least use them on the actual characters' pages (see [[Darth Vader]]). [[User:Turborun|Turborun]] ([[User talk:Turborun|talk]]) 10:34, 13 January 2024 (EST)
:::I don't think we'd use SW insignia because, near as I can tell, the toy packaging doesn't mark the toys that way. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 05:27, 14 January 2024 (EST)

== Idea for reducing the size of toy sections by compacting unchanged toy entries ==

I've come up with an idea that I think would make toy sections on character pages a little better and more intuitive. Instead of having a long list of entries for multiple releases of the exact same toy completely unchanged, we could just compact them all in a single entry, describing how the toy was available both individually and unchanged in a bunch of multipacks. This could be especially helpful with toy sections that are way too long, such as both the Movie Optimus Prime and Bumblebee toy pages that have been subject to a lot of discussion already.

[[User:Fritz/Optimus Prime (Movie)/toys|I used the 2007 Legends Class section of the Movie Optimus Prime toy page to make a quick example out of it.]] The entries would be reduced from four to two toys, since 3/4 of them are the same toy anyway, and a lot of white space would be removed. As for the images of the multipacks, I don't think we would be losing much in removing them since the wiki has never prioritized images of packagings for anything really and, as I know is written somewhere in the "rules", the wiki isn't supposed to be used as an image hosting website in the first place.

So, any thoughts? --[[User:Fritz|Fritz]] ([[User talk:Fritz|talk]]) 20:18, 20 January 2024 (EST)
: We used to do this and it was actually kind of worse. There's also complications when unchanged toys end up being sold under different franchise headers, and when you add in all the other bullet point data a toy/set might have, you could end up with a lonnnnng list of bullet points before you get to the actual writeup, plus describing the multi-packs' contents... you're not really saving space while also kinda hurting the demi-chronological flow of the information. And deleting the multi-pack package imagery feels very wrong. It's one of those cases where there's no real ideal situation, but there's a least-bad one.
:That said, it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to make sure the first entry mentions these "repacks" alongside the redecoes and links to the relevant items. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 21:34, 21 January 2024 (EST)
::Good points, as usual. Now that you mentioned it, I think I do have a vague memory of this being done in the past. I was going to suggest the repacks from different toylines should remain separate, though. My mentality was that maybe we could have a way to highlight the "main" releases (original and redecoes/retools) from the "minor" ones (unchanged repacks) to make it easier to identify in a glance how many actually-different toys were released within a toyline, but I wouldn't want it to cause ''more'' confusion than ''less''. Anyway thanks for taking the time to evaluate the idea. --[[User:Fritz|Fritz]] ([[User talk:Fritz|talk]]) 05:54, 22 January 2024 (EST)

==Repurposings, continuity transplants, and using Template:Main/Template:See to improve navigability==
I've gone back to the drawing board to come up with a way to signal to readers where closely-related pages exist, as I don't think [[Help:Disambiguation|disambiguation]] pages are enough and have found [[Template:OtherVersions]] to be unideal. [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Archive70#Proposal re: G1 pages|Previously]], I'd suggested merging a bunch of pages for so-called "[[Continuity family|continuity]] transplants", but other users convinced me this would be a poor solution. One alternative suggestion, from [[User:Broadside]], was to use [[Template:Main]] to put key links to a character's appearances in other continuity families directly in the fiction section—[[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Archive70#Handling of "former GoBots" and "former Diaclone" characters on the wiki|reactions at the time]] were neutral-positive. You can see mockups for [[User:Broadside/Sandbox:Cy-Kill|Cy-Kill]] and [[User:Broadside/Sandbox:Bug Bite|Bug Bite]]. This strikes me as the best of both worlds, because it keeps the consistent schema (which helps for page length and organisation) but also puts a link to the information in the place where your typical reader is expecting to find it (on the page for the highest-profile first incarnation of the character).

With the same philosophy in mind, I've also designed two new templates. The first, [[Template:Toyappeared]], is intended for use in toy write-ups as a way of linking to fiction write-ups and character pages. It covers [[repurposing]]s, "continuity transplants", notable instances of [[Show-accuracy|toy-accuracy]], in-fiction [[Reformatting|powerups]], [[Redeco#"Virtual" redecos|"virtual" redecos]], you name it. Toy write-ups are increasingly being duplicated across multiple character pages, which creates maintenance overhead, as both instances must be manually kept in sync. My suggestion is to use [[Template:See]] to link to the full information regarding a toy on the original page, with the repurposed instance giving only brief information of what the toy is and ''why'' it was repurposed or whatever. The second of my new templates has a much more specific intended use case: [[Template:Bwucharacter]] provides an easy way of explaining how/why a character was reinterpreted for their ''Uprising'' appearance, as ''Uprising'' accounts for most of the situations I view as being problematic.

I realise I'm proposing like five things at once here, so [[User:The Wadapan/sandbox/repurposing|my sandbox]] has [[User:The Wadapan/sandbox/repurposing#Full example|a full example]] demonstrating how it all works together, along with tons of individual examples of the templates' usage and a more thorough explanation of what I'm trying to address with them. Take a look, and let me know which aspects you like, which parts you don't like, or any ideas you have to add! —[[User:The Wadapan|The Wadapan]] ([[User talk:The Wadapan|talk]]) 06:24, 12 February 2024 (EST)
:I can vouch for these templates! [[User:ShootingStar7X|ShootingStar7X]] ([[User talk:ShootingStar7X|talk]]) 15:38, 26 February 2024 (EST)
: I'm seeing a lot of problems with the implementation of some of this, and a lot of future headaches. The ones rolled out put what look like stub headers in a fiction section with just a small normal missable note up top; and in Override's case in specific, multiple stubs with completely redundant information. What this is ''going'' to do is get new people thinking that these are missing information that needs to be filled, then we gotta revert it and tell them no all that goes elsewhere, which is utterly unintuitive and will just lead to arguments and headaches all around.
: As for toys, in the instances of BWU-type stuff where it's a one-toy Mini-Con or whatever, I feel like NOT having the actual toy info for them on the BWU page, as with the Mini-Con Snow Cat toy currently, is not doing the reader any favors. Quite the opposite. Why are we making them jump to a different page for information that has no reason to not be right there? I don't like making readers jump through hoops needlessly, and that's all this feels like. And it's not like the toy sections of most of these are gonna see major changes, so lack of cross-updating is very, very, very unlikely to be an issue.
: I really don't think these require new templates and a bunch of new-editor landmines. At most, there's a decent argument to be made for re-positioning the "you look familiar" template that already exists, maybe below the main character writeup (above feels like a bad layout choice, pushing all kinds of stuff down.) --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 02:11, 28 February 2024 (EST)

== Listings and accessories ==

When I was making the description for cannonball based on the Walmart listing, there was mention of a Gatling gun and hammer not shown in the stock images,and left them out.

If I run into this type of situation again, what do I do?[[User:Poliwag06|Poliwag06]] ([[User talk:Poliwag06|talk]]) 10:56, 7 March 2024 (EST)

== A few suggestions ==

Gallery pages should only include images that aren't easily accessed by going to the main page, to avoid cluttering. I guess this is not an issue now since the current gallery pages are fairly short.

There should be more dedication in listing alt-modes of characters. Maybe there should be a header or something. For example, if the Dreamwave version of [[Sunstorm (G1)#Dreamwave Generation One continuity|Sunstorm]] transforms into an F-16 jet, it should be listed in the beginning with a header for the sake of easy access to the said information.--[[User:Primestar3|Primestar3]] ([[User talk:Primestar3|talk]]) 13:59, 17 March 2024 (EDT)

== Will we get an article on The Masked Singer? ==

Will there be an article on TFWiki about The Masked Singer, specifically their recent "Transformers Night" episode (https://the-masked-singer.fandom.com/wiki/Transformers_Night)? --[[User:John Pannozzi|John Pannozzi]] ([[User talk:John Pannozzi|talk]]) 20:01, 12 April 2024 (EDT)

: Assuming it's a licensed appearance (I can't check the credits myself :C ), I can't think why it wouldn't be [[User:AkibaSilver|AkibaSilver]] ([[User talk:AkibaSilver|talk]]) 21:15, 12 April 2024 (EDT)

:: It was indeed licensed. --[[User:John Pannozzi|John Pannozzi]] ([[User talk:John Pannozzi|talk]]) 22:30, 12 April 2024 (EDT)
:::Yes, as an official Hasbro-sanctioned piece of TF media, the episode does meet our requirements for inclusion. It just needs someone to write it up. -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 23:22, 12 April 2024 (EDT)

== Franchise articles ==
So I was looking at the franchise pages to try and get an idea of what the standard is supposed to be for how they are written. Should all of them be updated to be more like the [[Beast Wars: Transformers (franchise)]] article? What was making me wonder this was that on the [[Transformers: Energon (franchise)]] article it had a section for "Homages" and one for "New characters" which I don't think any other franchise article has. --[[User:1levichurch|1levichurch]] ([[User talk:1levichurch||talk]]) 22:57, 21 April 2024 (UTC)

== AI upscaled images ==
With fresh offsite talks about the matter, I put forth we add an official policy against posting AI upscaled images of any kind to the wiki, owing to their subpar performance in "enhancing" the quality of images. [[User:McBaggins|McBaggins]] ([[User talk:McBaggins|talk]]) 23:52, 1 May 2024 (EDT)
:Agreed. It's literally faking information and presenting it as official. (Also often noticeably terrible.) Sometimes the best quality available of something sucks, but we simply have to deal. [[User:Saix|Saix]] ([[User talk:Saix|talk]]) 23:57, 1 May 2024 (EDT)
::100 percent agreed. It's called "artificial" for a reason. Plenty of details would be lost out through the upscaling, and several times errors on the wiki somehow became official through Hastak using the wiki for references (the whole [[Circular reporting]] thing). If we start allowing AI upscaled images, then we're likely to have things lost to the annals of time. Potato quality is better than lost quality[[User:Singularity|Singularity]] ([[User talk:Singularity|talk]]) 00:11, 2 May 2024 (EDT)
: Sure. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 00:43, 2 May 2024 (EDT)

== Ending addition of high-end statues ==
This is something I doubt other people have noticed, but I'm putting down a tent-peg on it: After having built the entries for dozens of high-end collectable TF statues in the last 2-3 years, from firms like Diamond Select, Imaginarium, Azure Sea, XM Studios, etc., and then seeing most of them either officially cancelled or never spoken of again with no reported purchases, I am going to stop adding such items here. If someone else feels like cataloguing them, great.

It really may not be possible for us to keep up with toy-like non-transforming merchandise (figurines and statues) the way we used to. There are at least two ''released'' series of G1 core cast micro-figurines with micro-comics and magnifying glasses, which would have been the rage of the fandom in 2005, that nobody ever got around to adding, and it feels like too much of a chore for me to start. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 10:35, 3 May 2024 (EDT)
: It's an unfortunate but very real thing that once you enter the world of licensed merch, we're ''gonna'' have big gaps. It's... a lot, on top of the "a lot" that is the regular TF toyline and fictional output today. I've said that the work involved in keeping up with all of TF's merch ought to be a full-time paying job, and I genuinely mean it. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 16:39, 3 May 2024 (EDT)

== Transformers Roleplaying Game releases on the front page and sidebar ==

The [[Transformers Roleplaying Game]] is getting pretty frequent releases of both sourcebooks and pre-written adventures, and it occurs to me that it might be a good idea to have it on the "current releases" section of the front page and/or the navigation sidebar. How would people feel about that? --[[User:Broadside|Broadside]] ([[User talk:Broadside|talk]]) 15:49, 4 May 2024 (EDT)
: I think that makes a lot of sense, as long as we have people keeping up with the new releases to document them. -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 15:51, 4 May 2024 (EDT)

==How we handle weapons' toy/merch sections==
Okay, so like... I'm not really convinced that what we've been doing is the best way to handle the weapon pages' toys/merch sections. Honestly, they end up looking... really shoddy. There's just tiny scraps of info, vast wads of whitespace, few to no links, the images are tons of different sizes. <br>
I'm thinking that instead of all this... maybe this is a place where a gallery is in order, just a chronological procession. Have the captions just say what lines/toys the weapons came with and link to the toys directly on the character page. It's not like there's much to say about any of these, why not let the toy listing on the character page say it? Why make people scroll through screens of mostly-emptiness, which I feel they're increasingly unlikely to do? I may do a sandbox if I'm feeling up to it. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 22:24, 6 May 2024 (EDT)
:[[User:M Sipher/Sandbox:WeaponPageToysSection]] - So... this, basically. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 22:39, 6 May 2024 (EDT)
:I'd be on board with that. --[[User:Broadside|Broadside]] ([[User talk:Broadside|talk]]) 22:34, 6 May 2024 (EDT)
:I like it. It would be far more compact than our current approach for, say, [[Fusion cannon#Toys]], while still getting the point across. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 11:13, 10 May 2024 (EDT)

==Proposal for Unproduced or Unreleased Template==
I don't think the Apocrypha template is particularly useful. It was created specifically for Alignment, but most of the things in it don't fit that criteria. Something like Unproduced or Unreleased Transformer media would be more self explanatory. [[User:WillR113|WillR113]] ([[User talk:WillR113|talk]]) 07:05, 11 May 2024 (EDT)

== Use of pictures from ebay, fan sites, etc ==

Is it appropriate to use pictures of toys from ebay, fan reviews, video review screenshots and the like? Under fair use and with source credit? Sometimes rarer items we don't have good pictures of on the wiki show up in these places. In particular I found a ebay seller with good images of EZ collection toys and and old Japanese review blog with images of Takara variants of HFTD/Autobot Alliance toys so that got me wondering. —[[User:BluJayWarrior|BluJayWarrior]] ([[User talk:BluJayWarrior|talk]]) 10:10, 12 May 2024 (EDT)
:Images from eBay and other fan sites have been and can continue to be used, giving the fullest source credit feasible. I don't think we've ever needed to rely on video review screenshots and would always prefer to have a "normal" still image instead whenever possible. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 11:02, 16 May 2024 (EDT)

== ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' “再構成版” エピソード視聴ガイド "Re-Configuration Version" aka "Re-Constructed Version" Episode Viewing Guide ==

We really need to document the "canon" Japanese viewing order for ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' & ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers 2010'' originally included with the ''Pioneer'' Laserdisc booklets & later apparently revised by [[Hirofumi Ichikawa]] (市川裕文) for the DVD BOX SET 2 Instruction Booklet as it would help clean-up the chronology on many wiki pages here. From what I've been able to gather this particular viewing order differs from both the US/Japan production orders, the US-Airing order and the Japanese-Airing order. So what exactly is the order of the episodes of these two series according to these documents? Does anyone own them and able to list the specific order in which the episodes appear in those LD/DVD "Instruction Booklets" word-for-word? As it stands, we've only mentioned that a "narrative viewing order" exists but do not have it listed anywhere. For further clarification, it is not the order in which the episodes appear on the Japanese DVDs. [[User:Astrobotix|Astrobotix]] ([[User talk:Astrobotix|talk]]) 01:09, 15 May 2024 (EDT)
:While this information would be valuable and is worth documenting, it's unlikely to result in us making any major changes to the way our information is structured. -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 17:31, 16 May 2024 (EDT)
:Okay, having seen the booklets in question, it just lists the episodes in production order, continuity errors and all. So...absolutely no change, then. -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 20:44, 17 May 2024 (EDT)

== Documenting MSRP? ==

Would it be worth documenting MSRP prices (in usd at least)? For the regular retail classes that's for the most part covered by the [[size class]] page, but we don't keep track of them for more specialty items like Masterpieces, multipacks, exclusives, one-off releases not in a normal size class, special lines like Missing Link, etc. It's something I find personally interesting and would've liked to know for older figures and someone in the future might want to know about today's releases. It can also offer some neat bits of info like how Premium Finish releases were generally one price point up compared to the figure's size or how the upcoming United Cliffjumper multipack is a whole $30 off what the individual figures would cost --[[User:BluJayWarrior|BluJayWarrior]] ([[User talk:BluJayWarrior|talk]]) 14:20, 21 May 2024 (EDT)
:I think this would be very interesting, particularly when you scroll down pages for G1 toys that got multiple reissues like the Seekers, Insecticons, and tape players. It's just that - like the Designer Notes and the proper insignias on each and every toy - it would take forever to add and would probably wind up being one super-dedicated person having to do most of the work. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 14:28, 21 May 2024 (EDT)
::I might try to do what I can, going back to recatalogue everything would definitely be a chore. But at the very least I strongly believe it's something we can and should implement for future toy entries. I've started a [[User:BluJayWarrior/Sandbox|MSRP Sandbox]] to try out a few formats, any feedback is appreciated. --[[User:BluJayWarrior|BluJayWarrior]] ([[User talk:BluJayWarrior|talk]]) 05:18, 23 May 2024 (EDT)
::Cleaned up the sandbox page. Anyone have anything to say about the format? Might try applying Style 1 to a few pages this weekend if no one makes any objections. [[User:BluJayWarrior|BluJayWarrior]] ([[User talk:BluJayWarrior|talk]]) 12:58, 24 May 2024 (EDT)
:::Of those options I like Style 1 the best. As you already noted, the [[size class]] pages covers basically all normal U.S. retail from BW through Legacy, missing things like Platinum and MP. To find contemporary G1 prices, here are some good resources:
:::https://web.archive.org/web/20181125082555/https://pleasesavemerobots.com/vstp/vstptf84.html
:::https://web.archive.org/web/20191114081109/http://pleasesavemerobots.com/vstp/vstptf85.html
:::https://web.archive.org/web/20191114091052/http://pleasesavemerobots.com/vstp/vstptf86.html
:::https://web.archive.org/web/20191114090836/http://pleasesavemerobots.com/vstp/vstptf87.html
:::https://web.archive.org/web/20191114084922/http://pleasesavemerobots.com/vstp/vstptf88.html
:::https://web.archive.org/web/20191114081716/http://pleasesavemerobots.com/vstp/vstptf89.html
:::https://web.archive.org/web/20191114085830/http://pleasesavemerobots.com/vstp/vstptf90.html
:::https://www.tfw2005.com/boards/threads/g1-original-retail-price-listing.1167895/
:::I tried looking for G2 MSRP but couldn't find anything as obvious. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 13:24, 24 May 2024 (EDT)
::::Thanks for the sources, gonna have to sort through that later. Planning to start with new ROTB characters since they're smaller pages and prices can still be found. I've decided to add prices for retail classes for reader convenience; not everyone will know to go to the size class page for them and its not linked often enough to make it reasonable they would. [[User:BluJayWarrior|BluJayWarrior]] ([[User talk:BluJayWarrior|talk]]) 14:22, 24 May 2024 (EDT)

: I'd been working on a project like this a long time ago, had originally proposed adding this to the wiki, but then kinda stopped... mostly because near as I could tell, the MSRP in the 80s was something retailers could just make the hell up. The price ranges for any given toy were kinda all over the damn place, and the MSRP was something some retailers used to go "no really we're cheaper SEE?" then make up some price they supposedly "discounted" down from... you know, the thing that got Kay-Bee in legal-type troubles. I was increasingly unsure how to handle that wild price variance concisely on the wiki. In fact...
::https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1PBE2i9vLE6fkr933GQbXosA1cxIqB3CkOSnzW0BMdwc/edit#gid=448439989
: Take a look-see. There's at least three different MSRP values for the standard Headmasters, never mind actual sticker prices. Like, I ''want'' to provide this kind of context, I really do, and it's pretty easy once we get to the unified price points of BW on... but for G1 and G2? Woof. That's going to take a bit of mulling. "Average" price maybe, but there's gonna be some Prices Georg here and there throwing shit off. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 16:35, 24 May 2024 (EDT)
::RE: The sandbox... I'm gonna have to vote against Style 1, because, as noted, price info is very likely going to get... cluttered, and the longer that parenthetical is, the worse it is. I'd REALLY like to keep that to just "size class/type (if not obvious) and release year". And don't forget Takara-release prices, which can be more flexible even within a size class... but at least those have been ''extensively'' documented. I think we need to talk about bit more about everything we'd need to cover and ''how'' before we go implementing anything, and get a few more people in on the discussion. (Sorry for all the add-ons, lightly scattered today.) --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 18:18, 24 May 2024 (EDT)
:::Fair enough on the old stuff since that gets convoluted, but the newer stuff is comparatively easier to do and I'd rather start sooner before some MSRP prices get harder to find (ROTB Autobots Unite subline prices seem to have disappeared already). Added the ROTB Airazor page I was gonna start with to the sandbox so you can see how the page might look as a whole. Since you object to Style 1 I added a Style 2 version too. --[[User:BluJayWarrior|BluJayWarrior]] ([[User talk:BluJayWarrior|talk]]) 18:38, 24 May 2024 (EDT)
:::: Assemble the data, sure, but I am going to say do ''not'' actually apply any of this to live articles. Again, there's barely been any time or discussion on a project that is... vast in scope, and we simply do not jump on stuff like this right away, because that means things will get not considered and then we have to re-do hundreds to thousands of pages... and we absolutely do ''not'' do it when there's a giant obvious gap (the first decade of the franchise) that still needs to be considered, as how we handle ''that'' will affect how we handle all the others, because we try and keep things consistent.
:::: Like, just off the top of my head, there's non-US-or-Japan markets to consider for just about everything normal-retail. Which makes me think we may want to look into a collapsible template, like with the toy designers and voice actors, to handle the other markets without overloading the bullet point sections, some of which are already a bit husky. There's the fact that Walmart and Target just dropped the prices on TF Deluxes in the US... but apparently, Hasbro didn't change their "MSRP"/cost at all. In fact a quick jump to Hasbro Pulse shows they're still charging $25 for a ''Legacy/Studio'' Deluxe, while I can pop to the local Target/Walmart and buy 'em at $20, so we gotta consider ranges just like with G1/G2. And again... ''I'm moderately convinced that "MSRP" in the USA was bullshit all along,'' so I don't know that it's the term we even want to use in the first place. Maybe "Retail price" would be better. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 00:17, 25 May 2024 (EDT)
:::::I think just documenting the MSRP, if we know it, is enough. No need to go down the rabbit hole of tracking down what individual retailers sell them at when they disregard the MSRP (which as, after all, only a suggested price). In my opinion, at least, it's little different from listing the cover prices of books - the only difference is that Hasbro doesn't print their suggested price directly on the box.
:::::Totally hear you on waiting to the pull the trigger until it's been properly discussed, though. Also, I prefer BluJay's Style 2 as well. -- [[User:Dark T Zeratul|Dark T Zeratul]] ([[User talk:Dark T Zeratul|talk]]) 03:46, 25 May 2024 (EDT)
:::::: Um, the problem is, again... I really don't think we HAVE any actual MSRPs outside of Takara's. What's been cataloged here are just "prices they were sold at", which isn't ''specifically'' a Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price, the specific price suggested specifically by the manufacturer. Those we'd need a source for, and as I've pointed out, the handful of stated "MSRP"s we've seen for Hasbro stuff... well, someone was lying, likely multiple someones. For BW on we have a pretty strong ''inference'' of MSRP, but, well. And even that's not reliable... I just remembered that Walmart and Target were charging markedly different prices for the ''EarthSpark'' Tacticons, like, a $2 diff.
:::::: What I'm saying is, we might want to just not call it "MSRP" because of that (also, frankly I question how many people even recognize that acronym). And because of the wide variance in prices for older stuff, no, we don't need to list every price at every retailer (there were a billion retailers in the 80s... man, remember when actual competition in the market was a thing?), but we really OUGHT to account for the variance somehow, because it can be wide and ''full''. "''Original price''" might be best, since that's what we're actually reporting here, with something like "$2.99 - $4.99 (US) / ¥500 (Japan) <expand>". I'd rather do a range than a single-price "average" on old stuff, especially when we have so MUCH data on what these were sold at across the nation that we can see the trends and when a particularly high or low price is an outlier adn should not have been counted. "Modern" stuff we can certainly ignore, say, Kohl's's higher prices and just do the average probable-MSRP-if-those-actually-exist prices most places (all two of them) charge. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 17:10, 25 May 2024 (EDT)
::::Alright, I'll make a [[User:BluJayWarrior/MSRP Catalog|separate sub page]] to catalog prices for now while that gets sorted out
::::As Dark T said, I think prioritizing initial Hasbro MSRP is best as it is the "intended" price (this is what [https://brickset.com Brickset] does for Lego). It's a point of consistency since historically different retailers tend have slight variations on the price anyway (Target/Walmart sometimes being slightly lower, Kohls/BBTS being higher, general lag on reflecting the msrp price increases a few years ago, etc) and I don't think that whole range needs to be noted. Admittedly the current Target/Walmart prices drops are pretty unusual (a whole $5?!) but unless it becomes something more widespread I personally wouldn't consider it as a data point. Might be worth making a note of somewhere if anything, though I'm not sure where --[[User:BluJayWarrior|BluJayWarrior]] ([[User talk:BluJayWarrior|talk]]) 04:26, 25 May 2024 (EDT)

==Micronauts, etc.==
Why are we suddenly gaining detailed issue write-ups for so much of Micronauts, which contains no TF elements at all? Isn't that the point of the IDW Hasbroverse wiki? --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 13:14, 1 August 2024 (EDT)
:Oh and look, now whole issues of M.A.S.K. written 7 years ago with no TF content whatsoever are being pasted from the Hasbroverse wiki. Is the other site going offline or something? --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 14:26, 1 August 2024 (EDT)
::I don't think it was really our intention to formally unveil the project until we were further along, but some of us have been doing a fair bit of work towards creating a [https://gijoe.miraheze.org/wiki/Main_Page sister wiki for ''G.I. Joe''] where the [https://gijoe.miraheze.org/wiki/Comics#IDW_Publishing_3 out-of-scope IDW Joe coverage] has already been re-homed. The Joe crew hasn't made any calls about what do with non-Joe stuff to be clear (we're sort of preoccupied, there's so much Joe you guys) but I'm guessing the idea here is to align the rest with our [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Archive71#Energon Universe coverage|current approach]] to [[Energon Universe|Skybound's shared universe]] and sundown the IDW one? --[[User:AzimuthAcolyte|AzimuthAcolyte]] ([[User talk:AzimuthAcolyte|talk]]) 15:43, 1 August 2024 (EDT)
:::That is more or less the intention, yeah. The Hasbroverse wiki was built at a time where it was perhaps anticipated to be grander than it ended up being, and it wasn't certain how long it was going to run; with the end result being "not very", having this other vestigial site for what is ultimately not a lot of content just doesn't feel practical. The exception, of course, is pre-V5 Joe, which has ''always'' been the sticking point in discussions about moving Hasbroverse content here, both for the amount and for how little it has to do with the IDW Transformers line. Having a dedicated Joe wiki solves that problem and frees up the rest of the Hasbroverse stuff to be reintegrated. Plus, there's still new Joe material being released to this day; arguably having a complete and better curated site for the franchise as a whole that continues to be updated with new releases is more likely to drive traffic and get other people to contribute than it would be linking to a dead wiki for a long-ended comic line that's had the same featured articles for five years because no one cares to add anything to it anymore. -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 15:59, 1 August 2024 (EDT)
::::It does look like a rough consensus was reached to do this back in 2021 ([[Transformers_Wiki_talk:Community_Portal/Archive69#Reintegration_of_Hasbroverse_wiki_content|Archive 69]]), it was just never implemented. --[[User:Xaaron|Xaaron]] ([[User talk:Xaaron|talk]]) 16:10, 1 August 2024 (EDT)
::Like half of MASK issues have something from Transformers in them. Picking and choosing which select issues to cover here is hair-splitting and obnoxious for readers. It's immensely better to just have all the information in one, easily-accessible spot and regard Hasbro Universe as a de facto spinoff of Transformers, much like Beastformers and Energon Universe are. [[User:Saix|Saix]] ([[User talk:Saix|talk]]) 17:10, 1 August 2024 (EDT)

==One spoilers==
I propose that information about this movie be withheld until it actually opens in its largest market next weekend. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 11:04, 14 September 2024 (EDT)
: Agreed. [[User:Locoman|Locoman]] ([[User talk:Locoman|talk]]) 11:08, 14 September 2024 (EDT)

==Transformers One and the conversation we've all been waiting for==

On September 12th, Lorenzo di Bonaventura [https://comicbook.com/movies/news/is-transformers-one-a-prequel-optimus-prime-origin-story-exclusive/ clarified the relationship] between ''Transformers One'' and the live-action ''Transformers'' films, describing them as "two universes" that will be "separate". For some, this kind of explicit confirmation may come as a relief after years of wishy-washy answers regarding ''Bumblebee'' and ''Rise of the Beasts'', but it also leaves us with questions on how to best handle ''One''-related information going forward. Around 2015, we adopted a unique layout we applied to all the movie characters, where we organized their movie appearances at the top of the page, regardless of chronological order of release (see "[[Optimus Prime (Movie)#Movies]]"). Obviously, this leads to some questions regarding how we should handle our ''One'' coverage going forward.

The way I see it, we have three options:

* '''Keep the page format as is, and keep''' '''''One''''' '''up with the rest of the movies''': For obvious reasons I think this is probably our weakest possible solution; it's pretty clear at this point that our current solution for classifying the films is not really sustainable, and mashing them all together under a single loosely-affiliated umbrella is already confusing and frustrating people who aren't intimately acquainted with the mechanics of the wiki.

* '''Reorganize movie character pages so that we acknowledge the live-action films and''' '''''One''''' '''as separate continuities within one continuity family, similar to how our G1 pages cover Sunbow, Marvel, JG1, IDW, etc.''': Historically speaking, this is probably the safest option, but from what I understand there is very little "connective tissue"—visually, character-wise, plot-beats—between the live-action films and ''One'' beyond the inertia of "they were both made by Paramount". As some people have discussed in the past, this could lead to a full or partial reformat of our movie character coverage to more clearly reflect the ambiguous "prequel" status of ''Bumblebee'' and ''Rise of the Beasts'', but this may be a conversation for another time.

* '''Separate''' '''''One''''' '''as an entirely new continuity family and split out the relevant information so we have pages for "Optimus Prime (One)", "Megatron (One)", etc.''' Probably the most radical proposal, but this is honestly where I'm at right now: from what I understand the movie is a pretty radical departure from everything that's gone before, with entirely new interpretations of old ''Transformers'' lore—I'd classify it as the start of a new "franchise" in the same way that we distinguish ''Earthspark'' and ''Cyberverse'' despite them both clearly drawing on the same well of post-Aligned lore, and these days "new franchise" is generally synonymous with "new continuity family" for the ease of wiki bookkeeping.

We would appreciate hearing your thoughts on the matter! '''As the film is not out yet in all regions please refrain from posting spoilers here'''. [[User:Locoman|Locoman]] ([[User talk:Locoman|talk]]) 08:56, 15 September 2024 (EDT)

:I could see option 3 being the way we go, but what holds me back from that is that beyond just Paramount, Spielberg and Bay are still executive producers on the film. [[User:Escargon|Escargon]] ([[User talk:Escargon|talk]]) 09:39, 15 September 2024 (EDT)

::I think we should put them on the Earthspark Continuity pages to satisfy no-one /j - but yeah, the film is drawing from the same vaguely Binder Of Revelation backstory as everything else for the last 10 years, and unless they have been hiding The Fallen twisting D-16 to evil or the twist that the Creators were the Quintessons all along, One feels pretty decoupled from the rest of the movies. The big issue I see with splitting out fully is that people wondering why we do not do the same for Bumblebee/ROTB, but that more easily passes a "vibe check" as being "Movie-adjacent" and belonging on the same page as the Bay 5-dom than One so far. Agree that trying to put them directly alongside the other movies as a prequel feels both unwieldy and confusing. [[User:AkibaSilver|AkibaSilver]] ([[User talk:AkibaSilver|talk]]) 09:41, 15 September 2024 (EDT)

:I vote for '''option 3''', I think creating separate pages is the way to go. [[User:MrRald|MrRald]] ([[User talk:MrRald|talk]]) 09:54, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
::I vote for '''option 2'''. To me the movie is different enough to be a separate universe but not an entirely different continuity. Josh Cooley himself on April 18 when asked whether the film is a fresh start, a prequel to the live-action films, or its own thing, replied with: "yes to all of the above" https://comicbook.com/movies/news/transformers-one-director-confirms-new-movies-canon-status. (And having seen the movie I can confirm those connections to the live-action series do exist). [[User:Grievous Prime|Grievous Prime]] ([[User talk:Grievous Prime|talk]]) 10:05, 15 September 2024 (EDT)

:I vote for '''option 3'''. One has always felt very different to the previous live action movies so I feel it should get its own dedicated pages. As for BB and ROTB, there is "connective tissue" to the Bayverse movies so I feel they can stay on the pre-existing movie pages. [[User:PublicCrown|PublicCrown]] ([[User talk:PublicCrown|talk]]) 10:25, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
:Having viewed the film at an advance screening, I think there are easily enough references and homages to previous films that '''option two''' makes the most sense. - [[User:Archforce|Archforce]] ([[User talk:Archforce|talk]]) 10:45, 15 September 2024 (EDT)

::I'm favorable for the '''3rd option''', it is still produced under Paramount & there are some producers attached to the project that were on previous movies, but my stance is that we should judge based on the final product & having seen the movie, it doesn't try to be in line to what came before (there are some similarities in design & names, but it stops there since every popular TF stories has influence over the next ones), helped by the new team of writers & creatives. If we can treat each new cartoon as its own entity (even tho in recent years they are streamlined in some areas), I think we can do the same for the recent movies that have more contradictory elements to the Bayverse –[[User:MahXyme|MahXyme/MahXymal]] ([[User talk:MahXyme|talk]]) 10:49, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
:'''<nowiki>#3</nowiki>''' is the cleanest option to me. [[User:Saix|Saix]] ([[User talk:Saix|talk]]) 11:32, 15 September 2024 (EDT)

:I think from a practical perspective, '''#3''' is the only real option. Looking at the loose guidelines for a new family on our [[continuity family]] page:
:*"a fresh continuity" — Yep, even Lorenzo's acknowledged this. Even if we questioned that, there's stuff like the AllSpark being absent (with the Matrix pretty much taking exactly the role the AllSpark would have), Megatronus being a good guy, and Sentinel's role being entirely irreconcilable with Dark of the Moon.
:*"within a separate franchise" — Yep. New franchise, and the marketing hasn't done anything to allude to the live-action films specifically.
:*"significantly different in cast, theme, style, etc." — This is the big sticking point for me. One makes no attempt to align with the visual style or characterisations of the live-action films. The sole real connective point is B-127 (name from ''Bumblebee'', he has the big cheeks and antenna of the movie guy, and his talking a lot is clearly a meta-gag about him losing his voice), but even he's characterised completely differently, as the "comedy crazy guy" who's a peer to Optimus and co instead of the cool-but-rude big brother figure from Bay/Bee/Beasts.
:I'm sympathetic to the Paramount/Bay/Spielberg/Di Bonaventura connective tissue, but my big rebuttal there is that we don't consider ''EarthSpark'' to be Aligned because Nicole Dubuc is the showrunner. Ultimately, if we hadn't had pre-release producer statements (now contradicted) calling it a prequel to the other movies, there's absolutely no way this would be in question — we'd already have it as a separate continuity family. And from a wiki organisation standpoint I don't think there's any way to, say, write up Sentinel Prime's opening paragraph in a way that adequately covers both the DOTM and One characters without genericising it to the point of uselessness. --[[User:Broadside|Broadside]] ([[User talk:Broadside|talk]]) 12:33, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
::Yeah, I think '''#3''' is straightforward and likely the approach we'd take if we were presented with the film, as a story, with zero context on the studio releasing it or EPs involved or whatever. I also think there's a high likelihood that the next live-action film will have Elita appear and be like "hey Optimus remember when we were in Transformers One?" and we'll all groan and have to reconsider, but until then, I think the real-world context is basically the only thing separating One from just being the next Broadly Aligned-y New Thing like Cyberverse and EarthSpark before it, which we consistently split out for organisation reasons. [[User:Jalaguy|Jalaguy]] ([[User talk:Jalaguy|talk]]) 13:45, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
:Toss me in for '''Option 3''' of an entirely new continuity given how ''different'' the story details has been laid out when compared to the original 2007 film-verse and then later what's set by ''Bumblebee''. --[[User:Lonegamer78|Lonegamer78]] ([[User talk:Lonegamer78|talk]]) 14:38, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
:Voting for '''option #2'''. While we would still have the outlier of TF:TAM 86 being a theatrically released movie in the G1 continuity family, I see no reason why "movie continuity family" would not only include transmedia spinoffs from feature films (''Reign of Starscream'', toy redeco Tech Specs, etc. etc.) but also feature films which are belonging different timelines and story universes. This would also free us from having to reconcile Movie 'Bee's history -- did he come to Earth in the 1940s or the 1980s? -- and put to bed *that* long running argument about whether the Bay-directed films were the same universe as BB and RotB or not -- now they don't have to be! [[User:Banpei the Mini-Con|Banpei the Mini-Con]] ([[User talk:Banpei the Mini-Con|talk]]) 14:58, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
:Having seen the movie, I think '''#3''' is our cleanest option. Between the Lorenzo interview and, without going into spoilers, the numerous discrepencies there are, I don't think we can get away with suiting it out ala G1. The time may come when we do that for Bumblebee onwards but as far as One goes, I say we treat it as a new continuity. [[User:Ezim93|Ezim93]] ([[User talk:Ezim93|talk]]) 19:53, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
:'''#3'''. #2 was close for me, but TFOne (having seen the movie) is so artistically different from the live action movies, it feels pointless to keep it on the same page like G1/IDW. Ironically, we could give Bayverse/BB&ROTB the G1/IDW treatment. [[User:Boingus|--Boingus]] ([[User talk:Boingus|talk]]) 23:23, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
:I think 3 is where I'm leaning after seeing the film. Keeping this as "movie continuity" simply because it was released theatrically doesn't make sense to me. We wouldn't do that with a new comic or show because it was the same medium, why do it for a movie just because of that? Yes There is some CNA here to the live action films, but it could be argued it has just as much pulled from G1. One is it's own thing in the end. Trying to fit it into the live action movie box just doesn't feel right in this case.--[[User:ParadoxFactor|ParadoxFactor]] ([[User talk:ParadoxFactor|talk]]) 05:47, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
:I vote for '''Option 3''' for all the reasons previously mentioned as well as size concerns. --[[User:Khajidha|Khajidha]] ([[User talk:Khajidha|talk]]) 09:29, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
:'''Option 3''', I believe the movie was clearly made with a new continuity in mind.-[[User:TitaniumToughGuy|TitaniumToughGuy]] ([[User talk:TitaniumToughGuy|talk]]) 09:38, 16 September 2024 (EDT)

:I'm voting '''Option 3'''; much of my reasons are the same as others have stated above, and I do apologise for opening this bags of worms on the ''One'' talk page. It's not that I don't understand why some people are opposed to creating a new set if pages, but for argument's sake, if ''One'' gets one or more sequels, it would likely draw further away from the established live-action films and become its own continuity/franchise (though that's more of a what-if right now). Overall, I personally think that separating live-action films and animated ones into their own continuities is a reasonable option, and I believe that ''One'' has proven itself a different entity. [[User:Prime Temple|Prime Temple]] ([[User talk:Prime Temple|talk]]) 06:26, 17 September 2024 (EDT)

===CHECKPOINT (2024/09/16)===
*Votes for Option 1: 0
*Votes for Option 2: 3 (GrievousPrime, Archforce, Banpei the Mini-Con)
*Votes for Option 3: 15 (Locoman, AkibaSilver, MrRald, PublicCrown, MahXyme, Saix, Broadside, Jalaguy, Lonegamer, Ezim93, Boingus, ParadoxFactor, Khajidha, TitaniumToughGuy, CyberLink420)
As it stands, current consensus is pretty overwhelmingly in favor of Option 3 by a ratio of 5:1. I know it's only been a day, but barring a sudden swell of support for #2, it might be prudent to start switching everything over. -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 10:20, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
: I'm reluctant to make actual changes until the movie hits wide release and the general public can make informed input. Give it a few more days. --[[User:Broadside|Broadside]] ([[User talk:Broadside|talk]]) 10:40, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
::::This. Let people... SEE the movie before we make important decisions. --[[User:ItsWalky|ItsWalky]] ([[User talk:ItsWalky|talk]]) 19:49, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
::::Right. We can wait a few days for more than a small handful of people to see this and base their decision on, you know, '''''the actual movie''''' rather than whatever someone who had something to do with it says ''this'' week, which historically has waffled between "vague" and "contradictory". Hell, even ''now'' some of them are still being all "well maybe it is and maybe it isn't" and frankly I have no faith they won't ride that ambiguity for a long time like they've done since ''Bumblebee''. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 20:49, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
::I've said ever since Keegan Michael Key tweeted as much that One should be treated as a separate continuity. '''Option 3''' for sure. {{unsigned|jmcdavid}}
:'''Option 3'''. I've seen the movie and other users have covered why that seems like the best choice. It feels as different from the previous movies as Prime is from Animated, or Earthspark from Sunbow (which, despite directly homaging/referencing Sunbow, Earthspark is considered separate from). [[User:Ashendawn|Ashendawn]] ([[User talk:Ashendawn|talk]]) 18:01, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
:I vote '''Option 2'''. There seems to be a large focus on whether or not the film fits in continuity with the prior films, but considering how little they fit with each other that feels irrelevant to me. The creators have been rather unclear whether this film should be considered separate from the ongoing live-action series in terms of production, just in terms of universe. If we had a sense this was the springboard for an entirely separate animated film series I'd say Option 3, but it feels unwarranted at this time. [[User:Indridcold13|Indridcold13]] ([[User talk:Indridcold13|talk]]) 20:29, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
:Also '''Option 3''' . In tone, content, continuity, style, story, just feels too different to me from the Michael Bay and other films, really only having the method of release in common. It feels more separate from the other movies than even Cyberverse from G1, and that’s happily separate. —[[User:MissDaria|MissDaria]] ([[User talk:MissDaria|talk]]) 10:05, 17 September 2024 (EDT)
:Screen Rant: Is Transformers One considered a prequel to the recent movies of Bumblebee and Rise of the Beast or the original live-action film starting in 2007? Or is it something completely, entirely new? ... Lorenzo di Bonaventura: "It obviously exists beforehand. I think we figured it out. It was like 300 million years before the first Michael Bay movie, so if that's a prequel, that's a prequel. But we're really following the lore about where it starts, and so we really just think about it as the beginning of the story. The origin, yes, but literally the beginning of the thing that we've all come to appreciate." https://screenrant.com/transformers-one-lorenzo-di-bonaventura-and-josh-cooley-interview/ [[User:96megatron|96megatron]] ([[User talk:96megatron|talk]]) 10:56, 17 September 2024 (EDT)

MediaWiki talk:Community Portal

2024-09-17T14:51:52Z

96megatron: /* CHECKPOINT (2024/09/16) */

__NEWSECTIONLINK__

This is the place for discussion of topics that affect the entire wiki. For less wide-reaching subjects, either use articles' individual talk pages or [https://discord.com/invite/N99Bygq our Discord server.]

Some topics that would ordinarily be here have merited their own pages:

{{chapters|title=Specific Discussion Subjects|align=left|content=
<div class="list-header">'''Moving From Wikia:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Arriving|Arriving]]
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Leaving|Leaving]]
* [[Transformers Wiki:Community Portal/Complaints|Complaints]]
<br/><div class="list-header">'''New Ad Policy:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki:Ads|Ads]]
<br/><div class="list-header">'''Bookworm Database-Crash:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Damage Control Central|Damage Control Central]]
* [[Project:Bookworm Crash]]
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Leaving2|Leaving Take 2]]
<br/><div class="list-header">'''Server Move:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Arriving2|Arriving Take 2]]
<br/><div class="list-header">'''Relicensing:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Relicensing|Relicensing]]
<br/><div class="list-header">'''Dealing With Vandalism:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Vandalism|Vandalism]]
<br/><div class="list-header">'''GoBots Sister Wiki:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/GoBots|Discussion on the place of GoBots in this wiki]]
<br/> <div class="list-header">'''Wiki Technical Information:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki:Tech|A Not So Brief Summary of the Horrible Things That McFly and Co. Have Done To Keep This Wiki From Melting Down]]
}}<br/>

{{:{{FULLPAGENAMEE}}/Archive}}


== Press release or logo for 30,000 articles? ==
Is it worth putting something together as we get very very close? Maybe something like:
* 3 from Thrilling 30 logo
* 0 from the 40th logo
* 0 from the Vector Sigma "Featured" logo
* 0 from the cosmic-streaking O in the TFTM opener
* 0 from GO!

Just a suggestion.... --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 13:45, 10 November 2023 (EST)
:If we wanted to go down that route, maybe tie into some of the contemporary material? Say, the "O"s from [[Energon Universe]] or [[Transformers: Legacy#Legacy: Evolution|Evolution]]? (Though the latter isn't exactly straight-on...) --[[User:Broadside|Broadside]] ([[User talk:Broadside|talk]]) 14:38, 10 November 2023 (EST)
::Sure! I lean towards the Energon Universe choice. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 15:48, 10 November 2023 (EST)
:Apologies, I've corrected the count on the main page as it was inaccurate, so we're not as close as it looked like we were. --[[User:Abates|abates]] ([[User talk:Abates|talk]]) 16:20, 10 November 2023 (EST)
::That just means we have more time to decide and, if so, pull things together. :) -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 16:51, 10 November 2023 (EST)
:::Feels like we just leapt up 40 new articles in the last 2-3 days. Is it worth putting a graphic together? --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 22:47, 18 January 2024 (EST)

=="Multi-pack" vs "gift set" and suchlike==
Incoming semantics, but... as I've been going through the toy entries, been trying to standardize/streamline a lot of stuff, and I think maybe a set of consistent terms/definitions for "a bunch of separate toys packed together" is in order. So lemme throw this out here for discussion/future reference...
*'''Multi-pack''' — A pack of toys where the contents (or at least most/some/any of them) are exclusive to this release, not sold in other packaging. Most multi-toy releases nowadays would fall under this umbrella by default.
*'''Gift set''' — A pack of toys where all of the contents are/were concurrently (or close enough) sold individually as well, without changes, in the same market. Like all the various G1 combiner sets.
The latter brings up the question of if we want to label all the Takara "VS" packs and the various UT-era "VALUE PACK!" sets under that umbrella, which I'm ambivalent-to-marginally-in-favor-of over. Especially as Takara's been putting out new "VS" packs where the toys are new decos not available elsewhere... also we kinda made up the "VS pack" term anyway, as memory serves, so. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 20:15, 8 January 2024 (EST)
:Hasbro has used the word "[[Giftset]]" to refer to unique variants not available separately. I'm inclined to think we shouldn't directly contradict that. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 21:21, 8 January 2024 (EST)
::and damn but does that article need updating. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 21:22, 8 January 2024 (EST)
:::I'm inclined to think that Hasbro uses lots of terms in ways that are not exactly conducive to organizing a wiki. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 21:29, 8 January 2024 (EST)

==More bullet point insignia?==
Okay so... I recall there were some other possible faction symbol bullet points we could maybe use. I ran across a few with this batch of toy pics we might consider adding. I'll list them here, see if people can think of more. I feel like there might be a couple more two-faction matchups out there.
* Rescue Bots
* The various BotBots squads
* My First Transformers

I'm not un-convinced that we should have the bespoke insignia for stuff like the Disney Label, since they do use them on the packaging. So uh... there. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 01:51, 13 January 2024 (EST)
:Also, while looking at the list of all the bullets on the template page... maybe we should see if we can split the list up a smidge? Like, put all the mutli-faction icons in one section, a section just for BotBots since there's gonna be quite a few of them? Alphabetizing them might also be in order. (I have exactly zero idea how those templates are coded, so uh, lemme know if that's doable.) --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 04:42, 13 January 2024 (EST)
::There's also the [[Star Wars Transformers]]... though I'm not sure if using ''Star Wars'' insignia falls too much out of this wiki's scope, although we do use at least use them on the actual characters' pages (see [[Darth Vader]]). [[User:Turborun|Turborun]] ([[User talk:Turborun|talk]]) 10:34, 13 January 2024 (EST)
:::I don't think we'd use SW insignia because, near as I can tell, the toy packaging doesn't mark the toys that way. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 05:27, 14 January 2024 (EST)

== Idea for reducing the size of toy sections by compacting unchanged toy entries ==

I've come up with an idea that I think would make toy sections on character pages a little better and more intuitive. Instead of having a long list of entries for multiple releases of the exact same toy completely unchanged, we could just compact them all in a single entry, describing how the toy was available both individually and unchanged in a bunch of multipacks. This could be especially helpful with toy sections that are way too long, such as both the Movie Optimus Prime and Bumblebee toy pages that have been subject to a lot of discussion already.

[[User:Fritz/Optimus Prime (Movie)/toys|I used the 2007 Legends Class section of the Movie Optimus Prime toy page to make a quick example out of it.]] The entries would be reduced from four to two toys, since 3/4 of them are the same toy anyway, and a lot of white space would be removed. As for the images of the multipacks, I don't think we would be losing much in removing them since the wiki has never prioritized images of packagings for anything really and, as I know is written somewhere in the "rules", the wiki isn't supposed to be used as an image hosting website in the first place.

So, any thoughts? --[[User:Fritz|Fritz]] ([[User talk:Fritz|talk]]) 20:18, 20 January 2024 (EST)
: We used to do this and it was actually kind of worse. There's also complications when unchanged toys end up being sold under different franchise headers, and when you add in all the other bullet point data a toy/set might have, you could end up with a lonnnnng list of bullet points before you get to the actual writeup, plus describing the multi-packs' contents... you're not really saving space while also kinda hurting the demi-chronological flow of the information. And deleting the multi-pack package imagery feels very wrong. It's one of those cases where there's no real ideal situation, but there's a least-bad one.
:That said, it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to make sure the first entry mentions these "repacks" alongside the redecoes and links to the relevant items. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 21:34, 21 January 2024 (EST)
::Good points, as usual. Now that you mentioned it, I think I do have a vague memory of this being done in the past. I was going to suggest the repacks from different toylines should remain separate, though. My mentality was that maybe we could have a way to highlight the "main" releases (original and redecoes/retools) from the "minor" ones (unchanged repacks) to make it easier to identify in a glance how many actually-different toys were released within a toyline, but I wouldn't want it to cause ''more'' confusion than ''less''. Anyway thanks for taking the time to evaluate the idea. --[[User:Fritz|Fritz]] ([[User talk:Fritz|talk]]) 05:54, 22 January 2024 (EST)

==Repurposings, continuity transplants, and using Template:Main/Template:See to improve navigability==
I've gone back to the drawing board to come up with a way to signal to readers where closely-related pages exist, as I don't think [[Help:Disambiguation|disambiguation]] pages are enough and have found [[Template:OtherVersions]] to be unideal. [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Archive70#Proposal re: G1 pages|Previously]], I'd suggested merging a bunch of pages for so-called "[[Continuity family|continuity]] transplants", but other users convinced me this would be a poor solution. One alternative suggestion, from [[User:Broadside]], was to use [[Template:Main]] to put key links to a character's appearances in other continuity families directly in the fiction section—[[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Archive70#Handling of "former GoBots" and "former Diaclone" characters on the wiki|reactions at the time]] were neutral-positive. You can see mockups for [[User:Broadside/Sandbox:Cy-Kill|Cy-Kill]] and [[User:Broadside/Sandbox:Bug Bite|Bug Bite]]. This strikes me as the best of both worlds, because it keeps the consistent schema (which helps for page length and organisation) but also puts a link to the information in the place where your typical reader is expecting to find it (on the page for the highest-profile first incarnation of the character).

With the same philosophy in mind, I've also designed two new templates. The first, [[Template:Toyappeared]], is intended for use in toy write-ups as a way of linking to fiction write-ups and character pages. It covers [[repurposing]]s, "continuity transplants", notable instances of [[Show-accuracy|toy-accuracy]], in-fiction [[Reformatting|powerups]], [[Redeco#"Virtual" redecos|"virtual" redecos]], you name it. Toy write-ups are increasingly being duplicated across multiple character pages, which creates maintenance overhead, as both instances must be manually kept in sync. My suggestion is to use [[Template:See]] to link to the full information regarding a toy on the original page, with the repurposed instance giving only brief information of what the toy is and ''why'' it was repurposed or whatever. The second of my new templates has a much more specific intended use case: [[Template:Bwucharacter]] provides an easy way of explaining how/why a character was reinterpreted for their ''Uprising'' appearance, as ''Uprising'' accounts for most of the situations I view as being problematic.

I realise I'm proposing like five things at once here, so [[User:The Wadapan/sandbox/repurposing|my sandbox]] has [[User:The Wadapan/sandbox/repurposing#Full example|a full example]] demonstrating how it all works together, along with tons of individual examples of the templates' usage and a more thorough explanation of what I'm trying to address with them. Take a look, and let me know which aspects you like, which parts you don't like, or any ideas you have to add! —[[User:The Wadapan|The Wadapan]] ([[User talk:The Wadapan|talk]]) 06:24, 12 February 2024 (EST)
:I can vouch for these templates! [[User:ShootingStar7X|ShootingStar7X]] ([[User talk:ShootingStar7X|talk]]) 15:38, 26 February 2024 (EST)
: I'm seeing a lot of problems with the implementation of some of this, and a lot of future headaches. The ones rolled out put what look like stub headers in a fiction section with just a small normal missable note up top; and in Override's case in specific, multiple stubs with completely redundant information. What this is ''going'' to do is get new people thinking that these are missing information that needs to be filled, then we gotta revert it and tell them no all that goes elsewhere, which is utterly unintuitive and will just lead to arguments and headaches all around.
: As for toys, in the instances of BWU-type stuff where it's a one-toy Mini-Con or whatever, I feel like NOT having the actual toy info for them on the BWU page, as with the Mini-Con Snow Cat toy currently, is not doing the reader any favors. Quite the opposite. Why are we making them jump to a different page for information that has no reason to not be right there? I don't like making readers jump through hoops needlessly, and that's all this feels like. And it's not like the toy sections of most of these are gonna see major changes, so lack of cross-updating is very, very, very unlikely to be an issue.
: I really don't think these require new templates and a bunch of new-editor landmines. At most, there's a decent argument to be made for re-positioning the "you look familiar" template that already exists, maybe below the main character writeup (above feels like a bad layout choice, pushing all kinds of stuff down.) --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 02:11, 28 February 2024 (EST)

== Listings and accessories ==

When I was making the description for cannonball based on the Walmart listing, there was mention of a Gatling gun and hammer not shown in the stock images,and left them out.

If I run into this type of situation again, what do I do?[[User:Poliwag06|Poliwag06]] ([[User talk:Poliwag06|talk]]) 10:56, 7 March 2024 (EST)

== A few suggestions ==

Gallery pages should only include images that aren't easily accessed by going to the main page, to avoid cluttering. I guess this is not an issue now since the current gallery pages are fairly short.

There should be more dedication in listing alt-modes of characters. Maybe there should be a header or something. For example, if the Dreamwave version of [[Sunstorm (G1)#Dreamwave Generation One continuity|Sunstorm]] transforms into an F-16 jet, it should be listed in the beginning with a header for the sake of easy access to the said information.--[[User:Primestar3|Primestar3]] ([[User talk:Primestar3|talk]]) 13:59, 17 March 2024 (EDT)

== Will we get an article on The Masked Singer? ==

Will there be an article on TFWiki about The Masked Singer, specifically their recent "Transformers Night" episode (https://the-masked-singer.fandom.com/wiki/Transformers_Night)? --[[User:John Pannozzi|John Pannozzi]] ([[User talk:John Pannozzi|talk]]) 20:01, 12 April 2024 (EDT)

: Assuming it's a licensed appearance (I can't check the credits myself :C ), I can't think why it wouldn't be [[User:AkibaSilver|AkibaSilver]] ([[User talk:AkibaSilver|talk]]) 21:15, 12 April 2024 (EDT)

:: It was indeed licensed. --[[User:John Pannozzi|John Pannozzi]] ([[User talk:John Pannozzi|talk]]) 22:30, 12 April 2024 (EDT)
:::Yes, as an official Hasbro-sanctioned piece of TF media, the episode does meet our requirements for inclusion. It just needs someone to write it up. -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 23:22, 12 April 2024 (EDT)

== Franchise articles ==
So I was looking at the franchise pages to try and get an idea of what the standard is supposed to be for how they are written. Should all of them be updated to be more like the [[Beast Wars: Transformers (franchise)]] article? What was making me wonder this was that on the [[Transformers: Energon (franchise)]] article it had a section for "Homages" and one for "New characters" which I don't think any other franchise article has. --[[User:1levichurch|1levichurch]] ([[User talk:1levichurch||talk]]) 22:57, 21 April 2024 (UTC)

== AI upscaled images ==
With fresh offsite talks about the matter, I put forth we add an official policy against posting AI upscaled images of any kind to the wiki, owing to their subpar performance in "enhancing" the quality of images. [[User:McBaggins|McBaggins]] ([[User talk:McBaggins|talk]]) 23:52, 1 May 2024 (EDT)
:Agreed. It's literally faking information and presenting it as official. (Also often noticeably terrible.) Sometimes the best quality available of something sucks, but we simply have to deal. [[User:Saix|Saix]] ([[User talk:Saix|talk]]) 23:57, 1 May 2024 (EDT)
::100 percent agreed. It's called "artificial" for a reason. Plenty of details would be lost out through the upscaling, and several times errors on the wiki somehow became official through Hastak using the wiki for references (the whole [[Circular reporting]] thing). If we start allowing AI upscaled images, then we're likely to have things lost to the annals of time. Potato quality is better than lost quality[[User:Singularity|Singularity]] ([[User talk:Singularity|talk]]) 00:11, 2 May 2024 (EDT)
: Sure. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 00:43, 2 May 2024 (EDT)

== Ending addition of high-end statues ==
This is something I doubt other people have noticed, but I'm putting down a tent-peg on it: After having built the entries for dozens of high-end collectable TF statues in the last 2-3 years, from firms like Diamond Select, Imaginarium, Azure Sea, XM Studios, etc., and then seeing most of them either officially cancelled or never spoken of again with no reported purchases, I am going to stop adding such items here. If someone else feels like cataloguing them, great.

It really may not be possible for us to keep up with toy-like non-transforming merchandise (figurines and statues) the way we used to. There are at least two ''released'' series of G1 core cast micro-figurines with micro-comics and magnifying glasses, which would have been the rage of the fandom in 2005, that nobody ever got around to adding, and it feels like too much of a chore for me to start. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 10:35, 3 May 2024 (EDT)
: It's an unfortunate but very real thing that once you enter the world of licensed merch, we're ''gonna'' have big gaps. It's... a lot, on top of the "a lot" that is the regular TF toyline and fictional output today. I've said that the work involved in keeping up with all of TF's merch ought to be a full-time paying job, and I genuinely mean it. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 16:39, 3 May 2024 (EDT)

== Transformers Roleplaying Game releases on the front page and sidebar ==

The [[Transformers Roleplaying Game]] is getting pretty frequent releases of both sourcebooks and pre-written adventures, and it occurs to me that it might be a good idea to have it on the "current releases" section of the front page and/or the navigation sidebar. How would people feel about that? --[[User:Broadside|Broadside]] ([[User talk:Broadside|talk]]) 15:49, 4 May 2024 (EDT)
: I think that makes a lot of sense, as long as we have people keeping up with the new releases to document them. -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 15:51, 4 May 2024 (EDT)

==How we handle weapons' toy/merch sections==
Okay, so like... I'm not really convinced that what we've been doing is the best way to handle the weapon pages' toys/merch sections. Honestly, they end up looking... really shoddy. There's just tiny scraps of info, vast wads of whitespace, few to no links, the images are tons of different sizes. <br>
I'm thinking that instead of all this... maybe this is a place where a gallery is in order, just a chronological procession. Have the captions just say what lines/toys the weapons came with and link to the toys directly on the character page. It's not like there's much to say about any of these, why not let the toy listing on the character page say it? Why make people scroll through screens of mostly-emptiness, which I feel they're increasingly unlikely to do? I may do a sandbox if I'm feeling up to it. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 22:24, 6 May 2024 (EDT)
:[[User:M Sipher/Sandbox:WeaponPageToysSection]] - So... this, basically. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 22:39, 6 May 2024 (EDT)
:I'd be on board with that. --[[User:Broadside|Broadside]] ([[User talk:Broadside|talk]]) 22:34, 6 May 2024 (EDT)
:I like it. It would be far more compact than our current approach for, say, [[Fusion cannon#Toys]], while still getting the point across. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 11:13, 10 May 2024 (EDT)

==Proposal for Unproduced or Unreleased Template==
I don't think the Apocrypha template is particularly useful. It was created specifically for Alignment, but most of the things in it don't fit that criteria. Something like Unproduced or Unreleased Transformer media would be more self explanatory. [[User:WillR113|WillR113]] ([[User talk:WillR113|talk]]) 07:05, 11 May 2024 (EDT)

== Use of pictures from ebay, fan sites, etc ==

Is it appropriate to use pictures of toys from ebay, fan reviews, video review screenshots and the like? Under fair use and with source credit? Sometimes rarer items we don't have good pictures of on the wiki show up in these places. In particular I found a ebay seller with good images of EZ collection toys and and old Japanese review blog with images of Takara variants of HFTD/Autobot Alliance toys so that got me wondering. —[[User:BluJayWarrior|BluJayWarrior]] ([[User talk:BluJayWarrior|talk]]) 10:10, 12 May 2024 (EDT)
:Images from eBay and other fan sites have been and can continue to be used, giving the fullest source credit feasible. I don't think we've ever needed to rely on video review screenshots and would always prefer to have a "normal" still image instead whenever possible. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 11:02, 16 May 2024 (EDT)

== ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' “再構成版” エピソード視聴ガイド "Re-Configuration Version" aka "Re-Constructed Version" Episode Viewing Guide ==

We really need to document the "canon" Japanese viewing order for ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' & ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers 2010'' originally included with the ''Pioneer'' Laserdisc booklets & later apparently revised by [[Hirofumi Ichikawa]] (市川裕文) for the DVD BOX SET 2 Instruction Booklet as it would help clean-up the chronology on many wiki pages here. From what I've been able to gather this particular viewing order differs from both the US/Japan production orders, the US-Airing order and the Japanese-Airing order. So what exactly is the order of the episodes of these two series according to these documents? Does anyone own them and able to list the specific order in which the episodes appear in those LD/DVD "Instruction Booklets" word-for-word? As it stands, we've only mentioned that a "narrative viewing order" exists but do not have it listed anywhere. For further clarification, it is not the order in which the episodes appear on the Japanese DVDs. [[User:Astrobotix|Astrobotix]] ([[User talk:Astrobotix|talk]]) 01:09, 15 May 2024 (EDT)
:While this information would be valuable and is worth documenting, it's unlikely to result in us making any major changes to the way our information is structured. -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 17:31, 16 May 2024 (EDT)
:Okay, having seen the booklets in question, it just lists the episodes in production order, continuity errors and all. So...absolutely no change, then. -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 20:44, 17 May 2024 (EDT)

== Documenting MSRP? ==

Would it be worth documenting MSRP prices (in usd at least)? For the regular retail classes that's for the most part covered by the [[size class]] page, but we don't keep track of them for more specialty items like Masterpieces, multipacks, exclusives, one-off releases not in a normal size class, special lines like Missing Link, etc. It's something I find personally interesting and would've liked to know for older figures and someone in the future might want to know about today's releases. It can also offer some neat bits of info like how Premium Finish releases were generally one price point up compared to the figure's size or how the upcoming United Cliffjumper multipack is a whole $30 off what the individual figures would cost --[[User:BluJayWarrior|BluJayWarrior]] ([[User talk:BluJayWarrior|talk]]) 14:20, 21 May 2024 (EDT)
:I think this would be very interesting, particularly when you scroll down pages for G1 toys that got multiple reissues like the Seekers, Insecticons, and tape players. It's just that - like the Designer Notes and the proper insignias on each and every toy - it would take forever to add and would probably wind up being one super-dedicated person having to do most of the work. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 14:28, 21 May 2024 (EDT)
::I might try to do what I can, going back to recatalogue everything would definitely be a chore. But at the very least I strongly believe it's something we can and should implement for future toy entries. I've started a [[User:BluJayWarrior/Sandbox|MSRP Sandbox]] to try out a few formats, any feedback is appreciated. --[[User:BluJayWarrior|BluJayWarrior]] ([[User talk:BluJayWarrior|talk]]) 05:18, 23 May 2024 (EDT)
::Cleaned up the sandbox page. Anyone have anything to say about the format? Might try applying Style 1 to a few pages this weekend if no one makes any objections. [[User:BluJayWarrior|BluJayWarrior]] ([[User talk:BluJayWarrior|talk]]) 12:58, 24 May 2024 (EDT)
:::Of those options I like Style 1 the best. As you already noted, the [[size class]] pages covers basically all normal U.S. retail from BW through Legacy, missing things like Platinum and MP. To find contemporary G1 prices, here are some good resources:
:::https://web.archive.org/web/20181125082555/https://pleasesavemerobots.com/vstp/vstptf84.html
:::https://web.archive.org/web/20191114081109/http://pleasesavemerobots.com/vstp/vstptf85.html
:::https://web.archive.org/web/20191114091052/http://pleasesavemerobots.com/vstp/vstptf86.html
:::https://web.archive.org/web/20191114090836/http://pleasesavemerobots.com/vstp/vstptf87.html
:::https://web.archive.org/web/20191114084922/http://pleasesavemerobots.com/vstp/vstptf88.html
:::https://web.archive.org/web/20191114081716/http://pleasesavemerobots.com/vstp/vstptf89.html
:::https://web.archive.org/web/20191114085830/http://pleasesavemerobots.com/vstp/vstptf90.html
:::https://www.tfw2005.com/boards/threads/g1-original-retail-price-listing.1167895/
:::I tried looking for G2 MSRP but couldn't find anything as obvious. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 13:24, 24 May 2024 (EDT)
::::Thanks for the sources, gonna have to sort through that later. Planning to start with new ROTB characters since they're smaller pages and prices can still be found. I've decided to add prices for retail classes for reader convenience; not everyone will know to go to the size class page for them and its not linked often enough to make it reasonable they would. [[User:BluJayWarrior|BluJayWarrior]] ([[User talk:BluJayWarrior|talk]]) 14:22, 24 May 2024 (EDT)

: I'd been working on a project like this a long time ago, had originally proposed adding this to the wiki, but then kinda stopped... mostly because near as I could tell, the MSRP in the 80s was something retailers could just make the hell up. The price ranges for any given toy were kinda all over the damn place, and the MSRP was something some retailers used to go "no really we're cheaper SEE?" then make up some price they supposedly "discounted" down from... you know, the thing that got Kay-Bee in legal-type troubles. I was increasingly unsure how to handle that wild price variance concisely on the wiki. In fact...
::https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1PBE2i9vLE6fkr933GQbXosA1cxIqB3CkOSnzW0BMdwc/edit#gid=448439989
: Take a look-see. There's at least three different MSRP values for the standard Headmasters, never mind actual sticker prices. Like, I ''want'' to provide this kind of context, I really do, and it's pretty easy once we get to the unified price points of BW on... but for G1 and G2? Woof. That's going to take a bit of mulling. "Average" price maybe, but there's gonna be some Prices Georg here and there throwing shit off. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 16:35, 24 May 2024 (EDT)
::RE: The sandbox... I'm gonna have to vote against Style 1, because, as noted, price info is very likely going to get... cluttered, and the longer that parenthetical is, the worse it is. I'd REALLY like to keep that to just "size class/type (if not obvious) and release year". And don't forget Takara-release prices, which can be more flexible even within a size class... but at least those have been ''extensively'' documented. I think we need to talk about bit more about everything we'd need to cover and ''how'' before we go implementing anything, and get a few more people in on the discussion. (Sorry for all the add-ons, lightly scattered today.) --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 18:18, 24 May 2024 (EDT)
:::Fair enough on the old stuff since that gets convoluted, but the newer stuff is comparatively easier to do and I'd rather start sooner before some MSRP prices get harder to find (ROTB Autobots Unite subline prices seem to have disappeared already). Added the ROTB Airazor page I was gonna start with to the sandbox so you can see how the page might look as a whole. Since you object to Style 1 I added a Style 2 version too. --[[User:BluJayWarrior|BluJayWarrior]] ([[User talk:BluJayWarrior|talk]]) 18:38, 24 May 2024 (EDT)
:::: Assemble the data, sure, but I am going to say do ''not'' actually apply any of this to live articles. Again, there's barely been any time or discussion on a project that is... vast in scope, and we simply do not jump on stuff like this right away, because that means things will get not considered and then we have to re-do hundreds to thousands of pages... and we absolutely do ''not'' do it when there's a giant obvious gap (the first decade of the franchise) that still needs to be considered, as how we handle ''that'' will affect how we handle all the others, because we try and keep things consistent.
:::: Like, just off the top of my head, there's non-US-or-Japan markets to consider for just about everything normal-retail. Which makes me think we may want to look into a collapsible template, like with the toy designers and voice actors, to handle the other markets without overloading the bullet point sections, some of which are already a bit husky. There's the fact that Walmart and Target just dropped the prices on TF Deluxes in the US... but apparently, Hasbro didn't change their "MSRP"/cost at all. In fact a quick jump to Hasbro Pulse shows they're still charging $25 for a ''Legacy/Studio'' Deluxe, while I can pop to the local Target/Walmart and buy 'em at $20, so we gotta consider ranges just like with G1/G2. And again... ''I'm moderately convinced that "MSRP" in the USA was bullshit all along,'' so I don't know that it's the term we even want to use in the first place. Maybe "Retail price" would be better. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 00:17, 25 May 2024 (EDT)
:::::I think just documenting the MSRP, if we know it, is enough. No need to go down the rabbit hole of tracking down what individual retailers sell them at when they disregard the MSRP (which as, after all, only a suggested price). In my opinion, at least, it's little different from listing the cover prices of books - the only difference is that Hasbro doesn't print their suggested price directly on the box.
:::::Totally hear you on waiting to the pull the trigger until it's been properly discussed, though. Also, I prefer BluJay's Style 2 as well. -- [[User:Dark T Zeratul|Dark T Zeratul]] ([[User talk:Dark T Zeratul|talk]]) 03:46, 25 May 2024 (EDT)
:::::: Um, the problem is, again... I really don't think we HAVE any actual MSRPs outside of Takara's. What's been cataloged here are just "prices they were sold at", which isn't ''specifically'' a Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price, the specific price suggested specifically by the manufacturer. Those we'd need a source for, and as I've pointed out, the handful of stated "MSRP"s we've seen for Hasbro stuff... well, someone was lying, likely multiple someones. For BW on we have a pretty strong ''inference'' of MSRP, but, well. And even that's not reliable... I just remembered that Walmart and Target were charging markedly different prices for the ''EarthSpark'' Tacticons, like, a $2 diff.
:::::: What I'm saying is, we might want to just not call it "MSRP" because of that (also, frankly I question how many people even recognize that acronym). And because of the wide variance in prices for older stuff, no, we don't need to list every price at every retailer (there were a billion retailers in the 80s... man, remember when actual competition in the market was a thing?), but we really OUGHT to account for the variance somehow, because it can be wide and ''full''. "''Original price''" might be best, since that's what we're actually reporting here, with something like "$2.99 - $4.99 (US) / ¥500 (Japan) <expand>". I'd rather do a range than a single-price "average" on old stuff, especially when we have so MUCH data on what these were sold at across the nation that we can see the trends and when a particularly high or low price is an outlier adn should not have been counted. "Modern" stuff we can certainly ignore, say, Kohl's's higher prices and just do the average probable-MSRP-if-those-actually-exist prices most places (all two of them) charge. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 17:10, 25 May 2024 (EDT)
::::Alright, I'll make a [[User:BluJayWarrior/MSRP Catalog|separate sub page]] to catalog prices for now while that gets sorted out
::::As Dark T said, I think prioritizing initial Hasbro MSRP is best as it is the "intended" price (this is what [https://brickset.com Brickset] does for Lego). It's a point of consistency since historically different retailers tend have slight variations on the price anyway (Target/Walmart sometimes being slightly lower, Kohls/BBTS being higher, general lag on reflecting the msrp price increases a few years ago, etc) and I don't think that whole range needs to be noted. Admittedly the current Target/Walmart prices drops are pretty unusual (a whole $5?!) but unless it becomes something more widespread I personally wouldn't consider it as a data point. Might be worth making a note of somewhere if anything, though I'm not sure where --[[User:BluJayWarrior|BluJayWarrior]] ([[User talk:BluJayWarrior|talk]]) 04:26, 25 May 2024 (EDT)

==Micronauts, etc.==
Why are we suddenly gaining detailed issue write-ups for so much of Micronauts, which contains no TF elements at all? Isn't that the point of the IDW Hasbroverse wiki? --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 13:14, 1 August 2024 (EDT)
:Oh and look, now whole issues of M.A.S.K. written 7 years ago with no TF content whatsoever are being pasted from the Hasbroverse wiki. Is the other site going offline or something? --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 14:26, 1 August 2024 (EDT)
::I don't think it was really our intention to formally unveil the project until we were further along, but some of us have been doing a fair bit of work towards creating a [https://gijoe.miraheze.org/wiki/Main_Page sister wiki for ''G.I. Joe''] where the [https://gijoe.miraheze.org/wiki/Comics#IDW_Publishing_3 out-of-scope IDW Joe coverage] has already been re-homed. The Joe crew hasn't made any calls about what do with non-Joe stuff to be clear (we're sort of preoccupied, there's so much Joe you guys) but I'm guessing the idea here is to align the rest with our [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Archive71#Energon Universe coverage|current approach]] to [[Energon Universe|Skybound's shared universe]] and sundown the IDW one? --[[User:AzimuthAcolyte|AzimuthAcolyte]] ([[User talk:AzimuthAcolyte|talk]]) 15:43, 1 August 2024 (EDT)
:::That is more or less the intention, yeah. The Hasbroverse wiki was built at a time where it was perhaps anticipated to be grander than it ended up being, and it wasn't certain how long it was going to run; with the end result being "not very", having this other vestigial site for what is ultimately not a lot of content just doesn't feel practical. The exception, of course, is pre-V5 Joe, which has ''always'' been the sticking point in discussions about moving Hasbroverse content here, both for the amount and for how little it has to do with the IDW Transformers line. Having a dedicated Joe wiki solves that problem and frees up the rest of the Hasbroverse stuff to be reintegrated. Plus, there's still new Joe material being released to this day; arguably having a complete and better curated site for the franchise as a whole that continues to be updated with new releases is more likely to drive traffic and get other people to contribute than it would be linking to a dead wiki for a long-ended comic line that's had the same featured articles for five years because no one cares to add anything to it anymore. -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 15:59, 1 August 2024 (EDT)
::::It does look like a rough consensus was reached to do this back in 2021 ([[Transformers_Wiki_talk:Community_Portal/Archive69#Reintegration_of_Hasbroverse_wiki_content|Archive 69]]), it was just never implemented. --[[User:Xaaron|Xaaron]] ([[User talk:Xaaron|talk]]) 16:10, 1 August 2024 (EDT)
::Like half of MASK issues have something from Transformers in them. Picking and choosing which select issues to cover here is hair-splitting and obnoxious for readers. It's immensely better to just have all the information in one, easily-accessible spot and regard Hasbro Universe as a de facto spinoff of Transformers, much like Beastformers and Energon Universe are. [[User:Saix|Saix]] ([[User talk:Saix|talk]]) 17:10, 1 August 2024 (EDT)

==One spoilers==
I propose that information about this movie be withheld until it actually opens in its largest market next weekend. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 11:04, 14 September 2024 (EDT)
: Agreed. [[User:Locoman|Locoman]] ([[User talk:Locoman|talk]]) 11:08, 14 September 2024 (EDT)

==Transformers One and the conversation we've all been waiting for==

On September 12th, Lorenzo di Bonaventura [https://comicbook.com/movies/news/is-transformers-one-a-prequel-optimus-prime-origin-story-exclusive/ clarified the relationship] between ''Transformers One'' and the live-action ''Transformers'' films, describing them as "two universes" that will be "separate". For some, this kind of explicit confirmation may come as a relief after years of wishy-washy answers regarding ''Bumblebee'' and ''Rise of the Beasts'', but it also leaves us with questions on how to best handle ''One''-related information going forward. Around 2015, we adopted a unique layout we applied to all the movie characters, where we organized their movie appearances at the top of the page, regardless of chronological order of release (see "[[Optimus Prime (Movie)#Movies]]"). Obviously, this leads to some questions regarding how we should handle our ''One'' coverage going forward.

The way I see it, we have three options:

* '''Keep the page format as is, and keep''' '''''One''''' '''up with the rest of the movies''': For obvious reasons I think this is probably our weakest possible solution; it's pretty clear at this point that our current solution for classifying the films is not really sustainable, and mashing them all together under a single loosely-affiliated umbrella is already confusing and frustrating people who aren't intimately acquainted with the mechanics of the wiki.

* '''Reorganize movie character pages so that we acknowledge the live-action films and''' '''''One''''' '''as separate continuities within one continuity family, similar to how our G1 pages cover Sunbow, Marvel, JG1, IDW, etc.''': Historically speaking, this is probably the safest option, but from what I understand there is very little "connective tissue"—visually, character-wise, plot-beats—between the live-action films and ''One'' beyond the inertia of "they were both made by Paramount". As some people have discussed in the past, this could lead to a full or partial reformat of our movie character coverage to more clearly reflect the ambiguous "prequel" status of ''Bumblebee'' and ''Rise of the Beasts'', but this may be a conversation for another time.

* '''Separate''' '''''One''''' '''as an entirely new continuity family and split out the relevant information so we have pages for "Optimus Prime (One)", "Megatron (One)", etc.''' Probably the most radical proposal, but this is honestly where I'm at right now: from what I understand the movie is a pretty radical departure from everything that's gone before, with entirely new interpretations of old ''Transformers'' lore—I'd classify it as the start of a new "franchise" in the same way that we distinguish ''Earthspark'' and ''Cyberverse'' despite them both clearly drawing on the same well of post-Aligned lore, and these days "new franchise" is generally synonymous with "new continuity family" for the ease of wiki bookkeeping.

We would appreciate hearing your thoughts on the matter! '''As the film is not out yet in all regions please refrain from posting spoilers here'''. [[User:Locoman|Locoman]] ([[User talk:Locoman|talk]]) 08:56, 15 September 2024 (EDT)

:I could see option 3 being the way we go, but what holds me back from that is that beyond just Paramount, Spielberg and Bay are still executive producers on the film. [[User:Escargon|Escargon]] ([[User talk:Escargon|talk]]) 09:39, 15 September 2024 (EDT)

::I think we should put them on the Earthspark Continuity pages to satisfy no-one /j - but yeah, the film is drawing from the same vaguely Binder Of Revelation backstory as everything else for the last 10 years, and unless they have been hiding The Fallen twisting D-16 to evil or the twist that the Creators were the Quintessons all along, One feels pretty decoupled from the rest of the movies. The big issue I see with splitting out fully is that people wondering why we do not do the same for Bumblebee/ROTB, but that more easily passes a "vibe check" as being "Movie-adjacent" and belonging on the same page as the Bay 5-dom than One so far. Agree that trying to put them directly alongside the other movies as a prequel feels both unwieldy and confusing. [[User:AkibaSilver|AkibaSilver]] ([[User talk:AkibaSilver|talk]]) 09:41, 15 September 2024 (EDT)

:I vote for '''option 3''', I think creating separate pages is the way to go. [[User:MrRald|MrRald]] ([[User talk:MrRald|talk]]) 09:54, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
::I vote for '''option 2'''. To me the movie is different enough to be a separate universe but not an entirely different continuity. Josh Cooley himself on April 18 when asked whether the film is a fresh start, a prequel to the live-action films, or its own thing, replied with: "yes to all of the above" https://comicbook.com/movies/news/transformers-one-director-confirms-new-movies-canon-status. (And having seen the movie I can confirm those connections to the live-action series do exist). [[User:Grievous Prime|Grievous Prime]] ([[User talk:Grievous Prime|talk]]) 10:05, 15 September 2024 (EDT)

:I vote for '''option 3'''. One has always felt very different to the previous live action movies so I feel it should get its own dedicated pages. As for BB and ROTB, there is "connective tissue" to the Bayverse movies so I feel they can stay on the pre-existing movie pages. [[User:PublicCrown|PublicCrown]] ([[User talk:PublicCrown|talk]]) 10:25, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
:Having viewed the film at an advance screening, I think there are easily enough references and homages to previous films that '''option two''' makes the most sense. - [[User:Archforce|Archforce]] ([[User talk:Archforce|talk]]) 10:45, 15 September 2024 (EDT)

::I'm favorable for the '''3rd option''', it is still produced under Paramount & there are some producers attached to the project that were on previous movies, but my stance is that we should judge based on the final product & having seen the movie, it doesn't try to be in line to what came before (there are some similarities in design & names, but it stops there since every popular TF stories has influence over the next ones), helped by the new team of writers & creatives. If we can treat each new cartoon as its own entity (even tho in recent years they are streamlined in some areas), I think we can do the same for the recent movies that have more contradictory elements to the Bayverse –[[User:MahXyme|MahXyme/MahXymal]] ([[User talk:MahXyme|talk]]) 10:49, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
:'''<nowiki>#3</nowiki>''' is the cleanest option to me. [[User:Saix|Saix]] ([[User talk:Saix|talk]]) 11:32, 15 September 2024 (EDT)

:I think from a practical perspective, '''#3''' is the only real option. Looking at the loose guidelines for a new family on our [[continuity family]] page:
:*"a fresh continuity" — Yep, even Lorenzo's acknowledged this. Even if we questioned that, there's stuff like the AllSpark being absent (with the Matrix pretty much taking exactly the role the AllSpark would have), Megatronus being a good guy, and Sentinel's role being entirely irreconcilable with Dark of the Moon.
:*"within a separate franchise" — Yep. New franchise, and the marketing hasn't done anything to allude to the live-action films specifically.
:*"significantly different in cast, theme, style, etc." — This is the big sticking point for me. One makes no attempt to align with the visual style or characterisations of the live-action films. The sole real connective point is B-127 (name from ''Bumblebee'', he has the big cheeks and antenna of the movie guy, and his talking a lot is clearly a meta-gag about him losing his voice), but even he's characterised completely differently, as the "comedy crazy guy" who's a peer to Optimus and co instead of the cool-but-rude big brother figure from Bay/Bee/Beasts.
:I'm sympathetic to the Paramount/Bay/Spielberg/Di Bonaventura connective tissue, but my big rebuttal there is that we don't consider ''EarthSpark'' to be Aligned because Nicole Dubuc is the showrunner. Ultimately, if we hadn't had pre-release producer statements (now contradicted) calling it a prequel to the other movies, there's absolutely no way this would be in question — we'd already have it as a separate continuity family. And from a wiki organisation standpoint I don't think there's any way to, say, write up Sentinel Prime's opening paragraph in a way that adequately covers both the DOTM and One characters without genericising it to the point of uselessness. --[[User:Broadside|Broadside]] ([[User talk:Broadside|talk]]) 12:33, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
::Yeah, I think '''#3''' is straightforward and likely the approach we'd take if we were presented with the film, as a story, with zero context on the studio releasing it or EPs involved or whatever. I also think there's a high likelihood that the next live-action film will have Elita appear and be like "hey Optimus remember when we were in Transformers One?" and we'll all groan and have to reconsider, but until then, I think the real-world context is basically the only thing separating One from just being the next Broadly Aligned-y New Thing like Cyberverse and EarthSpark before it, which we consistently split out for organisation reasons. [[User:Jalaguy|Jalaguy]] ([[User talk:Jalaguy|talk]]) 13:45, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
:Toss me in for '''Option 3''' of an entirely new continuity given how ''different'' the story details has been laid out when compared to the original 2007 film-verse and then later what's set by ''Bumblebee''. --[[User:Lonegamer78|Lonegamer78]] ([[User talk:Lonegamer78|talk]]) 14:38, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
:Voting for '''option #2'''. While we would still have the outlier of TF:TAM 86 being a theatrically released movie in the G1 continuity family, I see no reason why "movie continuity family" would not only include transmedia spinoffs from feature films (''Reign of Starscream'', toy redeco Tech Specs, etc. etc.) but also feature films which are belonging different timelines and story universes. This would also free us from having to reconcile Movie 'Bee's history -- did he come to Earth in the 1940s or the 1980s? -- and put to bed *that* long running argument about whether the Bay-directed films were the same universe as BB and RotB or not -- now they don't have to be! [[User:Banpei the Mini-Con|Banpei the Mini-Con]] ([[User talk:Banpei the Mini-Con|talk]]) 14:58, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
:Having seen the movie, I think '''#3''' is our cleanest option. Between the Lorenzo interview and, without going into spoilers, the numerous discrepencies there are, I don't think we can get away with suiting it out ala G1. The time may come when we do that for Bumblebee onwards but as far as One goes, I say we treat it as a new continuity. [[User:Ezim93|Ezim93]] ([[User talk:Ezim93|talk]]) 19:53, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
:'''#3'''. #2 was close for me, but TFOne (having seen the movie) is so artistically different from the live action movies, it feels pointless to keep it on the same page like G1/IDW. Ironically, we could give Bayverse/BB&ROTB the G1/IDW treatment. [[User:Boingus|--Boingus]] ([[User talk:Boingus|talk]]) 23:23, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
:I think 3 is where I'm leaning after seeing the film. Keeping this as "movie continuity" simply because it was released theatrically doesn't make sense to me. We wouldn't do that with a new comic or show because it was the same medium, why do it for a movie just because of that? Yes There is some CNA here to the live action films, but it could be argued it has just as much pulled from G1. One is it's own thing in the end. Trying to fit it into the live action movie box just doesn't feel right in this case.--[[User:ParadoxFactor|ParadoxFactor]] ([[User talk:ParadoxFactor|talk]]) 05:47, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
:I vote for '''Option 3''' for all the reasons previously mentioned as well as size concerns. --[[User:Khajidha|Khajidha]] ([[User talk:Khajidha|talk]]) 09:29, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
:'''Option 3''', I believe the movie was clearly made with a new continuity in mind.-[[User:TitaniumToughGuy|TitaniumToughGuy]] ([[User talk:TitaniumToughGuy|talk]]) 09:38, 16 September 2024 (EDT)

:I'm voting '''Option 3'''; much of my reasons are the same as others have stated above, and I do apologise for opening this bags of worms on the ''One'' talk page. It's not that I don't understand why some people are opposed to creating a new set if pages, but for argument's sake, if ''One'' gets one or more sequels, it would likely draw further away from the established live-action films and become its own continuity/franchise (though that's more of a what-if right now). Overall, I personally think that separating live-action films and animated ones into their own continuities is a reasonable option, and I believe that ''One'' has proven itself a different entity. [[User:Prime Temple|Prime Temple]] ([[User talk:Prime Temple|talk]]) 06:26, 17 September 2024 (EDT)

===CHECKPOINT (2024/09/16)===
*Votes for Option 1: 0
*Votes for Option 2: 3 (GrievousPrime, Archforce, Banpei the Mini-Con)
*Votes for Option 3: 15 (Locoman, AkibaSilver, MrRald, PublicCrown, MahXyme, Saix, Broadside, Jalaguy, Lonegamer, Ezim93, Boingus, ParadoxFactor, Khajidha, TitaniumToughGuy, CyberLink420)
As it stands, current consensus is pretty overwhelmingly in favor of Option 3 by a ratio of 5:1. I know it's only been a day, but barring a sudden swell of support for #2, it might be prudent to start switching everything over. -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 10:20, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
: I'm reluctant to make actual changes until the movie hits wide release and the general public can make informed input. Give it a few more days. --[[User:Broadside|Broadside]] ([[User talk:Broadside|talk]]) 10:40, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
::::This. Let people... SEE the movie before we make important decisions. --[[User:ItsWalky|ItsWalky]] ([[User talk:ItsWalky|talk]]) 19:49, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
::::Right. We can wait a few days for more than a small handful of people to see this and base their decision on, you know, '''''the actual movie''''' rather than whatever someone who had something to do with it says ''this'' week, which historically has waffled between "vague" and "contradictory". Hell, even ''now'' some of them are still being all "well maybe it is and maybe it isn't" and frankly I have no faith they won't ride that ambiguity for a long time like they've done since ''Bumblebee''. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 20:49, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
::I've said ever since Keegan Michael Key tweeted as much that One should be treated as a separate continuity. '''Option 3''' for sure. {{unsigned|jmcdavid}}
:'''Option 3'''. I've seen the movie and other users have covered why that seems like the best choice. It feels as different from the previous movies as Prime is from Animated, or Earthspark from Sunbow (which, despite directly homaging/referencing Sunbow, Earthspark is considered separate from). [[User:Ashendawn|Ashendawn]] ([[User talk:Ashendawn|talk]]) 18:01, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
:I vote '''Option 2'''. There seems to be a large focus on whether or not the film fits in continuity with the prior films, but considering how little they fit with each other that feels irrelevant to me. The creators have been rather unclear whether this film should be considered separate from the ongoing live-action series in terms of production, just in terms of universe. If we had a sense this was the springboard for an entirely separate animated film series I'd say Option 3, but it feels unwarranted at this time. [[User:Indridcold13|Indridcold13]] ([[User talk:Indridcold13|talk]]) 20:29, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
:Also '''Option 3''' . In tone, content, continuity, style, story, just feels too different to me from the Michael Bay and other films, really only having the method of release in common. It feels more separate from the other movies than even Cyberverse from G1, and that’s happily separate. —[[User:MissDaria|MissDaria]] ([[User talk:MissDaria|talk]]) 10:05, 17 September 2024 (EDT)

MediaWiki talk:Community Portal

2024-09-17T14:51:31Z

96megatron: /* Transformers One and the conversation we've all been waiting for */

__NEWSECTIONLINK__

This is the place for discussion of topics that affect the entire wiki. For less wide-reaching subjects, either use articles' individual talk pages or [https://discord.com/invite/N99Bygq our Discord server.]

Some topics that would ordinarily be here have merited their own pages:

{{chapters|title=Specific Discussion Subjects|align=left|content=
<div class="list-header">'''Moving From Wikia:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Arriving|Arriving]]
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Leaving|Leaving]]
* [[Transformers Wiki:Community Portal/Complaints|Complaints]]
<br/><div class="list-header">'''New Ad Policy:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki:Ads|Ads]]
<br/><div class="list-header">'''Bookworm Database-Crash:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Damage Control Central|Damage Control Central]]
* [[Project:Bookworm Crash]]
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Leaving2|Leaving Take 2]]
<br/><div class="list-header">'''Server Move:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Arriving2|Arriving Take 2]]
<br/><div class="list-header">'''Relicensing:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Relicensing|Relicensing]]
<br/><div class="list-header">'''Dealing With Vandalism:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Vandalism|Vandalism]]
<br/><div class="list-header">'''GoBots Sister Wiki:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/GoBots|Discussion on the place of GoBots in this wiki]]
<br/> <div class="list-header">'''Wiki Technical Information:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki:Tech|A Not So Brief Summary of the Horrible Things That McFly and Co. Have Done To Keep This Wiki From Melting Down]]
}}<br/>

{{:{{FULLPAGENAMEE}}/Archive}}


== Press release or logo for 30,000 articles? ==
Is it worth putting something together as we get very very close? Maybe something like:
* 3 from Thrilling 30 logo
* 0 from the 40th logo
* 0 from the Vector Sigma "Featured" logo
* 0 from the cosmic-streaking O in the TFTM opener
* 0 from GO!

Just a suggestion.... --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 13:45, 10 November 2023 (EST)
:If we wanted to go down that route, maybe tie into some of the contemporary material? Say, the "O"s from [[Energon Universe]] or [[Transformers: Legacy#Legacy: Evolution|Evolution]]? (Though the latter isn't exactly straight-on...) --[[User:Broadside|Broadside]] ([[User talk:Broadside|talk]]) 14:38, 10 November 2023 (EST)
::Sure! I lean towards the Energon Universe choice. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 15:48, 10 November 2023 (EST)
:Apologies, I've corrected the count on the main page as it was inaccurate, so we're not as close as it looked like we were. --[[User:Abates|abates]] ([[User talk:Abates|talk]]) 16:20, 10 November 2023 (EST)
::That just means we have more time to decide and, if so, pull things together. :) -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 16:51, 10 November 2023 (EST)
:::Feels like we just leapt up 40 new articles in the last 2-3 days. Is it worth putting a graphic together? --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 22:47, 18 January 2024 (EST)

=="Multi-pack" vs "gift set" and suchlike==
Incoming semantics, but... as I've been going through the toy entries, been trying to standardize/streamline a lot of stuff, and I think maybe a set of consistent terms/definitions for "a bunch of separate toys packed together" is in order. So lemme throw this out here for discussion/future reference...
*'''Multi-pack''' — A pack of toys where the contents (or at least most/some/any of them) are exclusive to this release, not sold in other packaging. Most multi-toy releases nowadays would fall under this umbrella by default.
*'''Gift set''' — A pack of toys where all of the contents are/were concurrently (or close enough) sold individually as well, without changes, in the same market. Like all the various G1 combiner sets.
The latter brings up the question of if we want to label all the Takara "VS" packs and the various UT-era "VALUE PACK!" sets under that umbrella, which I'm ambivalent-to-marginally-in-favor-of over. Especially as Takara's been putting out new "VS" packs where the toys are new decos not available elsewhere... also we kinda made up the "VS pack" term anyway, as memory serves, so. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 20:15, 8 January 2024 (EST)
:Hasbro has used the word "[[Giftset]]" to refer to unique variants not available separately. I'm inclined to think we shouldn't directly contradict that. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 21:21, 8 January 2024 (EST)
::and damn but does that article need updating. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 21:22, 8 January 2024 (EST)
:::I'm inclined to think that Hasbro uses lots of terms in ways that are not exactly conducive to organizing a wiki. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 21:29, 8 January 2024 (EST)

==More bullet point insignia?==
Okay so... I recall there were some other possible faction symbol bullet points we could maybe use. I ran across a few with this batch of toy pics we might consider adding. I'll list them here, see if people can think of more. I feel like there might be a couple more two-faction matchups out there.
* Rescue Bots
* The various BotBots squads
* My First Transformers

I'm not un-convinced that we should have the bespoke insignia for stuff like the Disney Label, since they do use them on the packaging. So uh... there. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 01:51, 13 January 2024 (EST)
:Also, while looking at the list of all the bullets on the template page... maybe we should see if we can split the list up a smidge? Like, put all the mutli-faction icons in one section, a section just for BotBots since there's gonna be quite a few of them? Alphabetizing them might also be in order. (I have exactly zero idea how those templates are coded, so uh, lemme know if that's doable.) --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 04:42, 13 January 2024 (EST)
::There's also the [[Star Wars Transformers]]... though I'm not sure if using ''Star Wars'' insignia falls too much out of this wiki's scope, although we do use at least use them on the actual characters' pages (see [[Darth Vader]]). [[User:Turborun|Turborun]] ([[User talk:Turborun|talk]]) 10:34, 13 January 2024 (EST)
:::I don't think we'd use SW insignia because, near as I can tell, the toy packaging doesn't mark the toys that way. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 05:27, 14 January 2024 (EST)

== Idea for reducing the size of toy sections by compacting unchanged toy entries ==

I've come up with an idea that I think would make toy sections on character pages a little better and more intuitive. Instead of having a long list of entries for multiple releases of the exact same toy completely unchanged, we could just compact them all in a single entry, describing how the toy was available both individually and unchanged in a bunch of multipacks. This could be especially helpful with toy sections that are way too long, such as both the Movie Optimus Prime and Bumblebee toy pages that have been subject to a lot of discussion already.

[[User:Fritz/Optimus Prime (Movie)/toys|I used the 2007 Legends Class section of the Movie Optimus Prime toy page to make a quick example out of it.]] The entries would be reduced from four to two toys, since 3/4 of them are the same toy anyway, and a lot of white space would be removed. As for the images of the multipacks, I don't think we would be losing much in removing them since the wiki has never prioritized images of packagings for anything really and, as I know is written somewhere in the "rules", the wiki isn't supposed to be used as an image hosting website in the first place.

So, any thoughts? --[[User:Fritz|Fritz]] ([[User talk:Fritz|talk]]) 20:18, 20 January 2024 (EST)
: We used to do this and it was actually kind of worse. There's also complications when unchanged toys end up being sold under different franchise headers, and when you add in all the other bullet point data a toy/set might have, you could end up with a lonnnnng list of bullet points before you get to the actual writeup, plus describing the multi-packs' contents... you're not really saving space while also kinda hurting the demi-chronological flow of the information. And deleting the multi-pack package imagery feels very wrong. It's one of those cases where there's no real ideal situation, but there's a least-bad one.
:That said, it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to make sure the first entry mentions these "repacks" alongside the redecoes and links to the relevant items. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 21:34, 21 January 2024 (EST)
::Good points, as usual. Now that you mentioned it, I think I do have a vague memory of this being done in the past. I was going to suggest the repacks from different toylines should remain separate, though. My mentality was that maybe we could have a way to highlight the "main" releases (original and redecoes/retools) from the "minor" ones (unchanged repacks) to make it easier to identify in a glance how many actually-different toys were released within a toyline, but I wouldn't want it to cause ''more'' confusion than ''less''. Anyway thanks for taking the time to evaluate the idea. --[[User:Fritz|Fritz]] ([[User talk:Fritz|talk]]) 05:54, 22 January 2024 (EST)

==Repurposings, continuity transplants, and using Template:Main/Template:See to improve navigability==
I've gone back to the drawing board to come up with a way to signal to readers where closely-related pages exist, as I don't think [[Help:Disambiguation|disambiguation]] pages are enough and have found [[Template:OtherVersions]] to be unideal. [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Archive70#Proposal re: G1 pages|Previously]], I'd suggested merging a bunch of pages for so-called "[[Continuity family|continuity]] transplants", but other users convinced me this would be a poor solution. One alternative suggestion, from [[User:Broadside]], was to use [[Template:Main]] to put key links to a character's appearances in other continuity families directly in the fiction section—[[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Archive70#Handling of "former GoBots" and "former Diaclone" characters on the wiki|reactions at the time]] were neutral-positive. You can see mockups for [[User:Broadside/Sandbox:Cy-Kill|Cy-Kill]] and [[User:Broadside/Sandbox:Bug Bite|Bug Bite]]. This strikes me as the best of both worlds, because it keeps the consistent schema (which helps for page length and organisation) but also puts a link to the information in the place where your typical reader is expecting to find it (on the page for the highest-profile first incarnation of the character).

With the same philosophy in mind, I've also designed two new templates. The first, [[Template:Toyappeared]], is intended for use in toy write-ups as a way of linking to fiction write-ups and character pages. It covers [[repurposing]]s, "continuity transplants", notable instances of [[Show-accuracy|toy-accuracy]], in-fiction [[Reformatting|powerups]], [[Redeco#"Virtual" redecos|"virtual" redecos]], you name it. Toy write-ups are increasingly being duplicated across multiple character pages, which creates maintenance overhead, as both instances must be manually kept in sync. My suggestion is to use [[Template:See]] to link to the full information regarding a toy on the original page, with the repurposed instance giving only brief information of what the toy is and ''why'' it was repurposed or whatever. The second of my new templates has a much more specific intended use case: [[Template:Bwucharacter]] provides an easy way of explaining how/why a character was reinterpreted for their ''Uprising'' appearance, as ''Uprising'' accounts for most of the situations I view as being problematic.

I realise I'm proposing like five things at once here, so [[User:The Wadapan/sandbox/repurposing|my sandbox]] has [[User:The Wadapan/sandbox/repurposing#Full example|a full example]] demonstrating how it all works together, along with tons of individual examples of the templates' usage and a more thorough explanation of what I'm trying to address with them. Take a look, and let me know which aspects you like, which parts you don't like, or any ideas you have to add! —[[User:The Wadapan|The Wadapan]] ([[User talk:The Wadapan|talk]]) 06:24, 12 February 2024 (EST)
:I can vouch for these templates! [[User:ShootingStar7X|ShootingStar7X]] ([[User talk:ShootingStar7X|talk]]) 15:38, 26 February 2024 (EST)
: I'm seeing a lot of problems with the implementation of some of this, and a lot of future headaches. The ones rolled out put what look like stub headers in a fiction section with just a small normal missable note up top; and in Override's case in specific, multiple stubs with completely redundant information. What this is ''going'' to do is get new people thinking that these are missing information that needs to be filled, then we gotta revert it and tell them no all that goes elsewhere, which is utterly unintuitive and will just lead to arguments and headaches all around.
: As for toys, in the instances of BWU-type stuff where it's a one-toy Mini-Con or whatever, I feel like NOT having the actual toy info for them on the BWU page, as with the Mini-Con Snow Cat toy currently, is not doing the reader any favors. Quite the opposite. Why are we making them jump to a different page for information that has no reason to not be right there? I don't like making readers jump through hoops needlessly, and that's all this feels like. And it's not like the toy sections of most of these are gonna see major changes, so lack of cross-updating is very, very, very unlikely to be an issue.
: I really don't think these require new templates and a bunch of new-editor landmines. At most, there's a decent argument to be made for re-positioning the "you look familiar" template that already exists, maybe below the main character writeup (above feels like a bad layout choice, pushing all kinds of stuff down.) --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 02:11, 28 February 2024 (EST)

== Listings and accessories ==

When I was making the description for cannonball based on the Walmart listing, there was mention of a Gatling gun and hammer not shown in the stock images,and left them out.

If I run into this type of situation again, what do I do?[[User:Poliwag06|Poliwag06]] ([[User talk:Poliwag06|talk]]) 10:56, 7 March 2024 (EST)

== A few suggestions ==

Gallery pages should only include images that aren't easily accessed by going to the main page, to avoid cluttering. I guess this is not an issue now since the current gallery pages are fairly short.

There should be more dedication in listing alt-modes of characters. Maybe there should be a header or something. For example, if the Dreamwave version of [[Sunstorm (G1)#Dreamwave Generation One continuity|Sunstorm]] transforms into an F-16 jet, it should be listed in the beginning with a header for the sake of easy access to the said information.--[[User:Primestar3|Primestar3]] ([[User talk:Primestar3|talk]]) 13:59, 17 March 2024 (EDT)

== Will we get an article on The Masked Singer? ==

Will there be an article on TFWiki about The Masked Singer, specifically their recent "Transformers Night" episode (https://the-masked-singer.fandom.com/wiki/Transformers_Night)? --[[User:John Pannozzi|John Pannozzi]] ([[User talk:John Pannozzi|talk]]) 20:01, 12 April 2024 (EDT)

: Assuming it's a licensed appearance (I can't check the credits myself :C ), I can't think why it wouldn't be [[User:AkibaSilver|AkibaSilver]] ([[User talk:AkibaSilver|talk]]) 21:15, 12 April 2024 (EDT)

:: It was indeed licensed. --[[User:John Pannozzi|John Pannozzi]] ([[User talk:John Pannozzi|talk]]) 22:30, 12 April 2024 (EDT)
:::Yes, as an official Hasbro-sanctioned piece of TF media, the episode does meet our requirements for inclusion. It just needs someone to write it up. -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 23:22, 12 April 2024 (EDT)

== Franchise articles ==
So I was looking at the franchise pages to try and get an idea of what the standard is supposed to be for how they are written. Should all of them be updated to be more like the [[Beast Wars: Transformers (franchise)]] article? What was making me wonder this was that on the [[Transformers: Energon (franchise)]] article it had a section for "Homages" and one for "New characters" which I don't think any other franchise article has. --[[User:1levichurch|1levichurch]] ([[User talk:1levichurch||talk]]) 22:57, 21 April 2024 (UTC)

== AI upscaled images ==
With fresh offsite talks about the matter, I put forth we add an official policy against posting AI upscaled images of any kind to the wiki, owing to their subpar performance in "enhancing" the quality of images. [[User:McBaggins|McBaggins]] ([[User talk:McBaggins|talk]]) 23:52, 1 May 2024 (EDT)
:Agreed. It's literally faking information and presenting it as official. (Also often noticeably terrible.) Sometimes the best quality available of something sucks, but we simply have to deal. [[User:Saix|Saix]] ([[User talk:Saix|talk]]) 23:57, 1 May 2024 (EDT)
::100 percent agreed. It's called "artificial" for a reason. Plenty of details would be lost out through the upscaling, and several times errors on the wiki somehow became official through Hastak using the wiki for references (the whole [[Circular reporting]] thing). If we start allowing AI upscaled images, then we're likely to have things lost to the annals of time. Potato quality is better than lost quality[[User:Singularity|Singularity]] ([[User talk:Singularity|talk]]) 00:11, 2 May 2024 (EDT)
: Sure. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 00:43, 2 May 2024 (EDT)

== Ending addition of high-end statues ==
This is something I doubt other people have noticed, but I'm putting down a tent-peg on it: After having built the entries for dozens of high-end collectable TF statues in the last 2-3 years, from firms like Diamond Select, Imaginarium, Azure Sea, XM Studios, etc., and then seeing most of them either officially cancelled or never spoken of again with no reported purchases, I am going to stop adding such items here. If someone else feels like cataloguing them, great.

It really may not be possible for us to keep up with toy-like non-transforming merchandise (figurines and statues) the way we used to. There are at least two ''released'' series of G1 core cast micro-figurines with micro-comics and magnifying glasses, which would have been the rage of the fandom in 2005, that nobody ever got around to adding, and it feels like too much of a chore for me to start. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 10:35, 3 May 2024 (EDT)
: It's an unfortunate but very real thing that once you enter the world of licensed merch, we're ''gonna'' have big gaps. It's... a lot, on top of the "a lot" that is the regular TF toyline and fictional output today. I've said that the work involved in keeping up with all of TF's merch ought to be a full-time paying job, and I genuinely mean it. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 16:39, 3 May 2024 (EDT)

== Transformers Roleplaying Game releases on the front page and sidebar ==

The [[Transformers Roleplaying Game]] is getting pretty frequent releases of both sourcebooks and pre-written adventures, and it occurs to me that it might be a good idea to have it on the "current releases" section of the front page and/or the navigation sidebar. How would people feel about that? --[[User:Broadside|Broadside]] ([[User talk:Broadside|talk]]) 15:49, 4 May 2024 (EDT)
: I think that makes a lot of sense, as long as we have people keeping up with the new releases to document them. -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 15:51, 4 May 2024 (EDT)

==How we handle weapons' toy/merch sections==
Okay, so like... I'm not really convinced that what we've been doing is the best way to handle the weapon pages' toys/merch sections. Honestly, they end up looking... really shoddy. There's just tiny scraps of info, vast wads of whitespace, few to no links, the images are tons of different sizes. <br>
I'm thinking that instead of all this... maybe this is a place where a gallery is in order, just a chronological procession. Have the captions just say what lines/toys the weapons came with and link to the toys directly on the character page. It's not like there's much to say about any of these, why not let the toy listing on the character page say it? Why make people scroll through screens of mostly-emptiness, which I feel they're increasingly unlikely to do? I may do a sandbox if I'm feeling up to it. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 22:24, 6 May 2024 (EDT)
:[[User:M Sipher/Sandbox:WeaponPageToysSection]] - So... this, basically. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 22:39, 6 May 2024 (EDT)
:I'd be on board with that. --[[User:Broadside|Broadside]] ([[User talk:Broadside|talk]]) 22:34, 6 May 2024 (EDT)
:I like it. It would be far more compact than our current approach for, say, [[Fusion cannon#Toys]], while still getting the point across. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 11:13, 10 May 2024 (EDT)

==Proposal for Unproduced or Unreleased Template==
I don't think the Apocrypha template is particularly useful. It was created specifically for Alignment, but most of the things in it don't fit that criteria. Something like Unproduced or Unreleased Transformer media would be more self explanatory. [[User:WillR113|WillR113]] ([[User talk:WillR113|talk]]) 07:05, 11 May 2024 (EDT)

== Use of pictures from ebay, fan sites, etc ==

Is it appropriate to use pictures of toys from ebay, fan reviews, video review screenshots and the like? Under fair use and with source credit? Sometimes rarer items we don't have good pictures of on the wiki show up in these places. In particular I found a ebay seller with good images of EZ collection toys and and old Japanese review blog with images of Takara variants of HFTD/Autobot Alliance toys so that got me wondering. —[[User:BluJayWarrior|BluJayWarrior]] ([[User talk:BluJayWarrior|talk]]) 10:10, 12 May 2024 (EDT)
:Images from eBay and other fan sites have been and can continue to be used, giving the fullest source credit feasible. I don't think we've ever needed to rely on video review screenshots and would always prefer to have a "normal" still image instead whenever possible. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 11:02, 16 May 2024 (EDT)

== ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' “再構成版” エピソード視聴ガイド "Re-Configuration Version" aka "Re-Constructed Version" Episode Viewing Guide ==

We really need to document the "canon" Japanese viewing order for ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' & ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers 2010'' originally included with the ''Pioneer'' Laserdisc booklets & later apparently revised by [[Hirofumi Ichikawa]] (市川裕文) for the DVD BOX SET 2 Instruction Booklet as it would help clean-up the chronology on many wiki pages here. From what I've been able to gather this particular viewing order differs from both the US/Japan production orders, the US-Airing order and the Japanese-Airing order. So what exactly is the order of the episodes of these two series according to these documents? Does anyone own them and able to list the specific order in which the episodes appear in those LD/DVD "Instruction Booklets" word-for-word? As it stands, we've only mentioned that a "narrative viewing order" exists but do not have it listed anywhere. For further clarification, it is not the order in which the episodes appear on the Japanese DVDs. [[User:Astrobotix|Astrobotix]] ([[User talk:Astrobotix|talk]]) 01:09, 15 May 2024 (EDT)
:While this information would be valuable and is worth documenting, it's unlikely to result in us making any major changes to the way our information is structured. -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 17:31, 16 May 2024 (EDT)
:Okay, having seen the booklets in question, it just lists the episodes in production order, continuity errors and all. So...absolutely no change, then. -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 20:44, 17 May 2024 (EDT)

== Documenting MSRP? ==

Would it be worth documenting MSRP prices (in usd at least)? For the regular retail classes that's for the most part covered by the [[size class]] page, but we don't keep track of them for more specialty items like Masterpieces, multipacks, exclusives, one-off releases not in a normal size class, special lines like Missing Link, etc. It's something I find personally interesting and would've liked to know for older figures and someone in the future might want to know about today's releases. It can also offer some neat bits of info like how Premium Finish releases were generally one price point up compared to the figure's size or how the upcoming United Cliffjumper multipack is a whole $30 off what the individual figures would cost --[[User:BluJayWarrior|BluJayWarrior]] ([[User talk:BluJayWarrior|talk]]) 14:20, 21 May 2024 (EDT)
:I think this would be very interesting, particularly when you scroll down pages for G1 toys that got multiple reissues like the Seekers, Insecticons, and tape players. It's just that - like the Designer Notes and the proper insignias on each and every toy - it would take forever to add and would probably wind up being one super-dedicated person having to do most of the work. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 14:28, 21 May 2024 (EDT)
::I might try to do what I can, going back to recatalogue everything would definitely be a chore. But at the very least I strongly believe it's something we can and should implement for future toy entries. I've started a [[User:BluJayWarrior/Sandbox|MSRP Sandbox]] to try out a few formats, any feedback is appreciated. --[[User:BluJayWarrior|BluJayWarrior]] ([[User talk:BluJayWarrior|talk]]) 05:18, 23 May 2024 (EDT)
::Cleaned up the sandbox page. Anyone have anything to say about the format? Might try applying Style 1 to a few pages this weekend if no one makes any objections. [[User:BluJayWarrior|BluJayWarrior]] ([[User talk:BluJayWarrior|talk]]) 12:58, 24 May 2024 (EDT)
:::Of those options I like Style 1 the best. As you already noted, the [[size class]] pages covers basically all normal U.S. retail from BW through Legacy, missing things like Platinum and MP. To find contemporary G1 prices, here are some good resources:
:::https://web.archive.org/web/20181125082555/https://pleasesavemerobots.com/vstp/vstptf84.html
:::https://web.archive.org/web/20191114081109/http://pleasesavemerobots.com/vstp/vstptf85.html
:::https://web.archive.org/web/20191114091052/http://pleasesavemerobots.com/vstp/vstptf86.html
:::https://web.archive.org/web/20191114090836/http://pleasesavemerobots.com/vstp/vstptf87.html
:::https://web.archive.org/web/20191114084922/http://pleasesavemerobots.com/vstp/vstptf88.html
:::https://web.archive.org/web/20191114081716/http://pleasesavemerobots.com/vstp/vstptf89.html
:::https://web.archive.org/web/20191114085830/http://pleasesavemerobots.com/vstp/vstptf90.html
:::https://www.tfw2005.com/boards/threads/g1-original-retail-price-listing.1167895/
:::I tried looking for G2 MSRP but couldn't find anything as obvious. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 13:24, 24 May 2024 (EDT)
::::Thanks for the sources, gonna have to sort through that later. Planning to start with new ROTB characters since they're smaller pages and prices can still be found. I've decided to add prices for retail classes for reader convenience; not everyone will know to go to the size class page for them and its not linked often enough to make it reasonable they would. [[User:BluJayWarrior|BluJayWarrior]] ([[User talk:BluJayWarrior|talk]]) 14:22, 24 May 2024 (EDT)

: I'd been working on a project like this a long time ago, had originally proposed adding this to the wiki, but then kinda stopped... mostly because near as I could tell, the MSRP in the 80s was something retailers could just make the hell up. The price ranges for any given toy were kinda all over the damn place, and the MSRP was something some retailers used to go "no really we're cheaper SEE?" then make up some price they supposedly "discounted" down from... you know, the thing that got Kay-Bee in legal-type troubles. I was increasingly unsure how to handle that wild price variance concisely on the wiki. In fact...
::https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1PBE2i9vLE6fkr933GQbXosA1cxIqB3CkOSnzW0BMdwc/edit#gid=448439989
: Take a look-see. There's at least three different MSRP values for the standard Headmasters, never mind actual sticker prices. Like, I ''want'' to provide this kind of context, I really do, and it's pretty easy once we get to the unified price points of BW on... but for G1 and G2? Woof. That's going to take a bit of mulling. "Average" price maybe, but there's gonna be some Prices Georg here and there throwing shit off. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 16:35, 24 May 2024 (EDT)
::RE: The sandbox... I'm gonna have to vote against Style 1, because, as noted, price info is very likely going to get... cluttered, and the longer that parenthetical is, the worse it is. I'd REALLY like to keep that to just "size class/type (if not obvious) and release year". And don't forget Takara-release prices, which can be more flexible even within a size class... but at least those have been ''extensively'' documented. I think we need to talk about bit more about everything we'd need to cover and ''how'' before we go implementing anything, and get a few more people in on the discussion. (Sorry for all the add-ons, lightly scattered today.) --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 18:18, 24 May 2024 (EDT)
:::Fair enough on the old stuff since that gets convoluted, but the newer stuff is comparatively easier to do and I'd rather start sooner before some MSRP prices get harder to find (ROTB Autobots Unite subline prices seem to have disappeared already). Added the ROTB Airazor page I was gonna start with to the sandbox so you can see how the page might look as a whole. Since you object to Style 1 I added a Style 2 version too. --[[User:BluJayWarrior|BluJayWarrior]] ([[User talk:BluJayWarrior|talk]]) 18:38, 24 May 2024 (EDT)
:::: Assemble the data, sure, but I am going to say do ''not'' actually apply any of this to live articles. Again, there's barely been any time or discussion on a project that is... vast in scope, and we simply do not jump on stuff like this right away, because that means things will get not considered and then we have to re-do hundreds to thousands of pages... and we absolutely do ''not'' do it when there's a giant obvious gap (the first decade of the franchise) that still needs to be considered, as how we handle ''that'' will affect how we handle all the others, because we try and keep things consistent.
:::: Like, just off the top of my head, there's non-US-or-Japan markets to consider for just about everything normal-retail. Which makes me think we may want to look into a collapsible template, like with the toy designers and voice actors, to handle the other markets without overloading the bullet point sections, some of which are already a bit husky. There's the fact that Walmart and Target just dropped the prices on TF Deluxes in the US... but apparently, Hasbro didn't change their "MSRP"/cost at all. In fact a quick jump to Hasbro Pulse shows they're still charging $25 for a ''Legacy/Studio'' Deluxe, while I can pop to the local Target/Walmart and buy 'em at $20, so we gotta consider ranges just like with G1/G2. And again... ''I'm moderately convinced that "MSRP" in the USA was bullshit all along,'' so I don't know that it's the term we even want to use in the first place. Maybe "Retail price" would be better. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 00:17, 25 May 2024 (EDT)
:::::I think just documenting the MSRP, if we know it, is enough. No need to go down the rabbit hole of tracking down what individual retailers sell them at when they disregard the MSRP (which as, after all, only a suggested price). In my opinion, at least, it's little different from listing the cover prices of books - the only difference is that Hasbro doesn't print their suggested price directly on the box.
:::::Totally hear you on waiting to the pull the trigger until it's been properly discussed, though. Also, I prefer BluJay's Style 2 as well. -- [[User:Dark T Zeratul|Dark T Zeratul]] ([[User talk:Dark T Zeratul|talk]]) 03:46, 25 May 2024 (EDT)
:::::: Um, the problem is, again... I really don't think we HAVE any actual MSRPs outside of Takara's. What's been cataloged here are just "prices they were sold at", which isn't ''specifically'' a Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price, the specific price suggested specifically by the manufacturer. Those we'd need a source for, and as I've pointed out, the handful of stated "MSRP"s we've seen for Hasbro stuff... well, someone was lying, likely multiple someones. For BW on we have a pretty strong ''inference'' of MSRP, but, well. And even that's not reliable... I just remembered that Walmart and Target were charging markedly different prices for the ''EarthSpark'' Tacticons, like, a $2 diff.
:::::: What I'm saying is, we might want to just not call it "MSRP" because of that (also, frankly I question how many people even recognize that acronym). And because of the wide variance in prices for older stuff, no, we don't need to list every price at every retailer (there were a billion retailers in the 80s... man, remember when actual competition in the market was a thing?), but we really OUGHT to account for the variance somehow, because it can be wide and ''full''. "''Original price''" might be best, since that's what we're actually reporting here, with something like "$2.99 - $4.99 (US) / ¥500 (Japan) <expand>". I'd rather do a range than a single-price "average" on old stuff, especially when we have so MUCH data on what these were sold at across the nation that we can see the trends and when a particularly high or low price is an outlier adn should not have been counted. "Modern" stuff we can certainly ignore, say, Kohl's's higher prices and just do the average probable-MSRP-if-those-actually-exist prices most places (all two of them) charge. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 17:10, 25 May 2024 (EDT)
::::Alright, I'll make a [[User:BluJayWarrior/MSRP Catalog|separate sub page]] to catalog prices for now while that gets sorted out
::::As Dark T said, I think prioritizing initial Hasbro MSRP is best as it is the "intended" price (this is what [https://brickset.com Brickset] does for Lego). It's a point of consistency since historically different retailers tend have slight variations on the price anyway (Target/Walmart sometimes being slightly lower, Kohls/BBTS being higher, general lag on reflecting the msrp price increases a few years ago, etc) and I don't think that whole range needs to be noted. Admittedly the current Target/Walmart prices drops are pretty unusual (a whole $5?!) but unless it becomes something more widespread I personally wouldn't consider it as a data point. Might be worth making a note of somewhere if anything, though I'm not sure where --[[User:BluJayWarrior|BluJayWarrior]] ([[User talk:BluJayWarrior|talk]]) 04:26, 25 May 2024 (EDT)

==Micronauts, etc.==
Why are we suddenly gaining detailed issue write-ups for so much of Micronauts, which contains no TF elements at all? Isn't that the point of the IDW Hasbroverse wiki? --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 13:14, 1 August 2024 (EDT)
:Oh and look, now whole issues of M.A.S.K. written 7 years ago with no TF content whatsoever are being pasted from the Hasbroverse wiki. Is the other site going offline or something? --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 14:26, 1 August 2024 (EDT)
::I don't think it was really our intention to formally unveil the project until we were further along, but some of us have been doing a fair bit of work towards creating a [https://gijoe.miraheze.org/wiki/Main_Page sister wiki for ''G.I. Joe''] where the [https://gijoe.miraheze.org/wiki/Comics#IDW_Publishing_3 out-of-scope IDW Joe coverage] has already been re-homed. The Joe crew hasn't made any calls about what do with non-Joe stuff to be clear (we're sort of preoccupied, there's so much Joe you guys) but I'm guessing the idea here is to align the rest with our [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Archive71#Energon Universe coverage|current approach]] to [[Energon Universe|Skybound's shared universe]] and sundown the IDW one? --[[User:AzimuthAcolyte|AzimuthAcolyte]] ([[User talk:AzimuthAcolyte|talk]]) 15:43, 1 August 2024 (EDT)
:::That is more or less the intention, yeah. The Hasbroverse wiki was built at a time where it was perhaps anticipated to be grander than it ended up being, and it wasn't certain how long it was going to run; with the end result being "not very", having this other vestigial site for what is ultimately not a lot of content just doesn't feel practical. The exception, of course, is pre-V5 Joe, which has ''always'' been the sticking point in discussions about moving Hasbroverse content here, both for the amount and for how little it has to do with the IDW Transformers line. Having a dedicated Joe wiki solves that problem and frees up the rest of the Hasbroverse stuff to be reintegrated. Plus, there's still new Joe material being released to this day; arguably having a complete and better curated site for the franchise as a whole that continues to be updated with new releases is more likely to drive traffic and get other people to contribute than it would be linking to a dead wiki for a long-ended comic line that's had the same featured articles for five years because no one cares to add anything to it anymore. -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 15:59, 1 August 2024 (EDT)
::::It does look like a rough consensus was reached to do this back in 2021 ([[Transformers_Wiki_talk:Community_Portal/Archive69#Reintegration_of_Hasbroverse_wiki_content|Archive 69]]), it was just never implemented. --[[User:Xaaron|Xaaron]] ([[User talk:Xaaron|talk]]) 16:10, 1 August 2024 (EDT)
::Like half of MASK issues have something from Transformers in them. Picking and choosing which select issues to cover here is hair-splitting and obnoxious for readers. It's immensely better to just have all the information in one, easily-accessible spot and regard Hasbro Universe as a de facto spinoff of Transformers, much like Beastformers and Energon Universe are. [[User:Saix|Saix]] ([[User talk:Saix|talk]]) 17:10, 1 August 2024 (EDT)

==One spoilers==
I propose that information about this movie be withheld until it actually opens in its largest market next weekend. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 11:04, 14 September 2024 (EDT)
: Agreed. [[User:Locoman|Locoman]] ([[User talk:Locoman|talk]]) 11:08, 14 September 2024 (EDT)

==Transformers One and the conversation we've all been waiting for==

On September 12th, Lorenzo di Bonaventura [https://comicbook.com/movies/news/is-transformers-one-a-prequel-optimus-prime-origin-story-exclusive/ clarified the relationship] between ''Transformers One'' and the live-action ''Transformers'' films, describing them as "two universes" that will be "separate". For some, this kind of explicit confirmation may come as a relief after years of wishy-washy answers regarding ''Bumblebee'' and ''Rise of the Beasts'', but it also leaves us with questions on how to best handle ''One''-related information going forward. Around 2015, we adopted a unique layout we applied to all the movie characters, where we organized their movie appearances at the top of the page, regardless of chronological order of release (see "[[Optimus Prime (Movie)#Movies]]"). Obviously, this leads to some questions regarding how we should handle our ''One'' coverage going forward.

The way I see it, we have three options:

* '''Keep the page format as is, and keep''' '''''One''''' '''up with the rest of the movies''': For obvious reasons I think this is probably our weakest possible solution; it's pretty clear at this point that our current solution for classifying the films is not really sustainable, and mashing them all together under a single loosely-affiliated umbrella is already confusing and frustrating people who aren't intimately acquainted with the mechanics of the wiki.

* '''Reorganize movie character pages so that we acknowledge the live-action films and''' '''''One''''' '''as separate continuities within one continuity family, similar to how our G1 pages cover Sunbow, Marvel, JG1, IDW, etc.''': Historically speaking, this is probably the safest option, but from what I understand there is very little "connective tissue"—visually, character-wise, plot-beats—between the live-action films and ''One'' beyond the inertia of "they were both made by Paramount". As some people have discussed in the past, this could lead to a full or partial reformat of our movie character coverage to more clearly reflect the ambiguous "prequel" status of ''Bumblebee'' and ''Rise of the Beasts'', but this may be a conversation for another time.

* '''Separate''' '''''One''''' '''as an entirely new continuity family and split out the relevant information so we have pages for "Optimus Prime (One)", "Megatron (One)", etc.''' Probably the most radical proposal, but this is honestly where I'm at right now: from what I understand the movie is a pretty radical departure from everything that's gone before, with entirely new interpretations of old ''Transformers'' lore—I'd classify it as the start of a new "franchise" in the same way that we distinguish ''Earthspark'' and ''Cyberverse'' despite them both clearly drawing on the same well of post-Aligned lore, and these days "new franchise" is generally synonymous with "new continuity family" for the ease of wiki bookkeeping.

We would appreciate hearing your thoughts on the matter! '''As the film is not out yet in all regions please refrain from posting spoilers here'''. [[User:Locoman|Locoman]] ([[User talk:Locoman|talk]]) 08:56, 15 September 2024 (EDT)

:I could see option 3 being the way we go, but what holds me back from that is that beyond just Paramount, Spielberg and Bay are still executive producers on the film. [[User:Escargon|Escargon]] ([[User talk:Escargon|talk]]) 09:39, 15 September 2024 (EDT)

::I think we should put them on the Earthspark Continuity pages to satisfy no-one /j - but yeah, the film is drawing from the same vaguely Binder Of Revelation backstory as everything else for the last 10 years, and unless they have been hiding The Fallen twisting D-16 to evil or the twist that the Creators were the Quintessons all along, One feels pretty decoupled from the rest of the movies. The big issue I see with splitting out fully is that people wondering why we do not do the same for Bumblebee/ROTB, but that more easily passes a "vibe check" as being "Movie-adjacent" and belonging on the same page as the Bay 5-dom than One so far. Agree that trying to put them directly alongside the other movies as a prequel feels both unwieldy and confusing. [[User:AkibaSilver|AkibaSilver]] ([[User talk:AkibaSilver|talk]]) 09:41, 15 September 2024 (EDT)

:I vote for '''option 3''', I think creating separate pages is the way to go. [[User:MrRald|MrRald]] ([[User talk:MrRald|talk]]) 09:54, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
::I vote for '''option 2'''. To me the movie is different enough to be a separate universe but not an entirely different continuity. Josh Cooley himself on April 18 when asked whether the film is a fresh start, a prequel to the live-action films, or its own thing, replied with: "yes to all of the above" https://comicbook.com/movies/news/transformers-one-director-confirms-new-movies-canon-status. (And having seen the movie I can confirm those connections to the live-action series do exist). [[User:Grievous Prime|Grievous Prime]] ([[User talk:Grievous Prime|talk]]) 10:05, 15 September 2024 (EDT)

:I vote for '''option 3'''. One has always felt very different to the previous live action movies so I feel it should get its own dedicated pages. As for BB and ROTB, there is "connective tissue" to the Bayverse movies so I feel they can stay on the pre-existing movie pages. [[User:PublicCrown|PublicCrown]] ([[User talk:PublicCrown|talk]]) 10:25, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
:Having viewed the film at an advance screening, I think there are easily enough references and homages to previous films that '''option two''' makes the most sense. - [[User:Archforce|Archforce]] ([[User talk:Archforce|talk]]) 10:45, 15 September 2024 (EDT)

::I'm favorable for the '''3rd option''', it is still produced under Paramount & there are some producers attached to the project that were on previous movies, but my stance is that we should judge based on the final product & having seen the movie, it doesn't try to be in line to what came before (there are some similarities in design & names, but it stops there since every popular TF stories has influence over the next ones), helped by the new team of writers & creatives. If we can treat each new cartoon as its own entity (even tho in recent years they are streamlined in some areas), I think we can do the same for the recent movies that have more contradictory elements to the Bayverse –[[User:MahXyme|MahXyme/MahXymal]] ([[User talk:MahXyme|talk]]) 10:49, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
:'''<nowiki>#3</nowiki>''' is the cleanest option to me. [[User:Saix|Saix]] ([[User talk:Saix|talk]]) 11:32, 15 September 2024 (EDT)

:I think from a practical perspective, '''#3''' is the only real option. Looking at the loose guidelines for a new family on our [[continuity family]] page:
:*"a fresh continuity" — Yep, even Lorenzo's acknowledged this. Even if we questioned that, there's stuff like the AllSpark being absent (with the Matrix pretty much taking exactly the role the AllSpark would have), Megatronus being a good guy, and Sentinel's role being entirely irreconcilable with Dark of the Moon.
:*"within a separate franchise" — Yep. New franchise, and the marketing hasn't done anything to allude to the live-action films specifically.
:*"significantly different in cast, theme, style, etc." — This is the big sticking point for me. One makes no attempt to align with the visual style or characterisations of the live-action films. The sole real connective point is B-127 (name from ''Bumblebee'', he has the big cheeks and antenna of the movie guy, and his talking a lot is clearly a meta-gag about him losing his voice), but even he's characterised completely differently, as the "comedy crazy guy" who's a peer to Optimus and co instead of the cool-but-rude big brother figure from Bay/Bee/Beasts.
:I'm sympathetic to the Paramount/Bay/Spielberg/Di Bonaventura connective tissue, but my big rebuttal there is that we don't consider ''EarthSpark'' to be Aligned because Nicole Dubuc is the showrunner. Ultimately, if we hadn't had pre-release producer statements (now contradicted) calling it a prequel to the other movies, there's absolutely no way this would be in question — we'd already have it as a separate continuity family. And from a wiki organisation standpoint I don't think there's any way to, say, write up Sentinel Prime's opening paragraph in a way that adequately covers both the DOTM and One characters without genericising it to the point of uselessness. --[[User:Broadside|Broadside]] ([[User talk:Broadside|talk]]) 12:33, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
::Yeah, I think '''#3''' is straightforward and likely the approach we'd take if we were presented with the film, as a story, with zero context on the studio releasing it or EPs involved or whatever. I also think there's a high likelihood that the next live-action film will have Elita appear and be like "hey Optimus remember when we were in Transformers One?" and we'll all groan and have to reconsider, but until then, I think the real-world context is basically the only thing separating One from just being the next Broadly Aligned-y New Thing like Cyberverse and EarthSpark before it, which we consistently split out for organisation reasons. [[User:Jalaguy|Jalaguy]] ([[User talk:Jalaguy|talk]]) 13:45, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
:Toss me in for '''Option 3''' of an entirely new continuity given how ''different'' the story details has been laid out when compared to the original 2007 film-verse and then later what's set by ''Bumblebee''. --[[User:Lonegamer78|Lonegamer78]] ([[User talk:Lonegamer78|talk]]) 14:38, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
:Voting for '''option #2'''. While we would still have the outlier of TF:TAM 86 being a theatrically released movie in the G1 continuity family, I see no reason why "movie continuity family" would not only include transmedia spinoffs from feature films (''Reign of Starscream'', toy redeco Tech Specs, etc. etc.) but also feature films which are belonging different timelines and story universes. This would also free us from having to reconcile Movie 'Bee's history -- did he come to Earth in the 1940s or the 1980s? -- and put to bed *that* long running argument about whether the Bay-directed films were the same universe as BB and RotB or not -- now they don't have to be! [[User:Banpei the Mini-Con|Banpei the Mini-Con]] ([[User talk:Banpei the Mini-Con|talk]]) 14:58, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
:Having seen the movie, I think '''#3''' is our cleanest option. Between the Lorenzo interview and, without going into spoilers, the numerous discrepencies there are, I don't think we can get away with suiting it out ala G1. The time may come when we do that for Bumblebee onwards but as far as One goes, I say we treat it as a new continuity. [[User:Ezim93|Ezim93]] ([[User talk:Ezim93|talk]]) 19:53, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
:'''#3'''. #2 was close for me, but TFOne (having seen the movie) is so artistically different from the live action movies, it feels pointless to keep it on the same page like G1/IDW. Ironically, we could give Bayverse/BB&ROTB the G1/IDW treatment. [[User:Boingus|--Boingus]] ([[User talk:Boingus|talk]]) 23:23, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
:I think 3 is where I'm leaning after seeing the film. Keeping this as "movie continuity" simply because it was released theatrically doesn't make sense to me. We wouldn't do that with a new comic or show because it was the same medium, why do it for a movie just because of that? Yes There is some CNA here to the live action films, but it could be argued it has just as much pulled from G1. One is it's own thing in the end. Trying to fit it into the live action movie box just doesn't feel right in this case.--[[User:ParadoxFactor|ParadoxFactor]] ([[User talk:ParadoxFactor|talk]]) 05:47, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
:I vote for '''Option 3''' for all the reasons previously mentioned as well as size concerns. --[[User:Khajidha|Khajidha]] ([[User talk:Khajidha|talk]]) 09:29, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
:'''Option 3''', I believe the movie was clearly made with a new continuity in mind.-[[User:TitaniumToughGuy|TitaniumToughGuy]] ([[User talk:TitaniumToughGuy|talk]]) 09:38, 16 September 2024 (EDT)

:I'm voting '''Option 3'''; much of my reasons are the same as others have stated above, and I do apologise for opening this bags of worms on the ''One'' talk page. It's not that I don't understand why some people are opposed to creating a new set if pages, but for argument's sake, if ''One'' gets one or more sequels, it would likely draw further away from the established live-action films and become its own continuity/franchise (though that's more of a what-if right now). Overall, I personally think that separating live-action films and animated ones into their own continuities is a reasonable option, and I believe that ''One'' has proven itself a different entity. [[User:Prime Temple|Prime Temple]] ([[User talk:Prime Temple|talk]]) 06:26, 17 September 2024 (EDT)

===CHECKPOINT (2024/09/16)===
*Votes for Option 1: 0
*Votes for Option 2: 3 (GrievousPrime, Archforce, Banpei the Mini-Con)
*Votes for Option 3: 15 (Locoman, AkibaSilver, MrRald, PublicCrown, MahXyme, Saix, Broadside, Jalaguy, Lonegamer, Ezim93, Boingus, ParadoxFactor, Khajidha, TitaniumToughGuy, CyberLink420)
As it stands, current consensus is pretty overwhelmingly in favor of Option 3 by a ratio of 5:1. I know it's only been a day, but barring a sudden swell of support for #2, it might be prudent to start switching everything over. -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 10:20, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
: I'm reluctant to make actual changes until the movie hits wide release and the general public can make informed input. Give it a few more days. --[[User:Broadside|Broadside]] ([[User talk:Broadside|talk]]) 10:40, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
::::This. Let people... SEE the movie before we make important decisions. --[[User:ItsWalky|ItsWalky]] ([[User talk:ItsWalky|talk]]) 19:49, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
::::Right. We can wait a few days for more than a small handful of people to see this and base their decision on, you know, '''''the actual movie''''' rather than whatever someone who had something to do with it says ''this'' week, which historically has waffled between "vague" and "contradictory". Hell, even ''now'' some of them are still being all "well maybe it is and maybe it isn't" and frankly I have no faith they won't ride that ambiguity for a long time like they've done since ''Bumblebee''. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 20:49, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
::I've said ever since Keegan Michael Key tweeted as much that One should be treated as a separate continuity. '''Option 3''' for sure. {{unsigned|jmcdavid}}
:'''Option 3'''. I've seen the movie and other users have covered why that seems like the best choice. It feels as different from the previous movies as Prime is from Animated, or Earthspark from Sunbow (which, despite directly homaging/referencing Sunbow, Earthspark is considered separate from). [[User:Ashendawn|Ashendawn]] ([[User talk:Ashendawn|talk]]) 18:01, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
:I vote '''Option 2'''. There seems to be a large focus on whether or not the film fits in continuity with the prior films, but considering how little they fit with each other that feels irrelevant to me. The creators have been rather unclear whether this film should be considered separate from the ongoing live-action series in terms of production, just in terms of universe. If we had a sense this was the springboard for an entirely separate animated film series I'd say Option 3, but it feels unwarranted at this time. [[User:Indridcold13|Indridcold13]] ([[User talk:Indridcold13|talk]]) 20:29, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
:Also '''Option 3''' . In tone, content, continuity, style, story, just feels too different to me from the Michael Bay and other films, really only having the method of release in common. It feels more separate from the other movies than even Cyberverse from G1, and that’s happily separate. —[[User:MissDaria|MissDaria]] ([[User talk:MissDaria|talk]]) 10:05, 17 September 2024 (EDT)

Screen Rant: Is Transformers One considered a prequel to the recent movies of Bumblebee and Rise of the Beast or the original live-action film starting in 2007? Or is it something completely, entirely new? ... Lorenzo di Bonaventura: "It obviously exists beforehand. I think we figured it out. It was like 300 million years before the first Michael Bay movie, so if that's a prequel, that's a prequel. But we're really following the lore about where it starts, and so we really just think about it as the beginning of the story. The origin, yes, but literally the beginning of the thing that we've all come to appreciate." https://screenrant.com/transformers-one-lorenzo-di-bonaventura-and-josh-cooley-interview/ 96megatron (User talk:96megatron)

MediaWiki talk:Community Portal

2024-09-17T14:51:14Z

96megatron: /* CHECKPOINT (2024/09/16) */

__NEWSECTIONLINK__

This is the place for discussion of topics that affect the entire wiki. For less wide-reaching subjects, either use articles' individual talk pages or [https://discord.com/invite/N99Bygq our Discord server.]

Some topics that would ordinarily be here have merited their own pages:

{{chapters|title=Specific Discussion Subjects|align=left|content=
<div class="list-header">'''Moving From Wikia:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Arriving|Arriving]]
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Leaving|Leaving]]
* [[Transformers Wiki:Community Portal/Complaints|Complaints]]
<br/><div class="list-header">'''New Ad Policy:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki:Ads|Ads]]
<br/><div class="list-header">'''Bookworm Database-Crash:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Damage Control Central|Damage Control Central]]
* [[Project:Bookworm Crash]]
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Leaving2|Leaving Take 2]]
<br/><div class="list-header">'''Server Move:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Arriving2|Arriving Take 2]]
<br/><div class="list-header">'''Relicensing:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Relicensing|Relicensing]]
<br/><div class="list-header">'''Dealing With Vandalism:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Vandalism|Vandalism]]
<br/><div class="list-header">'''GoBots Sister Wiki:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/GoBots|Discussion on the place of GoBots in this wiki]]
<br/> <div class="list-header">'''Wiki Technical Information:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki:Tech|A Not So Brief Summary of the Horrible Things That McFly and Co. Have Done To Keep This Wiki From Melting Down]]
}}<br/>

{{:{{FULLPAGENAMEE}}/Archive}}


== Press release or logo for 30,000 articles? ==
Is it worth putting something together as we get very very close? Maybe something like:
* 3 from Thrilling 30 logo
* 0 from the 40th logo
* 0 from the Vector Sigma "Featured" logo
* 0 from the cosmic-streaking O in the TFTM opener
* 0 from GO!

Just a suggestion.... --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 13:45, 10 November 2023 (EST)
:If we wanted to go down that route, maybe tie into some of the contemporary material? Say, the "O"s from [[Energon Universe]] or [[Transformers: Legacy#Legacy: Evolution|Evolution]]? (Though the latter isn't exactly straight-on...) --[[User:Broadside|Broadside]] ([[User talk:Broadside|talk]]) 14:38, 10 November 2023 (EST)
::Sure! I lean towards the Energon Universe choice. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 15:48, 10 November 2023 (EST)
:Apologies, I've corrected the count on the main page as it was inaccurate, so we're not as close as it looked like we were. --[[User:Abates|abates]] ([[User talk:Abates|talk]]) 16:20, 10 November 2023 (EST)
::That just means we have more time to decide and, if so, pull things together. :) -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 16:51, 10 November 2023 (EST)
:::Feels like we just leapt up 40 new articles in the last 2-3 days. Is it worth putting a graphic together? --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 22:47, 18 January 2024 (EST)

=="Multi-pack" vs "gift set" and suchlike==
Incoming semantics, but... as I've been going through the toy entries, been trying to standardize/streamline a lot of stuff, and I think maybe a set of consistent terms/definitions for "a bunch of separate toys packed together" is in order. So lemme throw this out here for discussion/future reference...
*'''Multi-pack''' — A pack of toys where the contents (or at least most/some/any of them) are exclusive to this release, not sold in other packaging. Most multi-toy releases nowadays would fall under this umbrella by default.
*'''Gift set''' — A pack of toys where all of the contents are/were concurrently (or close enough) sold individually as well, without changes, in the same market. Like all the various G1 combiner sets.
The latter brings up the question of if we want to label all the Takara "VS" packs and the various UT-era "VALUE PACK!" sets under that umbrella, which I'm ambivalent-to-marginally-in-favor-of over. Especially as Takara's been putting out new "VS" packs where the toys are new decos not available elsewhere... also we kinda made up the "VS pack" term anyway, as memory serves, so. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 20:15, 8 January 2024 (EST)
:Hasbro has used the word "[[Giftset]]" to refer to unique variants not available separately. I'm inclined to think we shouldn't directly contradict that. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 21:21, 8 January 2024 (EST)
::and damn but does that article need updating. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 21:22, 8 January 2024 (EST)
:::I'm inclined to think that Hasbro uses lots of terms in ways that are not exactly conducive to organizing a wiki. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 21:29, 8 January 2024 (EST)

==More bullet point insignia?==
Okay so... I recall there were some other possible faction symbol bullet points we could maybe use. I ran across a few with this batch of toy pics we might consider adding. I'll list them here, see if people can think of more. I feel like there might be a couple more two-faction matchups out there.
* Rescue Bots
* The various BotBots squads
* My First Transformers

I'm not un-convinced that we should have the bespoke insignia for stuff like the Disney Label, since they do use them on the packaging. So uh... there. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 01:51, 13 January 2024 (EST)
:Also, while looking at the list of all the bullets on the template page... maybe we should see if we can split the list up a smidge? Like, put all the mutli-faction icons in one section, a section just for BotBots since there's gonna be quite a few of them? Alphabetizing them might also be in order. (I have exactly zero idea how those templates are coded, so uh, lemme know if that's doable.) --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 04:42, 13 January 2024 (EST)
::There's also the [[Star Wars Transformers]]... though I'm not sure if using ''Star Wars'' insignia falls too much out of this wiki's scope, although we do use at least use them on the actual characters' pages (see [[Darth Vader]]). [[User:Turborun|Turborun]] ([[User talk:Turborun|talk]]) 10:34, 13 January 2024 (EST)
:::I don't think we'd use SW insignia because, near as I can tell, the toy packaging doesn't mark the toys that way. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 05:27, 14 January 2024 (EST)

== Idea for reducing the size of toy sections by compacting unchanged toy entries ==

I've come up with an idea that I think would make toy sections on character pages a little better and more intuitive. Instead of having a long list of entries for multiple releases of the exact same toy completely unchanged, we could just compact them all in a single entry, describing how the toy was available both individually and unchanged in a bunch of multipacks. This could be especially helpful with toy sections that are way too long, such as both the Movie Optimus Prime and Bumblebee toy pages that have been subject to a lot of discussion already.

[[User:Fritz/Optimus Prime (Movie)/toys|I used the 2007 Legends Class section of the Movie Optimus Prime toy page to make a quick example out of it.]] The entries would be reduced from four to two toys, since 3/4 of them are the same toy anyway, and a lot of white space would be removed. As for the images of the multipacks, I don't think we would be losing much in removing them since the wiki has never prioritized images of packagings for anything really and, as I know is written somewhere in the "rules", the wiki isn't supposed to be used as an image hosting website in the first place.

So, any thoughts? --[[User:Fritz|Fritz]] ([[User talk:Fritz|talk]]) 20:18, 20 January 2024 (EST)
: We used to do this and it was actually kind of worse. There's also complications when unchanged toys end up being sold under different franchise headers, and when you add in all the other bullet point data a toy/set might have, you could end up with a lonnnnng list of bullet points before you get to the actual writeup, plus describing the multi-packs' contents... you're not really saving space while also kinda hurting the demi-chronological flow of the information. And deleting the multi-pack package imagery feels very wrong. It's one of those cases where there's no real ideal situation, but there's a least-bad one.
:That said, it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to make sure the first entry mentions these "repacks" alongside the redecoes and links to the relevant items. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 21:34, 21 January 2024 (EST)
::Good points, as usual. Now that you mentioned it, I think I do have a vague memory of this being done in the past. I was going to suggest the repacks from different toylines should remain separate, though. My mentality was that maybe we could have a way to highlight the "main" releases (original and redecoes/retools) from the "minor" ones (unchanged repacks) to make it easier to identify in a glance how many actually-different toys were released within a toyline, but I wouldn't want it to cause ''more'' confusion than ''less''. Anyway thanks for taking the time to evaluate the idea. --[[User:Fritz|Fritz]] ([[User talk:Fritz|talk]]) 05:54, 22 January 2024 (EST)

==Repurposings, continuity transplants, and using Template:Main/Template:See to improve navigability==
I've gone back to the drawing board to come up with a way to signal to readers where closely-related pages exist, as I don't think [[Help:Disambiguation|disambiguation]] pages are enough and have found [[Template:OtherVersions]] to be unideal. [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Archive70#Proposal re: G1 pages|Previously]], I'd suggested merging a bunch of pages for so-called "[[Continuity family|continuity]] transplants", but other users convinced me this would be a poor solution. One alternative suggestion, from [[User:Broadside]], was to use [[Template:Main]] to put key links to a character's appearances in other continuity families directly in the fiction section—[[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Archive70#Handling of "former GoBots" and "former Diaclone" characters on the wiki|reactions at the time]] were neutral-positive. You can see mockups for [[User:Broadside/Sandbox:Cy-Kill|Cy-Kill]] and [[User:Broadside/Sandbox:Bug Bite|Bug Bite]]. This strikes me as the best of both worlds, because it keeps the consistent schema (which helps for page length and organisation) but also puts a link to the information in the place where your typical reader is expecting to find it (on the page for the highest-profile first incarnation of the character).

With the same philosophy in mind, I've also designed two new templates. The first, [[Template:Toyappeared]], is intended for use in toy write-ups as a way of linking to fiction write-ups and character pages. It covers [[repurposing]]s, "continuity transplants", notable instances of [[Show-accuracy|toy-accuracy]], in-fiction [[Reformatting|powerups]], [[Redeco#"Virtual" redecos|"virtual" redecos]], you name it. Toy write-ups are increasingly being duplicated across multiple character pages, which creates maintenance overhead, as both instances must be manually kept in sync. My suggestion is to use [[Template:See]] to link to the full information regarding a toy on the original page, with the repurposed instance giving only brief information of what the toy is and ''why'' it was repurposed or whatever. The second of my new templates has a much more specific intended use case: [[Template:Bwucharacter]] provides an easy way of explaining how/why a character was reinterpreted for their ''Uprising'' appearance, as ''Uprising'' accounts for most of the situations I view as being problematic.

I realise I'm proposing like five things at once here, so [[User:The Wadapan/sandbox/repurposing|my sandbox]] has [[User:The Wadapan/sandbox/repurposing#Full example|a full example]] demonstrating how it all works together, along with tons of individual examples of the templates' usage and a more thorough explanation of what I'm trying to address with them. Take a look, and let me know which aspects you like, which parts you don't like, or any ideas you have to add! —[[User:The Wadapan|The Wadapan]] ([[User talk:The Wadapan|talk]]) 06:24, 12 February 2024 (EST)
:I can vouch for these templates! [[User:ShootingStar7X|ShootingStar7X]] ([[User talk:ShootingStar7X|talk]]) 15:38, 26 February 2024 (EST)
: I'm seeing a lot of problems with the implementation of some of this, and a lot of future headaches. The ones rolled out put what look like stub headers in a fiction section with just a small normal missable note up top; and in Override's case in specific, multiple stubs with completely redundant information. What this is ''going'' to do is get new people thinking that these are missing information that needs to be filled, then we gotta revert it and tell them no all that goes elsewhere, which is utterly unintuitive and will just lead to arguments and headaches all around.
: As for toys, in the instances of BWU-type stuff where it's a one-toy Mini-Con or whatever, I feel like NOT having the actual toy info for them on the BWU page, as with the Mini-Con Snow Cat toy currently, is not doing the reader any favors. Quite the opposite. Why are we making them jump to a different page for information that has no reason to not be right there? I don't like making readers jump through hoops needlessly, and that's all this feels like. And it's not like the toy sections of most of these are gonna see major changes, so lack of cross-updating is very, very, very unlikely to be an issue.
: I really don't think these require new templates and a bunch of new-editor landmines. At most, there's a decent argument to be made for re-positioning the "you look familiar" template that already exists, maybe below the main character writeup (above feels like a bad layout choice, pushing all kinds of stuff down.) --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 02:11, 28 February 2024 (EST)

== Listings and accessories ==

When I was making the description for cannonball based on the Walmart listing, there was mention of a Gatling gun and hammer not shown in the stock images,and left them out.

If I run into this type of situation again, what do I do?[[User:Poliwag06|Poliwag06]] ([[User talk:Poliwag06|talk]]) 10:56, 7 March 2024 (EST)

== A few suggestions ==

Gallery pages should only include images that aren't easily accessed by going to the main page, to avoid cluttering. I guess this is not an issue now since the current gallery pages are fairly short.

There should be more dedication in listing alt-modes of characters. Maybe there should be a header or something. For example, if the Dreamwave version of [[Sunstorm (G1)#Dreamwave Generation One continuity|Sunstorm]] transforms into an F-16 jet, it should be listed in the beginning with a header for the sake of easy access to the said information.--[[User:Primestar3|Primestar3]] ([[User talk:Primestar3|talk]]) 13:59, 17 March 2024 (EDT)

== Will we get an article on The Masked Singer? ==

Will there be an article on TFWiki about The Masked Singer, specifically their recent "Transformers Night" episode (https://the-masked-singer.fandom.com/wiki/Transformers_Night)? --[[User:John Pannozzi|John Pannozzi]] ([[User talk:John Pannozzi|talk]]) 20:01, 12 April 2024 (EDT)

: Assuming it's a licensed appearance (I can't check the credits myself :C ), I can't think why it wouldn't be [[User:AkibaSilver|AkibaSilver]] ([[User talk:AkibaSilver|talk]]) 21:15, 12 April 2024 (EDT)

:: It was indeed licensed. --[[User:John Pannozzi|John Pannozzi]] ([[User talk:John Pannozzi|talk]]) 22:30, 12 April 2024 (EDT)
:::Yes, as an official Hasbro-sanctioned piece of TF media, the episode does meet our requirements for inclusion. It just needs someone to write it up. -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 23:22, 12 April 2024 (EDT)

== Franchise articles ==
So I was looking at the franchise pages to try and get an idea of what the standard is supposed to be for how they are written. Should all of them be updated to be more like the [[Beast Wars: Transformers (franchise)]] article? What was making me wonder this was that on the [[Transformers: Energon (franchise)]] article it had a section for "Homages" and one for "New characters" which I don't think any other franchise article has. --[[User:1levichurch|1levichurch]] ([[User talk:1levichurch||talk]]) 22:57, 21 April 2024 (UTC)

== AI upscaled images ==
With fresh offsite talks about the matter, I put forth we add an official policy against posting AI upscaled images of any kind to the wiki, owing to their subpar performance in "enhancing" the quality of images. [[User:McBaggins|McBaggins]] ([[User talk:McBaggins|talk]]) 23:52, 1 May 2024 (EDT)
:Agreed. It's literally faking information and presenting it as official. (Also often noticeably terrible.) Sometimes the best quality available of something sucks, but we simply have to deal. [[User:Saix|Saix]] ([[User talk:Saix|talk]]) 23:57, 1 May 2024 (EDT)
::100 percent agreed. It's called "artificial" for a reason. Plenty of details would be lost out through the upscaling, and several times errors on the wiki somehow became official through Hastak using the wiki for references (the whole [[Circular reporting]] thing). If we start allowing AI upscaled images, then we're likely to have things lost to the annals of time. Potato quality is better than lost quality[[User:Singularity|Singularity]] ([[User talk:Singularity|talk]]) 00:11, 2 May 2024 (EDT)
: Sure. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 00:43, 2 May 2024 (EDT)

== Ending addition of high-end statues ==
This is something I doubt other people have noticed, but I'm putting down a tent-peg on it: After having built the entries for dozens of high-end collectable TF statues in the last 2-3 years, from firms like Diamond Select, Imaginarium, Azure Sea, XM Studios, etc., and then seeing most of them either officially cancelled or never spoken of again with no reported purchases, I am going to stop adding such items here. If someone else feels like cataloguing them, great.

It really may not be possible for us to keep up with toy-like non-transforming merchandise (figurines and statues) the way we used to. There are at least two ''released'' series of G1 core cast micro-figurines with micro-comics and magnifying glasses, which would have been the rage of the fandom in 2005, that nobody ever got around to adding, and it feels like too much of a chore for me to start. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 10:35, 3 May 2024 (EDT)
: It's an unfortunate but very real thing that once you enter the world of licensed merch, we're ''gonna'' have big gaps. It's... a lot, on top of the "a lot" that is the regular TF toyline and fictional output today. I've said that the work involved in keeping up with all of TF's merch ought to be a full-time paying job, and I genuinely mean it. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 16:39, 3 May 2024 (EDT)

== Transformers Roleplaying Game releases on the front page and sidebar ==

The [[Transformers Roleplaying Game]] is getting pretty frequent releases of both sourcebooks and pre-written adventures, and it occurs to me that it might be a good idea to have it on the "current releases" section of the front page and/or the navigation sidebar. How would people feel about that? --[[User:Broadside|Broadside]] ([[User talk:Broadside|talk]]) 15:49, 4 May 2024 (EDT)
: I think that makes a lot of sense, as long as we have people keeping up with the new releases to document them. -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 15:51, 4 May 2024 (EDT)

==How we handle weapons' toy/merch sections==
Okay, so like... I'm not really convinced that what we've been doing is the best way to handle the weapon pages' toys/merch sections. Honestly, they end up looking... really shoddy. There's just tiny scraps of info, vast wads of whitespace, few to no links, the images are tons of different sizes. <br>
I'm thinking that instead of all this... maybe this is a place where a gallery is in order, just a chronological procession. Have the captions just say what lines/toys the weapons came with and link to the toys directly on the character page. It's not like there's much to say about any of these, why not let the toy listing on the character page say it? Why make people scroll through screens of mostly-emptiness, which I feel they're increasingly unlikely to do? I may do a sandbox if I'm feeling up to it. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 22:24, 6 May 2024 (EDT)
:[[User:M Sipher/Sandbox:WeaponPageToysSection]] - So... this, basically. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 22:39, 6 May 2024 (EDT)
:I'd be on board with that. --[[User:Broadside|Broadside]] ([[User talk:Broadside|talk]]) 22:34, 6 May 2024 (EDT)
:I like it. It would be far more compact than our current approach for, say, [[Fusion cannon#Toys]], while still getting the point across. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 11:13, 10 May 2024 (EDT)

==Proposal for Unproduced or Unreleased Template==
I don't think the Apocrypha template is particularly useful. It was created specifically for Alignment, but most of the things in it don't fit that criteria. Something like Unproduced or Unreleased Transformer media would be more self explanatory. [[User:WillR113|WillR113]] ([[User talk:WillR113|talk]]) 07:05, 11 May 2024 (EDT)

== Use of pictures from ebay, fan sites, etc ==

Is it appropriate to use pictures of toys from ebay, fan reviews, video review screenshots and the like? Under fair use and with source credit? Sometimes rarer items we don't have good pictures of on the wiki show up in these places. In particular I found a ebay seller with good images of EZ collection toys and and old Japanese review blog with images of Takara variants of HFTD/Autobot Alliance toys so that got me wondering. —[[User:BluJayWarrior|BluJayWarrior]] ([[User talk:BluJayWarrior|talk]]) 10:10, 12 May 2024 (EDT)
:Images from eBay and other fan sites have been and can continue to be used, giving the fullest source credit feasible. I don't think we've ever needed to rely on video review screenshots and would always prefer to have a "normal" still image instead whenever possible. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 11:02, 16 May 2024 (EDT)

== ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' “再構成版” エピソード視聴ガイド "Re-Configuration Version" aka "Re-Constructed Version" Episode Viewing Guide ==

We really need to document the "canon" Japanese viewing order for ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' & ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers 2010'' originally included with the ''Pioneer'' Laserdisc booklets & later apparently revised by [[Hirofumi Ichikawa]] (市川裕文) for the DVD BOX SET 2 Instruction Booklet as it would help clean-up the chronology on many wiki pages here. From what I've been able to gather this particular viewing order differs from both the US/Japan production orders, the US-Airing order and the Japanese-Airing order. So what exactly is the order of the episodes of these two series according to these documents? Does anyone own them and able to list the specific order in which the episodes appear in those LD/DVD "Instruction Booklets" word-for-word? As it stands, we've only mentioned that a "narrative viewing order" exists but do not have it listed anywhere. For further clarification, it is not the order in which the episodes appear on the Japanese DVDs. [[User:Astrobotix|Astrobotix]] ([[User talk:Astrobotix|talk]]) 01:09, 15 May 2024 (EDT)
:While this information would be valuable and is worth documenting, it's unlikely to result in us making any major changes to the way our information is structured. -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 17:31, 16 May 2024 (EDT)
:Okay, having seen the booklets in question, it just lists the episodes in production order, continuity errors and all. So...absolutely no change, then. -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 20:44, 17 May 2024 (EDT)

== Documenting MSRP? ==

Would it be worth documenting MSRP prices (in usd at least)? For the regular retail classes that's for the most part covered by the [[size class]] page, but we don't keep track of them for more specialty items like Masterpieces, multipacks, exclusives, one-off releases not in a normal size class, special lines like Missing Link, etc. It's something I find personally interesting and would've liked to know for older figures and someone in the future might want to know about today's releases. It can also offer some neat bits of info like how Premium Finish releases were generally one price point up compared to the figure's size or how the upcoming United Cliffjumper multipack is a whole $30 off what the individual figures would cost --[[User:BluJayWarrior|BluJayWarrior]] ([[User talk:BluJayWarrior|talk]]) 14:20, 21 May 2024 (EDT)
:I think this would be very interesting, particularly when you scroll down pages for G1 toys that got multiple reissues like the Seekers, Insecticons, and tape players. It's just that - like the Designer Notes and the proper insignias on each and every toy - it would take forever to add and would probably wind up being one super-dedicated person having to do most of the work. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 14:28, 21 May 2024 (EDT)
::I might try to do what I can, going back to recatalogue everything would definitely be a chore. But at the very least I strongly believe it's something we can and should implement for future toy entries. I've started a [[User:BluJayWarrior/Sandbox|MSRP Sandbox]] to try out a few formats, any feedback is appreciated. --[[User:BluJayWarrior|BluJayWarrior]] ([[User talk:BluJayWarrior|talk]]) 05:18, 23 May 2024 (EDT)
::Cleaned up the sandbox page. Anyone have anything to say about the format? Might try applying Style 1 to a few pages this weekend if no one makes any objections. [[User:BluJayWarrior|BluJayWarrior]] ([[User talk:BluJayWarrior|talk]]) 12:58, 24 May 2024 (EDT)
:::Of those options I like Style 1 the best. As you already noted, the [[size class]] pages covers basically all normal U.S. retail from BW through Legacy, missing things like Platinum and MP. To find contemporary G1 prices, here are some good resources:
:::https://web.archive.org/web/20181125082555/https://pleasesavemerobots.com/vstp/vstptf84.html
:::https://web.archive.org/web/20191114081109/http://pleasesavemerobots.com/vstp/vstptf85.html
:::https://web.archive.org/web/20191114091052/http://pleasesavemerobots.com/vstp/vstptf86.html
:::https://web.archive.org/web/20191114090836/http://pleasesavemerobots.com/vstp/vstptf87.html
:::https://web.archive.org/web/20191114084922/http://pleasesavemerobots.com/vstp/vstptf88.html
:::https://web.archive.org/web/20191114081716/http://pleasesavemerobots.com/vstp/vstptf89.html
:::https://web.archive.org/web/20191114085830/http://pleasesavemerobots.com/vstp/vstptf90.html
:::https://www.tfw2005.com/boards/threads/g1-original-retail-price-listing.1167895/
:::I tried looking for G2 MSRP but couldn't find anything as obvious. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 13:24, 24 May 2024 (EDT)
::::Thanks for the sources, gonna have to sort through that later. Planning to start with new ROTB characters since they're smaller pages and prices can still be found. I've decided to add prices for retail classes for reader convenience; not everyone will know to go to the size class page for them and its not linked often enough to make it reasonable they would. [[User:BluJayWarrior|BluJayWarrior]] ([[User talk:BluJayWarrior|talk]]) 14:22, 24 May 2024 (EDT)

: I'd been working on a project like this a long time ago, had originally proposed adding this to the wiki, but then kinda stopped... mostly because near as I could tell, the MSRP in the 80s was something retailers could just make the hell up. The price ranges for any given toy were kinda all over the damn place, and the MSRP was something some retailers used to go "no really we're cheaper SEE?" then make up some price they supposedly "discounted" down from... you know, the thing that got Kay-Bee in legal-type troubles. I was increasingly unsure how to handle that wild price variance concisely on the wiki. In fact...
::https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1PBE2i9vLE6fkr933GQbXosA1cxIqB3CkOSnzW0BMdwc/edit#gid=448439989
: Take a look-see. There's at least three different MSRP values for the standard Headmasters, never mind actual sticker prices. Like, I ''want'' to provide this kind of context, I really do, and it's pretty easy once we get to the unified price points of BW on... but for G1 and G2? Woof. That's going to take a bit of mulling. "Average" price maybe, but there's gonna be some Prices Georg here and there throwing shit off. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 16:35, 24 May 2024 (EDT)
::RE: The sandbox... I'm gonna have to vote against Style 1, because, as noted, price info is very likely going to get... cluttered, and the longer that parenthetical is, the worse it is. I'd REALLY like to keep that to just "size class/type (if not obvious) and release year". And don't forget Takara-release prices, which can be more flexible even within a size class... but at least those have been ''extensively'' documented. I think we need to talk about bit more about everything we'd need to cover and ''how'' before we go implementing anything, and get a few more people in on the discussion. (Sorry for all the add-ons, lightly scattered today.) --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 18:18, 24 May 2024 (EDT)
:::Fair enough on the old stuff since that gets convoluted, but the newer stuff is comparatively easier to do and I'd rather start sooner before some MSRP prices get harder to find (ROTB Autobots Unite subline prices seem to have disappeared already). Added the ROTB Airazor page I was gonna start with to the sandbox so you can see how the page might look as a whole. Since you object to Style 1 I added a Style 2 version too. --[[User:BluJayWarrior|BluJayWarrior]] ([[User talk:BluJayWarrior|talk]]) 18:38, 24 May 2024 (EDT)
:::: Assemble the data, sure, but I am going to say do ''not'' actually apply any of this to live articles. Again, there's barely been any time or discussion on a project that is... vast in scope, and we simply do not jump on stuff like this right away, because that means things will get not considered and then we have to re-do hundreds to thousands of pages... and we absolutely do ''not'' do it when there's a giant obvious gap (the first decade of the franchise) that still needs to be considered, as how we handle ''that'' will affect how we handle all the others, because we try and keep things consistent.
:::: Like, just off the top of my head, there's non-US-or-Japan markets to consider for just about everything normal-retail. Which makes me think we may want to look into a collapsible template, like with the toy designers and voice actors, to handle the other markets without overloading the bullet point sections, some of which are already a bit husky. There's the fact that Walmart and Target just dropped the prices on TF Deluxes in the US... but apparently, Hasbro didn't change their "MSRP"/cost at all. In fact a quick jump to Hasbro Pulse shows they're still charging $25 for a ''Legacy/Studio'' Deluxe, while I can pop to the local Target/Walmart and buy 'em at $20, so we gotta consider ranges just like with G1/G2. And again... ''I'm moderately convinced that "MSRP" in the USA was bullshit all along,'' so I don't know that it's the term we even want to use in the first place. Maybe "Retail price" would be better. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 00:17, 25 May 2024 (EDT)
:::::I think just documenting the MSRP, if we know it, is enough. No need to go down the rabbit hole of tracking down what individual retailers sell them at when they disregard the MSRP (which as, after all, only a suggested price). In my opinion, at least, it's little different from listing the cover prices of books - the only difference is that Hasbro doesn't print their suggested price directly on the box.
:::::Totally hear you on waiting to the pull the trigger until it's been properly discussed, though. Also, I prefer BluJay's Style 2 as well. -- [[User:Dark T Zeratul|Dark T Zeratul]] ([[User talk:Dark T Zeratul|talk]]) 03:46, 25 May 2024 (EDT)
:::::: Um, the problem is, again... I really don't think we HAVE any actual MSRPs outside of Takara's. What's been cataloged here are just "prices they were sold at", which isn't ''specifically'' a Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price, the specific price suggested specifically by the manufacturer. Those we'd need a source for, and as I've pointed out, the handful of stated "MSRP"s we've seen for Hasbro stuff... well, someone was lying, likely multiple someones. For BW on we have a pretty strong ''inference'' of MSRP, but, well. And even that's not reliable... I just remembered that Walmart and Target were charging markedly different prices for the ''EarthSpark'' Tacticons, like, a $2 diff.
:::::: What I'm saying is, we might want to just not call it "MSRP" because of that (also, frankly I question how many people even recognize that acronym). And because of the wide variance in prices for older stuff, no, we don't need to list every price at every retailer (there were a billion retailers in the 80s... man, remember when actual competition in the market was a thing?), but we really OUGHT to account for the variance somehow, because it can be wide and ''full''. "''Original price''" might be best, since that's what we're actually reporting here, with something like "$2.99 - $4.99 (US) / ¥500 (Japan) <expand>". I'd rather do a range than a single-price "average" on old stuff, especially when we have so MUCH data on what these were sold at across the nation that we can see the trends and when a particularly high or low price is an outlier adn should not have been counted. "Modern" stuff we can certainly ignore, say, Kohl's's higher prices and just do the average probable-MSRP-if-those-actually-exist prices most places (all two of them) charge. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 17:10, 25 May 2024 (EDT)
::::Alright, I'll make a [[User:BluJayWarrior/MSRP Catalog|separate sub page]] to catalog prices for now while that gets sorted out
::::As Dark T said, I think prioritizing initial Hasbro MSRP is best as it is the "intended" price (this is what [https://brickset.com Brickset] does for Lego). It's a point of consistency since historically different retailers tend have slight variations on the price anyway (Target/Walmart sometimes being slightly lower, Kohls/BBTS being higher, general lag on reflecting the msrp price increases a few years ago, etc) and I don't think that whole range needs to be noted. Admittedly the current Target/Walmart prices drops are pretty unusual (a whole $5?!) but unless it becomes something more widespread I personally wouldn't consider it as a data point. Might be worth making a note of somewhere if anything, though I'm not sure where --[[User:BluJayWarrior|BluJayWarrior]] ([[User talk:BluJayWarrior|talk]]) 04:26, 25 May 2024 (EDT)

==Micronauts, etc.==
Why are we suddenly gaining detailed issue write-ups for so much of Micronauts, which contains no TF elements at all? Isn't that the point of the IDW Hasbroverse wiki? --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 13:14, 1 August 2024 (EDT)
:Oh and look, now whole issues of M.A.S.K. written 7 years ago with no TF content whatsoever are being pasted from the Hasbroverse wiki. Is the other site going offline or something? --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 14:26, 1 August 2024 (EDT)
::I don't think it was really our intention to formally unveil the project until we were further along, but some of us have been doing a fair bit of work towards creating a [https://gijoe.miraheze.org/wiki/Main_Page sister wiki for ''G.I. Joe''] where the [https://gijoe.miraheze.org/wiki/Comics#IDW_Publishing_3 out-of-scope IDW Joe coverage] has already been re-homed. The Joe crew hasn't made any calls about what do with non-Joe stuff to be clear (we're sort of preoccupied, there's so much Joe you guys) but I'm guessing the idea here is to align the rest with our [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Archive71#Energon Universe coverage|current approach]] to [[Energon Universe|Skybound's shared universe]] and sundown the IDW one? --[[User:AzimuthAcolyte|AzimuthAcolyte]] ([[User talk:AzimuthAcolyte|talk]]) 15:43, 1 August 2024 (EDT)
:::That is more or less the intention, yeah. The Hasbroverse wiki was built at a time where it was perhaps anticipated to be grander than it ended up being, and it wasn't certain how long it was going to run; with the end result being "not very", having this other vestigial site for what is ultimately not a lot of content just doesn't feel practical. The exception, of course, is pre-V5 Joe, which has ''always'' been the sticking point in discussions about moving Hasbroverse content here, both for the amount and for how little it has to do with the IDW Transformers line. Having a dedicated Joe wiki solves that problem and frees up the rest of the Hasbroverse stuff to be reintegrated. Plus, there's still new Joe material being released to this day; arguably having a complete and better curated site for the franchise as a whole that continues to be updated with new releases is more likely to drive traffic and get other people to contribute than it would be linking to a dead wiki for a long-ended comic line that's had the same featured articles for five years because no one cares to add anything to it anymore. -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 15:59, 1 August 2024 (EDT)
::::It does look like a rough consensus was reached to do this back in 2021 ([[Transformers_Wiki_talk:Community_Portal/Archive69#Reintegration_of_Hasbroverse_wiki_content|Archive 69]]), it was just never implemented. --[[User:Xaaron|Xaaron]] ([[User talk:Xaaron|talk]]) 16:10, 1 August 2024 (EDT)
::Like half of MASK issues have something from Transformers in them. Picking and choosing which select issues to cover here is hair-splitting and obnoxious for readers. It's immensely better to just have all the information in one, easily-accessible spot and regard Hasbro Universe as a de facto spinoff of Transformers, much like Beastformers and Energon Universe are. [[User:Saix|Saix]] ([[User talk:Saix|talk]]) 17:10, 1 August 2024 (EDT)

==One spoilers==
I propose that information about this movie be withheld until it actually opens in its largest market next weekend. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 11:04, 14 September 2024 (EDT)
: Agreed. [[User:Locoman|Locoman]] ([[User talk:Locoman|talk]]) 11:08, 14 September 2024 (EDT)

==Transformers One and the conversation we've all been waiting for==

On September 12th, Lorenzo di Bonaventura [https://comicbook.com/movies/news/is-transformers-one-a-prequel-optimus-prime-origin-story-exclusive/ clarified the relationship] between ''Transformers One'' and the live-action ''Transformers'' films, describing them as "two universes" that will be "separate". For some, this kind of explicit confirmation may come as a relief after years of wishy-washy answers regarding ''Bumblebee'' and ''Rise of the Beasts'', but it also leaves us with questions on how to best handle ''One''-related information going forward. Around 2015, we adopted a unique layout we applied to all the movie characters, where we organized their movie appearances at the top of the page, regardless of chronological order of release (see "[[Optimus Prime (Movie)#Movies]]"). Obviously, this leads to some questions regarding how we should handle our ''One'' coverage going forward.

The way I see it, we have three options:

* '''Keep the page format as is, and keep''' '''''One''''' '''up with the rest of the movies''': For obvious reasons I think this is probably our weakest possible solution; it's pretty clear at this point that our current solution for classifying the films is not really sustainable, and mashing them all together under a single loosely-affiliated umbrella is already confusing and frustrating people who aren't intimately acquainted with the mechanics of the wiki.

* '''Reorganize movie character pages so that we acknowledge the live-action films and''' '''''One''''' '''as separate continuities within one continuity family, similar to how our G1 pages cover Sunbow, Marvel, JG1, IDW, etc.''': Historically speaking, this is probably the safest option, but from what I understand there is very little "connective tissue"—visually, character-wise, plot-beats—between the live-action films and ''One'' beyond the inertia of "they were both made by Paramount". As some people have discussed in the past, this could lead to a full or partial reformat of our movie character coverage to more clearly reflect the ambiguous "prequel" status of ''Bumblebee'' and ''Rise of the Beasts'', but this may be a conversation for another time.

* '''Separate''' '''''One''''' '''as an entirely new continuity family and split out the relevant information so we have pages for "Optimus Prime (One)", "Megatron (One)", etc.''' Probably the most radical proposal, but this is honestly where I'm at right now: from what I understand the movie is a pretty radical departure from everything that's gone before, with entirely new interpretations of old ''Transformers'' lore—I'd classify it as the start of a new "franchise" in the same way that we distinguish ''Earthspark'' and ''Cyberverse'' despite them both clearly drawing on the same well of post-Aligned lore, and these days "new franchise" is generally synonymous with "new continuity family" for the ease of wiki bookkeeping.

We would appreciate hearing your thoughts on the matter! '''As the film is not out yet in all regions please refrain from posting spoilers here'''. [[User:Locoman|Locoman]] ([[User talk:Locoman|talk]]) 08:56, 15 September 2024 (EDT)

:I could see option 3 being the way we go, but what holds me back from that is that beyond just Paramount, Spielberg and Bay are still executive producers on the film. [[User:Escargon|Escargon]] ([[User talk:Escargon|talk]]) 09:39, 15 September 2024 (EDT)

::I think we should put them on the Earthspark Continuity pages to satisfy no-one /j - but yeah, the film is drawing from the same vaguely Binder Of Revelation backstory as everything else for the last 10 years, and unless they have been hiding The Fallen twisting D-16 to evil or the twist that the Creators were the Quintessons all along, One feels pretty decoupled from the rest of the movies. The big issue I see with splitting out fully is that people wondering why we do not do the same for Bumblebee/ROTB, but that more easily passes a "vibe check" as being "Movie-adjacent" and belonging on the same page as the Bay 5-dom than One so far. Agree that trying to put them directly alongside the other movies as a prequel feels both unwieldy and confusing. [[User:AkibaSilver|AkibaSilver]] ([[User talk:AkibaSilver|talk]]) 09:41, 15 September 2024 (EDT)

:I vote for '''option 3''', I think creating separate pages is the way to go. [[User:MrRald|MrRald]] ([[User talk:MrRald|talk]]) 09:54, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
::I vote for '''option 2'''. To me the movie is different enough to be a separate universe but not an entirely different continuity. Josh Cooley himself on April 18 when asked whether the film is a fresh start, a prequel to the live-action films, or its own thing, replied with: "yes to all of the above" https://comicbook.com/movies/news/transformers-one-director-confirms-new-movies-canon-status. (And having seen the movie I can confirm those connections to the live-action series do exist). [[User:Grievous Prime|Grievous Prime]] ([[User talk:Grievous Prime|talk]]) 10:05, 15 September 2024 (EDT)

:I vote for '''option 3'''. One has always felt very different to the previous live action movies so I feel it should get its own dedicated pages. As for BB and ROTB, there is "connective tissue" to the Bayverse movies so I feel they can stay on the pre-existing movie pages. [[User:PublicCrown|PublicCrown]] ([[User talk:PublicCrown|talk]]) 10:25, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
:Having viewed the film at an advance screening, I think there are easily enough references and homages to previous films that '''option two''' makes the most sense. - [[User:Archforce|Archforce]] ([[User talk:Archforce|talk]]) 10:45, 15 September 2024 (EDT)

::I'm favorable for the '''3rd option''', it is still produced under Paramount & there are some producers attached to the project that were on previous movies, but my stance is that we should judge based on the final product & having seen the movie, it doesn't try to be in line to what came before (there are some similarities in design & names, but it stops there since every popular TF stories has influence over the next ones), helped by the new team of writers & creatives. If we can treat each new cartoon as its own entity (even tho in recent years they are streamlined in some areas), I think we can do the same for the recent movies that have more contradictory elements to the Bayverse –[[User:MahXyme|MahXyme/MahXymal]] ([[User talk:MahXyme|talk]]) 10:49, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
:'''<nowiki>#3</nowiki>''' is the cleanest option to me. [[User:Saix|Saix]] ([[User talk:Saix|talk]]) 11:32, 15 September 2024 (EDT)

:I think from a practical perspective, '''#3''' is the only real option. Looking at the loose guidelines for a new family on our [[continuity family]] page:
:*"a fresh continuity" — Yep, even Lorenzo's acknowledged this. Even if we questioned that, there's stuff like the AllSpark being absent (with the Matrix pretty much taking exactly the role the AllSpark would have), Megatronus being a good guy, and Sentinel's role being entirely irreconcilable with Dark of the Moon.
:*"within a separate franchise" — Yep. New franchise, and the marketing hasn't done anything to allude to the live-action films specifically.
:*"significantly different in cast, theme, style, etc." — This is the big sticking point for me. One makes no attempt to align with the visual style or characterisations of the live-action films. The sole real connective point is B-127 (name from ''Bumblebee'', he has the big cheeks and antenna of the movie guy, and his talking a lot is clearly a meta-gag about him losing his voice), but even he's characterised completely differently, as the "comedy crazy guy" who's a peer to Optimus and co instead of the cool-but-rude big brother figure from Bay/Bee/Beasts.
:I'm sympathetic to the Paramount/Bay/Spielberg/Di Bonaventura connective tissue, but my big rebuttal there is that we don't consider ''EarthSpark'' to be Aligned because Nicole Dubuc is the showrunner. Ultimately, if we hadn't had pre-release producer statements (now contradicted) calling it a prequel to the other movies, there's absolutely no way this would be in question — we'd already have it as a separate continuity family. And from a wiki organisation standpoint I don't think there's any way to, say, write up Sentinel Prime's opening paragraph in a way that adequately covers both the DOTM and One characters without genericising it to the point of uselessness. --[[User:Broadside|Broadside]] ([[User talk:Broadside|talk]]) 12:33, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
::Yeah, I think '''#3''' is straightforward and likely the approach we'd take if we were presented with the film, as a story, with zero context on the studio releasing it or EPs involved or whatever. I also think there's a high likelihood that the next live-action film will have Elita appear and be like "hey Optimus remember when we were in Transformers One?" and we'll all groan and have to reconsider, but until then, I think the real-world context is basically the only thing separating One from just being the next Broadly Aligned-y New Thing like Cyberverse and EarthSpark before it, which we consistently split out for organisation reasons. [[User:Jalaguy|Jalaguy]] ([[User talk:Jalaguy|talk]]) 13:45, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
:Toss me in for '''Option 3''' of an entirely new continuity given how ''different'' the story details has been laid out when compared to the original 2007 film-verse and then later what's set by ''Bumblebee''. --[[User:Lonegamer78|Lonegamer78]] ([[User talk:Lonegamer78|talk]]) 14:38, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
:Voting for '''option #2'''. While we would still have the outlier of TF:TAM 86 being a theatrically released movie in the G1 continuity family, I see no reason why "movie continuity family" would not only include transmedia spinoffs from feature films (''Reign of Starscream'', toy redeco Tech Specs, etc. etc.) but also feature films which are belonging different timelines and story universes. This would also free us from having to reconcile Movie 'Bee's history -- did he come to Earth in the 1940s or the 1980s? -- and put to bed *that* long running argument about whether the Bay-directed films were the same universe as BB and RotB or not -- now they don't have to be! [[User:Banpei the Mini-Con|Banpei the Mini-Con]] ([[User talk:Banpei the Mini-Con|talk]]) 14:58, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
:Having seen the movie, I think '''#3''' is our cleanest option. Between the Lorenzo interview and, without going into spoilers, the numerous discrepencies there are, I don't think we can get away with suiting it out ala G1. The time may come when we do that for Bumblebee onwards but as far as One goes, I say we treat it as a new continuity. [[User:Ezim93|Ezim93]] ([[User talk:Ezim93|talk]]) 19:53, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
:'''#3'''. #2 was close for me, but TFOne (having seen the movie) is so artistically different from the live action movies, it feels pointless to keep it on the same page like G1/IDW. Ironically, we could give Bayverse/BB&ROTB the G1/IDW treatment. [[User:Boingus|--Boingus]] ([[User talk:Boingus|talk]]) 23:23, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
:I think 3 is where I'm leaning after seeing the film. Keeping this as "movie continuity" simply because it was released theatrically doesn't make sense to me. We wouldn't do that with a new comic or show because it was the same medium, why do it for a movie just because of that? Yes There is some CNA here to the live action films, but it could be argued it has just as much pulled from G1. One is it's own thing in the end. Trying to fit it into the live action movie box just doesn't feel right in this case.--[[User:ParadoxFactor|ParadoxFactor]] ([[User talk:ParadoxFactor|talk]]) 05:47, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
:I vote for '''Option 3''' for all the reasons previously mentioned as well as size concerns. --[[User:Khajidha|Khajidha]] ([[User talk:Khajidha|talk]]) 09:29, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
:'''Option 3''', I believe the movie was clearly made with a new continuity in mind.-[[User:TitaniumToughGuy|TitaniumToughGuy]] ([[User talk:TitaniumToughGuy|talk]]) 09:38, 16 September 2024 (EDT)

:I'm voting '''Option 3'''; much of my reasons are the same as others have stated above, and I do apologise for opening this bags of worms on the ''One'' talk page. It's not that I don't understand why some people are opposed to creating a new set if pages, but for argument's sake, if ''One'' gets one or more sequels, it would likely draw further away from the established live-action films and become its own continuity/franchise (though that's more of a what-if right now). Overall, I personally think that separating live-action films and animated ones into their own continuities is a reasonable option, and I believe that ''One'' has proven itself a different entity. [[User:Prime Temple|Prime Temple]] ([[User talk:Prime Temple|talk]]) 06:26, 17 September 2024 (EDT)

===CHECKPOINT (2024/09/16)===
*Votes for Option 1: 0
*Votes for Option 2: 3 (GrievousPrime, Archforce, Banpei the Mini-Con)
*Votes for Option 3: 15 (Locoman, AkibaSilver, MrRald, PublicCrown, MahXyme, Saix, Broadside, Jalaguy, Lonegamer, Ezim93, Boingus, ParadoxFactor, Khajidha, TitaniumToughGuy, CyberLink420)
As it stands, current consensus is pretty overwhelmingly in favor of Option 3 by a ratio of 5:1. I know it's only been a day, but barring a sudden swell of support for #2, it might be prudent to start switching everything over. -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 10:20, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
: I'm reluctant to make actual changes until the movie hits wide release and the general public can make informed input. Give it a few more days. --[[User:Broadside|Broadside]] ([[User talk:Broadside|talk]]) 10:40, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
::::This. Let people... SEE the movie before we make important decisions. --[[User:ItsWalky|ItsWalky]] ([[User talk:ItsWalky|talk]]) 19:49, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
::::Right. We can wait a few days for more than a small handful of people to see this and base their decision on, you know, '''''the actual movie''''' rather than whatever someone who had something to do with it says ''this'' week, which historically has waffled between "vague" and "contradictory". Hell, even ''now'' some of them are still being all "well maybe it is and maybe it isn't" and frankly I have no faith they won't ride that ambiguity for a long time like they've done since ''Bumblebee''. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 20:49, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
::I've said ever since Keegan Michael Key tweeted as much that One should be treated as a separate continuity. '''Option 3''' for sure. {{unsigned|jmcdavid}}
:'''Option 3'''. I've seen the movie and other users have covered why that seems like the best choice. It feels as different from the previous movies as Prime is from Animated, or Earthspark from Sunbow (which, despite directly homaging/referencing Sunbow, Earthspark is considered separate from). [[User:Ashendawn|Ashendawn]] ([[User talk:Ashendawn|talk]]) 18:01, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
:I vote '''Option 2'''. There seems to be a large focus on whether or not the film fits in continuity with the prior films, but considering how little they fit with each other that feels irrelevant to me. The creators have been rather unclear whether this film should be considered separate from the ongoing live-action series in terms of production, just in terms of universe. If we had a sense this was the springboard for an entirely separate animated film series I'd say Option 3, but it feels unwarranted at this time. [[User:Indridcold13|Indridcold13]] ([[User talk:Indridcold13|talk]]) 20:29, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
:Also '''Option 3''' . In tone, content, continuity, style, story, just feels too different to me from the Michael Bay and other films, really only having the method of release in common. It feels more separate from the other movies than even Cyberverse from G1, and that’s happily separate. —[[User:MissDaria|MissDaria]] ([[User talk:MissDaria|talk]]) 10:05, 17 September 2024 (EDT)

MediaWiki talk:Community Portal

2024-09-17T14:50:41Z

96megatron: /* Transformers One and the conversation we've all been waiting for */

__NEWSECTIONLINK__

This is the place for discussion of topics that affect the entire wiki. For less wide-reaching subjects, either use articles' individual talk pages or [https://discord.com/invite/N99Bygq our Discord server.]

Some topics that would ordinarily be here have merited their own pages:

{{chapters|title=Specific Discussion Subjects|align=left|content=
<div class="list-header">'''Moving From Wikia:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Arriving|Arriving]]
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Leaving|Leaving]]
* [[Transformers Wiki:Community Portal/Complaints|Complaints]]
<br/><div class="list-header">'''New Ad Policy:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki:Ads|Ads]]
<br/><div class="list-header">'''Bookworm Database-Crash:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Damage Control Central|Damage Control Central]]
* [[Project:Bookworm Crash]]
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Leaving2|Leaving Take 2]]
<br/><div class="list-header">'''Server Move:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Arriving2|Arriving Take 2]]
<br/><div class="list-header">'''Relicensing:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Relicensing|Relicensing]]
<br/><div class="list-header">'''Dealing With Vandalism:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Vandalism|Vandalism]]
<br/><div class="list-header">'''GoBots Sister Wiki:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/GoBots|Discussion on the place of GoBots in this wiki]]
<br/> <div class="list-header">'''Wiki Technical Information:'''</div>
* [[Transformers Wiki:Tech|A Not So Brief Summary of the Horrible Things That McFly and Co. Have Done To Keep This Wiki From Melting Down]]
}}<br/>

{{:{{FULLPAGENAMEE}}/Archive}}


== Press release or logo for 30,000 articles? ==
Is it worth putting something together as we get very very close? Maybe something like:
* 3 from Thrilling 30 logo
* 0 from the 40th logo
* 0 from the Vector Sigma "Featured" logo
* 0 from the cosmic-streaking O in the TFTM opener
* 0 from GO!

Just a suggestion.... --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 13:45, 10 November 2023 (EST)
:If we wanted to go down that route, maybe tie into some of the contemporary material? Say, the "O"s from [[Energon Universe]] or [[Transformers: Legacy#Legacy: Evolution|Evolution]]? (Though the latter isn't exactly straight-on...) --[[User:Broadside|Broadside]] ([[User talk:Broadside|talk]]) 14:38, 10 November 2023 (EST)
::Sure! I lean towards the Energon Universe choice. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 15:48, 10 November 2023 (EST)
:Apologies, I've corrected the count on the main page as it was inaccurate, so we're not as close as it looked like we were. --[[User:Abates|abates]] ([[User talk:Abates|talk]]) 16:20, 10 November 2023 (EST)
::That just means we have more time to decide and, if so, pull things together. :) -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 16:51, 10 November 2023 (EST)
:::Feels like we just leapt up 40 new articles in the last 2-3 days. Is it worth putting a graphic together? --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 22:47, 18 January 2024 (EST)

=="Multi-pack" vs "gift set" and suchlike==
Incoming semantics, but... as I've been going through the toy entries, been trying to standardize/streamline a lot of stuff, and I think maybe a set of consistent terms/definitions for "a bunch of separate toys packed together" is in order. So lemme throw this out here for discussion/future reference...
*'''Multi-pack''' — A pack of toys where the contents (or at least most/some/any of them) are exclusive to this release, not sold in other packaging. Most multi-toy releases nowadays would fall under this umbrella by default.
*'''Gift set''' — A pack of toys where all of the contents are/were concurrently (or close enough) sold individually as well, without changes, in the same market. Like all the various G1 combiner sets.
The latter brings up the question of if we want to label all the Takara "VS" packs and the various UT-era "VALUE PACK!" sets under that umbrella, which I'm ambivalent-to-marginally-in-favor-of over. Especially as Takara's been putting out new "VS" packs where the toys are new decos not available elsewhere... also we kinda made up the "VS pack" term anyway, as memory serves, so. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 20:15, 8 January 2024 (EST)
:Hasbro has used the word "[[Giftset]]" to refer to unique variants not available separately. I'm inclined to think we shouldn't directly contradict that. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 21:21, 8 January 2024 (EST)
::and damn but does that article need updating. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 21:22, 8 January 2024 (EST)
:::I'm inclined to think that Hasbro uses lots of terms in ways that are not exactly conducive to organizing a wiki. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 21:29, 8 January 2024 (EST)

==More bullet point insignia?==
Okay so... I recall there were some other possible faction symbol bullet points we could maybe use. I ran across a few with this batch of toy pics we might consider adding. I'll list them here, see if people can think of more. I feel like there might be a couple more two-faction matchups out there.
* Rescue Bots
* The various BotBots squads
* My First Transformers

I'm not un-convinced that we should have the bespoke insignia for stuff like the Disney Label, since they do use them on the packaging. So uh... there. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 01:51, 13 January 2024 (EST)
:Also, while looking at the list of all the bullets on the template page... maybe we should see if we can split the list up a smidge? Like, put all the mutli-faction icons in one section, a section just for BotBots since there's gonna be quite a few of them? Alphabetizing them might also be in order. (I have exactly zero idea how those templates are coded, so uh, lemme know if that's doable.) --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 04:42, 13 January 2024 (EST)
::There's also the [[Star Wars Transformers]]... though I'm not sure if using ''Star Wars'' insignia falls too much out of this wiki's scope, although we do use at least use them on the actual characters' pages (see [[Darth Vader]]). [[User:Turborun|Turborun]] ([[User talk:Turborun|talk]]) 10:34, 13 January 2024 (EST)
:::I don't think we'd use SW insignia because, near as I can tell, the toy packaging doesn't mark the toys that way. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 05:27, 14 January 2024 (EST)

== Idea for reducing the size of toy sections by compacting unchanged toy entries ==

I've come up with an idea that I think would make toy sections on character pages a little better and more intuitive. Instead of having a long list of entries for multiple releases of the exact same toy completely unchanged, we could just compact them all in a single entry, describing how the toy was available both individually and unchanged in a bunch of multipacks. This could be especially helpful with toy sections that are way too long, such as both the Movie Optimus Prime and Bumblebee toy pages that have been subject to a lot of discussion already.

[[User:Fritz/Optimus Prime (Movie)/toys|I used the 2007 Legends Class section of the Movie Optimus Prime toy page to make a quick example out of it.]] The entries would be reduced from four to two toys, since 3/4 of them are the same toy anyway, and a lot of white space would be removed. As for the images of the multipacks, I don't think we would be losing much in removing them since the wiki has never prioritized images of packagings for anything really and, as I know is written somewhere in the "rules", the wiki isn't supposed to be used as an image hosting website in the first place.

So, any thoughts? --[[User:Fritz|Fritz]] ([[User talk:Fritz|talk]]) 20:18, 20 January 2024 (EST)
: We used to do this and it was actually kind of worse. There's also complications when unchanged toys end up being sold under different franchise headers, and when you add in all the other bullet point data a toy/set might have, you could end up with a lonnnnng list of bullet points before you get to the actual writeup, plus describing the multi-packs' contents... you're not really saving space while also kinda hurting the demi-chronological flow of the information. And deleting the multi-pack package imagery feels very wrong. It's one of those cases where there's no real ideal situation, but there's a least-bad one.
:That said, it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to make sure the first entry mentions these "repacks" alongside the redecoes and links to the relevant items. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 21:34, 21 January 2024 (EST)
::Good points, as usual. Now that you mentioned it, I think I do have a vague memory of this being done in the past. I was going to suggest the repacks from different toylines should remain separate, though. My mentality was that maybe we could have a way to highlight the "main" releases (original and redecoes/retools) from the "minor" ones (unchanged repacks) to make it easier to identify in a glance how many actually-different toys were released within a toyline, but I wouldn't want it to cause ''more'' confusion than ''less''. Anyway thanks for taking the time to evaluate the idea. --[[User:Fritz|Fritz]] ([[User talk:Fritz|talk]]) 05:54, 22 January 2024 (EST)

==Repurposings, continuity transplants, and using Template:Main/Template:See to improve navigability==
I've gone back to the drawing board to come up with a way to signal to readers where closely-related pages exist, as I don't think [[Help:Disambiguation|disambiguation]] pages are enough and have found [[Template:OtherVersions]] to be unideal. [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Archive70#Proposal re: G1 pages|Previously]], I'd suggested merging a bunch of pages for so-called "[[Continuity family|continuity]] transplants", but other users convinced me this would be a poor solution. One alternative suggestion, from [[User:Broadside]], was to use [[Template:Main]] to put key links to a character's appearances in other continuity families directly in the fiction section—[[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Archive70#Handling of "former GoBots" and "former Diaclone" characters on the wiki|reactions at the time]] were neutral-positive. You can see mockups for [[User:Broadside/Sandbox:Cy-Kill|Cy-Kill]] and [[User:Broadside/Sandbox:Bug Bite|Bug Bite]]. This strikes me as the best of both worlds, because it keeps the consistent schema (which helps for page length and organisation) but also puts a link to the information in the place where your typical reader is expecting to find it (on the page for the highest-profile first incarnation of the character).

With the same philosophy in mind, I've also designed two new templates. The first, [[Template:Toyappeared]], is intended for use in toy write-ups as a way of linking to fiction write-ups and character pages. It covers [[repurposing]]s, "continuity transplants", notable instances of [[Show-accuracy|toy-accuracy]], in-fiction [[Reformatting|powerups]], [[Redeco#"Virtual" redecos|"virtual" redecos]], you name it. Toy write-ups are increasingly being duplicated across multiple character pages, which creates maintenance overhead, as both instances must be manually kept in sync. My suggestion is to use [[Template:See]] to link to the full information regarding a toy on the original page, with the repurposed instance giving only brief information of what the toy is and ''why'' it was repurposed or whatever. The second of my new templates has a much more specific intended use case: [[Template:Bwucharacter]] provides an easy way of explaining how/why a character was reinterpreted for their ''Uprising'' appearance, as ''Uprising'' accounts for most of the situations I view as being problematic.

I realise I'm proposing like five things at once here, so [[User:The Wadapan/sandbox/repurposing|my sandbox]] has [[User:The Wadapan/sandbox/repurposing#Full example|a full example]] demonstrating how it all works together, along with tons of individual examples of the templates' usage and a more thorough explanation of what I'm trying to address with them. Take a look, and let me know which aspects you like, which parts you don't like, or any ideas you have to add! —[[User:The Wadapan|The Wadapan]] ([[User talk:The Wadapan|talk]]) 06:24, 12 February 2024 (EST)
:I can vouch for these templates! [[User:ShootingStar7X|ShootingStar7X]] ([[User talk:ShootingStar7X|talk]]) 15:38, 26 February 2024 (EST)
: I'm seeing a lot of problems with the implementation of some of this, and a lot of future headaches. The ones rolled out put what look like stub headers in a fiction section with just a small normal missable note up top; and in Override's case in specific, multiple stubs with completely redundant information. What this is ''going'' to do is get new people thinking that these are missing information that needs to be filled, then we gotta revert it and tell them no all that goes elsewhere, which is utterly unintuitive and will just lead to arguments and headaches all around.
: As for toys, in the instances of BWU-type stuff where it's a one-toy Mini-Con or whatever, I feel like NOT having the actual toy info for them on the BWU page, as with the Mini-Con Snow Cat toy currently, is not doing the reader any favors. Quite the opposite. Why are we making them jump to a different page for information that has no reason to not be right there? I don't like making readers jump through hoops needlessly, and that's all this feels like. And it's not like the toy sections of most of these are gonna see major changes, so lack of cross-updating is very, very, very unlikely to be an issue.
: I really don't think these require new templates and a bunch of new-editor landmines. At most, there's a decent argument to be made for re-positioning the "you look familiar" template that already exists, maybe below the main character writeup (above feels like a bad layout choice, pushing all kinds of stuff down.) --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 02:11, 28 February 2024 (EST)

== Listings and accessories ==

When I was making the description for cannonball based on the Walmart listing, there was mention of a Gatling gun and hammer not shown in the stock images,and left them out.

If I run into this type of situation again, what do I do?[[User:Poliwag06|Poliwag06]] ([[User talk:Poliwag06|talk]]) 10:56, 7 March 2024 (EST)

== A few suggestions ==

Gallery pages should only include images that aren't easily accessed by going to the main page, to avoid cluttering. I guess this is not an issue now since the current gallery pages are fairly short.

There should be more dedication in listing alt-modes of characters. Maybe there should be a header or something. For example, if the Dreamwave version of [[Sunstorm (G1)#Dreamwave Generation One continuity|Sunstorm]] transforms into an F-16 jet, it should be listed in the beginning with a header for the sake of easy access to the said information.--[[User:Primestar3|Primestar3]] ([[User talk:Primestar3|talk]]) 13:59, 17 March 2024 (EDT)

== Will we get an article on The Masked Singer? ==

Will there be an article on TFWiki about The Masked Singer, specifically their recent "Transformers Night" episode (https://the-masked-singer.fandom.com/wiki/Transformers_Night)? --[[User:John Pannozzi|John Pannozzi]] ([[User talk:John Pannozzi|talk]]) 20:01, 12 April 2024 (EDT)

: Assuming it's a licensed appearance (I can't check the credits myself :C ), I can't think why it wouldn't be [[User:AkibaSilver|AkibaSilver]] ([[User talk:AkibaSilver|talk]]) 21:15, 12 April 2024 (EDT)

:: It was indeed licensed. --[[User:John Pannozzi|John Pannozzi]] ([[User talk:John Pannozzi|talk]]) 22:30, 12 April 2024 (EDT)
:::Yes, as an official Hasbro-sanctioned piece of TF media, the episode does meet our requirements for inclusion. It just needs someone to write it up. -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 23:22, 12 April 2024 (EDT)

== Franchise articles ==
So I was looking at the franchise pages to try and get an idea of what the standard is supposed to be for how they are written. Should all of them be updated to be more like the [[Beast Wars: Transformers (franchise)]] article? What was making me wonder this was that on the [[Transformers: Energon (franchise)]] article it had a section for "Homages" and one for "New characters" which I don't think any other franchise article has. --[[User:1levichurch|1levichurch]] ([[User talk:1levichurch||talk]]) 22:57, 21 April 2024 (UTC)

== AI upscaled images ==
With fresh offsite talks about the matter, I put forth we add an official policy against posting AI upscaled images of any kind to the wiki, owing to their subpar performance in "enhancing" the quality of images. [[User:McBaggins|McBaggins]] ([[User talk:McBaggins|talk]]) 23:52, 1 May 2024 (EDT)
:Agreed. It's literally faking information and presenting it as official. (Also often noticeably terrible.) Sometimes the best quality available of something sucks, but we simply have to deal. [[User:Saix|Saix]] ([[User talk:Saix|talk]]) 23:57, 1 May 2024 (EDT)
::100 percent agreed. It's called "artificial" for a reason. Plenty of details would be lost out through the upscaling, and several times errors on the wiki somehow became official through Hastak using the wiki for references (the whole [[Circular reporting]] thing). If we start allowing AI upscaled images, then we're likely to have things lost to the annals of time. Potato quality is better than lost quality[[User:Singularity|Singularity]] ([[User talk:Singularity|talk]]) 00:11, 2 May 2024 (EDT)
: Sure. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 00:43, 2 May 2024 (EDT)

== Ending addition of high-end statues ==
This is something I doubt other people have noticed, but I'm putting down a tent-peg on it: After having built the entries for dozens of high-end collectable TF statues in the last 2-3 years, from firms like Diamond Select, Imaginarium, Azure Sea, XM Studios, etc., and then seeing most of them either officially cancelled or never spoken of again with no reported purchases, I am going to stop adding such items here. If someone else feels like cataloguing them, great.

It really may not be possible for us to keep up with toy-like non-transforming merchandise (figurines and statues) the way we used to. There are at least two ''released'' series of G1 core cast micro-figurines with micro-comics and magnifying glasses, which would have been the rage of the fandom in 2005, that nobody ever got around to adding, and it feels like too much of a chore for me to start. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 10:35, 3 May 2024 (EDT)
: It's an unfortunate but very real thing that once you enter the world of licensed merch, we're ''gonna'' have big gaps. It's... a lot, on top of the "a lot" that is the regular TF toyline and fictional output today. I've said that the work involved in keeping up with all of TF's merch ought to be a full-time paying job, and I genuinely mean it. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 16:39, 3 May 2024 (EDT)

== Transformers Roleplaying Game releases on the front page and sidebar ==

The [[Transformers Roleplaying Game]] is getting pretty frequent releases of both sourcebooks and pre-written adventures, and it occurs to me that it might be a good idea to have it on the "current releases" section of the front page and/or the navigation sidebar. How would people feel about that? --[[User:Broadside|Broadside]] ([[User talk:Broadside|talk]]) 15:49, 4 May 2024 (EDT)
: I think that makes a lot of sense, as long as we have people keeping up with the new releases to document them. -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 15:51, 4 May 2024 (EDT)

==How we handle weapons' toy/merch sections==
Okay, so like... I'm not really convinced that what we've been doing is the best way to handle the weapon pages' toys/merch sections. Honestly, they end up looking... really shoddy. There's just tiny scraps of info, vast wads of whitespace, few to no links, the images are tons of different sizes. <br>
I'm thinking that instead of all this... maybe this is a place where a gallery is in order, just a chronological procession. Have the captions just say what lines/toys the weapons came with and link to the toys directly on the character page. It's not like there's much to say about any of these, why not let the toy listing on the character page say it? Why make people scroll through screens of mostly-emptiness, which I feel they're increasingly unlikely to do? I may do a sandbox if I'm feeling up to it. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 22:24, 6 May 2024 (EDT)
:[[User:M Sipher/Sandbox:WeaponPageToysSection]] - So... this, basically. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 22:39, 6 May 2024 (EDT)
:I'd be on board with that. --[[User:Broadside|Broadside]] ([[User talk:Broadside|talk]]) 22:34, 6 May 2024 (EDT)
:I like it. It would be far more compact than our current approach for, say, [[Fusion cannon#Toys]], while still getting the point across. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 11:13, 10 May 2024 (EDT)

==Proposal for Unproduced or Unreleased Template==
I don't think the Apocrypha template is particularly useful. It was created specifically for Alignment, but most of the things in it don't fit that criteria. Something like Unproduced or Unreleased Transformer media would be more self explanatory. [[User:WillR113|WillR113]] ([[User talk:WillR113|talk]]) 07:05, 11 May 2024 (EDT)

== Use of pictures from ebay, fan sites, etc ==

Is it appropriate to use pictures of toys from ebay, fan reviews, video review screenshots and the like? Under fair use and with source credit? Sometimes rarer items we don't have good pictures of on the wiki show up in these places. In particular I found a ebay seller with good images of EZ collection toys and and old Japanese review blog with images of Takara variants of HFTD/Autobot Alliance toys so that got me wondering. —[[User:BluJayWarrior|BluJayWarrior]] ([[User talk:BluJayWarrior|talk]]) 10:10, 12 May 2024 (EDT)
:Images from eBay and other fan sites have been and can continue to be used, giving the fullest source credit feasible. I don't think we've ever needed to rely on video review screenshots and would always prefer to have a "normal" still image instead whenever possible. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 11:02, 16 May 2024 (EDT)

== ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' “再構成版” エピソード視聴ガイド "Re-Configuration Version" aka "Re-Constructed Version" Episode Viewing Guide ==

We really need to document the "canon" Japanese viewing order for ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' & ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers 2010'' originally included with the ''Pioneer'' Laserdisc booklets & later apparently revised by [[Hirofumi Ichikawa]] (市川裕文) for the DVD BOX SET 2 Instruction Booklet as it would help clean-up the chronology on many wiki pages here. From what I've been able to gather this particular viewing order differs from both the US/Japan production orders, the US-Airing order and the Japanese-Airing order. So what exactly is the order of the episodes of these two series according to these documents? Does anyone own them and able to list the specific order in which the episodes appear in those LD/DVD "Instruction Booklets" word-for-word? As it stands, we've only mentioned that a "narrative viewing order" exists but do not have it listed anywhere. For further clarification, it is not the order in which the episodes appear on the Japanese DVDs. [[User:Astrobotix|Astrobotix]] ([[User talk:Astrobotix|talk]]) 01:09, 15 May 2024 (EDT)
:While this information would be valuable and is worth documenting, it's unlikely to result in us making any major changes to the way our information is structured. -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 17:31, 16 May 2024 (EDT)
:Okay, having seen the booklets in question, it just lists the episodes in production order, continuity errors and all. So...absolutely no change, then. -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 20:44, 17 May 2024 (EDT)

== Documenting MSRP? ==

Would it be worth documenting MSRP prices (in usd at least)? For the regular retail classes that's for the most part covered by the [[size class]] page, but we don't keep track of them for more specialty items like Masterpieces, multipacks, exclusives, one-off releases not in a normal size class, special lines like Missing Link, etc. It's something I find personally interesting and would've liked to know for older figures and someone in the future might want to know about today's releases. It can also offer some neat bits of info like how Premium Finish releases were generally one price point up compared to the figure's size or how the upcoming United Cliffjumper multipack is a whole $30 off what the individual figures would cost --[[User:BluJayWarrior|BluJayWarrior]] ([[User talk:BluJayWarrior|talk]]) 14:20, 21 May 2024 (EDT)
:I think this would be very interesting, particularly when you scroll down pages for G1 toys that got multiple reissues like the Seekers, Insecticons, and tape players. It's just that - like the Designer Notes and the proper insignias on each and every toy - it would take forever to add and would probably wind up being one super-dedicated person having to do most of the work. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 14:28, 21 May 2024 (EDT)
::I might try to do what I can, going back to recatalogue everything would definitely be a chore. But at the very least I strongly believe it's something we can and should implement for future toy entries. I've started a [[User:BluJayWarrior/Sandbox|MSRP Sandbox]] to try out a few formats, any feedback is appreciated. --[[User:BluJayWarrior|BluJayWarrior]] ([[User talk:BluJayWarrior|talk]]) 05:18, 23 May 2024 (EDT)
::Cleaned up the sandbox page. Anyone have anything to say about the format? Might try applying Style 1 to a few pages this weekend if no one makes any objections. [[User:BluJayWarrior|BluJayWarrior]] ([[User talk:BluJayWarrior|talk]]) 12:58, 24 May 2024 (EDT)
:::Of those options I like Style 1 the best. As you already noted, the [[size class]] pages covers basically all normal U.S. retail from BW through Legacy, missing things like Platinum and MP. To find contemporary G1 prices, here are some good resources:
:::https://web.archive.org/web/20181125082555/https://pleasesavemerobots.com/vstp/vstptf84.html
:::https://web.archive.org/web/20191114081109/http://pleasesavemerobots.com/vstp/vstptf85.html
:::https://web.archive.org/web/20191114091052/http://pleasesavemerobots.com/vstp/vstptf86.html
:::https://web.archive.org/web/20191114090836/http://pleasesavemerobots.com/vstp/vstptf87.html
:::https://web.archive.org/web/20191114084922/http://pleasesavemerobots.com/vstp/vstptf88.html
:::https://web.archive.org/web/20191114081716/http://pleasesavemerobots.com/vstp/vstptf89.html
:::https://web.archive.org/web/20191114085830/http://pleasesavemerobots.com/vstp/vstptf90.html
:::https://www.tfw2005.com/boards/threads/g1-original-retail-price-listing.1167895/
:::I tried looking for G2 MSRP but couldn't find anything as obvious. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 13:24, 24 May 2024 (EDT)
::::Thanks for the sources, gonna have to sort through that later. Planning to start with new ROTB characters since they're smaller pages and prices can still be found. I've decided to add prices for retail classes for reader convenience; not everyone will know to go to the size class page for them and its not linked often enough to make it reasonable they would. [[User:BluJayWarrior|BluJayWarrior]] ([[User talk:BluJayWarrior|talk]]) 14:22, 24 May 2024 (EDT)

: I'd been working on a project like this a long time ago, had originally proposed adding this to the wiki, but then kinda stopped... mostly because near as I could tell, the MSRP in the 80s was something retailers could just make the hell up. The price ranges for any given toy were kinda all over the damn place, and the MSRP was something some retailers used to go "no really we're cheaper SEE?" then make up some price they supposedly "discounted" down from... you know, the thing that got Kay-Bee in legal-type troubles. I was increasingly unsure how to handle that wild price variance concisely on the wiki. In fact...
::https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1PBE2i9vLE6fkr933GQbXosA1cxIqB3CkOSnzW0BMdwc/edit#gid=448439989
: Take a look-see. There's at least three different MSRP values for the standard Headmasters, never mind actual sticker prices. Like, I ''want'' to provide this kind of context, I really do, and it's pretty easy once we get to the unified price points of BW on... but for G1 and G2? Woof. That's going to take a bit of mulling. "Average" price maybe, but there's gonna be some Prices Georg here and there throwing shit off. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 16:35, 24 May 2024 (EDT)
::RE: The sandbox... I'm gonna have to vote against Style 1, because, as noted, price info is very likely going to get... cluttered, and the longer that parenthetical is, the worse it is. I'd REALLY like to keep that to just "size class/type (if not obvious) and release year". And don't forget Takara-release prices, which can be more flexible even within a size class... but at least those have been ''extensively'' documented. I think we need to talk about bit more about everything we'd need to cover and ''how'' before we go implementing anything, and get a few more people in on the discussion. (Sorry for all the add-ons, lightly scattered today.) --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 18:18, 24 May 2024 (EDT)
:::Fair enough on the old stuff since that gets convoluted, but the newer stuff is comparatively easier to do and I'd rather start sooner before some MSRP prices get harder to find (ROTB Autobots Unite subline prices seem to have disappeared already). Added the ROTB Airazor page I was gonna start with to the sandbox so you can see how the page might look as a whole. Since you object to Style 1 I added a Style 2 version too. --[[User:BluJayWarrior|BluJayWarrior]] ([[User talk:BluJayWarrior|talk]]) 18:38, 24 May 2024 (EDT)
:::: Assemble the data, sure, but I am going to say do ''not'' actually apply any of this to live articles. Again, there's barely been any time or discussion on a project that is... vast in scope, and we simply do not jump on stuff like this right away, because that means things will get not considered and then we have to re-do hundreds to thousands of pages... and we absolutely do ''not'' do it when there's a giant obvious gap (the first decade of the franchise) that still needs to be considered, as how we handle ''that'' will affect how we handle all the others, because we try and keep things consistent.
:::: Like, just off the top of my head, there's non-US-or-Japan markets to consider for just about everything normal-retail. Which makes me think we may want to look into a collapsible template, like with the toy designers and voice actors, to handle the other markets without overloading the bullet point sections, some of which are already a bit husky. There's the fact that Walmart and Target just dropped the prices on TF Deluxes in the US... but apparently, Hasbro didn't change their "MSRP"/cost at all. In fact a quick jump to Hasbro Pulse shows they're still charging $25 for a ''Legacy/Studio'' Deluxe, while I can pop to the local Target/Walmart and buy 'em at $20, so we gotta consider ranges just like with G1/G2. And again... ''I'm moderately convinced that "MSRP" in the USA was bullshit all along,'' so I don't know that it's the term we even want to use in the first place. Maybe "Retail price" would be better. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 00:17, 25 May 2024 (EDT)
:::::I think just documenting the MSRP, if we know it, is enough. No need to go down the rabbit hole of tracking down what individual retailers sell them at when they disregard the MSRP (which as, after all, only a suggested price). In my opinion, at least, it's little different from listing the cover prices of books - the only difference is that Hasbro doesn't print their suggested price directly on the box.
:::::Totally hear you on waiting to the pull the trigger until it's been properly discussed, though. Also, I prefer BluJay's Style 2 as well. -- [[User:Dark T Zeratul|Dark T Zeratul]] ([[User talk:Dark T Zeratul|talk]]) 03:46, 25 May 2024 (EDT)
:::::: Um, the problem is, again... I really don't think we HAVE any actual MSRPs outside of Takara's. What's been cataloged here are just "prices they were sold at", which isn't ''specifically'' a Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price, the specific price suggested specifically by the manufacturer. Those we'd need a source for, and as I've pointed out, the handful of stated "MSRP"s we've seen for Hasbro stuff... well, someone was lying, likely multiple someones. For BW on we have a pretty strong ''inference'' of MSRP, but, well. And even that's not reliable... I just remembered that Walmart and Target were charging markedly different prices for the ''EarthSpark'' Tacticons, like, a $2 diff.
:::::: What I'm saying is, we might want to just not call it "MSRP" because of that (also, frankly I question how many people even recognize that acronym). And because of the wide variance in prices for older stuff, no, we don't need to list every price at every retailer (there were a billion retailers in the 80s... man, remember when actual competition in the market was a thing?), but we really OUGHT to account for the variance somehow, because it can be wide and ''full''. "''Original price''" might be best, since that's what we're actually reporting here, with something like "$2.99 - $4.99 (US) / ¥500 (Japan) <expand>". I'd rather do a range than a single-price "average" on old stuff, especially when we have so MUCH data on what these were sold at across the nation that we can see the trends and when a particularly high or low price is an outlier adn should not have been counted. "Modern" stuff we can certainly ignore, say, Kohl's's higher prices and just do the average probable-MSRP-if-those-actually-exist prices most places (all two of them) charge. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 17:10, 25 May 2024 (EDT)
::::Alright, I'll make a [[User:BluJayWarrior/MSRP Catalog|separate sub page]] to catalog prices for now while that gets sorted out
::::As Dark T said, I think prioritizing initial Hasbro MSRP is best as it is the "intended" price (this is what [https://brickset.com Brickset] does for Lego). It's a point of consistency since historically different retailers tend have slight variations on the price anyway (Target/Walmart sometimes being slightly lower, Kohls/BBTS being higher, general lag on reflecting the msrp price increases a few years ago, etc) and I don't think that whole range needs to be noted. Admittedly the current Target/Walmart prices drops are pretty unusual (a whole $5?!) but unless it becomes something more widespread I personally wouldn't consider it as a data point. Might be worth making a note of somewhere if anything, though I'm not sure where --[[User:BluJayWarrior|BluJayWarrior]] ([[User talk:BluJayWarrior|talk]]) 04:26, 25 May 2024 (EDT)

==Micronauts, etc.==
Why are we suddenly gaining detailed issue write-ups for so much of Micronauts, which contains no TF elements at all? Isn't that the point of the IDW Hasbroverse wiki? --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 13:14, 1 August 2024 (EDT)
:Oh and look, now whole issues of M.A.S.K. written 7 years ago with no TF content whatsoever are being pasted from the Hasbroverse wiki. Is the other site going offline or something? --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 14:26, 1 August 2024 (EDT)
::I don't think it was really our intention to formally unveil the project until we were further along, but some of us have been doing a fair bit of work towards creating a [https://gijoe.miraheze.org/wiki/Main_Page sister wiki for ''G.I. Joe''] where the [https://gijoe.miraheze.org/wiki/Comics#IDW_Publishing_3 out-of-scope IDW Joe coverage] has already been re-homed. The Joe crew hasn't made any calls about what do with non-Joe stuff to be clear (we're sort of preoccupied, there's so much Joe you guys) but I'm guessing the idea here is to align the rest with our [[Transformers Wiki talk:Community Portal/Archive71#Energon Universe coverage|current approach]] to [[Energon Universe|Skybound's shared universe]] and sundown the IDW one? --[[User:AzimuthAcolyte|AzimuthAcolyte]] ([[User talk:AzimuthAcolyte|talk]]) 15:43, 1 August 2024 (EDT)
:::That is more or less the intention, yeah. The Hasbroverse wiki was built at a time where it was perhaps anticipated to be grander than it ended up being, and it wasn't certain how long it was going to run; with the end result being "not very", having this other vestigial site for what is ultimately not a lot of content just doesn't feel practical. The exception, of course, is pre-V5 Joe, which has ''always'' been the sticking point in discussions about moving Hasbroverse content here, both for the amount and for how little it has to do with the IDW Transformers line. Having a dedicated Joe wiki solves that problem and frees up the rest of the Hasbroverse stuff to be reintegrated. Plus, there's still new Joe material being released to this day; arguably having a complete and better curated site for the franchise as a whole that continues to be updated with new releases is more likely to drive traffic and get other people to contribute than it would be linking to a dead wiki for a long-ended comic line that's had the same featured articles for five years because no one cares to add anything to it anymore. -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 15:59, 1 August 2024 (EDT)
::::It does look like a rough consensus was reached to do this back in 2021 ([[Transformers_Wiki_talk:Community_Portal/Archive69#Reintegration_of_Hasbroverse_wiki_content|Archive 69]]), it was just never implemented. --[[User:Xaaron|Xaaron]] ([[User talk:Xaaron|talk]]) 16:10, 1 August 2024 (EDT)
::Like half of MASK issues have something from Transformers in them. Picking and choosing which select issues to cover here is hair-splitting and obnoxious for readers. It's immensely better to just have all the information in one, easily-accessible spot and regard Hasbro Universe as a de facto spinoff of Transformers, much like Beastformers and Energon Universe are. [[User:Saix|Saix]] ([[User talk:Saix|talk]]) 17:10, 1 August 2024 (EDT)

==One spoilers==
I propose that information about this movie be withheld until it actually opens in its largest market next weekend. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] ([[User talk:Thylacine 2000|talk]]) 11:04, 14 September 2024 (EDT)
: Agreed. [[User:Locoman|Locoman]] ([[User talk:Locoman|talk]]) 11:08, 14 September 2024 (EDT)

==Transformers One and the conversation we've all been waiting for==

On September 12th, Lorenzo di Bonaventura [https://comicbook.com/movies/news/is-transformers-one-a-prequel-optimus-prime-origin-story-exclusive/ clarified the relationship] between ''Transformers One'' and the live-action ''Transformers'' films, describing them as "two universes" that will be "separate". For some, this kind of explicit confirmation may come as a relief after years of wishy-washy answers regarding ''Bumblebee'' and ''Rise of the Beasts'', but it also leaves us with questions on how to best handle ''One''-related information going forward. Around 2015, we adopted a unique layout we applied to all the movie characters, where we organized their movie appearances at the top of the page, regardless of chronological order of release (see "[[Optimus Prime (Movie)#Movies]]"). Obviously, this leads to some questions regarding how we should handle our ''One'' coverage going forward.

The way I see it, we have three options:

* '''Keep the page format as is, and keep''' '''''One''''' '''up with the rest of the movies''': For obvious reasons I think this is probably our weakest possible solution; it's pretty clear at this point that our current solution for classifying the films is not really sustainable, and mashing them all together under a single loosely-affiliated umbrella is already confusing and frustrating people who aren't intimately acquainted with the mechanics of the wiki.

* '''Reorganize movie character pages so that we acknowledge the live-action films and''' '''''One''''' '''as separate continuities within one continuity family, similar to how our G1 pages cover Sunbow, Marvel, JG1, IDW, etc.''': Historically speaking, this is probably the safest option, but from what I understand there is very little "connective tissue"—visually, character-wise, plot-beats—between the live-action films and ''One'' beyond the inertia of "they were both made by Paramount". As some people have discussed in the past, this could lead to a full or partial reformat of our movie character coverage to more clearly reflect the ambiguous "prequel" status of ''Bumblebee'' and ''Rise of the Beasts'', but this may be a conversation for another time.

* '''Separate''' '''''One''''' '''as an entirely new continuity family and split out the relevant information so we have pages for "Optimus Prime (One)", "Megatron (One)", etc.''' Probably the most radical proposal, but this is honestly where I'm at right now: from what I understand the movie is a pretty radical departure from everything that's gone before, with entirely new interpretations of old ''Transformers'' lore—I'd classify it as the start of a new "franchise" in the same way that we distinguish ''Earthspark'' and ''Cyberverse'' despite them both clearly drawing on the same well of post-Aligned lore, and these days "new franchise" is generally synonymous with "new continuity family" for the ease of wiki bookkeeping.

We would appreciate hearing your thoughts on the matter! '''As the film is not out yet in all regions please refrain from posting spoilers here'''. [[User:Locoman|Locoman]] ([[User talk:Locoman|talk]]) 08:56, 15 September 2024 (EDT)

:I could see option 3 being the way we go, but what holds me back from that is that beyond just Paramount, Spielberg and Bay are still executive producers on the film. [[User:Escargon|Escargon]] ([[User talk:Escargon|talk]]) 09:39, 15 September 2024 (EDT)

::I think we should put them on the Earthspark Continuity pages to satisfy no-one /j - but yeah, the film is drawing from the same vaguely Binder Of Revelation backstory as everything else for the last 10 years, and unless they have been hiding The Fallen twisting D-16 to evil or the twist that the Creators were the Quintessons all along, One feels pretty decoupled from the rest of the movies. The big issue I see with splitting out fully is that people wondering why we do not do the same for Bumblebee/ROTB, but that more easily passes a "vibe check" as being "Movie-adjacent" and belonging on the same page as the Bay 5-dom than One so far. Agree that trying to put them directly alongside the other movies as a prequel feels both unwieldy and confusing. [[User:AkibaSilver|AkibaSilver]] ([[User talk:AkibaSilver|talk]]) 09:41, 15 September 2024 (EDT)

:I vote for '''option 3''', I think creating separate pages is the way to go. [[User:MrRald|MrRald]] ([[User talk:MrRald|talk]]) 09:54, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
::I vote for '''option 2'''. To me the movie is different enough to be a separate universe but not an entirely different continuity. Josh Cooley himself on April 18 when asked whether the film is a fresh start, a prequel to the live-action films, or its own thing, replied with: "yes to all of the above" https://comicbook.com/movies/news/transformers-one-director-confirms-new-movies-canon-status. (And having seen the movie I can confirm those connections to the live-action series do exist). [[User:Grievous Prime|Grievous Prime]] ([[User talk:Grievous Prime|talk]]) 10:05, 15 September 2024 (EDT)

:I vote for '''option 3'''. One has always felt very different to the previous live action movies so I feel it should get its own dedicated pages. As for BB and ROTB, there is "connective tissue" to the Bayverse movies so I feel they can stay on the pre-existing movie pages. [[User:PublicCrown|PublicCrown]] ([[User talk:PublicCrown|talk]]) 10:25, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
:Having viewed the film at an advance screening, I think there are easily enough references and homages to previous films that '''option two''' makes the most sense. - [[User:Archforce|Archforce]] ([[User talk:Archforce|talk]]) 10:45, 15 September 2024 (EDT)

::I'm favorable for the '''3rd option''', it is still produced under Paramount & there are some producers attached to the project that were on previous movies, but my stance is that we should judge based on the final product & having seen the movie, it doesn't try to be in line to what came before (there are some similarities in design & names, but it stops there since every popular TF stories has influence over the next ones), helped by the new team of writers & creatives. If we can treat each new cartoon as its own entity (even tho in recent years they are streamlined in some areas), I think we can do the same for the recent movies that have more contradictory elements to the Bayverse –[[User:MahXyme|MahXyme/MahXymal]] ([[User talk:MahXyme|talk]]) 10:49, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
:'''<nowiki>#3</nowiki>''' is the cleanest option to me. [[User:Saix|Saix]] ([[User talk:Saix|talk]]) 11:32, 15 September 2024 (EDT)

:I think from a practical perspective, '''#3''' is the only real option. Looking at the loose guidelines for a new family on our [[continuity family]] page:
:*"a fresh continuity" — Yep, even Lorenzo's acknowledged this. Even if we questioned that, there's stuff like the AllSpark being absent (with the Matrix pretty much taking exactly the role the AllSpark would have), Megatronus being a good guy, and Sentinel's role being entirely irreconcilable with Dark of the Moon.
:*"within a separate franchise" — Yep. New franchise, and the marketing hasn't done anything to allude to the live-action films specifically.
:*"significantly different in cast, theme, style, etc." — This is the big sticking point for me. One makes no attempt to align with the visual style or characterisations of the live-action films. The sole real connective point is B-127 (name from ''Bumblebee'', he has the big cheeks and antenna of the movie guy, and his talking a lot is clearly a meta-gag about him losing his voice), but even he's characterised completely differently, as the "comedy crazy guy" who's a peer to Optimus and co instead of the cool-but-rude big brother figure from Bay/Bee/Beasts.
:I'm sympathetic to the Paramount/Bay/Spielberg/Di Bonaventura connective tissue, but my big rebuttal there is that we don't consider ''EarthSpark'' to be Aligned because Nicole Dubuc is the showrunner. Ultimately, if we hadn't had pre-release producer statements (now contradicted) calling it a prequel to the other movies, there's absolutely no way this would be in question — we'd already have it as a separate continuity family. And from a wiki organisation standpoint I don't think there's any way to, say, write up Sentinel Prime's opening paragraph in a way that adequately covers both the DOTM and One characters without genericising it to the point of uselessness. --[[User:Broadside|Broadside]] ([[User talk:Broadside|talk]]) 12:33, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
::Yeah, I think '''#3''' is straightforward and likely the approach we'd take if we were presented with the film, as a story, with zero context on the studio releasing it or EPs involved or whatever. I also think there's a high likelihood that the next live-action film will have Elita appear and be like "hey Optimus remember when we were in Transformers One?" and we'll all groan and have to reconsider, but until then, I think the real-world context is basically the only thing separating One from just being the next Broadly Aligned-y New Thing like Cyberverse and EarthSpark before it, which we consistently split out for organisation reasons. [[User:Jalaguy|Jalaguy]] ([[User talk:Jalaguy|talk]]) 13:45, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
:Toss me in for '''Option 3''' of an entirely new continuity given how ''different'' the story details has been laid out when compared to the original 2007 film-verse and then later what's set by ''Bumblebee''. --[[User:Lonegamer78|Lonegamer78]] ([[User talk:Lonegamer78|talk]]) 14:38, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
:Voting for '''option #2'''. While we would still have the outlier of TF:TAM 86 being a theatrically released movie in the G1 continuity family, I see no reason why "movie continuity family" would not only include transmedia spinoffs from feature films (''Reign of Starscream'', toy redeco Tech Specs, etc. etc.) but also feature films which are belonging different timelines and story universes. This would also free us from having to reconcile Movie 'Bee's history -- did he come to Earth in the 1940s or the 1980s? -- and put to bed *that* long running argument about whether the Bay-directed films were the same universe as BB and RotB or not -- now they don't have to be! [[User:Banpei the Mini-Con|Banpei the Mini-Con]] ([[User talk:Banpei the Mini-Con|talk]]) 14:58, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
:Having seen the movie, I think '''#3''' is our cleanest option. Between the Lorenzo interview and, without going into spoilers, the numerous discrepencies there are, I don't think we can get away with suiting it out ala G1. The time may come when we do that for Bumblebee onwards but as far as One goes, I say we treat it as a new continuity. [[User:Ezim93|Ezim93]] ([[User talk:Ezim93|talk]]) 19:53, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
:'''#3'''. #2 was close for me, but TFOne (having seen the movie) is so artistically different from the live action movies, it feels pointless to keep it on the same page like G1/IDW. Ironically, we could give Bayverse/BB&ROTB the G1/IDW treatment. [[User:Boingus|--Boingus]] ([[User talk:Boingus|talk]]) 23:23, 15 September 2024 (EDT)
:I think 3 is where I'm leaning after seeing the film. Keeping this as "movie continuity" simply because it was released theatrically doesn't make sense to me. We wouldn't do that with a new comic or show because it was the same medium, why do it for a movie just because of that? Yes There is some CNA here to the live action films, but it could be argued it has just as much pulled from G1. One is it's own thing in the end. Trying to fit it into the live action movie box just doesn't feel right in this case.--[[User:ParadoxFactor|ParadoxFactor]] ([[User talk:ParadoxFactor|talk]]) 05:47, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
:I vote for '''Option 3''' for all the reasons previously mentioned as well as size concerns. --[[User:Khajidha|Khajidha]] ([[User talk:Khajidha|talk]]) 09:29, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
:'''Option 3''', I believe the movie was clearly made with a new continuity in mind.-[[User:TitaniumToughGuy|TitaniumToughGuy]] ([[User talk:TitaniumToughGuy|talk]]) 09:38, 16 September 2024 (EDT)

:I'm voting '''Option 3'''; much of my reasons are the same as others have stated above, and I do apologise for opening this bags of worms on the ''One'' talk page. It's not that I don't understand why some people are opposed to creating a new set if pages, but for argument's sake, if ''One'' gets one or more sequels, it would likely draw further away from the established live-action films and become its own continuity/franchise (though that's more of a what-if right now). Overall, I personally think that separating live-action films and animated ones into their own continuities is a reasonable option, and I believe that ''One'' has proven itself a different entity. [[User:Prime Temple|Prime Temple]] ([[User talk:Prime Temple|talk]]) 06:26, 17 September 2024 (EDT)

===CHECKPOINT (2024/09/16)===
*Votes for Option 1: 0
*Votes for Option 2: 3 (GrievousPrime, Archforce, Banpei the Mini-Con)
*Votes for Option 3: 15 (Locoman, AkibaSilver, MrRald, PublicCrown, MahXyme, Saix, Broadside, Jalaguy, Lonegamer, Ezim93, Boingus, ParadoxFactor, Khajidha, TitaniumToughGuy, CyberLink420)
As it stands, current consensus is pretty overwhelmingly in favor of Option 3 by a ratio of 5:1. I know it's only been a day, but barring a sudden swell of support for #2, it might be prudent to start switching everything over. -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 10:20, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
: I'm reluctant to make actual changes until the movie hits wide release and the general public can make informed input. Give it a few more days. --[[User:Broadside|Broadside]] ([[User talk:Broadside|talk]]) 10:40, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
::::This. Let people... SEE the movie before we make important decisions. --[[User:ItsWalky|ItsWalky]] ([[User talk:ItsWalky|talk]]) 19:49, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
::::Right. We can wait a few days for more than a small handful of people to see this and base their decision on, you know, '''''the actual movie''''' rather than whatever someone who had something to do with it says ''this'' week, which historically has waffled between "vague" and "contradictory". Hell, even ''now'' some of them are still being all "well maybe it is and maybe it isn't" and frankly I have no faith they won't ride that ambiguity for a long time like they've done since ''Bumblebee''. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] ([[User talk:M Sipher|talk]]) 20:49, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
::I've said ever since Keegan Michael Key tweeted as much that One should be treated as a separate continuity. '''Option 3''' for sure. {{unsigned|jmcdavid}}
:'''Option 3'''. I've seen the movie and other users have covered why that seems like the best choice. It feels as different from the previous movies as Prime is from Animated, or Earthspark from Sunbow (which, despite directly homaging/referencing Sunbow, Earthspark is considered separate from). [[User:Ashendawn|Ashendawn]] ([[User talk:Ashendawn|talk]]) 18:01, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
:I vote '''Option 2'''. There seems to be a large focus on whether or not the film fits in continuity with the prior films, but considering how little they fit with each other that feels irrelevant to me. The creators have been rather unclear whether this film should be considered separate from the ongoing live-action series in terms of production, just in terms of universe. If we had a sense this was the springboard for an entirely separate animated film series I'd say Option 3, but it feels unwarranted at this time. [[User:Indridcold13|Indridcold13]] ([[User talk:Indridcold13|talk]]) 20:29, 16 September 2024 (EDT)
:Also '''Option 3''' . In tone, content, continuity, style, story, just feels too different to me from the Michael Bay and other films, really only having the method of release in common. It feels more separate from the other movies than even Cyberverse from G1, and that’s happily separate. —[[User:MissDaria|MissDaria]] ([[User talk:MissDaria|talk]]) 10:05, 17 September 2024 (EDT)

Screen Rant: Is Transformers One considered a prequel to the recent movies of Bumblebee and Rise of the Beast or the original live-action film starting in 2007? Or is it something completely, entirely new?
... Lorenzo di Bonaventura: "It obviously exists beforehand. I think we figured it out. It was like 300 million years before the first Michael Bay movie, so if that's a prequel, that's a prequel. But we're really following the lore about where it starts, and so we really just think about it as the beginning of the story. The origin, yes, but literally the beginning of the thing that we've all come to appreciate." https://screenrant.com/transformers-one-lorenzo-di-bonaventura-and-josh-cooley-interview/ [[User:96megatron|96megatron]] ([[User talk:96megatron]])

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (film)

2023-06-10T18:06:25Z

96megatron: /* Notes */

{{nav-rotb}}
{{movie|
|seriess=[[Live-action film series]]
|prev=Bumblebee (film)
|next=
|title=''Transformers: Rise of the Beasts''
|image=Transformers Rise of the Beasts Theatrical Poster.jpeg
|caption=So for now, let the battle be here, on this strange, primitive world. And let it be called... Beast Wars!
|production companies=[[Skydance Media]]<br>[[Entertainment One]]<br>[[Lorenzo di Bonaventura|di Bonaventura Pictures]]<br>[[New Republic Pictures]]<br>[[Michael Bay|Bay Films]]
|distributor=[[Paramount Pictures]]
|executive producer=[[Steven Spielberg]]<br>[[Brian Goldner]]<br>[[Brian Oliver]]<br>[[Bradley J. Fischer]]<br>[[Valerii An]]<br>[[David Ellison]]<br>[[Dana Goldberg]]<br>[[Don Granger]]
|associate producer=[[Lorenzo di Bonaventura]]<br>[[Tom DeSanto]]<br>[[Don Murphy]]<br>[[Michael Bay]]<br>[[Mark Vahradian]]<br>[[Duncan Henderson]]
|story by=[[Joby Harold]]
|screenplay by=[[Joby Harold]]<br>[[Darnell Metayer]]<br>[[Josh Peters]]<br>[[Erich Hoeber]]<br>[[Jon Hoeber]]
|directed by=[[Steven Caple Jr.]]
|cinematography by=[[Enrique Chediak]]
|edited by=[[Stuart Levy]]<br>[[Brett M. Reed]]
|music by=[[Jongnic Bontemps]]
|release date=[[June 9]], [[2023]]
|continuity=[[Live-action film series]]
|runtime=117 minutes <ref>https://collider.com/transformers-rise-of-the-beasts-runtime/</ref>
|budget=$200 million
|box office=
}}
'''''Transformers: Rise of the Beasts''''' is the seventh film in the [[live-action film series]], serving both as a sequel to ''[[Bumblebee (film)|Bumblebee]]'' and a tribute to ''[[Beast Wars: Transformers (franchise)|Beast Wars]]''. The film is directed by [[Steven Caple Jr.]] and written by [[Joby Harold]], [[Darnell Metayer]], [[Josh Peters]], [[Erich Hoeber]], and [[Jon Hoeber]]. Originally expected to be released on [[June 28]], [[2019]],<ref name="toyfairreveal">[http://news.tfw2005.com/2016/02/12/transformers-5-transformers-6-bumblebee-spin-off-movie-revealed-309503 Transformers 5, Transformers 6 And Bumblebee Spin-Off Movie Revealed] ToyFair news at TFW2005</ref> the film was delayed multiple times until finally being released on [[June 9]], [[2023]].<ref name="2023release"/>

==Synopsis==
{{stub}}

==Cast==
{{featuredcharacters
|h1=[[Autobot]]s / [[Maximal]]s|c1=
;Autobots
* [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] ([[Peter Cullen]])
* [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]]
* [[Mirage (Movie)|Mirage]] ([[Pete Davidson]])
* [[Arcee (Movie)|Arcee]] ([[Liza Koshy]])
* [[Wheeljack (Movie)|Wheeljack]] ([[Cristo Fernández]])
* [[Stratosphere]] ([[John DiMaggio]])

;Maximals
* [[Optimus Primal (ROTB)|Optimus Primal]] ([[Ron Perlman]])
* [[Airazor (ROTB)|Airazor]] ([[Michelle Yeoh]])
* [[Rhinox (ROTB)|Rhinox]] ([[David Sobolov]])
* [[Cheetor (ROTB)|Cheetor]] ([[Tongayi Chirisa]])
* [[Apelinq (ROTB)|Apelinq]] (David Sobolov)

|h2=[[Terrorcon (ROTB)|Terrorcon]]s / [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]]s|c2=
;Terrorcons
* [[Scourge (ROTB)|Scourge]] ([[Peter Dinklage]])
* [[Nightbird (ROTB)|Nightbird]] ([[Michaela Jaé Rodriguez]])
* [[Battletrap (ROTB)|Battletrap]] (David Sobolov)
* [[Freezer]]

;Predacons
* [[Scorponok (ROTB)|Scorponok]]

|h3=[[Human]]s|c3=
* [[Noah Diaz]] ([[Anthony Ramos]])
* [[Elena Wallace]] ([[Dominique Fishback]])
* [[Breanna Diaz]] ([[Luna Lauren Velez]])
* [[Kris Diaz]] ([[Dean Scott Vasquez]])
* [[Reek]] ([[Tobe Nwigwe]])
* [[Jillian Robertson]] ([[Sarah Stiles]])
* [[Bishop (ROTB)|Bishop]] ([[Aidan Devine]])
* [[Mrs. Greene]] ([[Leni Parker]])
* [[Amaru]] ([[Lucas Huarancca]])
;[[G.I. Joe (team)|G.I. Joe]]
* [[Agent Burke]] ([[Michael Kelly (actor)|Michael Kelly]])

|h4=Others|c4=
* [[Unicron]] ([[Colman Domingo]])
|nonumbering=true
}}

==Continuity notes==
''Rise of the Beasts'' is a direct sequel to 2018's ''[[Bumblebee (film)|Bumblebee]]'' film, taking place seven years after its events, in 1994. The plot of the film has little impact on this one, beyond it being established that the Autobots have been stranded on Earth since arriving at its end. While waiting for Noah to infiltrate the museum, Optimus Prime and Bumblebee have a conversation that alludes Bee's time with [[Charlie Watson]].

More notably, ''Rise of the Beasts'' serves to continue the heated debate among fans that ''Bumblebee'' began over whether or not the ''Transformers'' live-action film series has been rebooted, and is now ignoring the events of the five [[Michael Bay]]-directed movies. Promotion for the film has delivered a lot of fuzzy statements and mixed-messaging, but the film has been referred to (quite adamantly, on the part of producer [[Lorenzo di Bonaventura]]) as a prequel to the [[Transformers (film)|2007 film]] several times. Either way, it's pretty clear the decision to set the film in 1994 was one primarily made to avoid having to directly deal with the timeframe of the Bay movies in any capacity.

For what it's worth, the film takes some steps to preserve the broad continuity of at least the first Bay film; the Transwarp Key's energy is explicitly stated to operate on a frequency that humans cannot perceive, meaning that they literally cannot ''see'' the huge sky-beam or the portal. As such, the film ends with the general population of Earth (beyond secret forces within the US government) still entirely unaware of the Transformers' existence, as was the case when the 2007 film began. As the time-gap between these "prequels" and the first movie narrows, though, it becomes increasingly difficult to imagine them fitting together without a lot of hand-waving away of specific details, unless future movies actually start making active attempts to address this.

In terms of active contradictions to established continuity, ''Rise of the Beasts'' appears to take the same approach as ''Bumblebee'' and ignores the events of the final Bay film, 2017's ''[[Transformers: The Last Knight (film)|The Last Knight]]'', by depicting Unicron as a separate planet, rather than the Earth itself, as he appeared in that film. However, it's probably important to note that the film lightly implies that the Maximals are time-travellers from the future (see "Transformers references" for more details), which would mean that the Unicron who appears in this film is also from the future. Thus it ''could'' be argued that his appearance here doesn't technically contradict ''The Last Knight''—but of course, that would mean he was trying to eat his own past self.

==Transformers references==
*The Maximals are broadly depicted the same as they were in the ''[[Beast Wars: Transformers (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]'' cartoon: as a "highly-advanced race" of beast-mode Transformers who use transwarp technology to travel to other planets and interact with their native species, whose travels bring them to ancient Earth. Steven Caple Jr. has noted that earlier drafts of the screenplay explicitly depicted the Maximals as time-travellers from the future, as they were in the cartoon, and while the concept is so toned down for the finished movie that it probably won't even occur to general audiences, several references to the idea are still made on-screen. Transwarp technology is stated to open portals in time as well as space; Airazor states that the Maximals are "from both [the Autobots'] past and future"; and Optimus Primal says that he is named after the "legendary" Optimus Prime, which all combine to suggest that the Maximals originate from the future.
*The idea of the Maximals hailing from a [[Jungle Planet (colony)|jungle planet]] originates in [[IDW Publishing]]'s comic books, which depicted many ''Beast Wars'' characters as the residents of the planet Eukaris. The planet is implied to be one of many colonised by Transformers in ages past using space bridges generated by the Transwarp Key, before the planets became separated and the key "lost." This concept of great era of Cybertronian expansion that led to the foundation of lost colonies on other planets where Cybertronian life evolved in new and different directions dates back to 2005's [[Transformers: Cybertron (cartoon)|''Cybertron'' cartoon]], and became a recurring element in ''Transformers'' series in the 2010s and beyond after it was incorporated into the lore of the [[Aligned continuity family|Aligned continuity]].
*Unicron's armies being named the "Terrorcons" hearkens back to both 2004's ''[[Transformers: Energon (franchise)|Energon]]'' and 2010's ''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Prime]]'', which both featured the power of Unicron being used to create armies of warriors known as Terrorcons.
*Though not identified by name onscreen, Unicron's army includes multiple generic duplicates of a robotic scorpion identified by the movie toyline as "Scorponok." Though not necessarily a reference, the idea of "Scorponok" being a kind of mass-produced "species" of robots has recently been seen in the [[Transformers: War for Cybertron Trilogy (cartoon)|''War for Cybertron'' cartoon]], where both [[Scorponok (G1)|Generation 1 Scorponok]] ''and'' [[Scorponok (BW)|''Beast Wars'' Scorponok]] were treated this way.
*Scourge combines aspects of both [[Scourge (G1)|Generation 1 Scourge]] and [[Scourge (RID)|''Robots in Disguise'' Scourge]]; he's a herald of Unicron like G1 Scourge, and transforms into a black truck like ''RID'' Scourge. The various insignia he wears as trophies include the symbols of the [[Decepticon]]s, [[Autobot]]s, [[Maximal]]s, [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]]s, [[Terrorcon (ROTB)|Terrorcon]]s, [[Mercenary|Mercenaries]] and [[Wreckers]].
*The symbols Elena studies are Maximal [[Cybertronix]], from the ''Beast Wars'' cartoon. They don't translate to anything specific; the access code Elena assembles simply reads "XCB."
*When proposing different alternate modes to Noah, Mirage briefly turns into an F1 car, a reference to [[Mirage (G1)|his Generation 1 counterpart]]'s alternate mode. He also turns into a Laborghini Countach, which was just a really cool, sexy car, but also famous in ''Transformers'' lore for being the alternate mode of [[Sideswipe (G1)|Generation 1 Sideswipe]].
*Mirage is incredulous over the news that musician [[Mark Wahlberg]] is leaving his band, the Funky Bunch, and going into acting—a good-natured jab at the actor's leading role in the earlier ''Transformers'' movies, ''[[Transformers: Age of Extinction (film)|Age of Extinction]]'' and ''The Last Knight''.
*Scourge name-drops [[Primus]] as he taunts Optimus Prime, the first reference to the Transformers' creator god in any of the live-action movies.
*Airazor explains that Unicron imbues his heralds with a "dark energy," which increases his power, but also has a corrupting effect—almost certainly a reference to [[Dark Energon]], the life-energy of Unicron introduced Aligned continuity.
*Unicron psychically tortures Scourge from afar in the same way he did [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] in ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]''.
*When Optimus Primal talks to Optimus Prime about how the Maximals trust the humans, he says there's "[[More than Meets the Eye (disambiguation)|more to them than meets the eye]]" to them.
*In the final battle, when Unicron sends army of Freezers to reinforces his minions on Earth, they make their descent in the form of yellow-and-black orbs, which appears to be a nod to Unicron's [[Mini-Con]] from ''[[Transformers: Armada (franchise)|Armada]]'', the yellow-and-black sphere, [[Dead End (Armada)|Dead End]].
*In a glorious homage to [[Transformers (film)|the 2007 movie]], the musical highlight of "Arrival to Earth" plays as Optimus, Noah, and Primal escape the collapsing transwarp portal's suction.
*[[G.I. Joe (team)|G.I. Joe]] and Transformers have frequently crossed over in comics and the occasional toyline over the years, though this marks the first time the two have co-existed in a feature film.

==Real-life references==
*A tv screen briefly shows news coverage of the {{w| Murder_trial_of_O._J._Simpson#Bronco_chase|O.J. Simpson white Ford Bronco car chase}}, which places the events of the film near June 17th, 1994.
*Throughout the film, Noah and Kris use the codenames "[[Sonic the Hedgehog (character)|Sonic]]" and "{{w|Tails (Sonic the Hedgehog)|Tails}}" (and in one instance, Mirage is referred to as "{{w|Knuckles the Echidna|Knuckles}}"), a nod to the characters from the ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog (video game)|Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' videogame series.
*Kris wears a shirt of the ''Mighty Morphin' [[Power Rangers]]'', another property owned by Hasbro. A poster of said series also appears on his wall.
*Kris is heard playing ''Super Mario Bros.'' on his [[Game Boy]]. However, see "Errors".
*Bumblebee drops various voice lines from famous real-life films throughout the whole movie, including ''[[Spaceballs]]'' and ''{{w| Scarface (1983 film)|Scarface}}.''
*Elena sings the TLC song "{{w|Waterfalls (TLC song)|Waterfalls}}" to herself during the flight to Peru. However, see "Errors".
*When meeting Primal, Elena brings up the {{w|Nazca Lines}}, asking if the Maximals were responsible for creating them. In this case, however, Primal takes no credit for human ingenuity.
*Mirage calls Optimus Primal "{{w|Donkey Kong (character)|Donkey Kong}}".
*At the end of the film, Elena appears on the CBS news program ''[[60 Minutes]]''; host [[Lesley Stahl]] makes a cameo appearance as herself during the segment.
*Mirage quotes the line "I like it a lot" from ''Dumb and Dumber''. However, see "Errors".

==Errors==
*When Scourge kills Apelinq, he welds his Maximal insignia to his right shoulder, but throughout the rest of the film, Apelinq's insignia was gone.
*Though the sound effects and mention of Bowser imply Kris is playing ''Super Mario Bros.'' on his Game Boy, that game wouldn't see a release on the system until 1999's ''[https://www.mariowiki.com/Super_Mario_Bros._Deluxe Super Mario Bros. Deluxe]'' on the Game Boy Color. The only Mario platformers released for Game Boy by that point were the ''Super Mario Land'' games, which featured different antagonists than Bowser.
*Elena sings "Waterfalls" to calm herself down. Assuming the film takes place in the summer, as implied by the aforementioned coverage of the O.J. Simpson chase, it would still be a few months until the November 1994 release of the album ''CrazySexyCool'', which the song first appeared on.
*Similarly, Mirage quotes a line from ''Dumb and Dumber'', a film that would not release until December of 1994.
*[[Transit (ROTB)|Transit]] was listed in the credits, despite his scene being cut from the theatrical release of the film due to test audiences reacting negatively to the dark tone.

==Music==
A score album, ''[[Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (Music from the Motion Picture)]]'', was released alongside the film on June 9, 2023. Paramount also compiled a Spotify Playlist, ''[[Transformers Rise of the Beats]]'', featuring songs that appeared in the film.

==Reception==
{{stub}}

==Development details==

[[File:TRANSFORMERS-2022.jpg|thumb|Why did it take so long?|250px]]

* March 27, 2015 — [[Paramount Pictures]] negotiates with [[Akiva Goldsman]], hiring him to create a "writer's room" with the intention of building a cinematic universe.<ref name="goldsman">[http://deadline.com/2015/03/transformers-akiva-goldsman-paramount-sequels-spinoffs-1201400027/ Paramount Enlisting Akiva Goldsman To Ramp Up 'Transformers' Output] on deadline.com</ref> Goldsman goes on to hire a number of writers over the next few months: [[Steven DeKnight]] (''Daredevil''),<ref>[http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/transformers-cinematic-universe/35696/transformers-cinematic-details-more-writers-over-10-films Transformers cinematic details]</ref> [[Robert Kirkman]] (''The Walking Dead''),<ref name="deadlinewritersroom">[http://deadline.com/2015/05/transformers-writers-robert-kirkman-zak-penn-art-marcum-matt-holloway-jeff-pinkner-1201430601/ 'Transformers' Spinoff & Sequel Scribes Set] on Deadline.com</ref> [[Art Marcum]] and [[Matt Holloway]] (''Iron Man''),<ref name="deadlinewritersroom" /> [[Christina Hodson]] (''Shut In'', ''The Fugitive''),<ref name="hodsonbeer">[http://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/446175-christina-hodson-and-lindsey-beer-join-transformers-writing-team Christina Hodson and Lindsey Beer Join the Transformers Writing Team]</ref> [[Lindsey Beer]] (''Dig''),<ref name="hodsonbeer" /> [[Zak Penn]] (''Pacific Rim 2''),<ref name="deadlinewritersroom" /> [[Jeff Pinkner]] (''The Amazing Spider-Man 2'', ''Lost''),<ref name="deadlinewritersroom" /> [[Andrew Barrer]] and [[Gabriel Ferrari]] (''Ant-Man''),<ref name="barrerferrari">[http://deadline.com/2015/05/transformers-ant-man-andrew-barrer-gabriel-ferrari-cybertron-1201433402/ 'Ant-Man' Scribes Andrew Barrer & Gabriel Ferrari Join 'Transformers' Writers Room] on Deadline</ref> [[Ken Nolan]] (''Black Hawk Down''), and [[Geneva Robertson-Dworet]].<ref name="nolandworet">[http://www.slashfilm.com/transformers-writers-room/ Akiva Goldsman Teases 'Transformers' Franchise Plans]</ref> Involved in the pitching process are [[Steven Spielberg]], [[Michael Bay]], [[Brian Goldner]], [[Lorenzo di Bonaventura]], [[Mark Vahradian]], and [[Don Murphy]].<ref name="deadlinereveal">[http://deadline.com/2015/09/transformers-writers-room-akiva-goldsman-transformers-5-1201531918/ 'Transformers' Writers Room Wraps] on Deadline</ref>
* October 3, 2015 — During his keynote speech at the MIP Junior Conference, [[Allspark (company)|Allspark]]'s [[Stephen J. Davis]] notes that the writing team has come up with film concepts for Transformers 5, 6, 7, and 8.<ref name="stephendaviskeynote">[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_P2fw_DlS4&t=812 Stephen Davis's keynote speech] at MIPJunior.</ref>
* February 12, 2016 — At [[Toy Fair 2016]], Hasbro reveals the projected release date of Transformers 7, along with the dates for the two preceding films.<ref name="toyfairreveal" />
* September 23, 2017 — At Licensing Europe 2017, Hasbro announces Transformers 7 will have an "entirely new, exciting storyline".<ref>[http://news.tfw2005.com/2017/09/23/2019-transformers-movie-feature-entirely-new-storyline-349463 2019 Transformers Movie To Feature An Entirely New Storyline] on TFW2005</ref>
* February 16, 2018 — Hasbro clarifies at [[Toy Fair 2018]] that the film will be a reset of the franchise and has been delayed indefinitely until a new creative team is in place.<ref>[http://news.tfw2005.com/2018/02/16/transformers-cinematic-universe-current-movie-series-rebooted-358641 Transformers Cinematic Universe Is Over: Current Movie Series To Be Rebooted] on TFW2005</ref>
* May 24, 2018 — Paramount drops the film from their release schedule.<ref>[http://collider.com/transformers-7-cancelled/amp/ Paramount Officially Pulls the Next 'Transformers' Sequel from Their Release Date Schedule] on Collider</ref>
* March 15, 2019 — di Bonaventura states a sequel to ''[[Bumblebee (film)|Bumblebee]]'' is in development.<ref>[https://www.seibertron.com/transformers/news/two-sequels-in-transformers-live-action-franchise-confirmed-in-development/43083/ Two Sequels in Transformers Live Action Franchise Confirmed in Development] on Seibertron</ref>
* March 18, 2019 — di Bonaventura claims that the next main ''Transformers'' film will be a reboot closely tied to the ''Bumblebee'' sequel, rather than a direct sequel to ''[[Transformers: The Last Knight (film)|The Last Knight]]''. Either way, Paramount will pick the best script for ''Transformers 7'' and release that first.<ref>[https://www.gamespot.com/articles/bumblebee-producer-says-next-transformers-movie-wi/1100-6465652/ Bumblebee Producer Says Next Transformers Movie Will Be A Reboot] on GameSpot</ref>
[[File:Stevencaplejr autobot cast.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Arcee (G1)|KARR]] [[GEEWUN|NOT BIKE!]]]]
[[File:Stevencaplejr terrorcon cast.jpg|thumb|250px|Actually, [[Megatron_(Movie)#Dark_of_the_Moon_film|not the first time]] The Transformers meet {{w|Mad Max|Mad Max}}...]]
* January 27, 2020 — Variety reports two ''Transformers'' films are being penned, to be produced simultaneously: one written by [[James Vanderbilt]], another to be written by [[Joby Harold]].<ref>[https://variety.com/2020/film/news/transformers-franchise-revamp-bumblebee-james-vanderbilt-joby-harold-1203482496/ ‘Transformers’ Franchise Gets a Revamp With Two Separate Films in the Works] on Variety</ref> Deadline reports that Vanderbilt's script is for a spin-off film based on ''[[Beast Wars: Transformers (franchise)|Beast Wars]]'', while Harold's script continues the story from the ''Bumblebee'' film.<ref>[https://deadline.com/2020/01/transformers-movies-paramount-1202843234/ Dual ‘Transformers’ Movies In The Works At Paramount] on Deadline</ref>
* May 2, 2020 — [[Hasbro]] CEO [[Brian Goldner]] confirms that a new Transformers live-action movie is slated to release on [[June 24]], 2022. However, only one between Harold's ''Bumblebee'' sequel and Vanderbilt's ''Beast Wars'' film will make it to production first.
* August 21, 2020 — New Republic Pictures is announced as a new co-financier for Paramount in a ten picture deal in the wake of the success of 2019's ''Rocketman''.<ref>[https://deadline.com/2020/08/paramount-pictures-new-republic-pictures-10-picture-cofinancing-deal-top-gun-maverick-1203018250/ New Republic Pictures Signs 10-Pic Co-Fi Deal With Paramount Pictures; ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Among Films] on Deadline</ref>
* November 16, 2020 — [[Steven Caple Jr.]] is announced as the director.<ref>[https://deadline.com/2020/11/transformers-director-steven-caple-jr-1234613830/ Transformers’: ‘Creed 2’ Director Steven Caple Jr. Tapped To Direct Next Installment In Paramount And Hasbro Franchise] on Deadline</ref>
* April 1, 2021 — [[Anthony Ramos]] is in talks for a starring role.<ref>[https://collider.com/transformers-7-cast-anthony-ramos/ Exclusive: Anthony Ramos in Talks to Star in New 'Transformers' Movie] at Collider</ref>
* April 29, 2021 — [[Dominique Fishback]] is in final negotiations to star in the film.<ref>[https://deadline.com/2021/04/transformers-dominique-fishback-anthony-ramos-paramount-eone-and-hasbro-franchise-1234746855/ 'Transformers': Dominique Fishback Lands Lead Role Opposite Anthony Ramos In Next Installment For The Paramount Franchise] on Deadline</ref>
* June 13, 2021 — A casting call sheet for filming in Montreal reveals that the film is set in [[1992]].<ref>[https://www.transformersfr.com/t5190p250-parlons-des-films-transformers-a-venir#190206 Rumeur ― le "7ème Film Transformers en prise de vue réelle" se déroulerait en 1992] on transformersfr.com</ref>
* June 22, 2021 — A Paramount virtual event is held in which the movie's title, premise, and few of the characters and cast are unveiled (revealing it to be both the ''Bumblebee'' and ''Beast Wars'' films in one).<ref>{{citesocial|quote=Currently attending a Paramount virtual event about the next #Transformers film. Report to follow!|link=https://twitter.com/search?q=(from%3ABWTF_Ben)%20until%3A2021-06-23%20since%3A2021-06-22|name=Ben Yee|site=Twitter|year=2021|month=06|day=22}}</ref><ref>{{citesocial|link=https://bwtf.com/news/rise-of-the-beasts-character-descriptions|name=Ben Yee|site=BWTF|title=Movie News: "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts" Character Descriptions|year=2021|month=06|day=22}}</ref> The film's logo and official premise are also unveiled on official Transformers social media accounts.<ref>{{citesocial|quote=The battle on Earth is no longer just between Autobots and Decepticons… Maximals, Predacons, and Terrorcons join Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, in theatres June 24, 2022.|link=https://twitter.com/transformers/status/1407422768602181632|name=@transformers|site=Twitter|year=2021|month=06|day=22}}</ref>
* June 28, 2021 — [[Ron Perlman]] is announced to be reprising his role as Optimus Primal from ''[[Transformers: Power of the Primes (cartoon)|Power of the Primes]]''. [[Darnell Metayer]] and [[Josh Peters]] are confirmed as writers, inspired by Joby Harold's earlier draft.<ref>{{citesocial|quote='''Ron Perlman''' has been tapped to voice Optimus Primal in '''''Transformers: Rise of the Beasts''''', Collider has exclusively learned. [...] ''Rise of the Beasts'' will be led by rising stars '''Anthony Ramos''' (''In the Heights'') and '''Dominique Fishback''' (''Judas and the Black Messiah''), and '''Steven Caple Jr.''' (''Creed II'') is directing from a script by '''Darnell Metayer''' and '''Josh Peters''', who worked off an earlier draft by '''Joby Harold'''.|link=https://collider.com/ron-perlman-optimus-primal-voice-transformers-7-rise-of-the-beasts/|name=Jeff Sneider|site=Collider|title=Exclusive: 'Transformers: Rise of the Beasts' Adds Ron Perlman as Voice of Optimus Primal|year=2021|month=06|day=28}}</ref>
* July 11, 2021 — Rapper [[Tobe Nwigwe]] announces on Instagram that he's been cast in the movie.<ref>[https://preview.houstonchronicle.com/music/houston-s-tobe-nwigwe-earns-emmy-nom-16317174 Houston’s Tobe Nwigwe earns Emmy nom, 'Transformers' role] from the Houston Chronicle</ref>
* October 6, 2021 — Caple Jr. reveals the vehicle modes for the Autobot and Terrorcon cast through his Instagram account.<ref>{{citesocial|quote=The squad is out…|link=https://www.instagram.com/p/CUsm_wyLory/|name=Steven Caple Jr.|site=Instagram|year=2021|month=10|day=06}}</ref>
* October 20, 2021 — Filming is completed.<ref>{{citesocial|quote=That’s a wrap 🎬|link=https://www.instagram.com/p/CVOw5z2r9TP/|name=Steven Caple Jr.|site=Instagram|year=2021|month=10|day=20}}</ref>
* October 21, 2021 — Cuscopolita reports on the vehicles with the film's Peru crew, confirming the unidentified vehicles as [[Wheeljack (Movie)|Wheeljack]] and [[Battletrap (ROTB)|Battletrap]].<ref>{{citesocial|link=https://www.facebook.com/cuscopolitamagazine/videos/1941112319403899|name=Cuscopolita|site=Facebook|title=Exclusiva con los Transformers|year=2021|month=10|day=20}}</ref>
* October 22, 2021 — Ramos makes a guest appearance on [[Hasbro Pulse Con 2021]], confirming Cheetor, his favorite ''Beast Wars'' character, will be in the film.<ref>{{citesocial|quote=I am a ''Transformers'' fan, ''Beast Wars'' fan, Cheetor is my #1 favorite of all time, so it's dope to have Cheetor, to be in this movie with Cheetor, it's gonna be crazy.|link=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjtxJqrv-bI&t=6051s|name=Anthony Ramos|site=YouTube|title=Hasbro PulseCon 2021 - DAY ONE|year=2021|month=10|day=22}}</ref>
* November 10, 2021 — Paramount announces the film has been delayed to [[June 9]], [[2023]].<ref name="2023release">{{citesocial|quote=Transformers: Rise of the Beasts has moved back a year and will now bow June 9, 2023. It previously was slated for June 24, 2022.|link=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/star-trek-transformers-movie-release-date-1235045937/|name=Aaron Couch|site=The Hollywood Reporter|title=‘Star Trek,’ ‘Transformers’ Movies Pushed Back at Paramount|year=2021|month=11|day=10}}</ref>
* February 15, 2022 — Paramount confirms that ''Rise of the Beasts'' will be the first entry in a trilogy of films.<ref>{{citesocial|quote=Transformers: Rise of the Beasts will be released theatrically in 2023 and is the first of three new installments. A new animated series from @Nickelodeon arrives this fall. And in 2024, the franchise expands further with a CG animated Transformers theatrical film. #ParamountPlus|link=https://twitter.com/paramountplus/status/1493706271207292928|name=Paramount+|site=Twitter|year=2022|month=02|day=15}}</ref>
* October 11, 2022 — Caple Jr. reveals through Instagram that [[Pete Davidson]] is the voice of Mirage, and [[Michelle Yeoh]] is the voice of Airazor.<ref>{{citesocial|quote=Sneak peek of Pete voicing Mirage & @michelleyeoh_official blessing us as the voice of Air Razor|link=https://www.instagram.com/p/Cjlx3PPPC_J/|name=Steven Caple Jr.|site=Instagram|year=2022|month=10|day=11}}</ref>
* October 21, 2022 — [[Tobe Nwigwe]] states on an Instagram post that they are doing some re-shoots for ''Rise of the Beasts'', including featuring his character in additional scenes.<ref>{{citesocial|quote=The head people from ''Transformers'' said I did so good in my part they wanna add me to some more scenes. So I gotta go shoot some more stuff for ''Transformers''.|link=https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cj9PnevsVb1/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY|name=Tobe Nwigwe|site=Instagram|year=2022|month=10|day=21}}</ref>
[[File:ROTBTeaserPoster.jpg|thumb|250px|right]]
* December 1, 2022 — The [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWWDskI46Js official teaser trailer] is released by Paramount Pictures in conjunction with São Paulo's CCXP convention, giving audiences a first glimpse of the film and its various characters, including Mirage, Arcee, Scourge and the Maximals. Multiple voice cast members are also announced.<ref>[https://deadline.com/2022/12/transformers-rise-of-the-beasts-peter-dinklage-liza-koshy-john-dimaggio-cast-1235186104/]</ref>
* December 2, 2022 — [[Jongnic Bontemps]] is announced as the film's score composer. <ref>[http://filmmusicreporter.com/2022/12/02/jongnic-bontemps-to-compose-music-for-steven-caple-jr-s-transformers-rise-of-the-beasts/]</ref>
* December 16, 2022 — Caple Jr. shares a clip of Peter Cullen performing on his Instagram account.<ref>{{citesocial|quote=🐐|link=https://www.instagram.com/p/CmPM80yPcsP/|name=Steven Caple Jr.|site=Instagram|year=2022|month=12|day=16}}</ref>
* December 26, 2022 — Optimus Prime and Optimus Primal make a "guest" appearance on the 2022 [[Nickelodeon]] Nickmas NFL game, showcasing both modes and their transformations.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5X0F_AvY8Q YouTube upload] of a recording for Optimus Prime and Optimus Primal on the 2022 Nickmas NFL game</ref>
* January 31, 2023 — [[Sam Smith]] reveals toy concept art for a new character from the film, [[Freezer]].<ref>https://www.instagram.com/p/CoFlXXNOly1/</ref>
* February 12, 2023 — Paramount airs a 30-second TV spot detailing Mirage's Porsche 911 vehicle mode for Super Bowl LVII in collaboration with Porsche.<ref>[https://deadline.com/2023/02/2023-super-bowl-movie-trailers-the-flash-fast-x-transformers-ant-man-expected-1235247160/ Super Bowl Movie Trailer Spots Will Include ‘The Flash’, ‘Fast X’, ‘Transformers’ & ‘Ant-Man’ — Deadline]</ref>
* April 2, 2023 — During the 2023 NCAA Division I Men’s Final Four on CBS, Paramount aired a first-of-its-kind mixed reality TV spot that showed off Optimus Prime and Optimus Primal appearing on a 90s basketball court that transformed from the court the actual basketball match was being played on. A few brief clips from the first trailer were also shown. <ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeeIfpbUAHg]</ref>
* April 6, 2023 — Actor [[Tongayi Chirisa]] announces on Instagram that he is the voice of Cheetor.<ref>{{citesocial|quote=So there is a story to this!!! Per the usual standard .. I had to sign an NDA, so I had NO IDEA what I was reading for.. it was only when I was in the booth to do my voice over that it dawned on me that I was reading for TRANSFORMERS Like what!!!🤯🤯🤯🤯 I totally geeked out in the moment.. Man, to say this is mad exciting is an understatement... So thankful. So honored, so blessed!!!! Massive shout out and THANK YOU to @stevencaplejr for putting your boi on! Appreciate you, fam!!! @transformersmovie..🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 IT WAS ALL A DREAM!!!! Welcome, y'all. I am your transformer #CHEETOR!!!! Let's goooo!!!!!! #NdezvaMwari #Yeshua #smallbeginnings #ontherise|link=https://www.instagram.com/p/Cqs_PQ1J_s6/|name=Tongayi Chirisa|site=Instagram|year=2023|month=04|day=06}}</ref>
* April 14, 2023 — To promote the film, Optimus Prime introduces Tobe Nwigwe's performance of "[[On My Soul]]" at {{w|Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival|Coachella}}.<ref>{{citesocial|quote=Calling all Autobots. @TobeNwigwe and #OptimusPrime have rolled out to #Coachella. #Transformers #RiseOfTheBeasts|link=https://twitter.com/transformers/status/1647069845731803136|name=Transformers|site=Twitter|year=2022|month=04|day=14}}</ref>
* April 27, 2023 — The [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itnqEauWQZM official trailer] is released by Paramount Pictures, revealing more of the movie and Unicron's role in the plot, as well as delivering a first, brief look at the Predacons.
* May 6, 2023 — The [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zxore0Gxwpc first clip] was showcased at the 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards, showing the Autobots' first interaction with the Maximals.
* May 12, 2023 — The website Puliwood reveals the film's Hungarian dub cast...including the voice of [[Apelinq (ROTB)|Apelinq]], a character that had not yet been announced to be appearing in the film.<ref>[https://www.puliwood.hu/ismertetok/exkluziv-ilyen-szinkronhangokkal-jon-a-transformers-a-fenevadak-kora-325900.html EXKLUZÍV: ilyen szinkronhangokkal jön a Transformers: A fenevadak kora]</ref>
* May 27, 2023 — The film's world premiere is held at Marina Bay Sands in [[Singapore]].
* June 5, 2023 — David Sobolov confirms on Instagram that he is also voicing Apelinq in the film.<ref>{{citesocial|link=https://www.instagram.com/p/CtIhCcwu4Ld/|quote=#transformers #riseofthebeasts fans… I just saw our epic premiere in Brooklyn! Tonight, I’m excited to reveal that I am the voice… of Apelinq!|name=David Sobolov|site=Twitter|year=2023|month=06|day=05}}</ref>
{{--}}

===Changes before, during, and after production===
* A Decepticon named [[Transit (ROTB)|Transit]] was an character who was planned to appear early in the film, dispatched from a Decepticon-controlled Cybertron to kill Optimus Prime, before himself being killed by Optimus and dumped into the Hudson River alongside numerous other Decepticons who have tried to do the same in the past few years. [[Steven Caple Jr.]] has indicated that the visual effects for much of the sequence were completed prior to its removal—a result of test audiences finding it too dark—and that he intends to release it as a deleted scene via the film's home media release or otherwise.<ref>{{citesocial|quote=One was this Decepticon scene, Transit, that I've been talking about, because Optimus Prime fights Transit at the beginning of the movie—or at least he ''used'' to—and you find out that Optimus Prime wants to go home. That's all he wants to do, and Cybertron's in deep trouble, and this guy Transit was telling him that "we're just here to kill you", AKA "Cybertron's already ours." And it was a really epic fight scene, and then you saw Optimus Prime dump his body in the Hudson River, and all these Decepticons are dead, and you see he's been hunting for the last few years.|link=https://twitter.com/colliderfrosty/status/1666216854996791298|name=Steven Caple Jr. in a Collider interview|site=Twitter|year=2023|month=6|day=6|(defunct=)}}</ref> The entertainment press has reported that Transit was voiced by [[John DiMaggio]] for his removed appearance in the film.<ref>[https://ew.com/movies/transformers-rise-of-the-beasts-everything-we-know/ "Everything we know about Transformers: Rise of the Beasts"] on Entertainment Weekly</ref> Despite not appearing in the final film, DiMaggio is still credited as Transit.
{{--}}

==Notes==
* In a first for the franchise, the lead human actors, multiple writers, the composer, and the director are all people of color.
* During the production of the film, Ramos had to acquire a driver's license at Caple Jr.'s behest.<ref>[https://www.buzzfeed.com/joyannjeffrey/anthony-ramos-transformers-drivers-license Anthony Ramos Had To Quickly Get His Driver's License While Filming "Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts"]</ref>
* This is the first movie in the series not to be worked on by [[Industrial Light & Magic| Industrial Light & Magic]]; this time around the CG effects were done by [[Moving Picture Company]] and [[WetaFX]].
* During an interview with a fan, voice actor David Sobolov revealed that Caple Jr. would create storyboards using Transformers toys. Awesome!<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdsfclO5etE&t=1106 "ROTB UNICRON IS THRILLING!" | Interview with DAVID SOBOLOV (Rhinox + Battletrap)! - YouTube]</ref>
* According to Caple Jr., Optimus's unmasked face was modeled after Peter Cullen's.
* This is the first live-action film to not feature the Decepticons in any capacity.

===Foreign names===
* ''Japanese:'' '''''Transformers/Beast Kakusei''''' (トランスフォーマー/ビースト覚醒 ''Toransufōmā Bīsuto Kakusei'', "Transformers: Beast Awakening")
* ''Cantonese:'' '''''Bin<sup>3</sup>jing<sup>4</sup> Gam<sup>1</sup>gong<sup>1</sup>: Kwong<sup>4</sup>sau<sup>3</sup> Gwat<sup>6</sup>hei<sup>2</sup>''''' (變形金剛：狂獸崛起, "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts")
* ''French:'' '''''Transformers: Rise of the Beasts''''' (France), '''''Transformers : Le Réveil des Bêtes''''' (Canada, "Transformers: The Awakening of the Beasts")
* ''German:'' '''''Transformers: Aufstieg der Bestien''''' ("Transformers: Rise of the Beasts")
* ''Hungarian:'' '''''Transformers: A fenevadak kora''''' ("Transformers: The Age of the Beasts")
* ''Italian: '' '''''Transformers: Il Risveglio''''' ("Transformers: The Awakening")
* ''Mandarin:'' '''''Biànxíng Jīngāng: Wàn Shòu Juéqǐ''''' (Taiwan, 變形金剛：萬獸崛起, "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts"), '''''Biànxíng Jīngāng: Chāonéng Yǒngshì Juéqǐ''''' (Mainland China, 变形金刚：超能勇士崛起, "Transformers: Rise of the Beast Wars")
* ''Portuguese:'' '''''Transformers: O Despertar das Feras''''' (Brazil, "Transformers: The Awakening of the Beasts")
* ''Spanish:'' '''''Transformers: El Despertar de las Bestias''''' ("Transformers: The Awakening of the Beasts")
* ''Russian:'' '''''Трансформеры: Восхождение Звероботов''''' ("Transformers: Rise of the Beastbots")
* ''Ukrainian:'' '''''Трансформери: Час Звіроботів''''' ("Transformers: Time of the Beastbots")

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

[[Category:Real world films]]
[[Category:Rise of the Beasts| ]]
[[Category:Rise of the Beasts media]]

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (film)

2023-06-10T17:38:25Z

96megatron: /* Notes */

{{nav-rotb}}
{{movie|
|seriess=[[Live-action film series]]
|prev=Bumblebee (film)
|next=
|title=''Transformers: Rise of the Beasts''
|image=Transformers Rise of the Beasts Theatrical Poster.jpeg
|caption=So for now, let the battle be here, on this strange, primitive world. And let it be called... Beast Wars!
|production companies=[[Skydance Media]]<br>[[Entertainment One]]<br>[[Lorenzo di Bonaventura|di Bonaventura Pictures]]<br>[[New Republic Pictures]]<br>[[Michael Bay|Bay Films]]
|distributor=[[Paramount Pictures]]
|executive producer=[[Steven Spielberg]]<br>[[Brian Goldner]]<br>[[Brian Oliver]]<br>[[Bradley J. Fischer]]<br>[[Valerii An]]<br>[[David Ellison]]<br>[[Dana Goldberg]]<br>[[Don Granger]]
|associate producer=[[Lorenzo di Bonaventura]]<br>[[Tom DeSanto]]<br>[[Don Murphy]]<br>[[Michael Bay]]<br>[[Mark Vahradian]]<br>[[Duncan Henderson]]
|story by=[[Joby Harold]]
|screenplay by=[[Joby Harold]]<br>[[Darnell Metayer]]<br>[[Josh Peters]]<br>[[Erich Hoeber]]<br>[[Jon Hoeber]]
|directed by=[[Steven Caple Jr.]]
|cinematography by=[[Enrique Chediak]]
|edited by=[[Stuart Levy]]<br>[[Brett M. Reed]]
|music by=[[Jongnic Bontemps]]
|release date=[[June 9]], [[2023]]
|continuity=[[Live-action film series]]
|runtime=117 minutes <ref>https://collider.com/transformers-rise-of-the-beasts-runtime/</ref>
|budget=$200 million
|box office=
}}
'''''Transformers: Rise of the Beasts''''' is the seventh film in the [[live-action film series]], serving both as a sequel to ''[[Bumblebee (film)|Bumblebee]]'' and a tribute to ''[[Beast Wars: Transformers (franchise)|Beast Wars]]''. The film is directed by [[Steven Caple Jr.]] and written by [[Joby Harold]], [[Darnell Metayer]], [[Josh Peters]], [[Erich Hoeber]], and [[Jon Hoeber]]. Originally expected to be released on [[June 28]], [[2019]],<ref name="toyfairreveal">[http://news.tfw2005.com/2016/02/12/transformers-5-transformers-6-bumblebee-spin-off-movie-revealed-309503 Transformers 5, Transformers 6 And Bumblebee Spin-Off Movie Revealed] ToyFair news at TFW2005</ref> the film was delayed multiple times until finally being released on [[June 9]], [[2023]].<ref name="2023release"/>

==Synopsis==
{{stub}}

==Cast==
{{featuredcharacters
|h1=[[Autobot]]s / [[Maximal]]s|c1=
;Autobots
* [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] ([[Peter Cullen]])
* [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]]
* [[Mirage (Movie)|Mirage]] ([[Pete Davidson]])
* [[Arcee (Movie)|Arcee]] ([[Liza Koshy]])
* [[Wheeljack (Movie)|Wheeljack]] ([[Cristo Fernández]])
* [[Stratosphere]] ([[John DiMaggio]])

;Maximals
* [[Optimus Primal (ROTB)|Optimus Primal]] ([[Ron Perlman]])
* [[Airazor (ROTB)|Airazor]] ([[Michelle Yeoh]])
* [[Rhinox (ROTB)|Rhinox]] ([[David Sobolov]])
* [[Cheetor (ROTB)|Cheetor]] ([[Tongayi Chirisa]])
* [[Apelinq (ROTB)|Apelinq]] (David Sobolov)

|h2=[[Terrorcon (ROTB)|Terrorcon]]s / [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]]s|c2=
;Terrorcons
* [[Scourge (ROTB)|Scourge]] ([[Peter Dinklage]])
* [[Nightbird (ROTB)|Nightbird]] ([[Michaela Jaé Rodriguez]])
* [[Battletrap (ROTB)|Battletrap]] (David Sobolov)
* [[Freezer]]

;Predacons
* [[Scorponok (ROTB)|Scorponok]]

|h3=[[Human]]s|c3=
* [[Noah Diaz]] ([[Anthony Ramos]])
* [[Elena Wallace]] ([[Dominique Fishback]])
* [[Breanna Diaz]] ([[Luna Lauren Velez]])
* [[Kris Diaz]] ([[Dean Scott Vasquez]])
* [[Reek]] ([[Tobe Nwigwe]])
* [[Jillian Robertson]] ([[Sarah Stiles]])
* [[Bishop (ROTB)|Bishop]] ([[Aidan Devine]])
* [[Mrs. Greene]] ([[Leni Parker]])
* [[Amaru]] ([[Lucas Huarancca]])
;[[G.I. Joe (team)|G.I. Joe]]
* [[Agent Burke]] ([[Michael Kelly (actor)|Michael Kelly]])

|h4=Others|c4=
* [[Unicron]] ([[Colman Domingo]])
|nonumbering=true
}}

==Continuity notes==
''Rise of the Beasts'' is a direct sequel to 2018's ''[[Bumblebee (film)|Bumblebee]]'' film, taking place seven years after its events, in 1994. The plot of the film has little impact on this one, beyond it being established that the Autobots have been stranded on Earth since arriving at its end. While waiting for Noah to infiltrate the museum, Optimus Prime and Bumblebee have a conversation that alludes Bee's time with [[Charlie Watson]].

More notably, ''Rise of the Beasts'' serves to continue the heated debate among fans that ''Bumblebee'' began over whether or not the ''Transformers'' live-action film series has been rebooted, and is now ignoring the events of the five [[Michael Bay]]-directed movies. Promotion for the film has delivered a lot of fuzzy statements and mixed-messaging, but the film has been referred to (quite adamantly, on the part of producer [[Lorenzo di Bonaventura]]) as a prequel to the [[Transformers (film)|2007 film]] several times. Either way, it's pretty clear the decision to set the film in 1994 was one primarily made to avoid having to directly deal with the timeframe of the Bay movies in any capacity.

For what it's worth, the film takes some steps to preserve the broad continuity of at least the first Bay film; the Transwarp Key's energy is explicitly stated to operate on a frequency that humans cannot perceive, meaning that they literally cannot ''see'' the huge sky-beam or the portal. As such, the film ends with the general population of Earth (beyond secret forces within the US government) still entirely unaware of the Transformers' existence, as was the case when the 2007 film began. As the time-gap between these "prequels" and the first movie narrows, though, it becomes increasingly difficult to imagine them fitting together without a lot of hand-waving away of specific details, unless future movies actually start making active attempts to address this.

In terms of active contradictions to established continuity, ''Rise of the Beasts'' appears to take the same approach as ''Bumblebee'' and ignores the events of the final Bay film, 2017's ''[[Transformers: The Last Knight (film)|The Last Knight]]'', by depicting Unicron as a separate planet, rather than the Earth itself, as he appeared in that film. However, it's probably important to note that the film lightly implies that the Maximals are time-travellers from the future (see "Transformers references" for more details), which would mean that the Unicron who appears in this film is also from the future. Thus it ''could'' be argued that his appearance here doesn't technically contradict ''The Last Knight''—but of course, that would mean he was trying to eat his own past self.

==Transformers references==
*The Maximals are broadly depicted the same as they were in the ''[[Beast Wars: Transformers (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]'' cartoon: as a "highly-advanced race" of beast-mode Transformers who use transwarp technology to travel to other planets and interact with their native species, whose travels bring them to ancient Earth. Steven Caple Jr. has noted that earlier drafts of the screenplay explicitly depicted the Maximals as time-travellers from the future, as they were in the cartoon, and while the concept is so toned down for the finished movie that it probably won't even occur to general audiences, several references to the idea are still made on-screen. Transwarp technology is stated to open portals in time as well as space; Airazor states that the Maximals are "from both [the Autobots'] past and future"; and Optimus Primal says that he is named after the "legendary" Optimus Prime, which all combine to suggest that the Maximals originate from the future.
*The idea of the Maximals hailing from a [[Jungle Planet (colony)|jungle planet]] originates in [[IDW Publishing]]'s comic books, which depicted many ''Beast Wars'' characters as the residents of the planet Eukaris. The planet is implied to be one of many colonised by Transformers in ages past using space bridges generated by the Transwarp Key, before the planets became separated and the key "lost." This concept of great era of Cybertronian expansion that led to the foundation of lost colonies on other planets where Cybertronian life evolved in new and different directions dates back to 2005's [[Transformers: Cybertron (cartoon)|''Cybertron'' cartoon]], and became a recurring element in ''Transformers'' series in the 2010s and beyond after it was incorporated into the lore of the [[Aligned continuity family|Aligned continuity]].
*Unicron's armies being named the "Terrorcons" hearkens back to both 2004's ''[[Transformers: Energon (franchise)|Energon]]'' and 2010's ''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Prime]]'', which both featured the power of Unicron being used to create armies of warriors known as Terrorcons.
*Though not identified by name onscreen, Unicron's army includes multiple generic duplicates of a robotic scorpion identified by the movie toyline as "Scorponok." Though not necessarily a reference, the idea of "Scorponok" being a kind of mass-produced "species" of robots has recently been seen in the [[Transformers: War for Cybertron Trilogy (cartoon)|''War for Cybertron'' cartoon]], where both [[Scorponok (G1)|Generation 1 Scorponok]] ''and'' [[Scorponok (BW)|''Beast Wars'' Scorponok]] were treated this way.
*Scourge combines aspects of both [[Scourge (G1)|Generation 1 Scourge]] and [[Scourge (RID)|''Robots in Disguise'' Scourge]]; he's a herald of Unicron like G1 Scourge, and transforms into a black truck like ''RID'' Scourge. The various insignia he wears as trophies include the symbols of the [[Decepticon]]s, [[Autobot]]s, [[Maximal]]s, [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]]s, [[Terrorcon (ROTB)|Terrorcon]]s, [[Mercenary|Mercenaries]] and [[Wreckers]].
*The symbols Elena studies are Maximal [[Cybertronix]], from the ''Beast Wars'' cartoon. They don't translate to anything specific; the access code Elena assembles simply reads "XCB."
*When proposing different alternate modes to Noah, Mirage briefly turns into an F1 car, a reference to [[Mirage (G1)|his Generation 1 counterpart]]'s alternate mode. He also turns into a Laborghini Countach, which was just a really cool, sexy car, but also famous in ''Transformers'' lore for being the alternate mode of [[Sideswipe (G1)|Generation 1 Sideswipe]].
*Mirage is incredulous over the news that musician [[Mark Wahlberg]] is leaving his band, the Funky Bunch, and going into acting—a good-natured jab at the actor's leading role in the earlier ''Transformers'' movies, ''[[Transformers: Age of Extinction (film)|Age of Extinction]]'' and ''The Last Knight''.
*Scourge name-drops [[Primus]] as he taunts Optimus Prime, the first reference to the Transformers' creator god in any of the live-action movies.
*Airazor explains that Unicron imbues his heralds with a "dark energy," which increases his power, but also has a corrupting effect—almost certainly a reference to [[Dark Energon]], the life-energy of Unicron introduced Aligned continuity.
*Unicron psychically tortures Scourge from afar in the same way he did [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] in ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]''.
*When Optimus Primal talks to Optimus Prime about how the Maximals trust the humans, he says there's "[[More than Meets the Eye (disambiguation)|more to them than meets the eye]]" to them.
*In the final battle, when Unicron sends army of Freezers to reinforces his minions on Earth, they make their descent in the form of yellow-and-black orbs, which appears to be a nod to Unicron's [[Mini-Con]] from ''[[Transformers: Armada (franchise)|Armada]]'', the yellow-and-black sphere, [[Dead End (Armada)|Dead End]].
*In a glorious homage to [[Transformers (film)|the 2007 movie]], the musical highlight of "Arrival to Earth" plays as Optimus, Noah, and Primal escape the collapsing transwarp portal's suction.
*[[G.I. Joe (team)|G.I. Joe]] and Transformers have frequently crossed over in comics and the occasional toyline over the years, though this marks the first time the two have co-existed in a feature film.

==Real-life references==
*A tv screen briefly shows news coverage of the {{w| Murder_trial_of_O._J._Simpson#Bronco_chase|O.J. Simpson white Ford Bronco car chase}}, which places the events of the film near June 17th, 1994.
*Throughout the film, Noah and Kris use the codenames "[[Sonic the Hedgehog (character)|Sonic]]" and "{{w|Tails (Sonic the Hedgehog)|Tails}}" (and in one instance, Mirage is referred to as "{{w|Knuckles the Echidna|Knuckles}}"), a nod to the characters from the ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog (video game)|Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' videogame series.
*Kris wears a shirt of the ''Mighty Morphin' [[Power Rangers]]'', another property owned by Hasbro. A poster of said series also appears on his wall.
*Kris is heard playing ''Super Mario Bros.'' on his [[Game Boy]]. However, see "Errors".
*Bumblebee drops various voice lines from famous real-life films throughout the whole movie, including ''[[Spaceballs]]'' and ''{{w| Scarface (1983 film)|Scarface}}.''
*Elena sings the TLC song "{{w|Waterfalls (TLC song)|Waterfalls}}" to herself during the flight to Peru. However, see "Errors".
*When meeting Primal, Elena brings up the {{w|Nazca Lines}}, asking if the Maximals were responsible for creating them. In this case, however, Primal takes no credit for human ingenuity.
*Mirage calls Optimus Primal "{{w|Donkey Kong (character)|Donkey Kong}}".
*At the end of the film, Elena appears on the CBS news program ''[[60 Minutes]]''; host [[Lesley Stahl]] makes a cameo appearance as herself during the segment.
*Mirage quotes the line "I like it a lot" from ''Dumb and Dumber''. However, see "Errors".

==Errors==
*When Scourge kills Apelinq, he welds his Maximal insignia to his right shoulder, but throughout the rest of the film, Apelinq's insignia was gone.
*Though the sound effects and mention of Bowser imply Kris is playing ''Super Mario Bros.'' on his Game Boy, that game wouldn't see a release on the system until 1999's ''[https://www.mariowiki.com/Super_Mario_Bros._Deluxe Super Mario Bros. Deluxe]'' on the Game Boy Color. The only Mario platformers released for Game Boy by that point were the ''Super Mario Land'' games, which featured different antagonists than Bowser.
*Elena sings "Waterfalls" to calm herself down. Assuming the film takes place in the summer, as implied by the aforementioned coverage of the O.J. Simpson chase, it would still be a few months until the November 1994 release of the album ''CrazySexyCool'', which the song first appeared on.
*Similarly, Mirage quotes a line from ''Dumb and Dumber'', a film that would not release until December of 1994.
*[[Transit (ROTB)|Transit]] was listed in the credits, despite his scene being cut from the theatrical release of the film due to test audiences reacting negatively to the dark tone.

==Music==
A score album, ''[[Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (Music from the Motion Picture)]]'', was released alongside the film on June 9, 2023. Paramount also compiled a Spotify Playlist, ''[[Transformers Rise of the Beats]]'', featuring songs that appeared in the film.

==Reception==
{{stub}}

==Development details==

[[File:TRANSFORMERS-2022.jpg|thumb|Why did it take so long?|250px]]

* March 27, 2015 — [[Paramount Pictures]] negotiates with [[Akiva Goldsman]], hiring him to create a "writer's room" with the intention of building a cinematic universe.<ref name="goldsman">[http://deadline.com/2015/03/transformers-akiva-goldsman-paramount-sequels-spinoffs-1201400027/ Paramount Enlisting Akiva Goldsman To Ramp Up 'Transformers' Output] on deadline.com</ref> Goldsman goes on to hire a number of writers over the next few months: [[Steven DeKnight]] (''Daredevil''),<ref>[http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/transformers-cinematic-universe/35696/transformers-cinematic-details-more-writers-over-10-films Transformers cinematic details]</ref> [[Robert Kirkman]] (''The Walking Dead''),<ref name="deadlinewritersroom">[http://deadline.com/2015/05/transformers-writers-robert-kirkman-zak-penn-art-marcum-matt-holloway-jeff-pinkner-1201430601/ 'Transformers' Spinoff & Sequel Scribes Set] on Deadline.com</ref> [[Art Marcum]] and [[Matt Holloway]] (''Iron Man''),<ref name="deadlinewritersroom" /> [[Christina Hodson]] (''Shut In'', ''The Fugitive''),<ref name="hodsonbeer">[http://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/446175-christina-hodson-and-lindsey-beer-join-transformers-writing-team Christina Hodson and Lindsey Beer Join the Transformers Writing Team]</ref> [[Lindsey Beer]] (''Dig''),<ref name="hodsonbeer" /> [[Zak Penn]] (''Pacific Rim 2''),<ref name="deadlinewritersroom" /> [[Jeff Pinkner]] (''The Amazing Spider-Man 2'', ''Lost''),<ref name="deadlinewritersroom" /> [[Andrew Barrer]] and [[Gabriel Ferrari]] (''Ant-Man''),<ref name="barrerferrari">[http://deadline.com/2015/05/transformers-ant-man-andrew-barrer-gabriel-ferrari-cybertron-1201433402/ 'Ant-Man' Scribes Andrew Barrer & Gabriel Ferrari Join 'Transformers' Writers Room] on Deadline</ref> [[Ken Nolan]] (''Black Hawk Down''), and [[Geneva Robertson-Dworet]].<ref name="nolandworet">[http://www.slashfilm.com/transformers-writers-room/ Akiva Goldsman Teases 'Transformers' Franchise Plans]</ref> Involved in the pitching process are [[Steven Spielberg]], [[Michael Bay]], [[Brian Goldner]], [[Lorenzo di Bonaventura]], [[Mark Vahradian]], and [[Don Murphy]].<ref name="deadlinereveal">[http://deadline.com/2015/09/transformers-writers-room-akiva-goldsman-transformers-5-1201531918/ 'Transformers' Writers Room Wraps] on Deadline</ref>
* October 3, 2015 — During his keynote speech at the MIP Junior Conference, [[Allspark (company)|Allspark]]'s [[Stephen J. Davis]] notes that the writing team has come up with film concepts for Transformers 5, 6, 7, and 8.<ref name="stephendaviskeynote">[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_P2fw_DlS4&t=812 Stephen Davis's keynote speech] at MIPJunior.</ref>
* February 12, 2016 — At [[Toy Fair 2016]], Hasbro reveals the projected release date of Transformers 7, along with the dates for the two preceding films.<ref name="toyfairreveal" />
* September 23, 2017 — At Licensing Europe 2017, Hasbro announces Transformers 7 will have an "entirely new, exciting storyline".<ref>[http://news.tfw2005.com/2017/09/23/2019-transformers-movie-feature-entirely-new-storyline-349463 2019 Transformers Movie To Feature An Entirely New Storyline] on TFW2005</ref>
* February 16, 2018 — Hasbro clarifies at [[Toy Fair 2018]] that the film will be a reset of the franchise and has been delayed indefinitely until a new creative team is in place.<ref>[http://news.tfw2005.com/2018/02/16/transformers-cinematic-universe-current-movie-series-rebooted-358641 Transformers Cinematic Universe Is Over: Current Movie Series To Be Rebooted] on TFW2005</ref>
* May 24, 2018 — Paramount drops the film from their release schedule.<ref>[http://collider.com/transformers-7-cancelled/amp/ Paramount Officially Pulls the Next 'Transformers' Sequel from Their Release Date Schedule] on Collider</ref>
* March 15, 2019 — di Bonaventura states a sequel to ''[[Bumblebee (film)|Bumblebee]]'' is in development.<ref>[https://www.seibertron.com/transformers/news/two-sequels-in-transformers-live-action-franchise-confirmed-in-development/43083/ Two Sequels in Transformers Live Action Franchise Confirmed in Development] on Seibertron</ref>
* March 18, 2019 — di Bonaventura claims that the next main ''Transformers'' film will be a reboot closely tied to the ''Bumblebee'' sequel, rather than a direct sequel to ''[[Transformers: The Last Knight (film)|The Last Knight]]''. Either way, Paramount will pick the best script for ''Transformers 7'' and release that first.<ref>[https://www.gamespot.com/articles/bumblebee-producer-says-next-transformers-movie-wi/1100-6465652/ Bumblebee Producer Says Next Transformers Movie Will Be A Reboot] on GameSpot</ref>
[[File:Stevencaplejr autobot cast.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Arcee (G1)|KARR]] [[GEEWUN|NOT BIKE!]]]]
[[File:Stevencaplejr terrorcon cast.jpg|thumb|250px|Actually, [[Megatron_(Movie)#Dark_of_the_Moon_film|not the first time]] The Transformers meet {{w|Mad Max|Mad Max}}...]]
* January 27, 2020 — Variety reports two ''Transformers'' films are being penned, to be produced simultaneously: one written by [[James Vanderbilt]], another to be written by [[Joby Harold]].<ref>[https://variety.com/2020/film/news/transformers-franchise-revamp-bumblebee-james-vanderbilt-joby-harold-1203482496/ ‘Transformers’ Franchise Gets a Revamp With Two Separate Films in the Works] on Variety</ref> Deadline reports that Vanderbilt's script is for a spin-off film based on ''[[Beast Wars: Transformers (franchise)|Beast Wars]]'', while Harold's script continues the story from the ''Bumblebee'' film.<ref>[https://deadline.com/2020/01/transformers-movies-paramount-1202843234/ Dual ‘Transformers’ Movies In The Works At Paramount] on Deadline</ref>
* May 2, 2020 — [[Hasbro]] CEO [[Brian Goldner]] confirms that a new Transformers live-action movie is slated to release on [[June 24]], 2022. However, only one between Harold's ''Bumblebee'' sequel and Vanderbilt's ''Beast Wars'' film will make it to production first.
* August 21, 2020 — New Republic Pictures is announced as a new co-financier for Paramount in a ten picture deal in the wake of the success of 2019's ''Rocketman''.<ref>[https://deadline.com/2020/08/paramount-pictures-new-republic-pictures-10-picture-cofinancing-deal-top-gun-maverick-1203018250/ New Republic Pictures Signs 10-Pic Co-Fi Deal With Paramount Pictures; ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Among Films] on Deadline</ref>
* November 16, 2020 — [[Steven Caple Jr.]] is announced as the director.<ref>[https://deadline.com/2020/11/transformers-director-steven-caple-jr-1234613830/ Transformers’: ‘Creed 2’ Director Steven Caple Jr. Tapped To Direct Next Installment In Paramount And Hasbro Franchise] on Deadline</ref>
* April 1, 2021 — [[Anthony Ramos]] is in talks for a starring role.<ref>[https://collider.com/transformers-7-cast-anthony-ramos/ Exclusive: Anthony Ramos in Talks to Star in New 'Transformers' Movie] at Collider</ref>
* April 29, 2021 — [[Dominique Fishback]] is in final negotiations to star in the film.<ref>[https://deadline.com/2021/04/transformers-dominique-fishback-anthony-ramos-paramount-eone-and-hasbro-franchise-1234746855/ 'Transformers': Dominique Fishback Lands Lead Role Opposite Anthony Ramos In Next Installment For The Paramount Franchise] on Deadline</ref>
* June 13, 2021 — A casting call sheet for filming in Montreal reveals that the film is set in [[1992]].<ref>[https://www.transformersfr.com/t5190p250-parlons-des-films-transformers-a-venir#190206 Rumeur ― le "7ème Film Transformers en prise de vue réelle" se déroulerait en 1992] on transformersfr.com</ref>
* June 22, 2021 — A Paramount virtual event is held in which the movie's title, premise, and few of the characters and cast are unveiled (revealing it to be both the ''Bumblebee'' and ''Beast Wars'' films in one).<ref>{{citesocial|quote=Currently attending a Paramount virtual event about the next #Transformers film. Report to follow!|link=https://twitter.com/search?q=(from%3ABWTF_Ben)%20until%3A2021-06-23%20since%3A2021-06-22|name=Ben Yee|site=Twitter|year=2021|month=06|day=22}}</ref><ref>{{citesocial|link=https://bwtf.com/news/rise-of-the-beasts-character-descriptions|name=Ben Yee|site=BWTF|title=Movie News: "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts" Character Descriptions|year=2021|month=06|day=22}}</ref> The film's logo and official premise are also unveiled on official Transformers social media accounts.<ref>{{citesocial|quote=The battle on Earth is no longer just between Autobots and Decepticons… Maximals, Predacons, and Terrorcons join Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, in theatres June 24, 2022.|link=https://twitter.com/transformers/status/1407422768602181632|name=@transformers|site=Twitter|year=2021|month=06|day=22}}</ref>
* June 28, 2021 — [[Ron Perlman]] is announced to be reprising his role as Optimus Primal from ''[[Transformers: Power of the Primes (cartoon)|Power of the Primes]]''. [[Darnell Metayer]] and [[Josh Peters]] are confirmed as writers, inspired by Joby Harold's earlier draft.<ref>{{citesocial|quote='''Ron Perlman''' has been tapped to voice Optimus Primal in '''''Transformers: Rise of the Beasts''''', Collider has exclusively learned. [...] ''Rise of the Beasts'' will be led by rising stars '''Anthony Ramos''' (''In the Heights'') and '''Dominique Fishback''' (''Judas and the Black Messiah''), and '''Steven Caple Jr.''' (''Creed II'') is directing from a script by '''Darnell Metayer''' and '''Josh Peters''', who worked off an earlier draft by '''Joby Harold'''.|link=https://collider.com/ron-perlman-optimus-primal-voice-transformers-7-rise-of-the-beasts/|name=Jeff Sneider|site=Collider|title=Exclusive: 'Transformers: Rise of the Beasts' Adds Ron Perlman as Voice of Optimus Primal|year=2021|month=06|day=28}}</ref>
* July 11, 2021 — Rapper [[Tobe Nwigwe]] announces on Instagram that he's been cast in the movie.<ref>[https://preview.houstonchronicle.com/music/houston-s-tobe-nwigwe-earns-emmy-nom-16317174 Houston’s Tobe Nwigwe earns Emmy nom, 'Transformers' role] from the Houston Chronicle</ref>
* October 6, 2021 — Caple Jr. reveals the vehicle modes for the Autobot and Terrorcon cast through his Instagram account.<ref>{{citesocial|quote=The squad is out…|link=https://www.instagram.com/p/CUsm_wyLory/|name=Steven Caple Jr.|site=Instagram|year=2021|month=10|day=06}}</ref>
* October 20, 2021 — Filming is completed.<ref>{{citesocial|quote=That’s a wrap 🎬|link=https://www.instagram.com/p/CVOw5z2r9TP/|name=Steven Caple Jr.|site=Instagram|year=2021|month=10|day=20}}</ref>
* October 21, 2021 — Cuscopolita reports on the vehicles with the film's Peru crew, confirming the unidentified vehicles as [[Wheeljack (Movie)|Wheeljack]] and [[Battletrap (ROTB)|Battletrap]].<ref>{{citesocial|link=https://www.facebook.com/cuscopolitamagazine/videos/1941112319403899|name=Cuscopolita|site=Facebook|title=Exclusiva con los Transformers|year=2021|month=10|day=20}}</ref>
* October 22, 2021 — Ramos makes a guest appearance on [[Hasbro Pulse Con 2021]], confirming Cheetor, his favorite ''Beast Wars'' character, will be in the film.<ref>{{citesocial|quote=I am a ''Transformers'' fan, ''Beast Wars'' fan, Cheetor is my #1 favorite of all time, so it's dope to have Cheetor, to be in this movie with Cheetor, it's gonna be crazy.|link=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjtxJqrv-bI&t=6051s|name=Anthony Ramos|site=YouTube|title=Hasbro PulseCon 2021 - DAY ONE|year=2021|month=10|day=22}}</ref>
* November 10, 2021 — Paramount announces the film has been delayed to [[June 9]], [[2023]].<ref name="2023release">{{citesocial|quote=Transformers: Rise of the Beasts has moved back a year and will now bow June 9, 2023. It previously was slated for June 24, 2022.|link=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/star-trek-transformers-movie-release-date-1235045937/|name=Aaron Couch|site=The Hollywood Reporter|title=‘Star Trek,’ ‘Transformers’ Movies Pushed Back at Paramount|year=2021|month=11|day=10}}</ref>
* February 15, 2022 — Paramount confirms that ''Rise of the Beasts'' will be the first entry in a trilogy of films.<ref>{{citesocial|quote=Transformers: Rise of the Beasts will be released theatrically in 2023 and is the first of three new installments. A new animated series from @Nickelodeon arrives this fall. And in 2024, the franchise expands further with a CG animated Transformers theatrical film. #ParamountPlus|link=https://twitter.com/paramountplus/status/1493706271207292928|name=Paramount+|site=Twitter|year=2022|month=02|day=15}}</ref>
* October 11, 2022 — Caple Jr. reveals through Instagram that [[Pete Davidson]] is the voice of Mirage, and [[Michelle Yeoh]] is the voice of Airazor.<ref>{{citesocial|quote=Sneak peek of Pete voicing Mirage & @michelleyeoh_official blessing us as the voice of Air Razor|link=https://www.instagram.com/p/Cjlx3PPPC_J/|name=Steven Caple Jr.|site=Instagram|year=2022|month=10|day=11}}</ref>
* October 21, 2022 — [[Tobe Nwigwe]] states on an Instagram post that they are doing some re-shoots for ''Rise of the Beasts'', including featuring his character in additional scenes.<ref>{{citesocial|quote=The head people from ''Transformers'' said I did so good in my part they wanna add me to some more scenes. So I gotta go shoot some more stuff for ''Transformers''.|link=https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cj9PnevsVb1/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY|name=Tobe Nwigwe|site=Instagram|year=2022|month=10|day=21}}</ref>
[[File:ROTBTeaserPoster.jpg|thumb|250px|right]]
* December 1, 2022 — The [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWWDskI46Js official teaser trailer] is released by Paramount Pictures in conjunction with São Paulo's CCXP convention, giving audiences a first glimpse of the film and its various characters, including Mirage, Arcee, Scourge and the Maximals. Multiple voice cast members are also announced.<ref>[https://deadline.com/2022/12/transformers-rise-of-the-beasts-peter-dinklage-liza-koshy-john-dimaggio-cast-1235186104/]</ref>
* December 2, 2022 — [[Jongnic Bontemps]] is announced as the film's score composer. <ref>[http://filmmusicreporter.com/2022/12/02/jongnic-bontemps-to-compose-music-for-steven-caple-jr-s-transformers-rise-of-the-beasts/]</ref>
* December 16, 2022 — Caple Jr. shares a clip of Peter Cullen performing on his Instagram account.<ref>{{citesocial|quote=🐐|link=https://www.instagram.com/p/CmPM80yPcsP/|name=Steven Caple Jr.|site=Instagram|year=2022|month=12|day=16}}</ref>
* December 26, 2022 — Optimus Prime and Optimus Primal make a "guest" appearance on the 2022 [[Nickelodeon]] Nickmas NFL game, showcasing both modes and their transformations.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5X0F_AvY8Q YouTube upload] of a recording for Optimus Prime and Optimus Primal on the 2022 Nickmas NFL game</ref>
* January 31, 2023 — [[Sam Smith]] reveals toy concept art for a new character from the film, [[Freezer]].<ref>https://www.instagram.com/p/CoFlXXNOly1/</ref>
* February 12, 2023 — Paramount airs a 30-second TV spot detailing Mirage's Porsche 911 vehicle mode for Super Bowl LVII in collaboration with Porsche.<ref>[https://deadline.com/2023/02/2023-super-bowl-movie-trailers-the-flash-fast-x-transformers-ant-man-expected-1235247160/ Super Bowl Movie Trailer Spots Will Include ‘The Flash’, ‘Fast X’, ‘Transformers’ & ‘Ant-Man’ — Deadline]</ref>
* April 2, 2023 — During the 2023 NCAA Division I Men’s Final Four on CBS, Paramount aired a first-of-its-kind mixed reality TV spot that showed off Optimus Prime and Optimus Primal appearing on a 90s basketball court that transformed from the court the actual basketball match was being played on. A few brief clips from the first trailer were also shown. <ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeeIfpbUAHg]</ref>
* April 6, 2023 — Actor [[Tongayi Chirisa]] announces on Instagram that he is the voice of Cheetor.<ref>{{citesocial|quote=So there is a story to this!!! Per the usual standard .. I had to sign an NDA, so I had NO IDEA what I was reading for.. it was only when I was in the booth to do my voice over that it dawned on me that I was reading for TRANSFORMERS Like what!!!🤯🤯🤯🤯 I totally geeked out in the moment.. Man, to say this is mad exciting is an understatement... So thankful. So honored, so blessed!!!! Massive shout out and THANK YOU to @stevencaplejr for putting your boi on! Appreciate you, fam!!! @transformersmovie..🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 IT WAS ALL A DREAM!!!! Welcome, y'all. I am your transformer #CHEETOR!!!! Let's goooo!!!!!! #NdezvaMwari #Yeshua #smallbeginnings #ontherise|link=https://www.instagram.com/p/Cqs_PQ1J_s6/|name=Tongayi Chirisa|site=Instagram|year=2023|month=04|day=06}}</ref>
* April 14, 2023 — To promote the film, Optimus Prime introduces Tobe Nwigwe's performance of "[[On My Soul]]" at {{w|Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival|Coachella}}.<ref>{{citesocial|quote=Calling all Autobots. @TobeNwigwe and #OptimusPrime have rolled out to #Coachella. #Transformers #RiseOfTheBeasts|link=https://twitter.com/transformers/status/1647069845731803136|name=Transformers|site=Twitter|year=2022|month=04|day=14}}</ref>
* April 27, 2023 — The [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itnqEauWQZM official trailer] is released by Paramount Pictures, revealing more of the movie and Unicron's role in the plot, as well as delivering a first, brief look at the Predacons.
* May 6, 2023 — The [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zxore0Gxwpc first clip] was showcased at the 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards, showing the Autobots' first interaction with the Maximals.
* May 12, 2023 — The website Puliwood reveals the film's Hungarian dub cast...including the voice of [[Apelinq (ROTB)|Apelinq]], a character that had not yet been announced to be appearing in the film.<ref>[https://www.puliwood.hu/ismertetok/exkluziv-ilyen-szinkronhangokkal-jon-a-transformers-a-fenevadak-kora-325900.html EXKLUZÍV: ilyen szinkronhangokkal jön a Transformers: A fenevadak kora]</ref>
* May 27, 2023 — The film's world premiere is held at Marina Bay Sands in [[Singapore]].
* June 5, 2023 — David Sobolov confirms on Instagram that he is also voicing Apelinq in the film.<ref>{{citesocial|link=https://www.instagram.com/p/CtIhCcwu4Ld/|quote=#transformers #riseofthebeasts fans… I just saw our epic premiere in Brooklyn! Tonight, I’m excited to reveal that I am the voice… of Apelinq!|name=David Sobolov|site=Twitter|year=2023|month=06|day=05}}</ref>
{{--}}

==Notes==
* In a first for the franchise, the lead human actors, multiple writers, the composer, and the director are all people of color.
* During the production of the film, Ramos had to acquire a driver's license at Caple Jr.'s behest.<ref>[https://www.buzzfeed.com/joyannjeffrey/anthony-ramos-transformers-drivers-license Anthony Ramos Had To Quickly Get His Driver's License While Filming "Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts"]</ref>
* This is the first movie in the series not to be worked on by [[Industrial Light & Magic| Industrial Light & Magic]]; this time around the CG effects were done by [[Moving Picture Company]] and [[WetaFX]].
* During an interview with a fan, voice actor David Sobolov revealed that Caple Jr. would create storyboards using Transformers toys. Awesome!<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdsfclO5etE&t=1106 "ROTB UNICRON IS THRILLING!" | Interview with DAVID SOBOLOV (Rhinox + Battletrap)! - YouTube]</ref>
* According to Caple Jr., Optimus's unmasked face was modeled after Peter Cullen's.
* This is the first feature film to not feature the Decepticons in any capacity.

===Foreign names===
* ''Japanese:'' '''''Transformers/Beast Kakusei''''' (トランスフォーマー/ビースト覚醒 ''Toransufōmā Bīsuto Kakusei'', "Transformers: Beast Awakening")
* ''Cantonese:'' '''''Bin<sup>3</sup>jing<sup>4</sup> Gam<sup>1</sup>gong<sup>1</sup>: Kwong<sup>4</sup>sau<sup>3</sup> Gwat<sup>6</sup>hei<sup>2</sup>''''' (變形金剛：狂獸崛起, "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts")
* ''French:'' '''''Transformers: Rise of the Beasts''''' (France), '''''Transformers : Le Réveil des Bêtes''''' (Canada, "Transformers: The Awakening of the Beasts")
* ''German:'' '''''Transformers: Aufstieg der Bestien''''' ("Transformers: Rise of the Beasts")
* ''Hungarian:'' '''''Transformers: A fenevadak kora''''' ("Transformers: The Age of the Beasts")
* ''Italian: '' '''''Transformers: Il Risveglio''''' ("Transformers: The Awakening")
* ''Mandarin:'' '''''Biànxíng Jīngāng: Wàn Shòu Juéqǐ''''' (Taiwan, 變形金剛：萬獸崛起, "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts"), '''''Biànxíng Jīngāng: Chāonéng Yǒngshì Juéqǐ''''' (Mainland China, 变形金刚：超能勇士崛起, "Transformers: Rise of the Beast Wars")
* ''Portuguese:'' '''''Transformers: O Despertar das Feras''''' (Brazil, "Transformers: The Awakening of the Beasts")
* ''Spanish:'' '''''Transformers: El Despertar de las Bestias''''' ("Transformers: The Awakening of the Beasts")
* ''Russian:'' '''''Трансформеры: Восхождение Звероботов''''' ("Transformers: Rise of the Beastbots")
* ''Ukrainian:'' '''''Трансформери: Час Звіроботів''''' ("Transformers: Time of the Beastbots")

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

[[Category:Real world films]]
[[Category:Rise of the Beasts| ]]
[[Category:Rise of the Beasts media]]

Siege episode 1

2021-01-22T23:13:25Z

96megatron: /* Transformers references */

{{episode|
|otherseries=''[[Transformers: War for Cybertron Trilogy (cartoon)|Transformers: War for Cybertron Trilogy: Siege]]''
|image=WarForCybertronSiege_Ep1.jpg
|caption=''It was on that day,<br>the Autobots received a grim reminder...''
|prev=
|next=Siege episode 2
|title=Episode 1
|airdate=[[July 30]], [[2020]] (Netflix)
|production company=[[Allspark Animation]], [[Rooster Teeth]]
|written by=[[George Krstic]]
|director=[[Takashi Kamei]]
|animation studio=[[Polygon Pictures]]
}}
'''Weary from war with the Decepticons and desperate for energy, Optimus Prime attempts to recruit an energon scavenger named Bumblebee to the Autobot cause.'''

==Synopsis==
War rages across Cybertron. [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] and [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] skulk about on the ravaged surface, hiding from the [[Seeker_(body-type)|Seekers]] overhead. Wheeljack's stumbling nearly gets the pair caught by [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]]; after the [[Decepticon]] abandons his quick search, Bumblebee berates Wheeljack for his lack of stealth. As Wheeljack grows impatient with the scavenger, Bumblebee leads him to a hidden chamber that contains a cache of energon. More surprising, however, is the presence of a derelict [[space bridge|spacebridge]]! Wheeljack can hardly contain himself, earning rebukes from Bumblebee as he rushes to activate it. For Wheeljack, the spacebridge is a matter of the [[Autobot|Autobots']] survival and could turn the course of the war in their favor. But Bumblebee explains he was only hired to scout for [[energon]] and has no interest at all at choosing an allegiance in the Autobot-Decepticon war. Unfortunately, [[Jetfire (G1)|Jetfire]] and his Seekers arrive and force the issue.

[[File:SiegeEp1JetfireSlicesStarscream.jpg|left|thumb|300px|The dreaded "pecking order establishment" maneuver.]]
[[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] prepares to attack them both, but Jetfire puts him in his place for overstepping his authority by slicing off his arm just above the wrist. An agonized Starscream accuses Jetfire of weakness before their enemies and rallies the other Seekers against him. As Jetfire battles against his own team, [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] arrives, cutting off Wheeljack's and Bumblebee's retreat.

Megatron mocks the "disarmed" Starscream and offers empathy to the war-weary Wheeljack, claiming that ''he too'' wants the war to end. Wheeljack resists his attempt to recruit him to the Decepticon cause. Megatron then chastises Bumblebee for remaining neutral and orders that the two be executed just as [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] arrives. The two leaders argue, with Megatron claiming the war will end as soon as Prime signs a treaty. Prime rebuts that the treaty will enslave all of Cybertron. They discuss their shared legacy from [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]] and lament how far they've strayed from his teachings. At an impasse, they begin to fight, with Megatron quickly gaining the upper hand. As Megatron prepares to deal the deathblow, [[Elita One (G1)|Elita-1]] ambushes him from above, sending the Decepticons into disarray. Prime orders Elita to detonate hidden explosives around the Decepticons, covering the Autobots' (and Bumblebee's) retreat.

En route to the Autobots' base, Elita doubts Bumblebee's trustworthiness; he in turn has no interest in following the Autobots, but throws in his lot with them rather risk encountering the Decepticons again. He follows the Autobots into their hologram-cloaked base, a Vanguard-class starship. Inside, Bumblebee understands the Autobots' desperation for energon as he witnesses their beleaguered state; low on energon, many lie near-deactivated waiting for medic [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]] to repair them.

Meanwhile, Prime goes to confer with military commander [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]], after Elita expresses her concern over Prime's safety. Magnus believes that the interminable struggle is useless and urges Prime to sign Megatron's treaty. After Prime refuses to sign it again, Magnus bitterly notes his stubbornness and leaves.

At his repair bay, Red Alert patches up Bumblebee as Prime enters. Bumblebee is not moved by the Autobots' plight or mission, and rejects Prime's invitation to join them. As [[Hound (G1)|Hound]] and Elita express concern that Bumblebee may reveal their hidden location to the enemy, Prime demands they allow him to leave.

Meanwhile, Megatron gives a speech to the Decepticons, stating that the Autobots not only refuse to sign the treaty, but also attempted to assassinate him. This galvanizes the Decepticons to attack the Autobots and end the war as soon as possible. Afterwards, as Jetfire and Starscream bicker over how to destroy the Autobots, Megatron claims he knows Prime's weakness: his sense of honor and brotherhood.

This discussion is interrupted by the arrival of a lone, cloaked figure, seeking an audience with Megatron...

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Wheeljack_(G1)|Wheeljack]] (2)
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] (8)
*[[Elita One (G1)|Elita-1]] (9)
*[[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] (10)
*[[Chromia (G1)|Chromia]] (11)
*[[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] (12)
*[[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]] (13)
*[[Hound (G1)|Hound]] (14)

|c2=
*[[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] (3)
*[[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] (4)
*[[Jetfire (G1)|Jetfire]] (5)
*[[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] (6)
*[[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] (7)

|h3=Others|c3=
*[[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] (1)
}}

==Quotes==
"The Autobots ain't paying you for attitude, we're paying you to find energon".
:—'''Wheeljack''' reminds Bumblebee why they're here.

"If the Seekers were under my command, you would be dead by my hand."<br>
"You mean ''that'' hand?"
:—'''Starscream''' got his arm sliced off by Jetfire, but it's '''Wheeljack''' who ''really'' cut him.

"Cybertron needs freedom." <br>
"Cybertron needs strength...''my'' strength."<br>
:—'''Optimus Prime''' and '''Megatron''' summarize their philosophies

"He’s a pain in the ass, that’s who he is."<br>
:—'''Wheeljack'''’s low opinion of Bumblebee challenges the show’s initial TV-Y7 rating.

"No, I'm not signing up for your fight!"<br>
"I was not asking you to—"<br>
"You were ''about'' to."<br>
"Huh...am I that obvious?"
:—'''Bumblebee''' is wise to '''Optimus Prime's''' game.

==Notes==
===Transformers references===
*The series opens with Bumblebee and Wheeljack searching for energon while evading enemies, mirroring the first moments of [[More than Meets the Eye, Part 1|the original ''Generation 1'' cartoon pilot]].
*Optimus Prime's plan to blow up a bridge to separate the Autobots from Megatron's forces similarly mirrors the events of "[[And There Shall Come...a Leader!]]", an early story about the war on Cybertron from the [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)#Marvel UK|Marvel UK comics]].
*Wheeljack speaks by flashing his "ears", a technique not seen since the original cartoon and briefly in the ''[[Bumblebee (film)|Bumblebee]]'' movie.
*A yellow/black, green/black, and blue/black trio of Seekers appear in the opening scene (the blue one is shot down immediately), but these are not [[Ion Storm]], [[Acid Storm (G1)|Acid Storm]], and [[Nova Storm (G1)|Nova Storm.]] The real Rainmakers in their real colors show up in [[Siege episode 6|Episode 6]].
*Bumblebee mentions racing on [[Velocitron]].
*As with many versions of the character, Jetfire starts as a Decepticon. However, his position as Starscream's commanding officer stands in contrast to their traditional portrayal as old friends. He is also not a scientist like most versions of the character before, but a warrior, much like his [[Jetfire (Armada)/Cartoon continuity |''Unicron Trilogy'']] and [[Jetfire (Cyberverse) |''Cyberverse'']] counterparts.
*As he defies Megatron, Wheeljack quotes Optimus Prime's original motto.
*Red Alert is an Autobot medic, much like his [[Red Alert (Armada)|''Armada'']] and [[Red Alert (Animated)|''Animated'']] counterparts.
*As has become the standard for his character, Megatron is portrayed as a revolutionary who rebelled against Cybertronian corruption alongside Optimus Prime after ascending from a life in the energon mines and [[Gladiatorial combat|gladiatorial pits]]. His insistence that his followers were oppressed for how they were born draws parallels to [[Functionism]].
*From its notable mentions of Alpha Trion as a revolutionary leader to Autobots and Decepticons being separate types of Transformers constructed for different purposes, ''Siege'' seems to be using elements of the G1 cartoon's [[Quintesson]] origin alongside the Aligned-esque conventions that Hasbro has tried to standardize in recent years.

===Animation and technical errors===
*Megatron's fusion cannon disappears after he offers Wheeljack a chance to renounce the Autobot cause, and doesn't reappear until Optimus arrives.
*When Thundercracker grunts as he punches Wheeljack, the English subtitles refer to him as Jetfire.

===Trivia===
*Unlike most of the cast, Bumblebee and Elita-1 sport original character models instead of using toy designs. The same designs were previously used for the characters' appearances in [[IDW Publishing]]'s [[2019 IDW continuity|contemporary comic series]], although given the production timescales involved, it's ambiguous where the designs actually originated – they may have been developed for use in the cartoon, and then passed to IDW while work on the show was still ongoing.
*Jetfire is seen using a forearm-mounted laser sword, a weapon not seen on prior versions of the character nor included with his ''Siege'' toy.
*Wheeljack threatens Bumblebee with a blaster resembling an "RT-5 Circuit Welder" pistol included with the ''Siege'' Cog mold. This particular blaster design would be used in future episodes as a generic firearm used by the Autobots.
*The gun Elita-1 uses to fire on Megatron is the "RT-5 Anti-thermo Blaster" with the "SR Hushfuze" barrel attachment which is included with both releases of the ''Siege'' Chromia mold. This is also among the few blasters that get re-used as generic Autobot weapons.

===Foreign localization===

==External Links==
*[https://www.netflix.com/watch/81056813 Episode 1 on Netflix]

[[Category:War for Cybertron: Siege‎]]
[[Category:War for Cybertron Trilogy episodes]]

Talk:Misconceptions and urban legends about Transformers

2020-11-14T16:16:49Z

96megatron: /* Lorenzo sabotaged Peter Cullen's Audition */

How about the statement that Metrotitan is made of the ghosts of dead Decepticons? I know I've heard that thrown around a time or two back in the day.... [[User:Hooper X|-hx]] 20:23, 24 July 2007 (UTC)

Thats Violinjyger and it's true.

Alright, how about something about how G2 is G2 and everything after the movie, while technically a second generation, is not "G2" (although I recall hearing that Pat Lee regarded it as such).--[[User:Zodberg|Zodberg]] 22:37, 24 July 2007 (UTC)

== Addition to the Beast Wars Section: Black Arachnia was inspired by an Asian stripper ==

Can some please add this? The guy from Mainframe said (you can find his post on A.T.T.) that their animator, WHO IS OF ASIAN DESCENT, was taken to a strip club before he worked on BA's animation model. There was NEVER any mention of an Asian stripper by ANYONE from Mainframe, EVER!
:I had forgotten this one, but it DID have a serious amount of play in the late 90's fandom... [[User:Hooper X|-hx]] 07:42, 8 November 2010 (EST)
::90's fandom? I was hearing it through a good chunk of the 2000s. [[User:Ironhold|Ironhold]] 18:29, 7 May 2013 (EDT)
:::I just heard it a few days ago. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] 18:38, 7 May 2013 (EDT)

== French Starscream ==

I went ahead and removed the entry about Starscream. First of all, while I don't know about Bigbot's reliability... the sound clips ARE legit. And the French source you pulled from TFW2005 referred to Starscream being male in the CARTOON (ie "episodes") rather than the movie itself, which used an entirely different dub team.

I'm French Canadian, all my ancestors came to Canada from France, between the ages of three and ten, I rented the movie in French every single time I was at my grandparents' house. So I know what I'm talking about here. --[[User:Detour|Detour]] 22:04, 14 September 2007 (UTC)
:I would also assume that the French fans interviewed to dispell that theory ALSO knew what they were talking about. And [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhOCYZRxypM this Youtube clip] and [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAodylu8rWw this other Youtube clip] don't make him sound very female to me. It's your word against both other French fans and evidence I just watched with my own eyes, man. --[[User:ItsWalky|ItsWalky]] 22:25, 14 September 2007 (UTC)
::I dunno how many more bloody times I must say this, the French movie used a different dub team from either French dubs of the cartoon. I even pointed it out in Starscream's article. Yes, in the TV show he was a guy, but in the movie, the new dub team made him and Shrapnel girls. [http://www.bigbot.com/mp3/transformers_mp3.shtml#Femmes Listen to those clips for proof.] Those are legit from the TFTM I watched growing up. --[[User:Detour|Detour]] 22:36, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

::::I tried to get Nevermore to clarify on this when he made the changes, but he was unable to provide more info. Can you confirm that Starscream was characterized / referred to as female in the movie, along with the feminine voice? I think it's important that we clarify the myth as "partly true" rather than just delete it, but I want to be sure we have it all nailed down. --[[User:Steve-o|Steve-o]] 22:40, 14 September 2007 (UTC)
:::::Well, aside from the obvious voice, Megatron says to Starscream "Tu es une imbécile." In English, "an idiot" would be used to refer to a male or a female idiot, but in French the article varies in gender, were Starscream a male he would have said "Tu es un imbécile." instead of "une imbécile". ([[Wiki:French_articles_and_determiners#The_indefinite_article|French articles and determiners]])
:::::Shrapnel being female is OBVIOUS from the fact that Kickback calls him/her "Mademoiselle Shrapnel", which translates to "Miss Shrapnel".
:::::I'm trying to locate video clips of the French dub of TFTM to have more than just sound clips but so far I haven't found any... not sure where I could find a VHS tape in this day and age either... --[[User:Detour|Detour]] 22:55, 14 September 2007 (UTC)
::::::For those wondering why Shrapnel's being mentioned here, you can read [[Talk:Shrapnel_(G1)|this link]], which is how this whole issue was brought up in the first place. But note that I've never questioned (for I've had no reason to do so) movie Shrapnel's femininity.--[[User:G.B. Blackrock|G.B. Blackrock]] 23:17, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

==Repackaged old toys==
I think we should also have something on the notion that new-packaging releases of older toys are old unsold items taken back from store shelves, pulled from their cards, and RE-packaged onto new cards. I mean, this HAS to be bullshit. But I'm not sure of the best way to phrase it, since it's not a ridiculous argument that comes up very often. I wonder if Kyde has any insights on this. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] 20:20, 12 November 2007 (UTC)
:I don't know that I've ''ever'' heard somebody claim that, but admittedly, I have been out of online TF discussions for a year or two, and have never read the web boards regularly. I think that unless this is something that actually comes up semi-frequently, there's not much reason to bring it up in the article. --[[User:Steve-o|Steve-o]] 22:19, 12 November 2007 (UTC)
::I've heard it said repeatedly that REDECOs are unsold toys that are sent back to Hasbro and repainted. Of course, I've only ever heard it said on Tformers. Those posters probably aren't competent enough to be held accountable for their actions. --[[User:ItsWalky|ItsWalky]] 00:29, 14 December 2007 (UTC)
::I've seen it several times over the course of years. Certainly more than I've seen "Shrapnel's a girl in France" and "Geman movie omitted Starscream's death"... which is never before the wiki. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] 23:07, 12 November 2007 (UTC)
:::Yeah, what Siph said. [[User:Hooper X|-hx]] 00:48, 13 November 2007 (UTC)
::::I've recently had a discussion with a common friend of ours, who is a longtime hardcore collector with inside contacts, and even ''he'' believed in the "repackaged toys are REpackaged in the literal sense" theory until I pointed out to him how expensive that would be. So I agree with Sipher here that it deserves a place on this page.--[[User:Nevermore|Nevermore]] 00:25, 14 December 2007 (UTC)

==Featured Article?==
If we can get a few pictures... like the catalog image of blue-sided Bluestreak, Raiden in the Headmasters cartoon, a few other things... I think this page should have Featured status. It's important shit. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] 22:54, 24 November 2007 (UTC)
:I'd say all the reference links are going to need alternate text before we can safely call this a featured article.--[[User:Rosicrucian|Rosicrucian]][[User Talk:Rosicrucian|<sup>Talk</sup>]] 00:03, 25 November 2007 (UTC)

=="Confirmed" myths?==
Would it be worth it to add urban legends that are actually true? (I'm thinking here things like "Sunstreaker and Sideswipe's/Starscream and Skywarp's tech specs were swapped, there was a Unicron toy planned during G1 that had an Orson Welles voice chip, etc.) Some of those things almost reach the status of urban legends in the fandom (not as much as they used to, now that information is easier to come by, but still.) Also, we need to add "Armada was supposed to tie together all previous TF continuities" or whatever the dumb rumor was. Also, maybe something to explain exactly what the RTV dubs really are (made in Malaysia, not Singapore, did they REALLY air in Hawaii/Mexico/wherever as I've seen people claim, etc.) [[User:Hooper X|-hx]] 13:40, 26 November 2007 (UTC)
: Also, "There was a Transformers breakfast cereal with Bumblebee-shaped marshmallows and when you poured milk on it, they changed from car mode to robot mode." A kid at my school SWORE he had eaten this. [[User:Hooper X|-hx]] 13:42, 26 November 2007 (UTC)
::I have no evidence for it but I DO remember seeing a Commemorative Sideswipe at TRU. Having no interest in G1 at the time I didn't buy it (though it might;ve been some other commemorative Autobot; I dunno for sure but my memory genuinly has the image of sideswipe).--[[User:BlackStarscream|BlackStarscream]] 01:27, 7 June 2011 (EDT)

==TF:TM soundtrack evidence of "lost" scene==
The 10 seconds in question are from 02:29 to 02:39 in "Death of Optimus Prime" on the original soundtrack CD. There was at least one other release of the soundtrack, right? Can anyone check and see if the mysterious sequence is there too? Or, hell, if anyone has heard of DiCola giving an alternate explanation, please disabuse me of the whole notion. - [[User:Jackpot|Jackpot]] 19:39, 16 December 2007 (UTC)
:I'll have to dig out my copy of [[Lighting Their Darkest Hour: The Complete Music Score for TFTM]], but I seem to recall ''the entire album'' clocking in at several full minutes longer than the entire movie, and that's before one considers [[The Touch]] or any of the other songs. I recall from somewhere that DiCola once did an interview in which he talked about it being unusually difficult to score the film, and IIRC it was because he had to score based off of the storyboards rather than the finished footage. If so, it could be that DiCola simply over-estimated how long certain scenes would run and so scored for every sequence start-to-finish like that, at which point the score was trimmed to fit the actual timing for the sequences and to fit in around the other songs. [[User:Ironhold|Ironhold]] 18:19, 7 May 2013 (EDT)
::I just had a thought. We know that there were a number of scenes which made it as far as the storyboard stage before being cut. Could DiCola have been given these scenes to score as well? If so, then the combination of "DiCola scoring scenes that were cut" and "DiCola misjudging the length of each scene" could easily explain why the full score is so much longer than the actual movie. [[User:Ironhold|Ironhold]] 21:09, 10 July 2013 (EDT)

== Misconception? ==

"A misconception usually held by casual fans or nostalgic adults is that of the original 1980's cartoon being the best fiction and most influential/successful line to date, with all other successors being unpopular and/or unsuccessful ventures.
Some of this misconception is based on the fact that most of the original audience stopped watching and following the franchise after its cancellation, or even before (as it wasn't "cool" to be kiddy once the puberty hit). Without any exposure to the market, the toyline and the new cartoons, they simply assume that Transformers has sunk in both popularity, quality and sales, since it's not what they remember."

Any facts/sources to back this up? I'd bet that actual sales between the demise of G1 and Micheal Bay stepping in were significantly lower, which would seriously contradict what's being said here.

:According to lists that used to be published in Tomarts(?) magazine, Transformers has consistently placed in the top 3 boys toys properties since the beginning of Beast Wars. Robots in Disguise and Armada both reported record profits, though Energon and Cybertron didn't seem to match Armada's success. --[[User:ItsWalky|ItsWalky]] 03:56, 16 March 2008 (UTC)
::How ''did'' Energon and Cybertron sell, anyway? It seems widely known that Armada sold like hotcakes, but nobody ever brings up the two sequels in that regard. -- [[User:Repowers|Repowers]] 20:44, 19 March 2008 (UTC)

==Team names and vowel breaks==
While I'm good with the "Seacons" inclusion... well, bot every Decepticon team had an "i" vowel break... like the Predacons. And not every team had a vowel break at all... like the Triggercons, and arguably the Firecons. On the other hand... were the Seacons the only ''two-syllable name'' team, where everyone else had three? Nothing else is springing to mind... --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] 19:51, 19 March 2008 (UTC)
:Whether it's a "a" or an "i" is kinda moot; the point is that there ''was'' a break in all the teams before them. (FWIW, to a lazy Southern tongue like mine, the "i" and "a" are almost indistinguishable. It all comes out "uh-cons" regardless.) As for the contemporaneous Triggercons, there's no ambiguity in their name, as there's no vowel there to be misappropriated. Right or wrong, the extraneous "uh" in "see-uh-cons" comes from the "a" in "Sea". Last question: "Firecon" is only two syllables, innit? -- [[User:Repowers|Repowers]] 20:03, 19 March 2008 (UTC)
::It's only two syllables if you're a dirty southerner. --[[User:ItsWalky|ItsWalky]] 20:08, 19 March 2008 (UTC)
::I'm a Southerner, and I say it "Fie-er". Any rate, the point is the current entry says "all teams had 'i' vowel breaks". Which ain't true... I'm more inclined to believe it's a "three-plus syllables" pattern. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] 20:11, 19 March 2008 (UTC)
:::(D'oh. Terrorcons!) --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] 20:12, 19 March 2008 (UTC)
::::See, I think we should start calling the Pretender Monsters the Pretendicons, just to keep with the pattern. [[User:Semysane|Semysane]] 08:38, 20 March 2008 (UTC)

==Soundwave's buttons==
I think there are actually two separate issues at work here. I'd always been under the impression that G1 Soundwave underwent a running change in both the U.S. and Japan--going from the distinct, inset early buttons to the big protruding single chrome block later. After that change occurred, the mold was altered to turn it into Soundblaster. That was why Hasbro said at first they couldn't use the tooling anymore--because the door had been changed. The Takara bookbox reissue solved this by making a new version with a hybrid single door / late chrome button style, and also keeping another version with all of Soundblaster's features still around. Have I completely misunderstood the issue? --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] 14:35, 3 April 2009 (EDT)

== R-rating ==

http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?category=0&id=40510

Huh.--[[User:Nevermore|Nevermore]] 07:13, 8 June 2009 (EDT)
:Didn't they clarify that he was actually talking about Disturbia, Shia's OTHER PG-13 movie that came out that summer? - [[User:Cattleprod|Cattleprod]] 14:19, 8 June 2009 (EDT)

== Plagiarizing ==

Yeah. [http://www.thatguywiththeglasses.com/blog/9107] [http://www.thatguywiththeglasses.com/blog/9113] [http://www.thatguywiththeglasses.com/blog/9160] [http://www.thatguywiththeglasses.com/blog/9169] Awesome work stealing our content and adding your poorly written own stuff, sucker!--[[User:Nevermore|Nevermore]] 16:56, 13 July 2009 (EDT)
:I like how he added his own dumb "conclusions", which mostly contradict the copy+pasted text and are just completely wrong too. -[[User:Mazenoise|Mazenoise]] 17:38, 13 July 2009 (EDT)
::I've talked with some Brian guy over at that site, and he says he'll be deleting the blogs. Victoly? --[[User:ItsWalky|ItsWalky]] 17:46, 13 July 2009 (EDT)
:::Hasn't happened yet.--[[User:Nevermore|Nevermore]] 06:58, 14 July 2009 (EDT)
::::Surprise! --[[User:ItsWalky|ItsWalky]] 09:48, 14 July 2009 (EDT)
:::::Looks like it's been removed.--[[User:Nevermore|Nevermore]] 13:10, 31 July 2009 (EDT)

== "Companies" section? ==

I've seen the misconception that Tomy bought Takara (rather than merging with them on equal terms) thrown around quite a few times...What else could go into such a section?

Additionally, thise page has grown quite large. Should we split it?--[[User:Nevermore|Nevermore]] 19:12, 26 July 2009 (EDT)

==Variations in Europe==

''Some toys were exclusively (or predominantly) available in the United Kingdom (sometimes also the Netherlands)''

As I understand it, one of the reasons why this one may have taken root is because when the franchise began Hasbro in the UK and continental Europe were not yet integrated and so the releases were separate - I think the UK may have even begun the toys in late 1984 (which would explain why the comic began in September that year rather than waiting for the toys advertised to arrive the next). Most of the sightings of toys being available in one market but not the other, though in my experience tend to be cases of the UK not getting toys seemingly available on the continent - e.g. issue #60 of the UK comic reports Blaster being available in Germany with German tech specs - rather than the other way round. [[User:Timrollpickering|Timrollpickering]] 08:04, 26 September 2009 (EDT)

Agreed. I saw Trypticon and Bruticus box-set on sale in Greece, and Deluxe Insecticons and Shockwave in France circa 1986. None of these were ever available in the UK. [[User:J'mie|J'mie]] 08:18, 26 September 2009 (EDT)
:But this section is not referring to European releases of regular US toys. It's referring to Euro-exclusive toys like the "Classic" reissues, Turbomasters etc.--[[User:Nevermore|Nevermore]] 02:52, 9 May 2010 (EDT)

==Here's an old one I just remembered==
Since the Diaclone & Microchange molds have copyright dates from the 70s on them, the original toys are from the 70s as well. That one's been pretty well debunked by actual release date info, but we should probably have something on the wiki explaining the reason that toys from '82 were marked '78 or whenever. It's something to do with how Japanese patent or copyright law or whatever worked at the time, IIRC - since Microchange STARTED in the late 70s, all the toys, no matter whne they dropped, had the copyright date of the initial product. At least, I think that's how it worked. [[User:Hooper X|Hooper_X]] 10:51, 30 September 2009 (EDT)
:Correct. Japanese copyright stamping at the time went by year of the brand's inception, not the year the toy per se was created. (I'm not sure if that's still the case in Japan. For any toys produced for non-Asian markets, it seems they're adhering to the date of manufacture rather than brand inception. At least, I can't recall the last time I saw a new TakaraTomy or Bandai toy with an old copyright date on it.)--[[User:Apcog|Apcog]] 11:01, 30 September 2009 (EDT)
::Right. and shortly after posting this, I see it's already on there. It seems like we might need a more logical organizing process for this thing - maybe a "pre-Transformers" section before G1 to cover stuff like this exactly. Kind of track it through the history of the series, rumors about pre-TF toylines first, then rumors about TF development (John Romita drawing the character models, f'rinstance) and then kind of an era-by-era as appropriate. [[User:Hooper X|Hooper_X]] 11:40, 30 September 2009 (EDT)

== Blue Bluestreak ==

My brain is too fried from using Linux to make the appropriate edit right now and have it come out not terrible, but I think it's weird that the article acts like we have absolutely no idea why the rumor of a blue '''''Blue'''''streak would be more widespread than the rumor of a dark gray Astrotrain. (And this is the part where someone assumes I don't know what his name means.) --[[User:Andrusi]]

Because it DID exist as a Diaclone, and some rumors existed of a VERY FEW making it out in TF boxes, including an ex-Hasbro employee. See: http://tfsource.com/blog/diaclone-car-robots-part-1/ --[[User:Chrusher]]

== Can we get this page locked down? ==

Pages of this nature should never be open to anonymous edits, because somebody, somewhere, will take offense to us "lecturing them" on why they're wrong. --[[User:FFN|FFN]] 20:51, 4 July 2010 (EDT)
:That probably won't stop them from making an account just to do the exact same thing anyway. --[[User:LokitheGrammarNazi|LokitheGrammarNazi]] 16:49, 18 September 2010 (EDT)

== Japanese dub of Animated ==

Japanese Animated is a separate continuity from the Movieverse, right? But there was some early coverage that claimed otherwise, which still has people fooled? Is that correct?--[[User:Nevermore|Nevermore]] 16:41, 30 October 2010 (EDT)

== "Transformers was nearly rated R by the MPAA." ==

It sounds like this is true, so does it belong here as a misconception or urban legend? - [[User:Starfield|Starfield]] 02:00, 8 November 2010 (EST)
:Because it's Shia's OTHER film, Disturbia, that was almost rated R. --[[User:Detour|Detour]] 02:08, 8 November 2010 (EST)

== Neo/Car Robots Connection- ==

While I am not disputing that it is not a direct sequel, it might be worth noting that this one does have *some* vague credence, as it does include time-travelling Predacons/Destron(gers) as well as the semi-cameo by Heinlad in the pilot. I would imagine that these elements were included, in part at least, to help the transition from the "Beast Era" fiction to generation-spanning mash-up land. Which, still, a sequel does not make, I grant you. But it might be worth mentioning that there are elements beyond "animation style" that point towards this misconception, the Heinlad 'cameo', especially--[[User:Destrongerlupus|Destrongerlupus]] 15:44, 12 November 2010 (EST)

== War for Cybertron is a prequel to the G1 cartoon/War for Cybertron is part of G1 ==

This section comes across as very pedantic, almost like "Hasbro declared it part of Prime, therefore it is. All the contradictions with the Prime cartoon and the similarities with G1 mean nothing, as they are overruled by Hasbro's official verdict". Yes, I know Hasbro has the last word, but seriously...--[[User:Nevermore|Nevermore]] 09:32, 28 November 2010 (EST)
:But that is the case. WFC has superficial similarities to G1 so casual fans automatically ASSume that it is part of that continuity. Hell, many of them don't realize that there are multiple G1 continuities. As the Prime franchise integrates and synthesizes elements from all previous continuity families, there are bound to be similarities to G1. However, the franchise is so new that it is hard to get a feel on what it is. Hasbro's statements as to what belongs where is all that we really have to go on as of yet. --[[User:Khajidha|Khajidha]] 09:38, 28 November 2010 (EST)

::I think the section as it is currenty described is pointless. It is G1 cartoon-centric and the reasons why WFC is not G1 also apply to nearly all the G1 comics! [[Special:Contributions/82.15.221.203|82.15.221.203]] 11:56, 29 November 2010 (EST)
:::Except people don't seem to think that WFC is in Marvel or IDW continuity. When people think it's G1, they think it's cartoon G1. The only other G1 universe I ever see people try to fit it into is War Within, and the section discusses that as well. The reason for it being cartoon-centric is because most people are under the belief that it is part of the cartoon. WFC cannot fit into any G1 universe and it's confirmed to not be a new one. The comics, while presenting different views, are G1. WFC may seem like another interpretation, but that's been debunked. --[[User:NCZ|NCZ]] 12:19, 29 November 2010 (EST)
:As I understand it, the creators were creating it as part of G1, as far as they were concerned. As far as I am concerned, creators of a licensed Transformers product made a G1 story, so it is a G1 story. The wiki's position on the matter really does boil down to "Hasbro declared it part of the modern continuity, therefore it is." - [[User:Starfield|Starfield]] 12:52, 29 November 2010 (EST)
::It was ''specifically a sequel to the original cartoon'', as far as the video game folks were concerned, despite the Jetfire and the Aerialbots and the Stunticons and the totally new origin for Optimus prime. The video game folks can be wrong. --[[User:ItsWalky|ItsWalky]] 12:59, 29 November 2010 (EST)
:::So it had a sloppy/loose, video-game-level of attention to continuity. The cartoon itself has conflicting origins. Anyway, the section should probably say something about the video game folks and their press statements, since the "War for Cybertron is G1" myth didn't come out of nowhere. - [[User:Starfield|Starfield]] 13:08, 29 November 2010 (EST)
Here's a possible rephrasing: "High Moon Studios, the creators of the WFC game, intended for it to be a prequel to the G1 Sunbow cartoon, and the two share some broad similarities (though they are irreconcilable in detail). However, Hasbro has declared that WFC is a micro-continuity in the Prime franchise, not G1, and ''ex cathedra'' pronouncements from Hasbro trump authorial intent." [[User:JW|JW]] 14:23, 29 November 2010 (EST)
:I think it's more likely that they advertised it as being part of the cartoon, because that's the most well-known Transformers fiction and would appeal to 80s kids. I don't know how it can be developed as a prequel considering the blatant inconsistencies. --[[User:NCZ|NCZ]] 14:36, 29 November 2010 (EST)
::War Within is a "G1 prequel" even though it clashes with the cartoon. The difference is that there's actual "G1" fiction that is in continuity with War Within (namely, Dreamwave G1). Besides, War for Cybertron clashes with the Prime cartoon just as much as it clashes with the G1 cartoon, so the only thing we have is Hasbro's official word overruling it. Aaaaaaaand then we have the recent case of Hasbro stating that various characters aren't in the movieverse despite official fiction placing them there. So yeah.--[[User:Nevermore|Nevermore]] 07:17, 2 December 2010 (EST)
:::Thinking about it again, I think the main problem I have is that pretty much everything else on this page is blatantly false and directly disproven by factual evidence. In the case of WFC, all we have is Hasbro in their ever-vague continuity mish-mash official-speak declaring it part of the Prime continuity. Since this is the same Hasbro that claims Hunt for the Decepticon toys who appeared in movieverse fiction or who are tied to movieverse characters via their bios aren't part of the movieverse, I'd say we require more substantial evidence for this to actually belong on this page as a cut-and-dry "misconception". The only other comparable case I can think of is "Car Robots is a Beast Wars Neo sequel", where we list all the arguments disproving it and then only mention the official Takara retcon-via-official-timeline in a postscript sentence.--[[User:Nevermore|Nevermore]] 10:45, 2 December 2010 (EST)
::::Yea, I don't see how anyone can say "WFC is G1" is blatantly false after watching [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctkjNF9JSPE this commercial]. - [[User:Starfield|Starfield]] 11:36, 3 December 2010 (EST)
:::::I don't see how that commercial proves which continuity the game fits in. Yes, it is obviously HOMAGING G1, but that doesn't make it G1. The Prime franchise draws inspiration from everything that came before. If anything, Starscream's comment "Again?" would point to it NOT being G1. --[[User:Khajidha|Khajidha]] 11:05, 4 December 2010 (EST)
::::::You are assuming WFC is part of Prime's continuity and then saying WFC homages G1 because Prime's continuity draws from everything that came before. The question is whether WFC is part of Prime. I think the commercial is promoting WFC as G1. Hasbro says WFC is part of the "modern continuity". I used to think that meant something close to "in continuity with the Prime cartoon", but after the latest Q&A, I'm not exactly sure what "modern continuity" and "[[Hasbro Q&A/November 2010: Answers|modern world continuity]]" are supposed to mean. Hasbro just doesn't think in the same terms regarding categories.
::::::I think if the wiki just looked at WFC itself and how it was promoted, it could easily be put in the G1 continuity family, at least as much as IDW. IDW has different origins for Galvatron, Cyclonus, Goldbug, Headmasters. It homages Pretenders and female Transformers and easter-eggs Action Masters ("[[Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 1|altmodes are for wimps]]") without any actual (confirmed?) Action Masters. The Micromasters aren't even Cybertronian Transformers. Then there's [http://forum.idwpublishing.com/viewtopic.php?p=143991#143991 this]:
::::::{{quote|I don't consider IDW's take as "G1". the stories are not a continuation of the ones from the 80's cartoon or the Marvel stuff. they didn't crash on earth 4 millions years ago and get lodged in a volcano, it doesn't even fit into Beast wars. sure it's got the same names and elements from G1, but that can also be said with every other series that came and went since G1. Armada, Energon, Cybertron, Animated, the Movie.. All have elements of G1 in them, all have an Optimus who's a red truck and there's a Yellow car that younger people can relate to. references to Matrixes, Unicrons..etc, but they're not G1.|DonFig}} Don's reasoning for IDW not being G1 is the exact same sort of stuff in this article about WFC not being G1, yet IDW is still classified as G1. I'm not saying the wiki should reclassify IDW. I'm just saying that saying "WFC is part of G1" isn't some obvious myth. Maybe the wiki should just classify War for Cybertron as its own thing with notes saying the developers considered it in the spirit of Generation 1 and Hasbro kinda sorta lumped it in with modern stuff. - [[User:Starfield|Starfield]] 12:03, 4 December 2010 (EST)
:::::::Actually that's not what I was saying, I'll try to clarify. That commercial has a design sense that is clearly influenced by G1. Starscream's "again?" comment shows that it is not actually G1, and is thus an homage. Other elements of the game are homages of other parts of TF history (Demolishor and Slipstream for Armada and Animated for example). This mix of homages to various eras is similar to that seen in the Prime cartoon. Hasbro's comments that WFC is part of Prime's continuity family clarifies all of the above. --[[User:Khajidha|Khajidha]] 13:19, 4 December 2010 (EST)
::::::::Except that Hasbro ''also'' says that certain characters ''aren't'' part of the movieverse but belong to the "modern-world continuity" even though they appeared in official movieverse fiction. So if Hasbro is giving out contradictory information, how can we consider something that hinges entirely on Hasbro's official world "definite"?--[[User:Nevermore|Nevermore]] 13:33, 4 December 2010 (EST)
::::::::I think you are reading too much into Starscream's "Again?". I didn't think that when I heard it. It is just Starscream upset because Shockwave is going to request "The Touch" again or something. - [[User:Starfield|Starfield]] 14:17, 4 December 2010 (EST)

Pretty much the entire purpose of Exodus is to lay the foundation for this new "modern continuity" by taking War for Cybertron's story and differentiating it from G1. This is a ''conscious effort'', folks. It's not like we're just taking one statement and running with it.--[[User:Rosicrucian|Rosicrucian]][[User Talk:Rosicrucian|<sup>Talk</sup>]] 16:21, 4 December 2010 (EST)
:So if Exodus took the War for Cybertron story and de-G1-ified it, where does that leave War for Cybertron itself? - [[User:Starfield|Starfield]] 16:38, 4 December 2010 (EST)
::As the backstory to Prime. WFC may not have originally been ''intended'' as that, but Exodus is the link that establishes it as the first bit of Hasbro's ''new'' continuity rather than a continuation of a prior continuity.--[[User:Rosicrucian|Rosicrucian]][[User Talk:Rosicrucian|<sup>Talk</sup>]] 21:51, 4 December 2010 (EST)
:::There's also their identical Cybertron designs: [[Cybertron_(planet)#Prime]] --[[User:ItsWalky|ItsWalky]] 09:23, 7 December 2010 (EST)
The current rewrite pleases me. [[User:JW|JW]] 10:11, 6 December 2010 (EST)
:''Some have taken this misconception further and believed War for Cybertron is an actual prequel for the original cartoon.'' ... for example, the game developers themselves! --[[User:ItsWalky|ItsWalky]] 10:20, 6 December 2010 (EST)
::Much better now. The only thing missing as far as I'm concerned is a note on Hasbro's own murky attitude towards "continuity" (PCCs and HftD characters allegedly not being part of the movieverse) and the whole wibbly-wobbly nature of the whole shebang.--[[User:Nevermore|Nevermore]] 06:51, 7 December 2010 (EST)
::: That'd be a whole 'nother topic heading, and I'm not sure "The notion of separate and well-defined continuities is far more developed in fandom and on this wiki than within the walls of Hasbro, and thus we are obsessively mapping boundaries that don't really exist," is a topic we'd have much fun visiting. [[User:JW|JW]] 07:08, 7 December 2010 (EST)
:::: [http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-prime-discussion/346862-seems-hasbro-changed-their-mind.html MY BRAIN HURTS]--[[User:Nevermore|Nevermore]] 14:00, 7 December 2010 (EST)
:::::Well of course they're not in continuity. BUT that doesn't mean they don't belong to the same continuity family. --[[User:Detour|Detour]] 14:08, 7 December 2010 (EST)
:::::Hasbro ''UK''. Who has all of ''no'' say in anything along those lines. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] 14:11, 7 December 2010 (EST)
:::::::Why would Hasbro UK have any less say about continuity than, say, Takara, whose pronouncements we document?--[[User:Jimsorenson|Jimsorenson]] 15:28, 7 December 2010 (EST)
:::::::PS: I'm not saying that we should take it too seriously, there's the whole 'private correspondence' thing, I'm just finding the idea that Hasbro UK has no say in the matter odd.--[[User:Jimsorenson|Jimsorenson]] 15:30, 7 December 2010 (EST)
::::::::The massive ineptitude and halfassery that they carry themselves with in everything they do, say or have any part of. - [[User:Chris McFeely|Chris McFeely]] 15:32, 7 December 2010 (EST)
::::::::Takara creates things. Hasbro US creates things. They are both proactive partners in creating Transformers IP. Hasbro UK is their dumb unemployed cousin who can't keep his thumb out of his own ass. --[[User:ItsWalky|ItsWalky]] 15:34, 7 December 2010 (EST)
:::::::::[http://www.allspark.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=75073&st=0 Hasbro US agrees.] --[[User:ItsWalky|ItsWalky]] 10:12, 8 December 2010 (EST)
::::::::::Can we at least agree that this whole thing is vastly confusing, Hasbro's official stance has flaws and there's been contradictory information given out by the dumb unemployed UK brother?--[[User:Nevermore|Nevermore]] 11:03, 8 December 2010 (EST)
::::::::::Also: [http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-prime-discussion/346862-seems-hasbro-changed-their-mind-8.html#post5453604] From Pete Sinclair: {{quote|What I have been told is one continuity, the modern continuity, containing these 3 stories. Hasbro does not deal with Universal streams or continuity families. They only deal with, and are concerned with, the modern continuity...}}--[[User:Nevermore|Nevermore]] 14:24, 8 December 2010 (EST)
::::::HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.
::::::HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.
::::::HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. --[[User:-Blackout-|-Blackout-]] 14:17, 7 December 2010 (EST)
:::::Yes, because e-mail correspondences with marketing guys (from Hasbro UK, no less) are reliable arbiters of Transformers information. [[User:Interrobang|—Interrobang]] 14:58, 7 December 2010 (EST)
:::::::More insanity: [[Cliffjumper (Prime)]] has a link in his toy entry to [[Cliffjumper (G1)]], implying that Takara's United version of Generations Cliffjumper represents an incarnation of G1 Cliffjumper. Is there any evidence supporting this, or are we automatically assuming that all Takara toys represent incarnations of G1 characters unless explicitly stated otherwise? To make matters more complicated, G1 Cliffjumper's page contains no entry for United Cliffjumper.--[[User:Nevermore|Nevermore]] 08:25, 8 December 2010 (EST)
::::::::[http://www.takaratomy.co.jp/products/TF/products/united/un01.html The website links between "Earth Mode" and "Cybertron Mode" toys.] Takara doing their own thing is not a new occurrence. [[User:Interrobang|—Interrobang]] 08:34, 8 December 2010 (EST)
:::::::::For what it's worth, [http://www.allspark.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=74770 Figure Oh!] explicitly advertises Cliffjumper as appearing in the DS version of WFC.--[[User:Nevermore|Nevermore]] 10:29, 8 December 2010 (EST)
::::::::::Not worth a lot. They're simply pointing out the real-world genesis of the toy. Frankly, IF we see any kind of fiction-use of said models, it'll likely be in some manga set in some continuity that is just as irreconcilable (or blatantly new) as Henkei was... if it's not set in Henkei's timeline anyway. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] 14:15, 8 December 2010 (EST)

== Transformers Prime Toyline existence==

Should the persistent belief that Transformers: Prime will not have a toyline be added here, or is it only TFW that gets like five threads devoted to that topic on a daily basis? -[[User:Ratbatman|Ratbatman]] 11:05, 30 November 2010 (EST)
:Until there is an announced toyline, instead of the "We're not making toys" one we got, it's not a misconception or an urban legend. It's fact based on the available information [[User:Eire]] 16:18 30 Nov 2010.
:: THEY NEVER SAID THEY WEREN'T MAKING TOYS. NEVER EVER. Jesus Christ, in the exact same panel in which people THOUGHT Hasbro said they weren't making toys, Eric Siebenaler even said that he couldn't wait for people to see Bulkhead Prime's action figure! ALL THEY SAID WAS THAT THEY WERE '''NOT TALKING ABOUT TOYS RIGHT THIS MOMENT''', not that there would NEVER BE TOYS. --[[User:ItsWalky|ItsWalky]] 11:22, 30 November 2010 (EST)
:::That's the thing, some people still believe that Hasbro isn't going to make any toys for the Prime franchise. I'd support the addition of a section clarifying this for those people. --[[User:Khajidha|Khajidha]] 12:14, 30 November 2010 (EST)
::::Seems like the sort of thing that's going to have a relatively short lifespan, as we're probably going to see the Prime toys at Toyfair.--[[User:Rosicrucian|Rosicrucian]][[User Talk:Rosicrucian|<sup>Talk</sup>]] 12:31, 30 November 2010 (EST)
:::::At that point, the "Hasbro said they weren't making any Prime toys and they're liars!" begins. --[[User:ItsWalky|ItsWalky]] 13:22, 30 November 2010 (EST)
::::::What are you getting so worked up about? If they said there are no toys in the works at the moment, it one doesn't contradict my statement of no sign of toys to come, because there isn't because they haven't revealed any, and two if it does contradict me, so what? It's exactly...nothing. Certainly nothing to get remotely excited about. Or is this mainstream forum backlash. I should point out, I avoid the big forums, so if this has been kicked up fifty billion times over there, I wouldn't know about it. [[User:Eire]] 18:31 30 Nov 2010.
:::::::I'm pretty sure someone from Hasbro (Aaron Archer?) said that there would be Prime figures, but they were holding off until after the current blitz of 2010/Generations/PCC and (possibly) the upcoming DOTM line. Can anyone back me up on this with a reference? --[[User:Khajidha|Khajidha]] 13:44, 30 November 2010 (EST)
:::::::They never said "there are no toys in the works at the moment," they said they weren't talking about it.--[[User:Carrion|Carrion]] 14:31, 30 November 2010 (EST)
::::::::This. This this this this this. --[[User:ItsWalky|ItsWalky]] 14:59, 30 November 2010 (EST)
Now that you say it, I do think you're right, Walky. I'm probably always going to want to stab ''someone'' in the eyeball with a nail file over this. Which, I guess, is our criteria for this article, come to think of it.--[[User:Rosicrucian|Rosicrucian]][[User Talk:Rosicrucian|<sup>Talk</sup>]] 04:23, 1 December 2010 (EST)

==Nimoy Unicron lines?==
I know it's been debunked over the years, but we probably ought to put the "Leonard Nimoy dubbed some of Orson Welles' lines because they were unusable" rumor to bed on this page somewhere. -hx at work

==Targets for bloat removal==
Okay, I'm putting together a list of items of dubious existence on this page. There's a lot of stuff that just seems... small. Certainly trivia-worthy on relevant pages, but not big enough to really warrant being here. Let's hear some arguments for keeping...
* Powermaster Optimus Prime was the first, original Optimus Prime toy.
* A "giant"-sized Optimus Prime toy was available during Generation 1.
* A winged variant of Sludge was available during Generation 1.
* The reissue Soundwave toys released by Takara are reverse-engineered from Soundblaster because the original molds are lost.
* Commemorative Series Side Swipe was found at Toys"R"Us stores in the USA.
* Some toys were exclusively (or predominantly) available in the United Kingdom (sometimes also the Netherlands).
:There's certainly some confusion about the way releases were handled on this side of the Atlantic, not least because it took time for the various markets and even companies to be aligned, and this has created confusion in later years when everything's been gathered under a single listing called "Europe". I'm not sure the current paragraphs really convey this well - indeed the myths in the 1980s and early 1990s (mainly through the UK letterspage) tended to be based around the continent getting toys the UK didn't rather than the other way round and some of this got reproduced in the internet era. But would "All countries in Europe received a single set of releases in the 1980s" be obscure in itself and/or oversummarising the mess? [[User:Timrollpickering|Timrollpickering]] 15:48, 9 May 2013 (EDT)
* Transformers were meant as a "genderless" race. Arcee and the other female Transformers were added to the brand because feminists complained about the Transformers all being male. (''When the fuck was this ever proposed?'')
:I actually heard this from someone else a few years ago, so it's been making the rounds. Given that the G1 cartoon seemingly went out of its way to avoid adding female characters at first (no recurring female characters for 1984, and Carly not appearing until several episodes into the 1985 season) while other franchises were gender-integrated from the get-go (such as with G. I. Joe or He-Man), I can see where this misconception might have first started. [[User:Ironhold|Ironhold]] 18:28, 7 May 2013 (EDT)
* The Transformers: The Movie/Scatman Crothers coined the term "ginormous", which has since been added to several dictionaries.
* An Earthforce story was written to promote the non-combining Constructicon toys.
:--[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] 03:35, 7 May 2013 (EDT)
:Also, several of the entries not on this list can really use some trim. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] 04:53, 7 May 2013 (EDT)
::"A "giant"-sized Optimus Prime toy was available during Generation 1." seems particularly unneeded since it directly follows the bit about 20th Anniversary Optimus, which is pretty much the same misconception. The only part that is really new is the the giant bootleg thing, and that could just be added to the 20th Anniversary section if needed. [[User:Soundwarp SG-1|Soundwarp SG-1]] 12:37, 7 May 2013 (EDT)
::For me this has been one of the most interesting pages over the years, so I'm sad to see anything go, but yeah, some like the Alternators Windcharger thing would make more sense just on individual character pages. On "Winged Sludge": was that really more of a source of confusion than any other Four Star knock-off? Should that myth possibly be expanded to something like, "Four Star's toys using Transformer molds were legit Diaclone variants sold at the same time as their TF counterparts," since some listings of their toys throw up "Diaclone" as a keyword? [[User:Bumblevivisector|Bumblevivisector]] 20:01, 7 May 2013 (EDT)
::I think this page should focus on the large scale, line wide myths. Things particular to one character (or one actor, in the case of Scatman Crothers) should be moved to the specific page. --[[User:Khajidha|Khajidha]] 17:55, 9 May 2013 (EDT)

==The G1 series being dubbed anime==
I remembered something when I read this entry in the list. Back when Rhino was releasing the 1986 movie and the first few batches of episodes on VHS, the local chain of the Suncoast video retailer had everything "Transformers" stocked in their anime section. Back then I honestly took it to mean that Transformers was anime, and another collector I spoke with at the time thought the same.

For those who had Suncoast chains in their area during the Rhino years, did your chain similarly stock G1 in the "anime" section? If so, then Suncoast might have inadvertently contributed to the propagation of this myth. [[User:Ironhold|Ironhold]] ([[User talk:Ironhold|talk]]) 13:24, 5 May 2014 (EDT)
:I'm pretty sure being a cartoon with a lot of behind-the-scenes associations with Japan had much more to do with the "the propagation of this myth" than your local overpriced retailer. [[User:Mimi|Mimi]] ([[User talk:Mimi|talk]]) 14:58, 5 May 2014 (EDT)

== "Megatron is named from Megas" ==

Does this count as a misconception? This was written on Wikipedia about fans missauming it but Megatron is actually a portemeau of megaton and tron.

== IDW Hasbroverse ==

Though I'm not going to argue against the point that the existing IDW TF continuity getting rebooted isn't the fault of the Hasbroverse, the phrase "unsustainable downwards spiral" regarding pre-Hasbroverse sales is pretty hyperbolic and somewhat ignorant of the general comics industry. The graph linked to in the footnote shows sales steadily declining at about 1k a year. Across the 4 years from DoOP to Revolution, that's a drop of about a third. That may sound bad, but that's actually better than average. Pretty much every American monthly comic (apart from the Walking Dead) loses readers as it goes. Many from Marvel and DC will see bigger percentage drops in readership than that in the space of one year, let alone four, and not only keep on going, but be considered successes. If a phrase as overblown as "unsustainable downwards spiral" is apt for anything, it's the post-Revolution sales, which see that level of decline within about a year, which, more supports the "misconception" being argued against here. If this is going to be "debunked" it needs to be with first hand evidence (a quote from someone at IDW) rather than tenuous supposition from sales charts. [[User:Danja|Danja]] ([[User talk:Danja|talk]]) 11:00, 2 April 2018 (EDT)

== Bay's Opinion on the 1986 movie ==

I suddenly remembered someone said that Michael Bay hated the 1986 Animated movie. Don't know who said that, but I can consider this as a rumor since there is no official word about him genuinely hating the flick. [[User:FigureGunplaFan|FigureGunplaFan]] ([[User talk:FigureGunplaFan|talk]]) 12:53, 22 May 2018 (EDT)

== Cliffjumper's deaths in "every" continuity ==

Uh, yeah. There are some people who still think that Cliffjumper dies in every show or comic that existed. Is it worth mentioning? [[User:FigureGunplaFan|FigureGunplaFan]] ([[User talk:FigureGunplaFan|talk]]) 01:56, 28 July 2020 (EDT)

== Bumblebee Not Confirmed as Reboot ==

I'm not entirely sure what's not clear about a 'new storytelling universe' meaning a reboot of some sort. It surely means other than the existing Bayverse even if it borrows elements from it.

== Lorenzo sabotaged Peter Cullen's Audition ==

I see this brought up on various fan sites, in discussions about why fans hate Lorenzo di Bonaventura. The source of this comes from an interview with Don Murphy, someone who is from what I've read is pretty biased himself. The basic story is Mr. Murphy refers to Mr. Bonaventura as Scorponok, who wanted Liam Neeson as Optimus Prime, for starpower, while Mr. Murphy believed they should get Cullen back in the role. There is a story that Lorenzo sabotaged Mr. Cullen's audition, by making sure the other person who was supposed to read the lines not show up, but Peter Cullen managed to play both characters (Optimus Prime and Ironhide) and impressed Michael Bay to reprise the role for the live action theatrical film. I see this story repeated verbatim in the fandom without a source should this warrant a place on this page? And does anyone have a refutable source for this story?

[[User:96megatron|96megatron]] ([[User talk:96megatron|talk]]) 11:16, 14 November 2020 (EST)

Talk:Misconceptions and urban legends about Transformers

2020-11-14T16:12:51Z

96megatron: /* Lorenzo sabotaged Peter Cullen's Audition */ new section

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)

2020-10-25T02:23:26Z

96megatron: /* Continuity notes */

{{nav-rotf}}
[[File:ROTFteaserposter.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|You have controlled your fear. Now, release your anger. Only your hatred can destroy me.]]
{{quote|We had three weeks to get our story and, really, we were going into the movie without a script. It’s tough to do that.|[[Michael Bay]], [http://herocomplex.latimes.com/2011/01/14/michael-bay-ready-to-make-you-forget-transformers-2-it-was-kind-of-a-mess/ LA Times interview]}}

'''''Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen''''' is the second film in the [[live-action film series]], a sequel to ''[[Transformers (film)|Transformers]]''. It was released in North America on [[June 24]], [[2009]].

The film is set two years after the events of ''Transformers''. The Autobots have found a home in "NEST", a secret military unit created to eliminate the remaining Decepticons, and Sam is starting college and trying to leave his Transformer-laden past behind. The Decepticons are regrouping, however. Megatron is restored to life, and his master, The Fallen, schemes to activate an energon-producing Star Harvester on Earth, which will destroy the planet and provide the Decepticons with enough energon to raise an army. The Harvester's location, and the means to activate it, are hidden within Sam's mind, leading the Decepticons to wage war across the Earth as they hunt down the human. Witwicky turns to some unlikely allies to escape and survive. Ultimately, the last of the Primes defeats The Fallen, destroys the Harvester, and proves the Autobots' greatest power is found in their unexpectedly-ancient alliance with the humans.

Director [[Michael Bay]] set out to greatly expand the film's scope with settings ranging across the globe, and a much larger cast of Transformers, with over 40 robots in all.

::::::::::::::::::::{{bigquote|Revenge is mine!|The Fallen}}

==Synopsis==
In 17,000 B.C., a group of human hunters discover Transformers already on Earth, building [[Star Harvester|a machine]]. [[The Fallen|One of the Transformers]] notices the humans, and his reaction is less than friendly.

Two years after the battle of [[Mission City]], the Autobots have teamed up with the American soldiers, including [[William Lennox|Lennox]] and [[Robert Epps|Epps]], in a secret team named [[NEST]] under the command of the [[United States military|US military]], but also incorporating soldiers from other countries such as the United Kingdom. Officially, the US government still keeps the Transformers' existence a secret.

[[File:ROTF-Arceethree.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.4|Well, I guess you don't know everything about women yet.]]

NEST is hunting down the Decepticons on Earth. A region of [[Shanghai]], [[China]] is evacuated to allow NEST to deploy with a cover-up of a toxic chemical spill occurring. As soldiers probe the region, they find the heat signature of the Decepticon [[Demolishor (ROTF)|Demolishor]], who transforms and wreaks havoc on the roadways. His discovery prompts his partner, [[Sideways (ROTF)|Sideways]], to escape as well. Sideways is pursued by [[Arcee (Movie)|Arcee]], [[Skids (ROTF)|Skids]] and [[Mudflap (ROTF)|Mudflap]], although [[Sideswipe (Movie)|Sideswipe]], waiting for the Decepticon, eventually slices him lengthwise in half. [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] is airlifted to Shanghai and chases Demolishor through the city with [[Ironhide (Movie)|Ironhide]]. Optimus shoots Demolishor several times in the head, while Ironhide shoots out his wheels, causing him to crash and fall off a bypass, badly injuring himself in the process. Before Optimus kills him, Demolishor delivers the cryptic message: "The Fallen shall rise again."

[[File:ROTF Sam Cube fragment.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|You will go to the Dagobah system. There you will learn from Yoda.]]

Meanwhile, [[Sam Witwicky]] is preparing for his move to college and dealing with his bipolar mother. His father is looking forward to enjoying a holiday in Paris, and [[Mojo]] has a new canine companion named [[Frankie]]. Sam is on the phone to his rather snarky girlfriend, when he finds a splinter of the [[AllSpark]] lodged in his "D-Day shirt". He experiences a brief flash of images before the splinter burns him. Dropping it, Sam sees the floor catch fire as the splinter burns its way down to the kitchen, where it brings numerous kitchen devices to life. These [[appliancebot]]s make their way to Sam's room and attack. He escapes to the garden, where the bots pin Sam and his father behind the water fountain. After [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]] has destroyed the kitchen robots (and part of the Witwickys' house with them), Sam hands the AllSpark shard to [[Mikaela Banes|Mikaela]]. His mother demands Bumblebee leaves. Sam then tells Bumblebee to join the other Autobots, as both of them need to move on. Sam and Mikaela have a slight scuffle over who should say the words "I love you" first, but they kiss and move on. Sam leaves for college, and no one notices a [[Wheelie (ROTF)|toy car]] in the lawn. It detects the splinter and signals [[Soundwave (ROTF)|Soundwave]], who is stationed in orbit around Earth, disguised as a satellite, and Soundwave orders the truck to follow the girl.

Meanwhile, NEST is in a video briefing with [[Morshower|General Morshower]], Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, when they are visited by National Security Adviser [[Theodore Galloway]], who has been dispatched to relay the President's concerns over the casualties in Shanghai. As Optimus relays the warning of "The Fallen", Soundwave takes control of the satellite transmitting the message. Galloway dismisses the threat, convinced that the only reason the Decepticons are interested in Earth is because of the presence of the Autobots. Therefore, he suggests that they may leave the planet. Optimus says that, yes, they will, but also warns Galloway that he may be wrong. During the conversation, Galloway reveals the location of the AllSpark shard Optimus Prime had picked up after killing [[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]], and the location of Megatron's remains in the [[Laurentian Abyss]].

Sam arrives at college with his parents and meets his roommate, [[Leo Spitz]], who operates a [[The Real Effing Deal|conspiracy website]] and is convinced that alien robots are hiding on Earth. Sam feigns ignorance and goes to see if he can get another room, but his hunt is interrupted by his father and mother, the latter of whom has unwittingly purchased some marijuana-laced brownies. In the corridor, Leo points out [[Alice (ROTF)|Alice]], another student he has the hots for. Sam is more concerned with tracking down his mother, who by now is roaming the school, informing random people about the state of Sam's virginity.

Soundwave dispatches his minion [[Ravage (ROTF)|Ravage]] to Earth, where he infiltrates the NEST base on [[Diego Garcia]]. Ravage horks a swarm of [[Microcon (ROTF)|microcons]] into an ventilation outlet, and they swarm down to the chamber where the AllSpark shard is being held. There they combine into [[Reedman]], who steals the shard and joins Ravage in a rapid escape.

Although he's due to have a webcam date with Mikaela, Sam is dragged to at a frat party by Leo. He suffers some sort of attack, seeing [[Cyberglyphics|alien symbols]] which he is trying to write on a table with cake icing when he's approached by Alice, who attempts to seduce him. When Bumblebee shows up, she takes a ride with Sam, but Bumblebee does everything he can to convince her to leave, up to and including spraying her with an [[lubricant|unidentifiable yellow liquid]]. Bumblebee then takes Sam to Optimus Prime, who tells him of the theft of the AllSpark shard and asks Sam to speak with the government on their behalf. Sam refuses, saying that he has his own problems and does not believe that he is the right person for this task.

[[File:TheFallen-ROTFNemesis.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.4|What is thy bidding, my master?]]

At the Laurentian Abyss, Ravage meets up with several [[Constructicon (ROTF)|Constructicons]], who have placed themselves aboard a cargo ship, then dives with them to the bottom of the ocean, where the US military has dumped Megatron's remains. Using the shard and spare parts from [[Scrapmetal (ROTF)|one of the Constructicons]] (who is presumably killed), [[Scalpel (ROTF)|"The Doctor"]] is able to revive Megatron, who promptly travels to one of Saturn's moons, where the ''[[Nemesis (ROTF)|Nemesis]]'' is being used as a base by the Decepticons. He is awaited by [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]], who is overseeing the spawning of a new army of Decepticons. After beating Starscream for leaving him to die, Megatron presents himself to his master, [[The Fallen]]. Although Megatron believes he has failed, The Fallen reveals that when the Cube was destroyed, the knowledge within the AllSpark was instead transferred to Sam, and with it the means to locate a device capable of creating vast amounts of Energon. The Fallen commands Megatron to capture Sam and kill Optimus, who is the last [[Prime (rank)|Prime]] and the only transformer who can defeat The Fallen.

As he sits in [[Colan|Professor Colan]]'s astronomy class, Sam suddenly reads through the entire reference book in a matter of seconds, before interrupting the Professor's lecture to scrawl more of the strange symbols on a blackboard and deliver a speed lecture on higher physics. After the Professor throws him out, he realises that the effects he's been experiencing may be linked to touching the AllSpark shard. When he calls Mikaela to warn her not to touch it, the [[Wheelie (ROTF)|toy-truck Decepticon]] tries to steal the shard, but Mikaela captures the tiny Decepticon. Mikaela promptly boards a plane to see Sam.

Alerted to multiple Decepticon contacts, NEST mobilises, but the Autobots are already on their way somewhere, and refusing to answer calls from their human comrades.

[[File:ROTF Optimus death.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|You are beaten. It is useless to resist.]]

Leo and Alice find Sam in the dorm room, freaking out and covering the walls with glyphs. Alice pushes Leo outside, and when Mikaela arrives, she finds Sam and Alice in what appears to be an intimate moment. It soon turns out, however, that Alice is a Decepticon as well. Mikaela, Sam and Leo flee as Alice hunts them, devastating the campus library; Mikaela eventually defeats her by slamming her into a tree with a hotwired car. The three humans try to get away but are captured by [[Grindor (ROTF)|Grindor]] and delivered to the waiting Megatron in an abandoned building. Megatron orders "The Doctor" to remove Sam's brain in order to access the information from the AllSpark shard, but Optimus Prime and Bumblebee arrive to free the three humans. Prime takes Sam and flees, but is soon overtaken by Megatron, Starscream and Grindor. In the subsequent battle, Prime injures Starscream and kills Grindor by tearing his head apart. However, Optimus is eventually impaled by Megatron and dies. The other Autobots arrive, saving Sam and causing Megatron and Starscream to retreat.

With the Decepticons unable to locate Sam on their own, Megatron decides that a show of force is in order to compel the humans to turn Sam over to him. Soundwave relays the mobilization order to the ''Nemesis'' and then tracks down [[Ron Witwicky|Ron]] and [[Judy Witwicky]] in Paris. Decepticons, joined by The Fallen, enter Earth and cause massive damage in their transition forms, destroying a [[United States Navy|naval carrier]] in the [[Atlantic Ocean]] and attacking Paris, kidnapping Sam's parents. In a hijacked TV broadcast around the world, The Fallen reveals his existence to the world's public and demands Sam be surrendered to him or else the Decepticons will destroy the world. As a result manhunt for Sam is launched.

[[File:Rotf t2 simmonsclassified.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.4|Ready are you? What know you of ready?]]

Sam, meanwhile, is hiding out with Mikaela, Leo, Bumblebee and the Autobot twins, Skids and Mudflap. Leo complains loudly about the strange turn his life has taken of late, and Sam rightly tells him to shut the hell up.

The Autobots return to the NEST base, where they are surrounded by the military. Galloway tells them that he has placed in charge of NEST, which is to cease all activities relating to the Decepticons. NEST is being stood down, and they are all to return to Diego Garcia, while the military draws up a coordinated multinational strategy, buying time by negotiating with the Decepticons. Though Lennox tries to argue, it's futile as Galloway pulls rank. Ratchet says the Autobots should leave Earth altogether, but Ironhide points out that it's not what Optimus would want.

Feeling guilty for Prime's death, Sam decides to solve the mystery of the symbols he's been seeing. The Autobots identify the symbols as Cybertronian, but since the language predates their existence, they cannot translate them. Leo eventually suggests they may ask his rival, "[[Robo-Warrior]]", owner of a [[GiantEffingRobots.com|competing website]], for help. To everyone's surprise, Robo-Warrior turns out to be none other than [[Seymour Simmons]], former agent of [[Sector Seven]]. Simmons reveals that the Transformers were on Earth some time ago, as symbols similar to those Sam is obsessed with have been found on numerous excavation sites around the world, and that Sector Seven discovered evidence that several Transformers stayed on Earth for some time. However, in order to read the symbols, they may need a Decepticon. Mikaela then interrogates Wheelie, who identifies the symbols as the Language of the Primes, and suggests they may track down one of the ancient [[Seeker (ROTF)|Seekers]], the Transformers believed to be on Earth. Wheelie identifies one as being nearby, in [[Washington, D.C.]]

[[File:ROTF behold Jetfire.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Looking? Found someone you have, I would say, hmmm?]]

At the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, they discover an old Decepticon named [[Jetfire (Movie)|Jetfire]], disguised as an SR-71 Blackbird. After some initial confusion on his part, Jetfire explains he has defected to the Autobots, inspiring Wheelie to follow suit. When Sam finishes writing down the symbols, Jetfire says that they were part of the Seekers' mission, and he opens a [[space bridge]] and teleports himself as well as Sam, Mikaela, Leo, Simmons, Bumblebee and the Twins to [[Egypt]]. He explains that thousands of years ago, the Transformers arrived on Earth on an exploratory mission under their original leaders, the [[Dynasty of Primes|Primes]]. The Primes had come to build a Star Harvester, a device which can create [[Energon]], the Transformers fuel, by destroying suns. The Primes had a single rule of never destroying a star with a living bearing world, but one of the Primes, forever known as The Fallen, despised the humans and tried to activate the machine. The Primes were unable to defeat their brother, but instead stole the [[Matrix of Leadership]], the key needed to activate the harvester, and gave their lives to seal it in a tomb made of their own bodies. Jetfire further explains that only a Prime can hope to defeat The Fallen, and with the death of Optimus, they are doomed. Sam suggests that they may use the Matrix to revive Optimus Prime, which is backed up by Jetfire. They head towards Giza, dodging Egyptian police on the way.

In New Jersey, NEST are loading up to return to Diego Garcia when Simmons contacts Lennox to relay information about the new quest, and coordinates where they can drop Optimus's body. Lennox and Epps decide to trust the new information and go against their orders. Sam's group passes through a checkpoint, allowing Soundwave to pinpoint their location, but they reach the Pyramids of Giza, where they pick up the next clue, pointing to [[Jordan]].

On the NEST aircraft, Lennox tricks Galloway into bailing out of the plane. Back in the US, General Morshower receives a communique from Lennox, and arranges to have assets in the target area.

In Petra, Sam's group discovers the [[Tomb of the Primes]]. Inside, Sam finds the Matrix, which instantly crumbles into dust into his hands. Sam collects the dust regardless, and he and Mikaela return outside where Simmons and Leo have spotted the NEST team parachuting into Egypt to begin preparing for battle near the pyramids.

[[File:ROTF movie BumblebeevsRampage.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.4|This baby's got a few surprises in her.]]

Before Sam and the others can get back to Lennox and his people, the Decepticons start their attack. Bumblebee, Simmons, Leo, and the Twins draw their fire while Sam and Mikaela make a break for the soldiers. The Constructicons merge into [[Devastator (ROTF)|Devastator]], who proceeds to swallow Mudflap. Mudflap, however, is able to free himself, together with Skids, they try to slow Devastator down. While the Autobots and NEST fight the Decepticons, Starscream leads several other Constructicons in a search for Sam, and intending to use Sam's parents to lure him into a trap. Falling into the trap, Sam offers to hand over the Matrix dust to the Constructicon [[Rampage (ROTF)|Rampage]], but only to stall for time until Bumblebee is able to attack and destroy the Decepticon. Ravage attacks Bumblebee from behind, but is killed as well. Sam then orders Bumblebee to get his parents to safety while he and Mikaela try to reach Optimus Prime's body. A remote drone relays pictures back to Morshower, who launches [[Operation: Firestorm]], ordering an immediate launch of pretty much everything they can muster.

[[File:ROTF Devastator Mudflap swallow.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|How you get so big eating food of this kind?]]

In the meantime, Devastator has begun to take apart the pyramid that has been built around the Harvester. Simmons calls a navy ship off the coast of Egypt and orders the use of a railgun. Meanwhile, Sam finally meets up with Lennox and Epps, but they're pinned down by [[Mixmaster (ROTF)|Mixmaster]]. Jetfire arrives and kills Mixmaster and [[Scorponok (Movie)|Scorponok]], but is mortally wounded by the smaller Decepticon. Simmons relays Devastator's coordinates to the Navy, who score a direct hit on the giant with their railgun. Devastator is torn to pieces and topples from the pyramid. After an air strike takes out most of the other Decepticons, Sam makes a dash for Prime's body, but is caught in the blast of a shot fired by Megatron. While paramedics try to reanimate him, the Matrix dust gets spilled across his hand, and Sam encounters the dead Primes in a vision. The Primes tell him that he was destined to find the Matrix and save the life of the last Prime. Sam returns to life, which is enough to get him and Mikaela to admit that they love each other, and the dust in his hand turns back into the Matrix, which he is able to revive Optimus Prime.

[[File:TheFallen-ROTFfacegotten.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.1|Perhaps you are not as strong as the Emperor thought.]]
Just then, The Fallen arrives by teleportation, steals the Matrix, and teleports himself to the pyramid, where he uses the Matrix to activate the Harvester. The soldiers and armored vehicles begin firing on the pyramid, but The Fallen raises the heavy weaponry with his telekinetic powers and destroys it all. Dying, Jetfire offers his parts to Optimus Prime, and then rips out his own Spark. [[Ratchet (Movie)|Ratchet]] and [[Jolt (ROTF)|Jolt]] then proceed to fuse Jetfire's remains with Optimus Prime, making him extremely powerful with flight capabilities. Optimus Prime is then able to destroy the Harvester, then faces the Fallen and Megatron. After a short, but fierce battle, Optimus defeats Megatron and kills The Fallen. Horrified at the demise of his master, the severely injured Megatron follows Starscream's suggestion and retreats, but vows that the war isn't over.

[[File:ROTF Optimus Sam ship.JPG|thumb|200px|Take care, you two. May the Force be with you.]]

With the battle won, the Autobots, NEST, Sam and his friends return to the USA on board an aircraft carrier. Upon his return, Sam continues to attend college, while Optimus Prime sends another message detailing recent events, so the shared past of Humanity and the Autobots will not be forgotten as it was before.
{{-}}

==Quotes==





"Gotta wonder... if God made us in his image, who made ''him?''"
:—'''Epps''', as Galloway first witnesses Optimus's transformation.

"We've shed blood, sweat, and precious metal together."<br>
"Soldier, you're paid to shoot, not talk."<br>
[muttering] "Don't tempt me."
:—'''Epps''' is not really happy with '''Galloway'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s plan to get rid of the Autobots.

"So let me ask: If we ultimately conclude that our national security is best served by denying you further asylum on our planet, will you leave peacefully?"<br>
"Freedom is your right. If you make that request, we will honor it. But before your President decides, please ask him this: What if we leave, and you're ''wrong''?"
:—'''Galloway''' makes the U.S. government's position on the Autobot refugees clear, while '''Optimus Prime''' counters with a pointed argument of his own

"No, uh, it's just this friend of mine went to get you a tighter shirt."<br>
"There isn't a [[tightest shirt|tighter shirt]]! We ''checked''!"
:—'''Sam''' tries to deflect a pair of '''frat boys'''

"Sam, fate rarely calls upon us at a moment of our choosing."
:—'''Optimus Prime''', trying to convince Sam Witwicky to become involved in the conflict once again

"I know you’re pissed. I know you’re pissed because I tried to kill you and it's completely understandable. If somebody tried to kill me, I’d be upset, too."
:—'''Sam Witwicky''' tries to relate with Megatron, to no avail.

"Is the future of our race not worth a single human life?"<br>
"You'll never stop at ''one''. ''[Unsheathes his left blade]'' '''I'll take you all on!'''"
:—'''Megatron''' tries to justify killing Sam, but '''Optimus Prime''' disapproves based on the potato chip theory. The most epic beatdown of the film ensues.

'''Sam''': "These symbols gotta mean something. Like a message... or a map. A map to an energon source. Can you guys read this?"<br>
'''Skids''': "''Read?''"<br>
'''Mudflap''': "Nu-uh, w-no. We don't really do much reading."
:—Literacy with '''Skids''' and '''Mudflap'''.

"Beginning. Middle. End. Facts. Details. Condense. Plot. Tell it."
:—'''Simmons''' demands more coherent exposition from Jetfire.

"One man, alone..."<br>
"Stop saying that!"<br>
"...Betrayed by the country he loves."<br>
"Oh, my goodness, I'm in the car with you. You're not alone!"
:—'''Simmons''' being, well, himself, much to '''Leo Spitz'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s distress.

"Now I claim your sun!"
:—'''The Fallen''' does the standard "I claim victory before I have actually won" bit.

"You picked the wrong planet! Give me your ''face!''"
:—'''Optimus Prime''' warns The Fallen of his violent fetish.

"Not to call you a coward, master, but, sometimes, cowards do survive."
:—'''Starscream''' pitches his usual battle plan to an unusually receptive Megatron.

"Our races united by a history long forgotten and a future we shall face together. I am Optimus Prime, and I send this message so that our pasts will always be remembered. For in those memories, we live on."
:—'''Optimus Prime'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s closing narration.

==Main cast==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] ([[Peter Cullen]])
*[[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]] ([[Mark Ryan]])*
*[[Skids (ROTF)|Skids]] ([[Tom Kenny]])
*[[Mudflap (ROTF)|Mudflap]] ([[Reno Wilson]])
*[[Jetfire (Movie)|Jetfire]] (Mark Ryan)
*[[Wheelie (ROTF)|Wheelie]] (Tom Kenny)
*[[Ironhide (Movie)|Ironhide]] ([[Jess Harnell]])
*[[Ratchet (Movie)|Ratchet]] ([[Robert Foxworth]])
*[[Sideswipe (Movie)|Sideswipe]] ([[André Sogliuzzo]])
*[[Arcee (Movie)|Arcee]] ([[Grey Griffin]])
*[[Chromia (ROTF)|Chromia]] (Grey Griffin)
*[[Elita-One (Movie)|Elita-One]] (Grey Griffin)
*[[Jolt (ROTF)|Jolt]]
|c2=
*[[The Fallen]] ([[Tony Todd]])
*[[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]] ([[Hugo Weaving]])
*[[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]] ([[Charlie Adler]])
*[[Soundwave (ROTF)|Soundwave]] ([[Frank Welker]])
**[[Ravage (ROTF)|Ravage]] (Frank Welker)
**[[Reedman]] (Frank Welker)
***[[Microcon (ROTF)|Microcons]]
**[[Scalpel (ROTF)|Scalpel/The Doctor]] ([[John Di Crosta]])
*[[Alice (ROTF)|Alice]] ([[Isabel Lucas]])
*[[Grindor (ROTF)|Grindor]] (Frank Welker)
*[[Sideways (ROTF)|Sideways]]
*[[Scorponok (Movie)|Scorponok]]
*[[Insecticon (Movie)|Insecticon]]
*[[Buffalo MPV Decepticon]]
*[[Hatchling]]s
*[[Protoform]]s
*[[Scalpel's assistant]]s
*[[Frenzy (Movie)|Frenzy's]] head

'''[[Constructicon (ROTF)|Constructicons]]'''
*[[Devastator (ROTF)|Devastator]] (Frank Welker)
**[[Rampage (ROTF)|Rampage/Skipjack]] ([[Kevin Michael Richardson]])
**[[Mixmaster (ROTF)|Mixmaster]]
**[[Long Haul (ROTF)|Long Haul]]
**[[Scrapper (ROTF)|Scrapper]]
**[[Hightower (ROTF)|Hightower]]
**[[Overload (ROTF)|Overload]]
**[[Scavenger (ROTF)|Scavenger]]
**[[Unknown Constructicon dump truck]]
**[[Unknown Constructicon shovel]]
*[[Demolishor (ROTF)|Demolishor/Wheelbot]] ([[Calvin Wimmer]])
*[[Scrapmetal (ROTF)|Scrapmetal]]
|c3=
*[[Sam Witwicky]] ([[Shia LaBeouf]])
*[[Mikaela Banes]] ([[Megan Fox]])
*[[Leo Spitz]] ([[Ramon Rodriguez]])
*[[Seymour Simmons]] ([[John Turturro]])
*[[William Lennox|Major William Lennox]] ([[Josh Duhamel]])
*[[Robert Epps|Master Sergeant Epps]] ([[Tyrese Gibson]])
*[[Judy Witwicky]] ([[Julie White]])
*[[Ron Witwicky]] ([[Kevin Dunn]])
*[[Morshower|General Morshower]] ([[Glenn Morshower]])
*[[Theodore Galloway]] ([[John Benjamin Hickey]])
*[[Graham|SASF Agent Graham]] ([[Matthew Marsden]])
*[[Colan|Professor Colan]] ([[Rainn Wilson]])
*[[Fassbinder]] ([[Jonathon Trent]])
*[[Sharsky]] ([[Walker Howard]])
*[[Tova Anael Fischer|Tova Simmons]] ([[Annie Korzen]])
|c4=
*[[Mojo]] ([[Chester the Chihuahua]])
*[[Frankie]] ([[Paris (dog)|Paris]])
*[[Bonecrusher (dog)|Bonecrusher]] (himself)
'''[[Appliancebot]]s'''
*[[Dickbot the blender guy]]
*[[Ejector]]
*[[Dyson vacuum cleaner]]
*[[Microwave bot]]
*[[Waffle iron]]
*[[Cappuccino bot]]
*[[Garbage disposal bot]]
*[[Hand mixer]]
*[[Stand mixer]]
*[[CISCO Aironet]]
'''[[Dynasty of Primes]]'''
*Prime #1 ([[Michael York]])
*Prime #2 (Kevin Michael Richardson)
*Prime #3 ([[Robin Atkin Downes]])
|nonumbering=true
}}
<nowiki>*</nowiki> Bumblebee's lines as spoken by Ryan were cut from the final movie, but one scene where his voice could be heard was in a promotional video created for ShoWest 2009.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRIfbFpe_sg Preview footage] from ShoWest 2009 showing Bumblebee "speaking" a line not used in the final cut.</ref>

==Continuity notes==
*While it was originally believed Archibald Witwicky's encounter with Megatron was humanity's first encounter with Transformers. As of this film, humanity's first encounter with robotic aliens from outer space was as early as 17,000 B.C.
*With the Allspark's destruction at the end of ''Transformers'', the Autobots had accepted Earth as their new home. The Allspark fragment Optimus’ took out of Megatron’s exposed spark chamber, in that film, was given to the US Government as a sign of trust prior to the event of this film. Furthermore, Optimus believed that with the Allspark's destruction, the Decepticons would leave Earth alone, however, that turned out not to be the case, as stated in Optimus' mission report to General Morshower, Decepticons haven't ceased activity on the planet.
*During the past two years, the Autobots had formed an alliance with the United States, putting together a classified strike team called N.E.S.T, hunting for signs of any Decepticons hiding around the globe. Having fought side-by-side during the final battle of the first film, Autobots Optimus Prime, Ironhide, and Ratchet and special forces Lennox, Epps, and other members of their surviving unit have all joined said strike team.
*Responding to Optimus’ open invitation sent into space at the end of the first film, for any surviving Autobots to take refuge on Earth, Autobots Sideswipe, Arcee, Skids, and Mudflap (also Jolt, but last minute) answered the call and joined NEST.
*Meanwhile, Bumblebee, who opted to remain with Sam at the end of the film, is currently residing in the Witwickys' garage.
*Soundwave, his minion Ravage, the Constructicons, and their combined form 'Devastator' make their live-action debut in this film.
*Optimus reveals to Sam his fears of Earth sharing the same fate as Cybertron, opening up a view on his psyche and why he employs such brutal and cold tactics in an effort to end the threat posed to Earth and its populace by the Decepticons.
*In the first film, when first introduced to Sam, he was a high school student, now at the start of this film, he is just about to finish packing and heading out to attend college (tuition paid for by the government, an award for saving the world).
*Sam and Mikaela had been assumed to have entered into a relationship in the aftermath of the first film, the start of this film confirms this.
*Mikaela's reason for not being able to move near Sam's college is because she has to help her fresh out-of-prison father reintegrate back into society. In the first film, her father was still in prison.
*The introduction of the titular, The Fallen, as well as his relationship with Megatron, offers some explanation as to why Megatron started the war on Cybertron in the first place, including cutting all ties with Optimus, who both considered one another to be like 'brothers'. The first film had left the reason for Megatron's betrayal pretty vague. As revealed in this film, Megatron's plan to claim The Allspark in order to secure their race's future had been under orders of The Fallen since before the events of the first film.
*Also revealed in the film is the origins of the 'Decepticon' movement, started by The Fallen, and reignited by his successor, Megatron.
*At the start of this film, Megatron was still resting at the bottom of the Laurentian Abyss.
*Starscream, one out the three surviving Decepticons of the first film returns, after abandoning Megatron to his fate, has taken command of the Decepticons. However, it's unclear if he planned to take command of the Decepticons or because the seat was vacant. Throughout the film, he receives several punishments for his actions from a vengeful, recently revived Megatron and was demoted back to being Megatron's second-in-command. Scorponok, who had also survived the events of the first film, having regrown his tail, returns in a brief, surprise cameo, before swiftly being dispatched by an elderly seeker.
*Following the shutdown of the secret government agency Sector Seven, Former Agent Seymour Simmons is currently living with his mother (or his mother lives with him), works at his mother's deli, while running an alien conspiracy website on the side, got ahold of [[Frenzy (Movie)|Frenzy's]] head, and managed to "borrow" some of S7's crown jewels before shutdown, including Project: Black Knife.

==Errors==
===Filming / editing / technical errors===
[[File:ROTF filmcrewinsideplane.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|Goddamn papparazi get ''everywhere!'']]
*In the opening scene of the movie, when the Fallen lands to inspect the tribe of humans, he lifts up his right foot to stomp on them. However, when the scene switched to an overhead view, it is suddenly his left foot that stomps.

*When the Twins crash during their pursuit of Sideways, the pairs' voices are switched, with Tom Kenny's voice coming from Mudflap as he announces he is okay, and Reno Wilson delivering the admonishments as Skids punches him.

*During the Shanghai battle, when the ramp on the NEST C-17 transport is lowering to reveal Optimus Prime in the cargo bay, a filming crew (including director Michael Bay) can be seen inside the plane on the left side of screen.

*The vehicle modes the Twins scan already have personalized [[license plate]]s on them, though this could theoretically just be NEST personnel customizing the cars on the Twins' behalf beforehand.
**Furthermore, despite sporting a "SKIDS" license plate in vehicle mode most of the time, Skids sports a license plate stating his vehicle model, "BEAT", in an establishing shot during the scene in New York City.
**This would also make the Twin's fighting over which car they get pointless, as they have already been assigned a specific car determined by the plate.

*Despite the minor cosmetic changes to his Camaro vehicle mode (i.e. new car prop) and the corresponding changes to his robot mode (i.e. modified CG model), Bumblebee still sports the same license plate''s'' as in the previous film. That is, his license plate is ''still'' inconsistent between both modes, alternating between "900 STRA" in vehicle mode and "4NZZ454" in robot mode.

*Similarly, despite still sporting his license plate from the previous movie, "4PCI382", on his robot mode chest, Ironhide no longer ''has'' a license plate in vehicle mode.

*When Sam jumps from the second story of his house to escape the kitchen robots, a stuntperson who does not look much like Shia LaBeouf performs the stunt.

[[File:ROTF Optimus missing cheek glyph.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Cybertronian tattoo removal is expensive.]]
*Optimus Prime is missing the [[Cyberglyphics|Cyberglyph]] on his cheek during the scene in the hangar.

*During the scene in which Alice meets Sam at the party, Sam gets a drink and the glass is full, then the camera angle changes and the glass is half full/empty, then the angle changes again and the glass is full again.

*Bumblebee picks up Sam at the frat party in the evening. He then takes him to a graveyard where it's dawn. In real life, the graveyard is located in [[Philadelphia]], while the frat party is set a hundred miles north, in Princeton. Still, even in [[New Jersey (Earth)|New Jersey]] traffic, the trip wouldn't take ''all night.''

*During Sam's campus freak-out, when he drops his notes on the steps, a blonde woman in a suit can be seen coming down the steps to his left, nearly reaching him. However, when the camera angle shifts, the woman is suddenly at the top of the stairs again.

*As Alice attacks Sam, part of the window behind them is taken up by a fan. When Mikaela throws the tool box, it smashes through a glass pane where the fan had been moments before, with the fan itself now resting against the wall under the ''Bad Boys II'' poster.

*When the Autobots are driving to Sam's college shortly before the Decepticons attack him, Arcee is completely absent from the group, while previously-unseen Jolt shows up in one shot ''in front'' of the others, then when the camera angle changes, he disappears.

*In the flyover shot of the barge on which the four Constructicons sit, a red bulldozer, a concrete mixer, a green dump truck and a yellow front-end loader are visible. After the flyover shot, the yellow loader disappears and is replaced with a yellow Volvo excavator.

*During the North Atlantic sequence, on the submarine [[United States Navy#U.S.S. Topeka (SSN-754)|U.S.S. Topeka]]'s sonar, there are "five contacts" diving down to Megatron's body's location, and "six contacts" coming up after his resurrection. Although this is dramatic, since [[Scrapmetal (ROTF)|one Constructicon]] was killed to repair Megatron, shouldn't there be only five contacts going up as well? Keep in mind, Scalpel is too small to register on sonar, but Ravage is just large enough.

*When the [[United States Navy#U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71|U.S.S. ''Theodore Roosevelt'']] is sunk by Decepticon [[transition form]]s, its hull number of 71 can be seen on the bridge island. However, when it sinks, a hull number of 7'''4''' can clearly be seen on the bow of the landing deck. CVN-74 belongs to the [[United States Navy#U.S.S. John C. Stennis (CVN-74)|U.S.S. ''John C. Stennis'']], a carrier that shows up later in the film and was also the carrier used for filming.

*Tasers do not cause those tased to go into convulsions. Even if they get tased in the nuts.

*There is a spiderweb in a tomb that explosively decompressed after being opened to the air for the first time in millions of years.

*While the NEST team and Director Galloway are on the C-17 headed to Egypt, Prime's body appears and disappears from shot to shot.

*When an aide to Morshower shows him a map indicating that Lennox's NEST team have airdropped in Egypt, the location marked is actually on the eastern side of the Red Sea, in Jordan. ''Oops.''

*In the scene where Bumblebee, Skids and Mudflap are attacked by Starscream, Bumblebee's prop car door can be seen flailing open when Starscream fires a missile from the ground.

*In the quarry when Devastator forms, the Twins go from grimy and dust covered to showroom floor clean within two shots.

*When Sam and Mikaela are running at the same moment Megatron spots them, you can see Sam is holding Mikaela's arm, but his jacket is nowhere to be seen. In the next shot, he has his jacket on his arm.

*Once again, the [[w:General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper|MQ-9 Reaper]] drone is referred to as the more well-known [[w:General Atomics MQ-1 Predator|MQ-1 Predator]]. The drone is powered by a propeller, which can be seen when the (real) drone takes off. However, due to the usage of footage from the 2007 ''Transformers'' movie, when the (CGI) drone approaches the battlefield, the propeller is absent, replaced by a jet engine (which would be consistent with a ''third'' related drone, the [[w:General Atomics Avenger|Avenger]]) . Also unfortunate is the fact the real drone with the propeller is white, while the CGI drone is black. ''Oy.''

*Ravage tears off Bumblebee's back kibble... but in the next shot it's back.

*As the humans and Autobots run from the bombs being dropped on the Decepticons, a damaged Ironhide ejects the cannon on his left arm. In later shots, the cannon is back on his arm.

===Story / continuity errors===
*Most of the [[NEST]] and [[United States military|American]] soldiers are seen using small-calibre arms such as assault rifles, machine guns, and sniper rifles against the Decepticons, despite the previous film establishing very clearly that such weapons were useless against Cybertronians, and that "high-heat" sabot rounds were the only Human weapons capable of penetrating Decepticon armour. Even if they somehow figured out how to make small calibre ammunition achieve the "high heat" required to damage Decepticon armour, it is ''extremely'' unlikely that such low-powered weapons would do any meaningful damage that warrants such widespread usage. After all, in real life, you can't kill a tank with a machine gun. Well, unless you're in [[G.I. Joe (team)|G.I. Joe]]... ''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (film)|Dark of the Moon]]'' offers up the explanation that small-arms fire hitting Decepticon armor "scrambles their circuits" and disorients them.

*The notion that a big metal box (containing a complex electronic mechanism shouting to be released) would ''ever'' make it through post-9/11 airport luggage screening is a bit on the implausible side. The novelization of the film attributes this to Mikaela's Epic Hotness distracting the guard into just letting her through; she also claims that the box contains expensive mechanic's tools which might look strange in an x-ray. Neither explanation is present in the film itself, however.

*When Alice attacks Sam and his friends, the box Wheelie is imprisoned within is taken along, and the box is not seen when Mikaela and Leo escape from the foundry in Bumblebee. The box ''should'' still be inside the wreckage of the car Mikaela hotwired at the college, but Wheelie nonetheless continues to appear in the film, despite there being no indication that anyone returned to the foundry after the battle.

* A shard of the Allspark can revive Megatron, even though it killed him before.

*Given that the Autobots are part of NEST, and are dependent on the US Air Force for transportation around the world, it is not clear why Major Lennox had to be alerted to the fact that the Autobots were on the east coast of the United States. Do the Autobots normally go on unexplained joyrides?

*Where does Mikaela get the padding and gauze to bandage up Sam's hand? They were in the middle of a desert!

*When Jetfire teleports to Egypt, Wheelie is seen landing by him, but disappears until the group reaches the border guards. After they arrive at the pyramids, Wheelie is seen rolling in with the quartet of humans, but is never seen again.

*While running to get to Optimus' corpse, Sam meets a lot of Autobots: Bumblebee, Ironhide, the Arcee sisters... so why doesn't he simply get in one of them and ''drive'' all the way to Lennox's team instead of running?

*There's no rational reason for Simmons to climb the pyramid after Devastator. It looks like he's enabling the Navy ship to "fire on his position", which is useful when the firer can't see the target. However, as we find out just before the railgun is fired, the ship ''can'' see the pyramid. (And railguns are line-of-sight weapons, anyway.) So, Simmons didn't need to climb; he could have stayed someplace safe, called the ship, and told them, "Take a look at the pyramid, and shoot the giant robot tearing it up." It's also hard to believe he wasn't crushed by the flood of pyramid stones, which at one point are raining down on all four sides of the structure.

===Geographic discontinuities===
{{note|The on-film splicing together of disparate filming locations is a common movie phenomenon; however, we wouldn't be good pedants if we didn't point out a few of the more glaring disconnects.}}
*The [[Shanghai]] "industrial district" is... interesting, to say the least. There's a company sign that translates as "Empire Import and Export" (which would be the Chinese equivalent of a US company named "Soviet Import and Export") right next to a huge ironworks, dozens of people not even remotely dressed like workers are being evacuated... and at least [[Demolishor (ROTF)|Demolishor]] thought that a giant mining excavator wouldn't be terribly out of place there.

*The aerial view of [[Princeton University]] is immediately followed by a ground shot of the dormitories at the University of Pennsylvania.

[[File:ROTFcap-closestone.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|"The closest one's in Washington." Washington... New Jersey?]]
*After Lennox is alerted to the Autobot operation on the US east coast, he orders NEST to move out. By the time Optimus Prime is killed in battle with Megatron, it appears Lennox's transport planes are already over the United States, and by the end of the day, the NEST troops are at a US air base. Given the great distance between [[Diego Garcia]] and the United States, the short time it took them to arrive is implausible.

*[[Grindor (ROTF)|Grindor]] drops the car with [[Sam Witwicky|Sam]], [[Mikaela Banes|Mikaela]] and [[Leo Spitz|Leo]] inside into a factory just outside a huge city. Yet when [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] and [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]] rescue them and flee, they almost immediately reach a huge forest that was nowhere to be seen in the aerial shot of the factory.

*In the basement of Simmons' deli, in New York City, Wheelie projects laser dots onto a map of the United States to indicate where the Seekers are located. One dot hovers over Syracuse, New York. Another hovers over Trenton, New Jersey. Yet Simmons inexplicably says the closest one is in Washington.
**There ''is'' no dot over Washington.

*When Jetfire is activated at the {{w|National Air and Space Museum|Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum}} (actually the {{w|Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center}}, an annex of the Smithsonian) in Washington, he leaves the exhibition center and exits into the desert location of the {{w|309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group}} (aka "the Boneyard"), which is in Tucson, Arizona. When Jetfire breaks out of the building, we can see a composited image of the Boneyard's rows of planes, so it's arguable that in this universe, the middle of Washington DC happens to be a desert full of old planes, and no buildings and... you get the point. Michael Bay actually admits this to be a deliberate choice in his audio commentary for the movie, and suggests that "most people in Taiwan" would probably never notice the error.

[[File:ROTFcap-Pyramidsocean.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|The foreshortening is amazing.]]
*The movie gives the impression that Giza in Egypt and Petra in Jordan are in close proximity to each other — within eyeshot, even. In reality, the two locations are about 416 kilometres (258 miles) apart. What makes this even more problematic is the fact that Egypt and Jordan don't share a common border — the country of [[Israel]] is in-between them, whose existence isn't even mentioned in the movie. At one point, Simmons displays a map of the Gulf of Aqaba (aka "the Dagger's Tip") - on which Egypt and Jordan are labeled in English, but Israel is not.

*Optimus, Megatron, Starscream and The Fallen take their fight from the Pyramids of Giza to the Temple of Luxor, which are ''more than 300 miles away''.

*Considering both the Pyramids and the temple are famous tourist attractions, they’re both pretty devoid of, y’know, tourists.

*Furthermore, the movie gives the impression that the Pyramids of Giza are located near the coast — the soldiers and tanks deployed from hovercraft arrive at the battle site almost immediately. In reality, the closest sea shore, the tip of the Red Sea, is still over 70 miles away from the Pyramids. Worse, when the [[rail gun]] is fired, a monitor screen on board the ''U.S.S. Kidd'' shows footage of the pyramids with the ''ocean in the foreground'', making it appear like they're no more than a mile or two away from the shore. Worse still, this is ''immediately'' followed by a shot of the pyramids that shows ''nothing but desert'' in the direction the rail gun shot is coming from.

==Transformers references==
[[File:ROTF movie Powered-Up Optimus Prime.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.4|Luke, help me take this mask off.<br>But you will die.]]
In addition to carryovers from the previous film, various concepts and characters are derived from previous iterations of Transformers:
*The whole concept of "Transformers disguised as a human" used for [[Alice (ROTF)|Alice]] is inspired by the [[Pretender]]s. Roberto Orci even used the term "Pretender" during an interview before the movie's release.<ref name="pretender">[http://www.ign.com/articles/2009/01/14/transformers-2-rumor-confirmed IGN interview with Roberto Orci]</ref> However, a Transformer with an "organic" alt-mode instead of an external shell is a concept more reminiscent of the [[Beast Era]].
*The Generation 1 iteration of [[Jetfire (G1)|Jetfire]] is frequently portrayed as switching from Decepticon to Autobot (he's usually a young and technologically up-to-the-minute 'bot, however.)
*[[Soundwave (ROTF)|Soundwave]] and his ejectible minion [[Ravage (ROTF)|Ravage]] both have [[Soundwave (G1)|Generation 1]] [[Ravage (G1)|counterparts]]. Movie Soundwave even has the same voice actor as 1984 cartoon Soundwave, using the same voice, though without the synthetic vocal processing that made the cartoon voice so distinctive.
*[[Sideswipe (Movie)|Sideswipe]] bears little physical resemblance to his [[Sideswipe (G1)|Generation 1 namesake]], but is a vaguely similar character archetype, and he ''does'' have that characteristic door armor hanging from his elbows.
*Generation 1 [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] was the first [[female Transformer]] with a starring role, and was likewise a pink-colored girlbot. The idea of Arcee the pink girlbot as a motorcycle dates back to ''[[Transformers: Energon (franchise)|Energon]]''.
*[[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]], the combined form of the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]], was the first [[combiner]] robot in Generation 1 (unless you count [[Reflector (G1)|Reflector]]).
*The characters are new, but the names "[[Sideways (disambiguation)|Sideways]]", "[[Demolishor (disambiguation)|Demolishor]]", "[[Mudflap (disambiguation)|Mudflap]]", "[[Skids (disambiguation)|Skids]]", "[[Jolt (disambiguation)|Jolt]]", "[[Rampage (disambiguation)|Rampage]]" and "[[Wheelie (disambiguation)|Wheelie]]" are not. Likewise for the concept of "[[Seeker (disambiguation)|Seekers]]".
*[[Optimus Prime (disambiguation)|Optimus Prime]] dying and coming back to life has been done [[The many deaths of Optimus Prime|times beyond counting]].
*Prime combining with another 'bot to form a [[Super Mode]] which increases his power (and often gives him flight capabilities) is a trope that has occurred in many recent Transformers series (''Robots in Disguise'', ''Armada'', ''Energon'', ''Cybertron''.) In ''Armada'', a different [[Jetfire (Armada)|Jetfire]] was his most frequent combination partner. This is the first time the other 'bot had to die for it to happen, though.
*[[The Fallen]] is based on a comic book character that made his debut in the 2004 miniseries [[Transformers: War Within: The Dark Ages|The War Within: The Dark Ages]]. In fact, according to Hasbro, he is ''exactly the'' same iteration of the [[character]]! ([[Multiversal singularity|It's needlessly complicated]].)
*The [[Matrix of Leadership]] is one of the franchise's oldest MacGuffins.
*[[Energon]] (mentioned though never seen) is the Transformers' power source in numerous incarnations, beginning with the original cartoon.
*The concept of a [[protoform]] as the first stage of a Transformer is a reference to the same concept introduced on the ''[[Beast Wars: Transformers (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]'' cartoon.
*Though it is almost certainly not an actual ''reference'' (it's a pretty generic and predictable sci-fi trope), the [[Star Harvester]] is quite similar in function to the [[Solar Needle]] from the Generation 1 episode "[[Changing Gears]]", sucking energy from the [[Sun]] to produce energon. Both devices would have destroyed the Sun if allowed to fulfill their function.
*The same is true for Sam having Cybertronian knowledge pumped directly into his brain via a sacred Transformer talisman, which is reminiscent of [[Buster Witwicky (G1)|Buster Witwicky]]'s similar situation in the [[Marvel Comics|Marvel]] G1 comics.
*A newspaper is sucked into Devastator that headlines a photograph and accompanying article about a mysterious appearance by [[Shockwave (Movie)|Shockwave]].
*When Mudflap and Skids first appear in their Ice-Cream Wagon disguise, they play the Transformers [[theme song]] in a very "ice-creamish" way.
*Jetfire isn't the only [[Landmine (Energon)|Transformer]] to call Earth [[Inferno (episode)|'Dirt Planet']].

==Other editions==
*A slightly longer edit was shown in IMAX theaters, which featured some brief additional scenes filmed with special IMAX cameras.<ref name="bayimax">[http://www.shootfortheedit.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5003 Michael Bay's own announcement of the IMAX version]</ref> An exclusive deal with [[Paramount Pictures|Paramount]] resulted in ''{{w|Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)|Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince}}'' not being shown in IMAX theaters until two weeks after the movie's regular theatrical launch.<ref name="imaxpotter">[http://www.collider.com/2009/06/08/transformers-will-keep-harry-potter-off-imax-for-two-weeks/ Collider reporting on the Paramount/IMAX/Harry Pottter deal]</ref>
*It has been suggested that some international versions of the movie had the words "suck my" in the "Decepticons suck my popsicle" slogan on [[Skids (ROTF)|Skids]] and [[Mudflap (ROTF)|Mudflap's]] ice cream truck mode blanked out, hence only reading as "(Decepticon logo) [blank space] popsicle". This was not done across the board, however–theaters in those very same countries also showed uncensored versions of the movie. Another explanation for this would be that different theaters simply used different lightings settings, which effectively rendered the words "suck my" (which were written in dark red on a black backdrop to begin with) invisible, with no actual intention of "censorship" behind it.

==Prequel material==
===Titan movie comics===
While the Decepticons were disgusted with the pro-Autobot propaganda of Bay's first documentary {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 13|#13's Star Screams}}, they were quite optimistic about the second film. [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]] took a strong interest in it, going to the trouble of personally convincing [[Soundwave (ROTF)|Soundwave]] to be in the film {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 15|15's Star Screams}}.

The Decepticons promised this new documentary would show a glorious Decepticon victory {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 10|#10's Star Screams}}—whether it was in the script or not. {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 18|#18's Star Screams}}

Shockingly, even ''they'' were under a non-disclosure agreement regarding the script; Starscream fearfully referred to a greater power keeping him quiet. {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 22|#22's Star Screams}} Talking about it could even undermine the Decepticon war effort! {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 23|#23's Star Screams}}

In the same week the film came out, the Decepticons suddenly became unhappy with it and the detente period ended. Bay, Kurtzman, and Orci are once again marked for extermination for their propaganda films. {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 2.1|#1's Law and Disorder}}

===IDW ''Transformers'' movie comics===
{{stub}}

===Titan Comics ''Revenge of the Fallen'' movie comics===

The sinister, unseen figure of the Fallen is secretly gathering a Decepticon army on Cybertron. Skids and Mudflap, slacking off there at the time, accidentally discover this and flee to Earth to warn the other Autobots. {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 2.1|Training Day}} An attempt to kill them fails {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 2.2|Dogfight!}}, but due to their rep of telling tall tales, no one believes them. It doesn't help when they accidentally help Grindor escape capture. {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 2.3|Learning Curve}} The Fallen's agent Soundwave decides to use this, and first frames the twins as turncoats {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 2.5|Reversal of Fortune}}, then has them freed by their 'Decepticon allies' so they'll be hunted down.

After a few days of this, the twins began to regret ever getting involved, and Soundwave offered them sanctuary in the Decepticon army and the embrace of the Fallen: an offer they were eager to accept... {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 2.6|Outlaw Blues}}

==Adaptations==
{{main|Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Official Movie Adaptation|Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (novel)}}
'''Children's adaptations'''
{{main|Revenge of the Fallen: The Junior Novel}}
{{main|The Last Prime}}
{{main|Operation Autobot}}
{{main|When Robots Attack!}}
{{main|I Am Optimus Prime (ROTF)}}
{{main|Rise of the Decepticons}}
{{main|Revenge of the Fallen: Sound Like the Transformers}}

==Sequels==
Two sequels to the first ''Transformers'' movie were greenlit in the wake of its success, with ''Revenge'' being the first. Although Michael Bay had previously stated that he might need a break from giant space robots before tackling a third film, he confirmed a [[July 1]], [[2011]] release date on his blog.<ref>[http://michaelbay.com/2009/10/01/transformers-3-july-1st-2011/ Official confirmation of third movie release date from michaelbay.com]</ref>

IDW published a comic sequel, ''[[Transformers: Nefarious|Nefarious]]'', which was lead into by [[Tales of the Fallen issue 5]].

==Soundtrack==
{{main|Revenge of the Fallen: The Album}}

==Score==
{{main|Revenge of the Fallen: The Score}}

==Home video releases==
{{main|Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)/home video}}
''Revenge of the Fallen'' was released by [[Paramount Pictures]] on DVD (as both a 2-disc special edition and a regular single disc version) and Blu-ray on [[October 20]]th in the United States,<ref name="comingsoon">[http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=58245 Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Hits Blu-ray and DVD Oct. 20!]</ref> and [[November 30]]th in the UK.

==Theatrical posters==
<center><gallery perrow="3">
File:ROTFteaserposter.jpg|Teaser poster
File:ROTF Theatrical poster.jpg|Theatrical poster
File:ROTF International poster.jpg|International poster
File:ROTF Prime poster.jpg|Prime poster
File:ROTF bumblebee poster.jpg|Bumblebee poster
File:ROTF Starscream poster.jpg|Wait...Starscream gets a poster but Megatron doesn't? That's just wrong.
</gallery></center>

==Reception==
{{quote|Transformers: ROTF has mostly gotten pretty hideous reviews, but that's because people don't understand that this isn't a movie, in the conventional sense.|[http://io9.com/5301898/michael-bay-finally-made-an-art-movie Michael Bay Finally Made An Art Movie], Charlie Jane Anders|[http://i09.com i09.com,] [[June 24]], [[2009]]}}
{{quote|[The critics] never seem to understand that I make movies for people to take a ride and escape.|[http://tinyurl.com/nyscnv forum post] by Michael Bay|[http://shootfortheedit.com shootfortheedit.com,] [[June 25]], [[2009]]}}
{{quote|Rarely have critics been more disconnected from what audiences want and love.|John Horn, [http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-bay29-2009jun29,0,6806652.story The Los Angeles Times], [[June 29]], 2009}}
{{quote|I'll take some of the criticism... They're [the Twins] basically gone.|Michael Bay, [http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2010-06-11-Transformers11_ST_N.htm USA Today], [[June 11]], 2010}}

''Revenge of the Fallen'' had its world premiere on [[June 8]]th, 2009, in Tokyo, Japan. Michael Bay, Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, Isabel Lucas and Ramon Rodriguez attended.<ref>[http://michaelbay.com/2009/06/08/revenge-of-the-fallen-japan-premiere-photos/ Japanese Premiere photos at Michael Bay.com, June 8, 2009]</ref> Other countries such as South Korea,<ref>[http://michaelbay.com/2009/06/09/bay-and-co-invade-seoul/ Korean Premiere photos at Michael Bay.com, June 9, 2009]</ref> the United Kingdom and Germany followed over the course of the next few days. The United States premiere was held on [[June 22]]nd, 2009, in Westwood, California, during the {{w|Los Angeles Film Festival}} for the second time.
[[File:Devastator-ROTFenemyscrotum.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Judge me by my size, do you?]]
In the week leading up to the United States release, while the film had been released in Japan and the United Kingdom, ''Revenge of the Fallen'' was ranking 38% fresh on [http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/transformers_revenge_of_the_fallen/ Rotten Tomatoes.com]. As American reviews were added into the ranking on June 24, the movie's freshness slipped slowly to 22%. Today, the film's freshness rating sits at 20%, while its audience score is at 57%. The movie was primarily criticized for its crude portrayal of women, black people, and little people, but it was beaten for its long-winded action scenes, unfunny adult humor (most infamously, a scene depicting Devastator's balls), dialogue, acting from the film's human cast, as well as its confusing plot. The film's long runtime proved to be a widespread issue among professional critics. These factors helped to dethrone ''{{w|Pearl Harbor (film)|Pearl Harbor}}'' (generally considered to be Michael Bay's worst movie prior to his involvement with the ''Transformers'' franchise), and gave the live-action ''Transformers'' films their terrible (possibly undeserved) reputation among film critics. However, some of the film's more positive reviews noted that the film had impressive CGI and special effects.

RottenTomatoes.com's consensus was that "''Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen'' is a noisy, underplotted, and overlong special effects extravaganza that lacks a human touch." Roger Ebert, who had given the ''first'' Transformers film three stars,<ref>[http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070705/REVIEWS/70620006/1023 Roger Ebert's ''Transformers'' review]</ref> gave Revenge one star, and remarked that "if you want to save yourself the ticket price, go into the kitchen, cue up a male choir singing the music of hell, and get a kid to start banging pots and pans together." <ref>[http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090623/REVIEWS/906239997 Roger Ebert's ''Revenge of the Fallen'' review] on RogerEbert.com</ref> Todd Gilchrist of Cinematical.com said Michael Bay "has exceeded even the possibilities of sequel-driven 'moreness,' combining his own muscular, high-gloss sensibility with the conventions of blockbusters past, present, and probably future to create a monolithic action masterpiece that feels destined to be the biggest movie of all time." <ref>[http://www.cinematical.com/2009/06/22/review-transformers-revenge-of-the-fallen/ Review: Transformers Revenge of the Fallen] on Cinematical.com</ref> Michael Phillips from the Chicago Tribune said "the first, comparatively lucid ''Transformers'' was a headache, but I sort of enjoyed it....''Revenge of the Fallen'' is more like listening to rocks in a clothes dryer for 2½ hours." <ref>[http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/movies/chi-tc-mov-transformers-0623-0624jun23,0,7350387.story 'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen' stars Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel] on chicagotribune.com</ref> Roger Ebert went back for more in a second article, declaring not only that ''Revenge of the Fallen'' was awful, but that it'd [[Ruined FOREVER|ruined action films FOREVER]].<ref>[http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2009/06/the_fall_of_the_revengers.html "The Fall of the Revengers"] on suntimes.com</ref> In the face of many harsh responses to his own critique, Mr. Ebert went back a third time, not just deconstructing the film but also declaring that fans who claimed to perceive it as "great" were simply wrong.<ref>[http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2009/07/i_am_a_brainiac.html I am a Braniac]</ref>

Despite the overwhelmingly negative reviews, ''Revenge of the Fallen'' poised itself quickly as a blockbuster maelstrom. It grossed $16 million in its opening midnight showings alone, an all-time record for Wednesday openings and a second-best for openings on any day of the week behind ''The Dark Knight''. After the full Wednesday was over, ''Revenge of the Fallen'' had grossed $55 million in domestic ticket sales, surpassing the previous Wednesday release record, held by ''Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix'', by over $10 million.<ref>[http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1614673/story.jhtml 'Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen' Breaks Wednesday Box-Office Record] on MTV.com</ref> By the end of the first five days, ''Revenge of the Fallen'' had taken an estimated $201.2 million in the United States, just shy of ''The Dark Knight's'' record $203.8 million 5-day US total. In the same period, international markets took in $186.1 million, bringing the 5-day worldwide total to $387.3 million.<ref name="bomjdebut">[http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=2601&p=.htm BoxOfficeMojo.com - Weekend Report: ‘Revenge of the Fallen' Rises with Optimal Debut, June 28, 2009]</ref>

Paramount's U.S. exit polling revealed several intriguing facts: While the 2007 ''Transformers'' movie viewership skewed 60-40% toward men over women, the split for the new film was more even at 54% male, 46% female. More than 90% of those surveyed stated that ''Revenge of the Fallen'' was as good as or better than the first ''Transformers'' movie. Surprisingly, about 67% said the film was "excellent", an even better score than for Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman's critically acclaimed 2009 ''Star Trek'' movie.<ref name="exitp">[http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-bay29-2009jun29,0,6806652.story "'Transformers' director Michael Bay as audience darling" by John Horn, Los Angeles Times, June 29, 2009]</ref>

After two weeks in most markets, ''Revenge'' continued to defy critics and dominate the U.S. box office, narrowly defeating ''Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs'' on the Fourth of July weekend, finishing with upwards of $300 million in the U.S. and a similar figure in international markets.<ref name="reutjul7">[http://www.reuters.com/article/filmNews/idUSTRE5671DB20090708 Reuters reporting on Revenge of the Fallen's success around the world, July 7, 2009]</ref> Ultimately, ''Revenge'' grossed more than $836 million worldwide (versus $708 million for ''[[Transformers (film)|Transformers]]''), including $402 million from US box offices alone (versus $319 million for the first movie).<ref name="bomjrotf">[http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=transformers2.htm ''Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen'' at Box Office Mojo]</ref>

On [[October 20]], ''Revenge'' sold 2 million copies of its DVD/Blu-Ray release in the first 24 hours.<ref>[http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/business/Transformers-Sequel-Transforms-Hollywood-Revenues-65589247.html Transformers Sequel Transforms Hollywood Revenues]</ref>

On April 3, 2010, Shia LaBeouf stated that he was confused about many things in ''Revenge of the Fallen'' and in fact, hated the movie. However, he noted that one of the major problems the film faced was working during the writer's strike without a script, and that he had faith that the third film would be an improvement.<ref>[http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/story/shia-labeouf-confused-by-transformers_1137755 Shia LaBeouf comments on ''Revenge of the Fallen'' at contactmusic.com, April 3, 2010]</ref>

In a June 11, 2010 article about the third Transformers film, Bay and producer [[Lorenzo di Bonaventura]] now said they'd taken onboard some of the criticism, and cited the writer's strike and the rushed production as a problem; Bonaventura said "we tried to do too many things in the second movie, which didn't give enough time in any one of them". Bay also said he was getting rid of the "dorky comedy", like the Twins, for the third film, and called the Fallen "kind of a (expletive) character".<ref>[http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2010-06-11-Transformers11_ST_N.htm?csp=usat.me USA Today, "Next 'Transformers' is due for a switch"]</ref> And later, in the April 2011 dated issue of ''Empire'', Bay would again blame the strike and also cite the inclusion of "mystical" plots as a flaw in the film.<ref>''Empire'' April 2011, page 64 - released end of February</ref>

As of {{CURRENTYEAR}} ({{#expr: {{CURRENTYEAR}}-2009}} years after its release), ''Revenge of the Fallen'' is considered by the ''Transformers'' fanbase to be one of the weakest works in the franchise, on par with ''[[Transformers: Energon (cartoon)|Energon]]'' and ''[[Transformers: Combiner Wars (cartoon)|Combiner Wars]]'', for many of the same reasons as professional critics; most of the complaints revolve around the story, characters and overall filmmaking, with the creative liberties and deviations from past ''Transformers'' incarnations (themselves more divisive than universally hated) seen as the icing on the turd cake rather than a core criticism. Even fans of the other Michael Bay-helmed movies have been known to use ''ROTF'' as a scapegoat for why the movies have so many flaws and/or why critics hate ([[Transformers (film)|most]] [[Bumblebee (film)|of]]) the series as a whole so much.

===Awards and recognition===
On February 1, 2009, it was announced that ''Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen'' was nominated for seven {{w|Golden Raspberry Award}}s.<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/Movies/02/01/razzie.award.nominations/index.html 'Transformers,' 'Lost' lead worst movie nominees], cnn.com (February 1, 2009) <small>retrieved 02-01-2009</small></ref> It was awarded three of them, for Worst Picture, Worst Director, and Worst Screenplay.<ref>[http://enewsi.com/movies/190-16933.html 30th Annual Golden Raspberry Award Winners @ENI]</ref> This <small>presumably</small> represents an improvement from the 2007 film, which received only one nomination ([[Jon Voight]] in the Supporting Actor category) and no wins.

On February 2, 2009, it was announced that ''Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen'' was nominated for an {{w|Academy Award}} for Sound Mixing.<ref>[http://oscar.go.com/ Oscar.com]</ref> On March 7, it lost to ''The Hurt Locker''.

==Controversies==
[[File:ROTF movie SkidsMudflap bigmother.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.3|Who's scruffy-looking?]]
*A huge flap revolved around the characters of the "Twins", [[Skids (ROTF)|Skids]] and [[Mudflap (ROTF)|Mudflap]]. Many critics and viewers believed them to be racist stereotypes of poorly educated black American teenagers. Much evidence points to the pair actually being stereotypes of poorly educated ''white'' American teenagers, trying their best to sound like hardcore black urban gangsters... though it's ''still'' a racist stereotype of dubious taste. Director Michael Bay, when confronted with those accusations, claimed that the personalities of the two characters had been primarily created in the recording studio by voice actors [[Tom Kenny]] and [[Reno Wilson]]. Wilson (who is African-American himself) claimed to have been surprised the characters were taken as stereotypes and explained they were described when he first took the role as "wannabe gangster types" whose understanding of human culture was filtered through the internet, comparing them to "posers" like {{w|Kevin Federline}}.<ref name="jive"/> Screenwriters Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci confirmed that this portrayal of the characters hadn't been in the script, and admitted that they could understand the controversy.<ref name="racism">[http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/news/orci-and-kurtzman-respond-to-claims-of-racism-in-transformers-2.php Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman respond to accusations of racism]</ref>

*At least one reviewer claimed to find a repellent "anti-Arab subtext" to the movie's climactic scenes, which involved the damage or destruction of various Middle Eastern landmarks.<ref name="antiarab">[http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/MovieTimes?oid=978078 Chicago Reader review by Andrea Gronvall]</ref> The editors of this wiki are somewhat less than convinced.

*Along the same lines, Chinese viewers reportedly criticized the depiction of Shanghai in the opening scene of the movie. Apparently, depicting an ''industrial area'' as "very shabby" is an "insult" to an entire country, as is the destruction of parts of the city during a battle between alien robots.<ref name="insultchina">[http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90782/6686502.html English-language article from People's Daily Online reporting on the alleged criticism against the movie in China, including rebuttals]</ref> Regardless, ''Revenge'' topped the box office in China, dethroning 1997's ''Titanic'' as the most successful movie of all times there.<ref name="recordchina">[http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118006144.html?categoryid=13&cs=1 Variety reporting on the success of ''Revenge'' in China.]</ref>

*Both professional critics and amateur bloggers noted that the film presents the [[Barack Obama|Obama]] administration as endangering Earth by being wussy, bureacratic, and ignoring the Brave Soldiers.<ref>[http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1906689,00.html Time's review of "Revenge of the Fallen"]</ref><ref>[http://hubpages.com/hub/Transformers-2-Revenge-of-the-Fallen--A-Political-Message A blogger's specific focus on the politics]</ref><ref>[http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/screen/reviews/Transformers-Revenge-of-the-Fallen-49559047.html Philadelphia Weekly's review of ''Revenge of the Fallen'']</ref><ref>[http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jjmnolte/2009/06/24/turnabout-transformers-2-takes-a-shot-at-president-obama/ Big Hollywood: Turnabout]</ref> Some right-wing bloggers and critics were quite happy about this, natch. As Bay had added Obama's name and image to the film as a ''tribute'' to the President, after the two of them met and had a mutually-complimentary conversation,<ref>[http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/movies/a160272/michael-bay-obama-likes-my-movies.html Michael Bay: 'Obama likes my movies'] at Digital Spy, and [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfT7ZF_AUk8 Bay telling the story at a press conference.]</ref> and the writers are known Democrats,<ref>[http://www.wilshireandwashington.com/2009/06/transformers-a-swipe-at-obama.html Variety: "Transformers, a Swipe at Obama?"]</ref> the implications are probably unintentional and meant to be a [[Autobot High Council|genre trope]] rather than a deliberate dig.

*The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, a lobbyist group that already complained about the [[Transformers (film)|first film]], is currently trying to lobby the Federal Communications Commission into tightening regulations for marketing movies rated "PG-13" and associated merchandise to children. The basic reasoning behind their complaints is that ''Revenge'' contains "intense sequences of sci-fi action violence, brief sexual humor, and language" and "would have been rated R fifteen years ago", and yet Hasbro's [[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (toyline)|associated toys]] are advertised during TV programs aimed at children.<ref name="fccfilter">[http://arstechnica.com/media/news/2009/08/transformers-movies-get-caught-in-fcc-content-filtering-inquiry.ars Ars Technica article on the CCFC/FCC story.]</ref> Hasbro themselves appear to be still undecided about their official position regarding the more "mature" tone of the movies and its ramifications for the [[Transformers brand|brand's]] public image, having left several questions to this effect unanswered.<ref name="allsparkqa">[http://www.allspark.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=61539 July/August 2009 edition] of the Allspark [[Hasbro Q&A]]</ref><ref name="tformersqa">[http://tformers.com/transformers-hasbro-answers-your-burning-questions-part-v/12149/news.html July/August 2009 edition] of the TFormers Hasbro Q&A</ref>

==Technical details==
'''Length:''' 150 minutes
'''Audio:''' Dolby Digital / DTS / SDDS<br>
'''Content Rating:'''
{{collist|4|
*PG-13 <small>(USA/MPAA)</small>
*G <small>(Japan)</small>
*12A <small>(United Kingdom)</small>
*PG <small>(Canada; British Columbia)</small><ref>''Transformers'' received a "14A" rating in British Columbia, but an appeal by the studio successfully reduced it to PG.</ref>
*G <small>(Canada; Quebec)</small>
*PG-12 <small>(Taiwan)</small>
*PG13 <small>(Singapore)</small>
*PG-13 <small>(Philippines/MTRCB)</small>
*IIA <small>(China)</small>
*PG-13 <small>(Malaysia)</small>
*M <small>(Australia)</small>
*M <small>(New Zealand)</small>
*10 <small>(Brazil)</small>
*K-11 <small>(Finland)</small>
*11 <small>(Sweden)</small>
*12 <small>(Germany)</small>
*12A <small>(Ireland)</small>
*12 <small>(Netherlands)</small>
*M/12 <small>(Portugal)</small>
*12 <small>(South Korea)</small>
*B <small>(Mexico)</small>
*12+ <small>(Russia)</small>}}

==Production staff==
*Writers [[Roberto Orci]] and [[Alex Kurtzman]] recruited [[Ehren Kruger]] to help them write the screenplay. [[Michael Bay]] and producers [[Don Murphy]], [[Tom DeSanto]], and [[Lorenzo di Bonaventura]] also returned.<ref>[http://www.superherohype.com/news/topnews.php?id=6372 Transformers 2 Writers Confirmed]</ref>
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===Visual effects===
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===Locations department===
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==Development details==
===Cast and crew signing on===
On May 30, 2007, a month before the official release of ''[[Transformers (film)|Transformers]]'', [[DreamWorks]] announced that two sequels were already being planned.<ref name="spy">[http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/movies/a58430/two-transformers-sequels-in-pipeline.html Digital Spy article from May 2007, confirming that two sequels were being planned]</ref> [[Megan Fox]] had already been confirmed for the first of those sequels twelve days earlier,<ref name="foxcon">[http://www.mtvmoviesblog.com/2007/05/18/megan-fox-confirmed-for-transformers-sequel/ MTV confirming Megan Fox for the sequel]</ref> while [[Shia LaBeouf]] had already confirmed his participation in an—at that time still theoretical—sequel in November 2006.<ref name="shias">Rebecca Murray: [http://movies.about.com/od/bobby/a/bobbysl111006_4.htm Interview with Shia LaBeouf from 2006, confirming his participation in a theoretical sequel]</ref> Director [[Michael Bay]], meanwhile, only once briefly questioned his involvement in a sequel in August 2007, when [[Paramount Pictures]] announced that ''Transformers'' would be released on HD DVD, but not on Blu-ray Disc.<ref name="bayhd">[http://www.engadgethd.com/2007/08/21/michael-bay-responds-to-paramounts-abandonment-of-blu-ray-no/ One of many sites reporting Michael Bay's announcement that he would not direct the sequel if the first movie wouldn't be released on Blu-ray]. Bay deleted his original post after changing his mind.</ref> Bay quickly changed his mind, however, and Paramount would later release the first movie on Blu-ray anyway, after the HD DVD had been abandoned.

In September 2007, Paramount officially announced the first sequel for June 2009.<ref name="reldat">[http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117972852.html?categoryid=1236&cs=1 Variety reporting Paramount's official announcement of the first sequel]</ref> Bay was given a budget of $200 million, and ultimately managed to come in $4 million below that.<ref name="showest">[http://www.collider.com/entertainment/interviews/article.asp/aid/11461/tcid/1 Michael Bay talking the ''Transformers'' sequel at ShoWest“]</ref>

The ''Transformers'' screenwriters, [[Roberto Orci]] and [[Alex Kurtzman]], initially hesitated writing the sequel, but ultimately had a change of mind.<ref name="sciforc">[http://scifiwire.com/2009/03/orci-kurtzman-reveal-tran.php Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman talking to Sci Fi Wire.]</ref> In October 2007, [[Ehren Kruger]] was confirmed as a third writer, who, according to Kurtzman, brought in a "fresh perspective",<ref name="kickoff">[http://www.firstshowing.net/2009/01/14/kicking-off-2009-with-writers-alex-kurtzman-and-roberto-orci-part-two-transformers-2/ Another interview with Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci]</ref> and who reportedly impressed both director Michael Bay and [[Hasbro]] CEO [[Brian Goldner]] with his knowledge of ''Transformers'' mythology.<ref name="writersr">[http://www.zap2it.com/movies/news/zap-transformers2writers,0,1938976.story Zap2it story about the ROTF writers]</ref>

In April 2009, Roberto Orci confirmed that cartoon voice actor [[Frank Welker]] would voice Soundwave.<ref name="welkers">[http://www.cinemablend.com/new.php?id=12917 Roberto Orci confirming Welker as Soundwave]</ref> Welker had previously been considered as [[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron's]] voice actor in the first movie, but ultimately Michael Bay had given that part to [[Hugo Weaving]] instead. Both Bay and the writers were also hoping that [[Leonard Nimoy]] could voice a character in the movie.<ref name="sciforc">Bay later stated that he was nervous of asking his relative Nimoy to voice The Fallen for fear of offending him with the relatively low pay allotted to voice actors.<ref name="nimoy1">[http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2009/04/21/michael-bay-afraid-to-offend-leonard-nimoy-with-transformers-family-reunion-offer/ ''Michael Bay Afraid To Offend Leonard Nimoy With ‘Transformers’ Family Reunion Offer'', MTV.com Movies blog, April 21, 2009]</ref> Even though Nimoy openly asked Bay to simply give him a call,<ref name="nimoy2">[http://www.latinoreview.com/news/leonard-nimoy-to-michael-bay-call-me-6682 Leonard Nimoy To Michael Bay: "Call Me!"], Latino Review</ref> it ultimately never worked out: after watching his guest appearance as Asteroth on ''{{w|Batman: The Brave and the Bold}}'', Bay selected [[Tony Todd]] - whom he worked with on ''The Rock'' - for the voice of The Fallen instead.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaN2g5i2k2E Interview with The Fallen himself - Tony Todd]</ref>

===Writing and production===
For the movie, Orci and Kurtzman searched the various ''Transformers'' comics and cartoons for "the most elemental bad guy", and eventually found one in [[The Fallen]].<ref name="sciforc"/>

In addition to that, they wanted to include many things in the sequel that hadn't made it into the first movie, including the Decepticon [[Soundwave (ROTF)|Soundwave]]. Likewise, the [[Matrix of Leadership]] had initially been intended to be used in the first movie, but for fear of confusion with the ''Matrix'' movies, the cube had been renamed into the [[AllSpark]]. In return, the Matrix in ''Revenge of the Fallen'' bears more resemblance to the [[The Transformers (franchise)|Generation 1]] Matrix.

In late 2007, during pre-production for the then-untitled ''Transformers'' sequel, the {{w|2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike|Writers Guild of America went on strike}}, but according to all parties involved, this didn't slow down preparations of the movie much in the long run. Screenwriters Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci turned in their first outline of the script the night before the strike officially began. During the strike, director Michael Bay used the script as a basis for preparing the movie. After the strike had ended, Kurtzman, Orci and Ehren Kruger continued their work on the script, based on Bay's changes.<ref name="kickoff"/> One consequence of this development was that Michael Bay and Hasbro had selected some of the new Transformers characters that were to appear in the movie during the strike, because of the long production run of the toys, while they had legally not been allowed to consult with the screenwriters.<ref name="sciforc"/> The "Twins", [[Skids (ROTF)|Skids]] and [[Mudflap (ROTF)|Mudflap]], are Bay's creation.<ref name="jive">[https://web.archive.org/web/20090626132026/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/24/transformers-jivetalking-_n_220005.html Transformers' Jive-Talking Robots Raise Race Issues - The Huffington Post]</ref>

In early June 2008, DreamWorks, Paramount, and Hasbro officially confirmed the movie's title to be ''Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen''.<ref name="titleann">[http://www.reserveresult.com/2008/06/transformers-2-revenge-of-fallen.html One of the first announcements of the title, still with a "2" in it]</ref> A few weeks later, Roberto Orci confirmed that there would be no "2" in the title.<ref name="no2orci">[http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-movie-discussion/180738-no-2-transformers-2-a.html#post2173364 Roberto Orci confirming that there will be no "2" in the movie's title]</ref>

Principal shooting began in June 2008 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.<ref name="pennlive">[http://blog.pennlive.com/lvbreakingnews/2008/06/shooting_starts_today_on_trans_1.html Pennlive story about the beginning of ROTF's principal shooting in Bethlehem]</ref> Other shooting sites were Philadelphia, the campus of Princeton University, Long Beach, the Holloman Air Force Base and the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. Some scenes were also shot in other countries, at the {{w|Egyptian pyramids|Pyramids of Giza}} and in Luxor, Egypt, in Jordan and in Paris.

According to director Michael Bay, ''Revenge'' is the first movie in about 30 years to be given permission to shoot at the Pyramids of Giza, and the first movie ''ever'' to film on top of {{w|Petra}}.<ref name="bayclub">[http://www.transformersclub.com/tfrof-intv09.cfm Transformers Collectors' Club interview with Michael Bay]</ref> He obtained permission to film in Egypt by contacting Zahi Hawass, secretary general of Egypt's council of antiquities, who turned out to be a fan of the 2007 ''Transformers'' movie.<ref>[http://www.collider.com/entertainment/interviews/article.asp/aid/10866/tcid/1 The Collider article and video interview with Michael Bay, February 9, 2009]</ref>

During the time of shooting, actor Shia LaBeouf suffered a severe injury of his left hand in a car accident. Ultimately, however, filming was only briefly halted, and his injury worked into the film, thereby not adversely affecting the filming schedule.<ref name="TheList2008">[http://www.list.co.uk/article/10788-shia-labeoufs-transformers-hand/ The List 1 August 2008]</ref> For the movie, director Michael Bay earned himself an entry in the Guinness Book of Records for the "biggest explosion on film with actors present".<ref name="guiness">[http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=10579085 New Zealand Herald article mentioning Bay' Guinness Book entry]</ref>

===Sponsors and partners===
====Hasbro====
[[Hasbro]] once again acted both as a licensor and actively participated in the development of the movie. Together with the first ''Transformers'' movie, the ''[[G.I. Joe (team)|G.I. Joe]]'' movie ''Rise of the Cobra'' and several other planned movie projects such as ''Monopoly'', ''Stretch Armstrong'' and ''Battleships'', ''Revenge of the Fallen'' marks the beginning of a new company policy for Hasbro, believing that the new "the movie of the toy" strategy will be more lucrative than the old "the toy of the movie" concept, which involves hefty licensing fees.<ref name="brandweek">[http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/jun2009/db20090611_333306.htm Brandweek article on Hasbro's new movie-related business strategy]</ref> Still, director [[Michael Bay]] receives an 8% cut of all toy sales from the ''Transformers'' movies.<ref name="forbesbay">[http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2009/0622/celebrity-09-transformers-michael-bay-making-movies-enemies-money.html Michael Bay article on Forbes.com June 4, 2009]</ref> During the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, when nobody was legally allowed to consult with the screenwriters, Hasbro and Bay selected several of the new Transformers characters that were to appear in the movie.<ref name="sciforc"/>

====US military====
The [[United States military]] also supported the movie again, providing vehicles, shooting locations and military personnel that appear as extras in the movie.<ref name="milit">[http://www.military.com/entertainment/movies/movie-news/military-unites-with-hollywood-on-transformers?wh=entertainment American Forces Press Service press release about the US military's contribution to ROTF]</ref> Due to scheduling coincidences, ''Revenge of the Fallen'' was given a larger support by the [[United States Department of Defense]] than ''G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra'', which was produced at the same time.<ref name="dod">Jeff Schogol: [http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=62955 Stars and Stripes article about DOD support for ''revenge of the Fallen'' and ''G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra'']</ref> Initially, Bay had intended to include German Bundeswehr soldiers in the movie (presumably as members of [[NEST]] or on board the AWACS plane), but even though the soldiers were eager to participate, the German government denied the request.<ref name="szpremiere">[http://newsticker.sueddeutsche.de/list/id/657558 Report from the German press conference (in German language)]</ref>

====General Motors and other car manufacturers====
American car manufacturer General Motors once again provided vehicles that were used by the Autobots as their [[alternate mode]]s. Returning from the first movie were the GMC Topkick ([[Ironhide (Movie)|Ironhide]]), the Hummer H2 ([[ratchet (Movie)|Ratchet]]) and the new Chevrolet Camaro ([[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]]), the latter this time as a slightly updated Z/28 model as compared to the first movie's concept car model. Newcomers for ''Revenge of the Fallen'' are all from the Chevrolet brand, namely the Chevrolet Beat ([[Skids (ROTF)|Skids]]), the Chevrolet Trax ([[Mudflap (ROTF)|Mudflap]]), a new Chevrolet Corvette Stingray concept car ([[Sideswipe (Movie)|Sideswipe]]) and, as a last minute addition, the new Chevrolet Volt electric car ([[Jolt (ROTF)|Jolt]]).

In total, General Motors provided 67 vehicles, 52 of them being prototypes not intended for sale.<ref name="chevytroubles">[http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2009-06-15-gm-transformers_N.htm USA Today story on Chevrolet's participation in the movie]</ref> As a consequence of the 2007-onwards financial crisis, however, General Motors reduced their financial support for ''Revenge'' in April 2009.<ref name="horsep">[http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-cotown-transformers6-2009apr06,0,5419006.story LA Times story on General Motors cutting their support for ''Revenge of the Fallen'']</ref>

Director Michael Bay estimates that, without the support of General Motors and the military, production of the movie would have cost $10 million more than the $195 million ultimately spent.<ref name="forbesbay"/> Coinciding with the release of ''Revenge of the Fallen'', General Motors reported that sales of the new Chevrolet Camaro were so strong that orders were outrunning the supply, even though the car was being sold above MSRP in many places. A direct connection to the movie, however, could not be proven.<ref name="camarosells">[http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aZCnXEtqqTcc Bloomberg reporting on strong sales for the new Chevrolet Camaro]</ref>

As the only car manufacturer besides General Motors, Audi was able to place its R8 in the movie, as the Decepticon [[Sideways (ROTF)|Sideways's]] alternate mode. The cooperation was arranged by Propaganda Global Entertainment Marketing.<ref name="propaganda">[http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/09_28/b4139068367113.htm "Hollywood's Blockbuster Role for Product Placement"], Bloomberg Businessweek, July 2009.</ref>

====Product placement====
As in the first movie, numerous companies signed a deal with the filmmakers which allowed for their product being featured in prominent places in the movie. A Mountain Dew vending machine can be seen in [[Leo Spitz|Leo's]] room, computer screens feature visible Cisco logos, [[Sam Witwicky|Sam]] and [[Mikaela Banes|Mikaela]] intend to communicate via iChat, a huge HSBC logo is seen at Times Square in New York City, a Budweiser bottle is prominently featured in one of the Paris scenes, CNN is everyone's preferred news channel, and a giant IMAX logo is seen inside the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. In return, Mars heavily advertised ''Revenge of the Fallen'' with their chocolate candy brand [[M&M's]].

===Changes before, during and after production===
*The three Autobot motorcycles were at one point meant to combine into a larger robot, but this was ultimately abandoned for unknown reasons. Concept artwork for this combined mode has surfaced, and this feature was mentioned in the novelization and appears to remain in the toys.

*According to comic book writer [[Simon Furman]], the [[Dinobot (AOE)|Dinobots]] had been in an early draft of the movie's plot, but were dropped from the cast very early in development.<ref>[http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2009/01/29/no-dinobots-in-transformers-2-revenge-of-the-fallen-original-film-consultant-explains-why/ MTV Movie Blog interview with Simon Furman, January 29, 2009.]</ref>

*Due to licensing issues with Audi and the writers' strike, Sideways' role was dramatically altered and he was early taken out of the script entirely. Originally, Sideways was going to escape the first wave of his Autobot pursuers by using Demolishor as a distraction. After Demolishor's death, Sideways would have been cornered and engaged by Sideswipe in robot mode. At this point, it would have been Sideways, not Demolishor, who would have dropped the Fallen's name when he threatened Sideswipe during the fight. Ultimately, the scene was never finished. Audi backed out of the licensing agreement and the scene was rewritten to focus on Demolishor. Audi later decided that they DID want their product featured, so a pre-visualization animation of Sideswipe bisecting a Lamborghini (included in the movie DVD's and Blu-ray Disc's bonus material) was reworked to feature an Audi R8 being sliced in half instead. Interestingly, some toys still referenced the deleted fight. Most of Sideways' toys feature a chainsaw weapon that he did not have in the film, and Human Alliance Sideswipe's box art depicts a diorama scene of Sideways attacking him in robot mode.

*[[Springer (ROTF)|Springer]], an Autobot who transforms into a V-22 Osprey, was to be a character in the movie, but was dropped from the cast during production.<ref name="procterdesigns">[http://conceptartworld.com/?p=2772 Ben Procter's movie designs for ROTF]</ref> However, he was dropped so late during production that Hasbro still released [[Legends Class (2005)|Legends]] and [[Robot Heroes (toyline)|Robot Heroes]] versions of the character based on the abandoned movie design–in the first waves of their respective assortments, no less.

*Likewise, the Deluxe Class [[Breakaway (ROTF)|Breakaway]] and Scout Class [[Depthcharge (ROTF)|Depthcharge]] and [[Ransack (ROTF)|Ransack]] toys are based on designs [[Ben Procter]] had originally created for the movie. Breakaway had the early working name "Firestorm", while Ransack was originally conceived as a [[Ford Model T Seeker|Ford Model T]].<ref name="procterdesigns"/>

*[[Soundwave (ROTF)|Soundwave]] was originally intended to come to Earth and scan a black Chevrolet Silverado pick-up truck as his new [[alternate mode]]. The Deluxe Class Soundwave toy still retains some elements of this abandoned concept in robot mode, particularly a Cybertronian version of the Chevy grill and small headlights on the lower torso.

*Several plot points about the [[Dynasty of Primes]] were dropped from the final version of the film, but feature prominently in the adaptations. In the original version, the Dynasty was founded by [[Thirteen|Thirteen Primes]], eleven of whom were killed by The Fallen, with [[Prima|the sole survivor]] sealing the Matrix in the Tomb of the Primes by himself. The Fallen returned to Cybertron and killed all the Primes' descendants, save the one hidden from him who had no knowledge of his ancestry: Optimus. Additionally, The Fallen would have been revealed to have promised Megatron the powers of a Prime, which Optimus would expose as impossible during the final battle around the harvester, causing Megatron and Starscream to leave The Fallen to his death.

*The Fallen was originally supposed to be trapped inside a triangular sarcophagus as seen in ''[[Transformers: Defiance|Defiance]]''. ''Defiance'' writer [[Chris Mowry]] reportedly nearly spilled his coffee when he watched the movie for the first time and saw The Fallen just sitting in a chair inside the [[Nemesis (ROTF)|Nemesis]].<ref name="mowryallsp">[http://www.allspark.com/forums/index.php?s=&showtopic=64301&view=findpost&p=1387145 Comments by Chris Mowry at the Allspark], November 2009</ref> Exactly how this was supposed to inter-connect with The Fallen surviving his battle with the Primes and returning to Cybertron is unclear. Further, if he ''had'' been sealed in a sarcophagus, then, uh, who would have sent the Seekers to Earth to look for the Matrix?

*One scene that didn't make it into the final movie would have explained [[Alice (ROTF)|Alice]]'s sorta-human disguise: In it, [[Leo Spitz|Leo]] watches a TV ad featuring an Alice in Wonderland animatronic from an amusement park, which heavily resembles Alice. The scene was featured in the [[Revenge of the Fallen issue 2|comic adaptation]] and the [[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (novel)|novelization]]. It's unclear if the scene has actually been filmed; however, the movie still features the follow-up scene in which Leo shows up to tell Sam ''something'' about Alice, only to see her robot tongue strangle him.

*Sam was to have been established as a new vessel for the AllSpark, absorbing its knowledge, which would have explained how he managed to get a scholarship to Princeton. When he was dying in Egypt, the knowledge of the AllSpark would then have transferred to the dust within the Matrix of Leadership, which was created by the AllSpark. The movie would have ended with Optimus showing Sam that he'd recovered the Matrix, which now replaced the Cube as the AllSpark's physical form.

*Another possibly dropped plot point involved an explanation for the government's cover-up of the [[Mission City]] battle in the [[Transformers (film)|first movie]]. The robots would have been declared the creations of a company either named [[McClaren Robotics]] or [[McClaren Robotics|Massive Dynamics]], which allegedly had gone rogue by accident. This is referenced in [[Alan Dean Foster]]'s [[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (novel)|novelization]] of the movie (where the company is named "Massive Dynamics"), the junior novelization ''[[The Last Prime]]'' and [[IDW Publishing]]'s [[Revenge of the Fallen issue 1|comic adaptation]] (where the company is named "McClaren Robotics"). A McClaren sign is also briefly seen in IDW's [[Transformers: Alliance|''Alliance'' issue 4]]. An extensive casting call list leaked to the internet in April 2008 listed a "Massive Dynamics CEO" as one of the new characters.<ref name="iesbcall">[http://www.iesb.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4663&Itemid=99 Casting call at IESB, April 2008]</ref> Presumably, actor Steve Tom was originally intended to play the character in the movie. His official website is listing him as appearing in ''Revenge'' ever since July 2008,<ref name="stevetom">[http://stevetom.com/picsandresume.html Resume of actor Steve Tom]</ref> even though he isn't actually listed in the film's credits. Back in July 2008, IMDB also listed Tom as playing the role of McClaren Robotics' CEO,<ref name="tfwimdbtom">[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/transformers-revenge-of-the-fallen-casting-steve-tom-as-robotics-ceo-katie-lowes-as-ra-165438/ TFW2005 referencing an (unarchived) IMDB entry for Steve Tom and his alleged role in ''Revenge'']</ref> whereas Theiapolis Cinema listed him as the CEO of Massive Dynamics at the same time.<ref name="theiarotf">[http://cinema.theiapolis.com/movie-2RLF/transformers-revenge-of-the-fallen/cast.html Theiapolis Cinema entry for ''Revenge'']</ref> It's unclear if the scenes featuring Tom were cut or dropped from the script before they were even filmed.

*[[Robert Epps|Epps]]'s wife, [[Monique Epps|Monique]], was also supposed to appear in the movie together with [[William Lennox|Lennox's]] wife [[Sarah Lennox|Sarah]]. The casting call from April 2008 lists her under the working name "Theresa".<ref name="iesbcall"/> The original plan was that [[Sam Witwicky|Sam]] would contact Epps and Lennox by calling their wives and asking them to pass on information to their husbands. This scene appears in the [[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (novel)|novelization]] and in IDW's [[Revenge of the Fallen issue 3|comic adaptation]]; in the movie, the wives are never seen, and instead of Sam, it is [[Seymour Simmons|Simmons]] who contacts Epps and Lennox directly.

*[[Laserbeak (DOTM)|Laserbeak]] was originally intended to appear in this film but was cut for unknown reasons.<ref>http://massiveblack.com/mbwp/?p=1368</ref>

===Leaks and disinformation===
====Persistent fake IMDB synopsis====
In July 2007, only a week after after ''[[Transformers (film)|Transformers]]'' had premiered in the USA, nearly two years before ''Revenge of the Fallen'' was to premiere and half a year before a ''script'' would actually be written, a "synopsis" for the (at that point still untitled) sequel to ''Transformers'' was posted on IMDB,<ref name="imdbsum">[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1055369/synopsis Fake "synopsis" for ROTF on IMDB]</ref> containing vague guesses for a potential plot direction based on the first movie ([[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]] returning to [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] and taking command of the remaining Decepticons–which would actually happen in [[IDW Publishing|IDW's]] ''[[Transformers: The Reign of Starscream|The Reign of Starscream]]'' comic–and "[[Scorponok (Movie)|Skorpinox]]" [sic] stealing [[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron's]] body from a military base, in contrast to the first film's actual ending), including several glaring spelling and grammar errors. The "synopsis" was eventually exposed as the work of ''Next'' and ''xXx: State of the Union'' director Lee Tamahori, who wanted to use it as a pitch to offer himself to [[Paramount Pictures|Paramount]] as a cheaper alternative for [[Michael Bay]].<ref name="tamahori">[http://defamer.gawker.com/hollywood/a-more-personal-kind-of-transformation/breaking-transformers-2-plot-synopsis-revealed-278307.php Gawker's Defamer reporting on the fake "synopsis" from IMDB, and updating with information about its true origins]</ref> Regardless, the "synopsis" was still heavily featured by other websites, including foreign theaters and media,<ref name="prosieben">[http://www.prosieben.de/kino_dvd/previews/film/ German TV station feature about ROTF using the fake IMDB "synopsis"]</ref> despite multiple evidence (trailers, official information provided by Paramount, leaked information about the involvement of a character named "[[The Fallen]]") suggesting that the alleged "plot" was pretty much bunk. The fake synopsis ''still'' persisted in some places long after ''Revenge'' had already hit theaters, despite being directly refuted by the film itself.<ref name="dvdlisting">[http://www.comicsandcardsupplies.com/jul091794.html Premature preorder for the ROTF DVD featuring the fake IMDB "synopsis"]</ref>

====Fake treatment====
In October 2007, an alleged treatment for the (at that point still unnamed) ''[[Transformers (film)|Transformers]]'' sequel surfaced on the internet.<ref name="treat">[http://transformerslive.blogspot.com/2007/10/transfomers-2-leaked-script.html The Transformers Live Action Movie Blog reporting on the alleged treatment], October 2007.</ref> While producer [[Don Murphy]] soon claimed that it wasn't real,<ref name="murphyfake">[http://www.donmurphy.net/board/showpost.php?p=1052166&postcount=52 Don Murphy denies the authenticity of the leaked treatment], October 2007.</ref> [[Michael Bay]]'s website administrator Nelson Lauren countered by suggesting that it wasn't a fan creation,<ref name="nelsonfake1">Nelson's deliberately misleading comments regarding the alleged treatment at the [http://boards.transformersmovie.com/showpost.php?p=435346&postcount=26 official Live Action Movie boards] and at [http://www.allspark.com/forums/index.php?&showtopic=37905&st=20&p=759450&#entry759450 The Allspark], October 2007.</ref> then referred to an ambiguous post he had made a few days earlier, in which he had hinted that information might be spread that would not be entirely reliable.<ref name="nelsonfake2">[http://www.shootfortheedit.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1590&postcount=1 Nelson's ambiguous "telling the truth in a false way" post] at the official Michael bay forums, October 2007.</ref> What followed was a brief back-and-forth with Murphy accusing Nelson of "stirring shit up",<ref name="murphynelson">[http://www.donmurphy.net/board/showthread.php?t=22721 Don Murphy's response to Nelson's statements], October 2007.</ref> which prompted Nelson to counter that he had better sources than Murphy.<ref name="nelsonsources">[http://www.allspark.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=37905&st=60&p=761181&#entry761181 Nelson's counter to Don Murphy...] No, we stop here. You get the idea.</ref>

====Michael Bay's alleged disinformation campaign====
In April 2008, director Michael Bay claimed he had initiated a huge disinformation campaign in order to prevent content details from the movie being revealed to the public before he wanted them to.<ref name="misinf">[http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/movies/a94406/bay-tries-to-fool-transformers-fans.html Mirrored copy of Michael Bay's original claims about his alleged "disinformation campaign"]. Bay apparently deleted his original post from his official message board.</ref> Ultimately, Bay himself turned out to be the main source of genuine disinformation, despite claiming that ''only'' what he said was 100% true. Therefore, the disinformation campaign mostly hinged on fans believing in its existence, and rejecting any genuinely "leaked" information, including set photos, statements by third parties such as [[Hasbro]] or [[IDW Publishing]] and stolen toy [[prototype]]s, as "disinformation". Screenwriter Roberto Orci eventually admitted that the disinformation campaign wasn't really working.<ref name="orcicampaign">[http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-movie-discussion/180451-welcome-mr-roberto-orci-you-may-ask-him-questions-150.html#post2437185 Roberto Orci confirming Michael Bay's biggest fear: The disinformation campaign doesn't work!]</ref>

In June 2008, when principal shooting had just begun, a call sheet was leaked to the internet,<ref name="bethcall">[http://transformerslive.blogspot.com/2008/06/bethlehem-call-sheet-cast-tf-and-next.html Leaked call sheet at the Transformers Live Action Movie Blog], June 5, 2008</ref> which revealed the casting of [[Ramon Rodriguez]] as a character named "[[Leo Spitz|Leo]]", the appearance of an [[Sideways (ROTF)|Audi R8]] and [[Arcee (Movie)|Arcee]] as well as a character with the working name "[[Sideswipe (Movie)|Stinger]]". Furthermore, an ice cream truck that had just been spotted on the Bethlehem set a day earlier<ref name="bethfirst">[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/transformers-2-bethlehem-images---update---ironhide-on-set-165046/ Set photos from the Bethlehem shoot at TFW2005], June 4, 2008</ref> was hinted to be two characters only referred to as "[[The Twins]]". Lastly, the call sheet revealed that the next shooting location would be the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, where an SR-71 Blackbird would be revealed to be a Decepticon named [[Jetfire (Movie)|Jetfire]]. A character named "[[Wheelie (ROTF)|Wheels]]" was also supposed to appear in that scene. In July 2008, Bay then claimed that fake scripts, treatments, "wrong schedules and call sheets with fake scenes on them" had been deliberately leaked to the internet.<ref name="bayfakescript">[http://www.shootfortheedit.com/forum/showpost.php?p=44729&postcount=2 Michael Bay's forum post claiming that only he and the writers had seen the script]</ref>

For the longest time, Bay upheld the position that [[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]] would ''not'' return in ''Revenge of the Fallen''. After concept designs of Megatron's new [[alternate mode]] had surfaced (some of which would later turn out to be designs for the [[Robot Powered Machines|RPM]] Megatron toy, while the first ones that surfaced were far too advanced for mere "toy" designs<ref name="megsleak">Various leaks of the new Megatron design for ROTF mirrored at the Transformers Live Action Movie Blog, September 2008: [http://transformerslive.blogspot.com/2008/09/tf2-megatron-image.html Robot mode design], [http://transformerslive.blogspot.com/2008/09/megatrons-alt-mode.html concept art for the alternate mode], [http://transformerslive.blogspot.com/2008/09/megatron-toy-pictures.html control drawings for Megatron's RPM vehicle toy]</ref>), Bay insisted that this was "just Hasbro coming up with a new toy", and Megatron would not appear in the movie.<ref name="EmpireFeb2009">''Empire'' magazine issue 236, dated February 2009, pages 68 and 69, article entitled "20 to watch in 2009", written by Nick de Semelyn</ref> Following ''officially released'' evidence to the contrary (including Megatron's brief appearance in the February 1 Super Bowl TV spot and the February teaser trailer), screenwriter [[Roberto Orci]] confirmed that Megatron would indeed return.<ref name="mreturns">[http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-movie-discussion/180451-welcome-mr-roberto-orci-you-may-ask-him-questions-211.html#post3333713 Roberto Orci confirming Megatron's return on TFW2005.com - February 22, 2009]</ref> Shortly afterwards, Bay retracted his claims, but not entirely, suggesting that Megatron would only appear in a flashback scene "from the long lost past", despite the fact Megatron could be seen pinning [[Sam Witwicky]] to the ground in the aforementioned TV spot and teaser trailer. He also denied that Megatron would transform into a tank.<ref name="catoutbag">[http://www.shootfortheedit.com/forum/showpost.php?p=66825&postcount=4 Bay retracting from his claims about Megatron on his forum - March 6, 2009]</ref>

====General Motors and the Chevrolet Volt====
In August 2008, after a Chevrolet Volt vehicle had been spotted on the set of ''Revenge'', General Motors reluctantly admitted having provided the car to the production crew, and that the car would indeed appear in the film, but claimed that it was no production vehicle (i.e. some details may differ from the final car, similar to Bumblebee's Concept Camaro in the first movie). Chevrolet also claimed that the Volt was only used for one or two days of shooting, and that it would only "appear in the movie very briefly", and "not as a Decepticon or Autobot", so it would "not have a Transformer nickname".<ref name="edmundsjolt">[http://web.archive.org/web/20090129105851/http://edmunds.com/insideline/do/News/articleId=131426 Edmunds Inside Line article on the Chevrolet Volt spotted on the set], August 2008</ref> (While it's true that [[Jolt (ROTF)|Jolt]] was a last-minute addition to the movie, the car was spotted again later at a different set.<ref name="joltwhite">[http://transformerslive.blogspot.com/2008/09/chevy-volt-at-white-sands-set.html Set photos from White Sands Missile Range] including the Chevrolet Volt, September 2008.</ref>)

====Edited IDW interviews====
Bay and/or Paramount also tried to have information prematurely revealed by third parties contained after the fact: During [[San Diego Comic-Con]] 2008, in an interview on July 25, comic book writer [[Simon Furman]] revealed that the film would feature a character named [[The Fallen]], which was a character they had created for [[Dreamwave Productions|Dreamwave]]'s ''[[Transformers: War Within: The Dark Ages|The War Within: The Dark Ages]]''.<ref name="furmancbr">[http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=17412Simon Furman interview with Comic Book Resources], edited version.</ref> Three days later, [[IDW Publishing]] writer [[Chris Mowry]] corroborated the claim in an interview with MTV Splash Page, calling "The Fallen" the main villain of ''Revenge''. [[Arcee (Movie)|Arcee]] was also confirmed in the same interview.<ref name="mowrymtv">[http://splashpage.mtv.com/2008/07/28/exclusive-transformers-2-prequel-comic-gives-inside-scoop-on-2009-movie/ MTV Splash Page interviews Chris Mowry], edited version.</ref> Less than a week after this, however, Michael Bay reiterated that everything leaked thus far was part of his alleged disinformation campaign, and that only a handful of people involved with the production of ''Revenge of the Fallen'' had actually seen the script, contradicting IDW's interviews where their representatives confirmed that they had the script. Additionally, Bay claimed the only truth about the film revealed up to that point was Sam going to college.<ref name="bayfakescript"/> Curiously, on August 5, 2008, after a fan had pointed out the contradiction to Bay, all references to The Fallen (and Arcee) were removed from the aforementioned interviews, as well as any references to IDW Publishing having the script.<ref name="interviewsoriginal">[http://tfwiki.net/~fortmax/movie/index.html Mirrored copies of the unedited versions of the interviews.]</ref>

====Other (minor) instances of disinformation and misconceptions====
Other (in)famous instances of disinformation included an alleged sighting of both [[Jazz (Movie)|Jazz's]] Pontiac Solstice vehicle mode and voice actor [[Darius McCrary]] on the Bethlehem set<ref name="jazzrumor">[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/autobot-jazz-is-back-for-transformers-movie-sequel-165008/ TFW reporting on the alleged sightings of the Jazz Pontiac Solstice and voice actor Darius McCrary], May 2008</ref> (it's ''possible'' that someone mistook an [[Sideways (ROTF)|Audi R8]] or the [[Sideswipe (Movie)|Chevrolet Corvette concept car]] for a Pontiac Solstice, and McCrary ''might'' have genuinely visited the set out of sheer curiosity) and an "update" to a (legitimate) casting call that contained nothing but fake character names and descriptions,<ref name="fakecall">[http://spoilertv-movies.blogspot.com/2008/04/transformers-2.html Fake casting call at Spoiler TV], April 2008. Note: Everything up until "CNN Reporter" originates from another, legitimate casting call; everything from "Head of Sector 7" onward is made up.</ref> including a funeral director who would allegedly bury [[Seymour Simmons|Simmons]]. It's unclear whether any of these were instances of deliberate disinformation on behalf of Bay, or just attention-seeking fans coming up with made-up "scoops" on their own. Furthermore, three of [[Barricade (Movie)|Barricade's]] Saleen Mustang prop vehicles were spotted on a truck bed in Culver City, California, in March 2008, more than two months before principal shooting for ''Revenge'' started.<ref name="vehspotted">[http://www.superherohype.com/news/transformersnews.php?id=6980 Superhero Hype reporting on the spotting of Barricade vehicles in March 2008]</ref> It's unclear if this was an instance of deliberate disinformation, or just a genuine move of the vehicles with no further intention behind it.

==Notes==
*The official title of the film is ''Revenge of the Fallen'' (with a lower-case "t" in "the") even though it is apparently referring to [[The Fallen]] (with a capital "T" in "The").
*Marketing for ''Revenge of the Fallen'' briefly used the tagline "Our World. Our War.", a play on the primary marketing tagline from the first live-action film, "Our World. Their War.".
*Leo's room features posters for ''{{w|Naruto}}'', ''{{w|Cloverfield}}'' (whose infamous first teaser debuted at screenings of the first Transformers film), and ''{{w|Bad Boys 2}}'' (another of Michael Bay's movies).
*During the scenes set in and around the deli in NYC, posters for the bands {{w|Catch 22 (band)|Catch Twenty-Two}} and {{w|Voodoo Glow Skulls}} are prominently featured.
*Even though ''Revenge'' features mostly domestic voice actors for the foreign market dubs, [[Frank Welker]] voiced [[Soundwave (ROTF)|Soundwave]] not only in English, but also in a large number of foreign dubs, including the Italian and French versions. As a result, in the Italian dub of the movie, Soundwave speaks with a strange, foreign accent. Welker is also credited for an unspecified voice role in the Latin Spanish dub, most likely Soundwave again. Furthermore, Welker is ''incorrectly'' credited for voicing Soundwave in the German dub, even though German dubbing insiders insist that the voice heard in the actual movie has been provided by someone else ([[Horst Lampe]], who also dubbed ''[[Transformers Animated (cartoon)|Animated]]'' [[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]]), presumably as a last-minute decision because Welker's "German" performance was considered sub-standard.<ref name="germandub">[http://215072.homepagemodules.de/t511643f11775323-Transformers-Die-Rache-Transformers-Revenge-of-the-Fallen-7.html German dubbing board thread about ROTF, with a discussion about Soundwave's voice]</ref> Welker described the entire process of dubbing Soundwave in different languages as "very hard".<ref name="welkernewsarama">[http://www.newsarama.com/tv/090915-Animated-Shorts-Welker.html Newsarama interview with Frank Welker], September 2009.</ref>
*Both the European French dub and the Canadian French dub took a few liberties with Megatron during the last fight. In both versions he tells The Fallen "The machine is ready to fire", an absent line from the original version, which modifies slightly The Fallen's phrase which becomes an answer: "''Shoot, and'' this planet will die forever". When Optimus Prime and The Fallen are fighting, Megatron says "I will kill you myself" while flying at Optimus, another absent line from the original. Finally, after when Megatron got thrown through the wall by Optimus, he is silent in both French dubs, while he was calling Starscream in the original version.
*The prequel novel introduced other Autobots into the ranks of [[NEST]]—[[Longarm (Movie)|Longarm]], [[Salvage (Movie)|Salvage]], and [[Knock Out (ROTF)|Knockout]]. They were present up until the events directly leading into the Shanghai incident, but were not present for any of the events featured in the film or adaptations. {{storylink|Transformers: The Veiled Threat|The Veiled Threat}}
*While ''[[Transformers (film)|Transformers]]'' used 20 terabytes of disk space for visual effects, ''Revenge of the Fallen'' used 154 terabytes<ref>Robertson, Barbara (2009). Weighty Matters. Computer Graphics World, 32(7), 20-29</ref> (thanks in no small part to the titanic Cybertronian giants).
*The Chinese name for ''Revenge of the Fallen'' was "[[wikia:starwars:Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back|Decepticon Strikes Back]]" for a while before the title was changed into "The War of Revenge" in theaters and media in Taiwan around mid to late 2008.
*The film was released in the year of the franchise's 25th anniversary.

===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''''Transformers/Revenge''''' (トランスフォーマー/リベンジ ''Toransufōmā/Ribenji'')
*''Cantonese:'' (變形金剛: 狂派再起, "Transformers: The Return of the Decepticons")
*''Finnish:'' '''''Transformers: Kaatuneiden kosto''''' ("Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Ones")
*''French:'' '''''Transformers 2 : La Revanche''''' (France, "Transformers 2: The Revenge"), '''''Transformers : La Revanche''''' (Canada, "Transformers: The Revenge")
*''German:'' '''''Transformers: Die Rache''''' ("Transformers: The Revenge")
*''Italian:'' '''''Transformers 2: La Vendetta del Caduto''''' ("Transformers 2: The Revenge Of The Fallen")
*''Polish:'' '''''Transformers: Zemsta Upadłych''''' ("Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Ones")
*''Portuguese:'' '''''Transformers: Retaliação''''' (Portugal, "Transformers: Retaliation"), '''''Transformers: A Vingança dos Derrotados''''' (Brazil, "Transformers: The Vengeance of the Defeated")
*''Mandarin:'' '''''Pièn-hsíng Chīn-kāng: Fùch'óu chīh chàn''''' (Taiwan, 變形金剛: 復仇之戰, "Transformers: The War of Revenge"), '''''Biànxíng Jīngāng: Juǎn Tǔ Chóng Lái''''' (Mainland China, 变形金刚：卷土重来, "Transformers: The Comeback (of the Decepticons)")
*''Russian:'' '''''Transformery: Mest' Padshikh''''' (Трансформеры: Месть падших, "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Ones")
*''Serbian:'' '''''Transformersi: Osveta Poraženog''''' (''Transformers: The Revenge Of The Fallen'')
*''Spanish:'' '''''Transformers: La Venganza de los Caídos''''' (''Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Ones'')
*''Swedish:'' '''''Transformers: De Besegrades Hämnd''''' (''Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Ones'')
*''Turkish:'' '''''Transformers: Yenilenlerin İntikamı''''' (''Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Ones'')
*''Czech:'' '''''Transformers: Pomsta Poražených''''' (''Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Ones'')

==External links==
*[http://www.transformersmovie.com Dreamworks/Paramount's ''Transformers'' Movie website]
*[http://www.hasbro.com/transformers/ Hasbro's ''Transformers'' homepage]
*Designer portfolios: [http://www.joshnizzi.com/ Josh Nizzi], [http://www.ryanchurch.com/images/tf2/04PRO_TF2.htm Ryan Church], [http://skulboyfilmwork.blogspot.com/2009/07/transformers-revenge-of-fallen.html Duncan Crawford], [http://www.paulozzimo.com/ Paul Ozzimo], [http://www.stevejung.net/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=4 Steve Jung], [http://conceptartworld.com/?p=2772 Ben Procter], [http://www.seanhaworth.com/SH_Design/Portfolio/Portfolio.html Sean Haworth]
*[http://www.collider.com/entertainment/interviews/article.asp/aid/10866/tcid/1 Interview with Michael Bay 02/09/2009] — Collider.com

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Revenge of the Fallen (film)}}
[[Category:Real world films]]
[[Category:Revenge of the Fallen| ]]
[[Category:Revenge of the Fallen media| ]]

Transformers: Dark of the Moon (film)

2020-10-25T02:18:58Z

96megatron: /* Continuity Notes */

{{Nav-dotm}}
[[File:DOTM-OPportraitposter.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|"Of [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|my friend]], I can only say this: of all the souls I have encountered, he was the most... human."]]
'''''Transformers: Dark of the Moon''''' is the third film in the [[live-action film series]]. It was released in 3D and IMAX at 9PM on [[June 28]], [[2011]]<ref name="open3D">[http://michaelbay.com/2011/06/18/see-dark-of-the-moon-one-day-earlier-on-imax-3d/ See Dark Of The Moon One Day Earlier on IMAX 3D | MichaelBay]</ref> and in wide release on [[June 29]], [[2011]]<ref name="open">[http://www.deadline.com/2011/05/paramount-moving-up-transformers-3/ Paramount Moving Up ‘T’formers 3′ Release – Deadline.com]</ref> in the United States, and between [[June 29]] and July 1 for other markets.

The film is set three years after the events of ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]''. The Autobots continue to work for NEST, but no longer in secret, and for the goal of keeping peace between humans by taking out volatile overseas political targets. But after discovering a strange artifact during a mission in Chernobyl, it becomes apparent to Optimus Prime that the United States government has been less than forthright with them.

And SCENE!

{{bigquote|Aw, shit, I seen this one. It's the one where [[Spock]] goes nuts.|Wheelie|''Transformers: Dark of the Moon''}}

==Synopsis==
[[File:Dotm-Arkreflection.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.4|"Wha... this is the finest engine room in the whole Starfleet!"]]

In the distant past, during the later days of the [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertronian]] civil war, [[Sentinel Prime (ROTF)|Sentinel Prime]] attempted to leave the planet with groundbreaking technology on board the ''[[Ark (DOTM)|Ark]]''. However, his ship was shot down by the Decepticons and, after being sent hurling through space for a while, eventually crashed on the [[Earth]]'s [[Moon (moon)|moon]] in 1961. The crash is noticed by the humans on Earth, leading to the {{w|Space Race}} under President [[John F. Kennedy]]. Landing on the Moon as part of the [[Apollo 11]] mission in 1969, astronauts [[Neil Armstrong]] and [[Buzz Aldrin]] use several minutes of [[radio]] silence to investigate the spaceship and discover that Mankind is not alone in space.

[[File:DOTM - ShockwaveDriller.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|"When I swing around, I mean to deprive you of your life."]]
In the present day, the Autobots are still part of [[NEST]], cooperating with the [[United States military|US Armed Forces]]. They have also begun to help humanity in its local conflicts, as [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]], [[Sideswipe (Movie)|Sideswipe]], [[Wheeljack (Movie)|Que]], and [[Mirage (Movie)|Dino]] destroy an illegal [[Iran]]ian nuclear facility. On a mission to the [[Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant]], a NEST team led by [[William Lennox|Lt. Col. Lennox]], [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] and [[Ratchet (Movie)|Ratchet]] discovers an unknown alien fuel cell which had led to the {{w|Chernobyl disaster}}. While trying to secure the cell, they are attacked by the Decepticon [[Shockwave (Movie)|Shockwave]] and his "pet", the [[Driller]], who are eventually forced to retreat by Optimus Prime. Meanwhile, [[Laserbeak (DOTM)|Laserbeak]] kills [[Alexi Voskhod]], who had called NEST to Chernobyl and was secretly working for him. After securing the fuel cell and identifying it as part of the ''Ark'', Optimus Prime is angry at the humans for not following through with their agreement of sharing all known information relating to Cybertron and its inhabitants. Despite this, he eventually informs his allies and [[Charlotte Mearing]], the {{w|Director of National Intelligence}}, about the space bridge technology the ''Ark'' contains. Together with Ratchet, Optimus travels to the Moon, where they find Sentinel Prime inside the ship. Retrieving him along with four pillars of the space bridge and the accompanying control pillar, they return to Earth, where Optimus uses the [[Matrix of Leadership]] to reactivate Sentinel Prime. In [[Africa]], Decepticon leader [[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]] (still recovering from wounds [[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|suffered]] in [[Egypt]]) meets with his lieutenants [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]] and [[Soundwave (ROTF)|Soundwave]]. Upon learning that the Autobots have recovered Sentinel and the pillars, Megatron orders Soundwave and Laserbeak to terminate their "loose ends".

Meanwhile, [[Sam Witwicky]], the Autobots' human friend, is suffering from everyday problems. Even though President [[Barack Obama]] has awarded him a medal for saving the Earth twice, Sam has trouble finding a job. Together with his new girlfriend [[Carly Spencer]], whom he had met in the [[White House]] (after his former girlfriend [[Mikaela Banes|Mikaela]] had left him), he also gives the stranded Autobots [[Wheelie (ROTF)|Wheelie]] and [[Brains]] a home. After a long search, he finally finds a position as a mail carrier at a telecommunication company named [[Accuretta Systems]]. From his colleague, [[Jerry Wang]], he learns about a conspiracy by humans who collaborate with the Decepticons. Before Jerry can tell Sam more, however, he is killed by Laserbeak.

[[File:DOTM-Sentinelendofyourworld.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.66|"There's a man out there I haven't seen in fifteen years who's trying to kill me."]]

Locked out of participating in the investigation by Mearing, Sam turns to [[Seymour Simmons]] for help. Simmons, who has become a millionaire as a writer, and his aide, [[Dutch (DOTM)|Dutch]], help Sam find out that the Soviets have taken photos of Decepticons removing hundreds of space bridge pillars out of the ''Ark'' even before Apollo 11 had landed on the Moon. Sam and Simmons conclude that the Decepticons had left Sentinel Prime behind on purpose, knowing that only he would be able to activate the space bridge, and only Optimus Prime could reactivate him. Sam is able to warn the Autobots in time so they can protect Sentinel from a Decepticon attack and escort him back to the NEST headquarters. Upon arriving there, however, Sentinel Prime betrays them, revealing that he made a deal with Megatron to ensure Cybertron's survival. After killing [[Ironhide (Movie)|Ironhide]] and most of the NEST soldiers, Sentinel claims the remaining pillars and escapes. The other Autobots track him down to [[Washington, D.C.]], but before Optimus can stop him, Sentinel activates a space bridge to the Moon. The portal allows dozens of Decepticon troops which had remained hidden under the Moon's surface to reach Earth, forcing the Autobots to retreat.

[[File:DOTM-Moonspacebridge.jpg|thumb|upright=1.55|"We are one big, happy fleet! Ah, [[James Kirk|Kirk]], my old friend, do you know the [[Klingon]] proverb that tells us revenge is a dish that is best served cold? It is ''very'' cold in space."]]

In the meantime, Sam is worried about Carly and searches for her. He finds her with her employer, [[Dylan Gould]], who reveals to Sam that he not only arranged for Sam to get a job with Acuretta, but is also a collaborator with the Decepticons. At their request, his father had used his influence to ensure that [[NASA]] would not conduct any more missions to the Moon. When Sam and Carly attempt to flee, they discover Carly's car is a disguise for Soundwave, who takes her captive. Dylan instructs Sam to ask Optimus Prime about the Autobots' strategy, otherwise Carly will die. To ensure that Sam will not try to warn the Autobots, he attaches a Decepticon disguised as a [[Watch-bot|watch]] on Sam's wrist, and it taps into his nervous system.

Meanwhile, Sentinel Prime has given Mankind an ultimatum to exile the Autobots from Earth, since he is only trying to save Cybertron, or so he claims. The US government promptly passes a bill to this effect. Before the Autobots leave Earth aboard their spaceship, the ''[[Xantium (DOTM)|Xantium]]'', Sam asks Optimus about his plan. Optimus replies that there is no plan, and Mankind is on its own now. With all Autobots on board, the ''Xantium'' takes off, but is promptly intercepted by Starscream, who had waited in Earth's orbit. With the ''Xantium'' destroyed, the Decepticons believe the Autobots to be dead and let Sam go.

[[File:DarkoftheMoon-Chicago.jpg|thumb|upright=1.55|left|"Let them eat static. "]]
With the Autobots out of the way, the Decepticons conquer [[Chicago]], kill most of its population and set up the control pillar for the space bridge inside the city, placing the other pillars around the world. Dylan informs Carly that the Decepticons do not intend to return to Cybertron; instead, they want to transport Cybertron into Earth's orbit, because Earth not only has the necessary resources, but also six billion slaves to rebuild the Transformers' home planet.

Sam decides to go to Chicago, where Dylan has taken Carly. Former NEST soldier [[Robert Epps]], who now works for NASA, accompanies him, together with other former NEST members. Upon arrival in Chicago, they are promptly attacked by the Decepticons, but are rescued by Optimus Prime and the other Autobots. Having never intended to leave Earth, they had hidden themselves inside a modified rocket booster that was jettisoned before Starscream destroyed the ''Xantium''.

[[File:DOTM Driller vs Prime.jpg|thumb|upright=1.55|"From Hell's heart, I stab at thee!"]]

The Autobots and the humans soldiers make their way to the skyscraper where Dylan is located in order to destroy the space bridge's control pillar. Sam and Bumblebee rescue Carly, killing Laserbeak in the process, during which they find a damaged UAV and alert the military to the Decepticons plans. Due to another attack by a team of Decepticons led by Shockwave, the team is separated once more. While the Autobots battle the Decepticons, Epps and his team try to destroy the pillar from another skyscraper. However, they are attacked by Shockwave and the Driller, who brings the skyscraper crashing down. Optimus Prime comes to their aid and destroys the Driller, but is shot by Shockwave and becomes trapped in crane cables.

In the meantime, Lennox and the rest of NEST have managed to make their way into the city using [[wingsuit]]s, and with Lennox's help, Sam destroys Starscream using weapons provided to him by the Autobot scientist Que. Meanwhile, the Decepticons have captured several Autobots, but Dylan convinces them not to keep prisoners and kill them all. [[Barricade (Movie)|Barricade]] executes Que, and Soundwave moves to kill Bumblebee next, but the Autobots Wheelie and Brains have managed to make one of the Decepticons' ships crash, thereby distracting Soundwave long enough for Bumblebee and the other Autobots to get free. Bumblebee overpowers and kills Soundwave. NEST soldiers and US Marines snipe the Decepticons. Autobots and Tanks roll in and ambush the Decepticons. Optimus Prime returns and massacres a large group of Decepticons. He then kills Shockwave and uses the Decepticon's arm cannon to topple over the space bridge's control pillar, deactivating the bridge.

[[File:DOTMCybertrontransit.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.55|"Earth was created in six days. Now, watch out! Here comes Genesis! We'll do it for you in six minutes!"]]

Optimus Prime then confronts Sentinel Prime and the two engage in a ferocious battle of Student vs Master. Carly stumbles across Megatron outside the main battle zone. Having previously witnessed a violent argument between Sentinel Prime and Megatron, she appeals to his pride and makes him realize that he will never be able to rule over Cybertron as long as Sentinel is alive. Meanwhile, after a long fight, Sentinel gains the upper hand over Optimus and severs his right arm. However, before he can execute his former pupil, an infuriated Megatron attacks Sentinel and severely damages him, declaring that Earth is his planet to rule. Megatron realized how far he had fallen in power within the past few years, and has decided to once again take his rightful place at the top of the command chain. Meanwhile, Dylan manages to reactivate the toppled pillar, but is attacked by Sam, who hurls him against the pillar, killing him. Subsequently, Bumblebee destroys the pillar for good, thus destroying the space bridge and, presumably, Cybertron with it. Seeing this, Megatron half-heartedly offers Optimus Prime a truce on the condition that he will remain in charge of the Decepticons, mockingly saying that they would be nothing without each other. Realizing that the offer is less than sincere, Optimus refuses and attacks Megatron, decapitating him with an axe. The weakened Sentinel Prime tries to excuse his actions, but Optimus, claiming Sentinel "betrayed himself," executes the treacherous Prime with Megatron's shotgun.

[[File:DOTM Autobots NEST victorious.jpg|thumb|upright=1.55|"Live long... and prosper..."]]

With the battle over, Sam and Carly are reunited, and Simmons takes an opportunity to kiss Mearing, who he still has feelings for, and she has him arrested. With their home planet now forever beyond reach, and the forces of the Decepticons destroyed, the remaining Autobots finally accept Earth as their new home, as Optimus Prime states that the Autobots will always be here, to protect the Earth and all who live on it.
{{--}}

==Quotes==

'''Mission Control''': We are not alone after all, are we? <br>
'''Buzz Aldrin''': No, sir. We are not alone. <br>
:—Buzz Aldrin makes history, and raises the hackles of conspiracy theorists.

'''Dino''': "He's in a bad mood. He's not talking to anybody today." <br>
'''Mearing''': "What is this, the silent treatment?" <br>
'''Ironhide''': "We've seen that and this is ''not'' that." <br>
'''Que''': "Definitely not." <br>
'''Ironhide''': "This is ''worse''. Prime! Make something of yourself! (Ironhide taps Optimus's roof) He's pissed."
:—Ironhide discusses Optimus Prime's foul mood.

"Who wants some chicken dinner now, bitch? Huh? 'Cause somebody messed with the wrong Wang today!" <br>
:—'''Jerry Wang''', being crazy. But also awesome.

"The thing about Russians is, they never like to talk. Gonna take a little of the 'international language.'" <Doorman opens sliding hatch> "''Do svidaniya''." <br>
"That means 'goodbye!'" <closes hatch>
:—'''Simmons''' tries to reason with a '''Russian''', to no avail.

"It's a Cyrillic alphabet; it's like all the buttons you never push on a calculator!"
:—'''Dutch''' tries to translate Russian, also to no avail.

"Woah! Little Mexican standoff we got here!"
:-'''Sideswipe''', talking to Ironhide and the Dreads.

"Class dismissed."
:—'''Ironhide''', after dispatching the Dreads.

"What you must realize, my Autobot brothers, is that we were never going to win the war. For the sake of our planet's survival, a deal had to be made...with ''Megatron''."
:—'''Sentinel Prime''' reveals his treachery.

[[File:DOTM-MegatronLincoln.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|"I'll give him this: [[Atlantis, Arise!|he's]] [[Transformers The Game (console)|consistent]]!"]]
"Here we are. Fight us ''now''."
:—'''Megatron''', pulling the evil overlord cliché on us while sitting atop the [[Abraham Lincoln|Lincoln Memorial]]

"If you go in this building, that's if she's even still alive, there's no way you're going to reach her!"<br>
"What do you suggest I do?!"<br>
"...it's over. I'm sorry, but it's over."<br>
:—'''Robert Epps''' tells '''Sam Witwicky''' that they've run out of plans.

"We will kill them all."
:—'''Optimus Prime''' offers an alternative plan.

"They got my trailer. I ''need'' that flight tech!"<br>
:—'''Optimus Prime''', valiantly [[To sell toys|selling toys]].

"I bring you Cybertron, your home! and still you choose humanity."<br>
"You are the one who taught me [[Bio|freedom is everyone's right]]."<br>
:—'''Sentinel''' VS '''Optimus Prime'''.

"Your Decepticons are finally conquering this planet, and yet their leader won't be you."<br>
"IT WILL BE ME! It will ''always'' be me!<br>
"In any minute now, you'll be nothing but Sentinel's bitch."
:—'''Carly Spencer''' tells '''Megatron''' that if he's going to be the Starscream, he should ''act'' like it.

"Optimus. All I ever wanted...was the survival of our race. You must see why I had to betray you..."<br>
"You didn't betray me. You betrayed yourself..."<br>
:—'''Optimus Prime''''s final exchange with '''Sentinel Prime''' before effectively ''double-tapping'' him.

"Who would you be without me, Prime?"<br>
"Time to find out."<br>
:—'''Megatron''' and '''Optimus Prime''' exchange pre-fight banter one last time.

"In any war, there are calms between storms. There will be days when we lose faith. Days when our allies turn against us... but the day will never come that we forsake this planet and its people."
:—'''Optimus Prime'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s closing narration, [[Transformers: Age of Extinction (film)|which predicts what will]] [[Transformers: The Last Knight (film)|happen to them years later.]]

==Main cast==

{{featuredcharacters|
h1=[[Autobot]]s|c1=
*[[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] ([[Peter Cullen]])
*[[Sentinel Prime (ROTF)|Sentinel Prime]] ([[Leonard Nimoy]])
*[[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]]
*[[Ironhide (Movie)|Ironhide]] ([[Jess Harnell]])
*[[Ratchet (Movie)|Ratchet]] ([[Robert Foxworth]])
*[[Sideswipe (Movie)|Sideswipe]] ([[James Remar]])
*[[Mirage (Movie)|Dino]]<ref name="credits">Mirage and Wheeljack, known by those names in the toyline and essentially all supporting media, are respectively named "Dino" and "Que" in the film. While Dino is simply credited as such, Que is listed in the credits as "Que/Wheeljack".</ref> ([[Francesco Quinn]])
*[[Wheeljack (Movie)|Que/Wheeljack]]<ref name="credits"/> ([[George Coe]])
*The [[Wrecker]]s
**[[Roadbuster (DOTM)|Roadbuster]]<ref>Roadbuster is listed as "Roadbuster/Amp" in the credits, a reference to his car mode's sponsor. His name is not used in the film, but he is called "Roadbuster" in the toyline and supporting media.</ref> ([[Ron Bottitta]])
**[[Topspin (DOTM)|Topspin]]
**[[Leadfoot (DOTM)|Leadfoot]]<ref>Leadfoot is listed in the film's end credits as "Leadfoot/Target", a reference to his car mode's sponsor. His name is not spoken in the film, but he is called "Leadfoot" in the toyline and the supporting media.</ref> ([[John DiMaggio]])
*[[Wheelie (ROTF)|Wheelie]] ([[Tom Kenny]])
*[[Brains]] ([[Reno Wilson]])
*[[Skids (ROTF)|Skids]]<ref name=skidsandmudflap>Skids and Mudflap only appear during the convoy scene at the beginning of the film</ref> (cameo)
*[[Mudflap (ROTF)|Mudflap]]<ref name=skidsandmudflap/> (cameo)

|h2=[[Decepticon]]s|c2=
*[[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]] ([[Hugo Weaving]])
*[[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]] ([[Charlie Adler]])
*[[Shockwave (Movie)|Shockwave]] ([[Frank Welker]])
**[[Driller]]
*[[Soundwave (ROTF)|Soundwave]] ([[Frank Welker]])
**[[Laserbeak (DOTM)|Laserbeak]] ([[Keith Szarabajka]])
*[[Barricade (Movie)|Barricade]] (''Frank Welker'')
*[[Loader]]
*[[Devcon (DOTM)|Devcon]]
*[[Igor]] ([[Greg Berg]])
* [[Dread (DOTM)|The Dreads]]
**[[Crankcase (DOTM)|Crankcase]]
**[[Hatchet (DOTM)|Hatchet]]
**[[Crowbar]]
*[[Hatchling]]s
*[[Scrapper (ROTF)|Scrapper]] type Decepticon
*[[Long Haul (ROTF)|Long Haul]] type Decepticon
*[[Audi R8 Decepticon]]
*Two [[M1 Abrams Decepticon]]s
*[[Garagebot]]
*[[Lensmeter Decepticon]]s
*[[Protoform]]s
*[[Watch-bot]]<ref>Repeatedly referred to as the "Watch-bot" (proper noun) in the ''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon: The Junior Novel]]''</ref>
*[[Pickup Decepticon]]
*[[Police car Decepticon]]

|h3=[[Human]]s|c3=
*[[Sam Witwicky]] ([[Shia LaBeouf]])
*[[Carly Spencer]] ([[Rosie Huntington-Whiteley]])
*[[William Lennox]] ([[Josh Duhamel]])
*[[Robert Epps]] ([[Tyrese Gibson]])
*[[Seymour Simmons]] ([[John Turturro]])
*[[Charlotte Mearing]] ([[Frances McDormand]])
*[[Dylan Gould]] ([[Patrick Dempsey]])
*[[Bruce Brazos]] ([[John Malkovich]])
*[[Hardcore Eddie]] ([[Lester Speight]])
*[[Morshower]] ([[Glenn Morshower]])
*[[Dutch (DOTM)|Dutch]] ([[Alan Tudyk]])
*[[Ron Witwicky]] ([[Kevin Dunn]])
*[[Judy Witwicky]] ([[Julie White]])
*[[Jerry Wang]] ([[Ken Jeong]])
*[[Neil Armstrong]] ([[Don Jeanes]])
*[[Buzz Aldrin]] ([[Cory Tucker]]/himself)
*[[Walter Cronkite]]
*[[Bill O'Reilly]] (himself)
*[[Alexi Voskhod]] ([[Ravil Isyanov]])
}}

==Continuity Notes==
*Sam has since graduated from college, being three months out of school, and is currently looking for a job.
*Since the events of ''Revenge of the Fallen'', Sam and Mikaela had broke up (despite having to spend an entire film of Sam needing to say the L-word). Prior to the events of this film, he started a relationship with Carly Spencer.
*In the years since the Autobots arrival in 2007, Earth has boosted up security, Energon detectors guard Earth’s cities, while long-range defense systems watch the skies.
*Prior to the events of ''Dark of the Moon'', Autobots Que/Wheeljack and Dino have joined N.E.S.T.
*Decepticon Enforcer Shockwave, and his massive, devasting pet, The Driller, arrived on Earth sometime before the events of this film.
*Bumblebee, who was living in the Witwicky's garage at the start of the second film, is now an active member of NEST. In ''ROTF'', Sam had suggested for Bumblebee to join up with the other Autobots, instead of being cooped up in his family's garage. Sam wanted a robot civil war-free college experience and it seems he got it.
*NEST’s barracks for the Autobots have moved from a hanger on the island of Diego Garcia to a building, with Health and Human Services used as a cover, and are operating from Washington D.C.
*Sometime after the events of Operation: Firestorm, Sergeant Epps retired from combat duty, and now is tasked with maintaining both the Autobot ship named the Xantium and relationships between the human engineers and the bloodthirsty Wreckers.
*The Wreckers, according to Charlotte Mearing arrived on Earth, aboard the Xantium, and brought the second wave of Autobots. That would mean they arrived with Sideswipe and co., in the second film, if we're to assume the second wave of Autobots are the ''ROTF'' bots, while the first wave was Optimus and 07' bots. If they were on Earth during the events of the second film, the reason for the Wreckers not participating in Operation Firestorm, might be because Mearing mentioned them not being allowed off the base much, due to their behavior.
*The only returning Autobots, that made their debut in ''Revenge of the Fallen'' to return are Sideswipe and Wheelie (Also The Twins, but only in a few minor cameos, having been cut from a majority of the film). Wheelie, now joined by his companion, Brains, are both currently living with Sam and Carly.
*Returning Decepticons are Megatron and Starscream, who both managed to survive the final battle of ''Revenge of the Fallen'', although the former received serious injuries. Soundwave, made his live-action debut in the last film, now joined by Laserbeak, is revealed to have been active on Earth since at least the 1970s and was tasked with hiding Megatron’s secret plan, hidden on the dark side of the moon. Barricade makes a surprising return during the final battle in Chicago, last seen driving alongside Bonecrusher on the highway, before the latter engaged the Autobot Leader in the first film, while not being an active participant during the events of the second film.
*Following his injuries sustained during the final fight of ''Revenge of the Fallen'', Megatron had acquired a new arm, nearly repaired his damaged face, he has even adopted an earth mode, and is hiding and plotting in Namibia, Africa.
*Seymour Simmons, now a billionaire, makes his return, having made his fortune by sharing to the world the ins-and-outs of the robot civil war. He is also a proud supporter of the Autobot movement, even defending them on public television, and is quick to answer the call from the alien bad news magnet. He also has a bodyguard named Dutch, who is more than meets the eye.
*Optimus Prime's main moral compass that "freedom is the right of all sentient beings", is revealed to have been taught to him by his predecessor and mentor, Sentinel Prime. This had been one of the motivations behind Optimus protecting humans from 'Decepticon' tyranny throughout the films (and various parts of the franchise).
*Introduced in the second film, Optimus uses The Matrix of Leadership to revive Sentinel Prime, having retrieved it from the remains of the Star Harvester, sometime following the climax of the second film. In the same previous film, Megatron had suspected the Matrix could be used to revive Optimus and was proven right when Sam succeeded, a fact Megatron exploits in his "master plan" enacted this film.
*This also reveals that in this continuity, Optimus wasn't always the leader of the Autobots, with Sentinel Prime (like in other continuities) being the leader of the Autobots before him.
*Megatron and Sentinel Prime were meant to rendezvous on Earth together to enact Project Pillar, before fate waylaid them both. Megatron was frozen in ice, in his pursuit of the Allspark, after crash landing in the arctic, later ending up in the vault of Sector Seven, before the events of the first film. While Sentinel Prime's ship was accidentally shot down by a random Decepticon soldier piloting an Orbital Assault Carrier, in pursuit of The Ark's as it was making its escape from Cybertron, as seen in this film's prologue. Seemingly unaware of the secret truce between their leader, Megatron, with Sentinel Prime, the enemy leader.
*Sentinel Prime was first mentioned in the previous film, by Sam Witwicky during one of his many Allspark induced exposition dump. The Fallen not being able to sense Sentinel Prime was probably due to the latter being in stasis lock.
*Megatron's deal with Sentinel Prime makes one question his relationship with The Fallen, as The Fallen himself stated "only a Prime can defeat me", wonder how he would have felt if he knew Megatron had another Prime locked away somewhere, in secret.
*In the last film, if Earth's government ultimately decided that it would be in humanity's best interest to further deny the Autobots' further asylum on our planet, Optimus said that if they'd reach such a decision, that they would honor their request and leave peacefully. Although the Autobots weren't fully transparent on their end as they didn't fully trust the Decepticons. Even though Galloway assumed the Decepticons' reasons for continuing to invade Earth was because the Autobots were here. And apparently, prior to the events of this film, a poll was taken that showed half the world shared the same sentiment. However, revealed after the Autobots left, they weren't the Decepticons' intended target. As once they left, Carly managed to correctly deduce that the Decepticons were after our resources, one unique to our own planet, us.

==Errors==
===Filming, animation and technical errors===
* When Sam is holding Brains in his hand after catching him spying on him and Carly, there is a short shot in which Sam is briefly seen in the background, holding nothing in hand, Brains is missing. In the next shot, Brains is back in the hand.
* After killing Ironhide, while Sentinel Prime is storming the NEST base, Sentinel Prime, Ironhide and most likely Bumblebee are all missing in a short shot in which we see two cars projected by an explosion, supposed to be a result of one of Sentinel's gun shots.
* When Megatron is sitting on Abraham Lincoln's chair in Washington, D.C., watching the Space Bridge bringing Decepticons to Earth, both his legs are going through the steps of the stairs. Several wheels are seen cut in right-angled corner by the steps.
===Astronomical and historical errors===
* The Moon does not rotate with respect to Earth, and Mare Tranquillitatis is near the middle of the near side. Therefore, Tranquility Base could never be described as being on the far side, and Earth is never as close to the horizon as shown in the movie.
* The Apollo 11 Command/Service Module is seen flying to the Moon without the Lunar Module. The Lunar Module is attached when the vehicle is orbiting the Moon, however.
* When the modern day site of the Apollo 11 landing is seen, the ascent module (the cabin Buzz and Neil flew back to orbit in) is still there.
* In real life, Apollo 11 did not land on the far side of the Moon. Tranquility Base is on the near side of the Moon.
* One of the directors of NASA says that all six Apollo missions recovered parts of the Ark but this not possible as the six missions all had different landing sites which were all a significant distance apart.
* Cybertron is apparently several times the size of Earth, yet the characters talk of bringing it "into Earth's atmosphere".
* The Space Bridge starts to bring Cybertron amazingly close to Earth - less than one Earth-diameter away. Assuming Cybertron's mass is proportional to its size, Cybertron's gravitational field would [[The Ultimate Doom|tear the Earth apart]] at that distance.

===Geographic discontinuities===
* The [[Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant]] is shown to be located ''inside'' of, or at least right next to the abandoned city of {{w|Pripyat}}, and the human characters access it through nearby buildings. In reality, the power plant is situated on the outskirts of the city. Even worse, [[Alexi Voskhod]] ''explicitly'' says that the entrance leads through a ''school''. Who builds a ''school'' right next to a ''nuclear power plant''?
* Furthermore, Pripyat's infamous Ferris wheel as shown in the movie is not only the wrong model (the real one's passenger cabins have canopies), but the real one is also located in an open field far away from any buildings.<ref name="ferris">[http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pripyat_-_Ferris_wheel.jpg Photo of the Pripyat Ferris wheel] showing the closest nearby buildings.</ref> But hey, at least it's the right color!
* Also, why exactly is the Sputnik mission case inside the Chernobyl reactor building? Did the Soviets never bother to discard the packaging of their toy after starting to play with it?
* When Megatron transforms for the first time, he's in a grassy savannah. In the next shot, he's standing in the middle of a desert... and in the establishing shot of the Decepticon camp, it's back in the savannah.
* {{w|Mount Kilimanjaro}} is seen in the background of many of the scenes in Namibia; in reality, the mountain is located in Tanzania, more than three thousand kilometers away.
[[File:DOTM-Wreckers-Prime-Cables.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|Chicago's own [[knockoff]] of a prominent Chinese building.]]
* In a [[Atlantis, Arise!|fairly common cinematic contrivance]], the film depicts multiple skyscrapers in the background of many scenes set in Washington, D.C., while the real-life city has no skyscrapers.
* Also, Washington, D.C. almost entirely lacks old industrial buildings that could be converted into lofts, and likewise doesn't have the kind of densely urban streets that Sam is shown to live on.
* NEST Headquarters, supposedly in Washington, is actually Chicago's abandoned Main Post Office.
* Likewise, Dylan's auto collection museum, also set in (land-locked) Washington, is actually the Milwaukee Art Museum. [[Lake Michigan]] is even visible through the windows!
* When Optimus Prime (using his jetpack) gets himself caught in wires below an under-construction building, that building bears a striking resemblance to the {{w|China Central Television Headquarters}} in [[Beijing]], [[China]]... a far shot from [[Chicago]]. Since construction for the CCTV building was finished in 2008, long before ''Dark of the Moon'' was even ''conceived'', this appears to be an intentional instance of a "cool building" being inserted just for the sake of it.

===Continuity errors===
* Like in ''Revenge of the Fallen'', Ironhide sports his [[license plate]] from the [[Transformers (film)|first movie]], "4PCI382", on his robot mode chest, but doesn't have a license plate in vehicle mode. (According to set photos, his license plate in vehicle mode is mostly black, with a NEST logo on it.)
* Speaking of inconsistencies between robot and vehicle mode: Bumblebee's updated Chevrolet Camaro alternate mode no longer has pinstripes bordering his black racing stripes, but the CG robot model still has the pinstripes.
[[Image:DOTM-SoundwaveMercedesStar.jpg|thumb|upright=1.9|right|Is this the reverse of hidden faction insignias in vehicle mode?]]
*Soundwave has [[kibble]] from his [[Mercedes-Benz|Mercedes]] alternate mode while he is in Africa, but his chest has only a blank grille. The Mercedes star is only added to his chest from the scene where he reveals himself to be Carly's car onward.
* After Megatron pulls out his shotgun for the first time, he holsters it on the right side of his back. In the next scene it is on his left side.
* In the highway battle scene with the [[Dread (DOTM)|Dreads]], Crowbar smashes into some traffic signs and knocks them over. In the next shot when the other two Dreads use them as ramps, the angle at which the signs fell has changed. After Hatchet and Crankcase transform, the signs revert into their original position.
* Also in the highway battle, Bumblebee enhances his front wheels to evade Hatchet, yet in the next scene he's fully in Stealth Force mode.
*When Hatchet is killed by Bumblebee and Dino, the last shot shows him being thrown onto a car (using footage recycled from Michael Bay's 2005 film ''{{w|The Island (2005 film)|The Island}}'', as elaborated on below), with Dino's grappling hook cables still attached to Hatchet, which would imply that Dino is still in robot mode at this point. However, the very next shot shows Dino in the far background, driving behind Bumblebee in vehicle mode.
* During Ironhide and Sideswipe's "Mexican standoff" with Crankcase and Crowbar, all combatants drop their firearms, but when Ironhide is speared, his guns are on his back again. They disappear in subsequent shots.
* In addition, the spear impaled in Ironhide disappears when he shoots Crowbar, only to reappear in subsequent shots.
* Despite being captured by Soundwave in her evening gown, Carly is somehow able to change into more convenient clothes (but still wearing high heels!) after arriving at Dylan's place, and has yet another outfit following the attack on Chicago the following day. Not only that, she changes her earrings, too!
* When the Autobots are boarding the ''Xantium,'' Simmons mentions that nine Autobots are leaving. Former Decepticons Wheelie and Brains apparently don't count. Poor little guys!
* The Wreckers claim they had been hiding inside a rocket booster that was jettisoned from the ''Xantium'' before Starscream destroyed it. The boosters are only seen to be detached after Starscream destroys the ship, after it has barely taken off from the ground.
* Though it's a standard action movie contrivance, it sure is convenient that the glass windows inside skyscrapers are extremely fragile when needed, and glass shards are as dangerous as bread crumbs so nobody suffers a single cut from sliding across them.
* Shortly after everyone jumps through the window and starts sliding down, a downwards shot of the building shows all of the windows behind them are intact.
* As everyone tumbles through a lower floor of the building, [[Stone]] is shown to fall right through and out the other side with a collection of office furniture, but not long after is back with Epps's squad.
* Despite the Decepticons taking over Chicago and killing a whole bunch of people, there seem to be a lot of people continuing to go about their daily lives. The skyscraper Epps's team goes into to launch a rocket from still seems to have plenty of office workers in it when the Driller attacks it. When Sam's being thrown around on the end of the grapple glove rope while fighting Starscream, he crashes through a wall into a dry-cleaning business where a woman appears to be calmly hanging up a shirt. Did they all just not get the memo?
* The sequence beginning with Sam, Carly, Epps and the rest of the soldiers jumping out of the windows of the tilted skyscraper is one giant continuity headache: First they jump out of the windows, then slide down several stories, then the camera angle changes and they're sliding down several more stories, and ''then'' a wide shot shows the top of the skyscraper from an angle where the characters cannot be seen, then slowly pans around and eventually shows them all sliding down from one of the topmosts floors all over again! Eventually, they crash back into one of the lowest floors near the break. After the Driller has toppled the top portion of the skyscraper over, the group is ''again'' shown to escape from one one of the topmost floors to the neighboring building!
* Though it is Barricade who kicks and shoves Que along before executing him, the voice heard is Soundwave's. Presumably, this was an artifact of the early alternate version of the scene, in which Soundwave was to kill Dino, and they just re-used the audio.
*While fighting the Autobots at the end of the film, Sentinel Prime's cape disappears for a brief scene before reappearing on his back when the camera angle changes.
*When Sam and Dylan are fighting, the clock behind them changes to different times every shot. It starts at 00:40, then 02:25, 00:15 and 11:00 in the following shots.
*When Sam and Carly are reunited after the final battle, Carly's hands keep changing the position on every cut, sometimes on Sam's neck, sometimes on his shoulders.
*Not intentional: Skids and Mudflap appear for a brief few seconds in the film. This leaves questions as to what happened to them. They weren't seen departing from Earth or taking part in the Chicago battle.
*It's said that four Autobots were captured by the Decepticons in Chicago, but actually five Autobots were captured. (Unless this observation was made ''before'' Bumblebee arrived after saving Sam and Lennox)
*When Que is about to be executed, the "cardboard head on a stick" prop used for [[Mirage (Movie)|Dino]] during the shooting of the movie (a common method used for the movies to give the actors ''something'' to react to) can be spotted in the final edit of the film,<ref name="headprop">[http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-movie-discussion/494618-movies-errors-mirage-prop-final-movie-edit.html "Movies Errors - Mirage prop in final movie edit"] at TFW2005</ref> possibly a leftover from an earlier draft of the script where Soundwave mocked Bumblebee with Dino's disembodied head.

==Transformers references==
In addition to recurring elements from the previous films, ''Dark of the Moon'' bases a number of elements on previous versions of the ''Transformers'' mythos, including plot elements based on older stories, something fairly rare in the other two movies:
* New characters [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] and [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] are heavily based upon their Generation 1 counterparts. [[Wheeljack (Movie)|Que]] is derived from G1 character [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]]. [[Sentinel Prime (disambiguation)|Sentinel Prime]] is the name of Optimus's predecessor in many continuities, and in this instance, he continues his [[Sentinel Prime (Animated)|predecessor]]'s [[Sentinel Prime (G1)#2005 IDW continuity|legacy]] of being a giant jerk.

* Megatron's camp is full of salvaged artifacts from the previous film. A piece of the harvester is being used as part of a tent and several Decepticon corpses are laying around the area. While most are unrecognizable, one of them is a headless Long Haul. Its head was presumable used to create Igor. Megatron's new right hand appears to be salvaged from a fallen Decepticon. The matching left hand can be seen laying around the campsite.

* "Carly" was the name of [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]]'s [[Carly|girlfriend and eventual wife]] in the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|original cartoon]].

* The ''[[Ark (DOTM)|Ark]]'' gets its name from the Autobots' crashed spaceship in the [[Marvel Comics|Marvel]] [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|''Transformers'' comics]].

* The ''[[Xantium (G1)|Xantium]]'' is the name of the [[Wrecker]]s' spaceship in the [[IDW Publishing]]'s ''Transformers'' comics.

* [[Roadbuster (DOTM)|Roadbuster]] and [[Topspin (DOTM)|Topspin]] being members of the Wreckers recalls their original G1 counterparts being likewise part of the Wreckers.

* Optimus's new trailer is based on the trailer that [[Optimus Prime (G1)|his Generation 1 counterpart]] hauled around, including its ability to open up into a weapons base.

* Optimus now carries the Matrix around in his chest as he has in past incarnations.

* The corrosive end met by Ironhide comes at the hands of [[Cosmic Rust (disease)|Cosmic Rust]], the oxidizing pathogen that first appeared in the Generation 1 cartoon episode [[Cosmic Rust (episode)|of the same name]]. Though not named in the film, its identity is made clear by production artwork by [[Josh Nizzi]] which labels Sentinel Prime's gun a "Cosmic Rust gun".

* Megatron removing [[Abraham Lincoln]] from his chair at the {{w|Lincoln Memorial}} and then sitting in it is a scene taken directly from the Generation 1 cartoon episode, "[[Atlantis, Arise!]]", and the Decepticon ending for ''[[Transformers The Game]]'' (sort of).

* The idea of bringing Cybertron to Earth via space bridge and enslaving humans was the plot of the Generation 1 multi-part episode "[[The Ultimate Doom]]."

* Likewise, the idea of an influential and powerful human joining forces with the Decepticons, resulting in the Autobots being exiled from Earth by the government via a spacecraft, only for that spacecraft to be destroyed, was the plot behind another Generation 1 cartoon multi-part episode, "[[Megatron's Master Plan, Part 1|Megatron's Master Plan]]."

* Megatron's first line - a weary "[[The Transformers: All Hail Megatron|All hail Megatron]]" - is the title of IDW's direction-changing comic maxi-series, which had just wrapped up when production on the film was beginning.

* When the worker at Accureta Systems is trying to make the [[Laserbeak (DOTM)|photocopier]] work, it beeps the "more than meets the eye" refrain from the original cartoon's [[theme song]].

* The [[Transformation#The noise|transformation noise]] can be heard at the end of the film when Bumblebee transforms to robot mode, the final onscreen transformation, just as it was heard during [[Blackout (Movie)|Blackout's]] transformation, which was also the first onscreen transformation in the first film.

* The technique of shooting at a skyscraper until it breaks in half and the top falls horizontally on other buildings has been done by [[Megatron (BW)|another Megatron]] in [[Endgame Pt. III: Seeds of the Future|another city]].

==Real-world references==
* When Brains and Wheelie are watching ''{{w|Star Trek: The Original Series}}'', the screen features [[Spock|Mr. Spock]], portrayed by Leonard Nimoy—who voices Sentinel Prime. Wheelie comments that it is "the one where Spock goes nuts," which foreshadows Sentinel's heel turn. The episode itself is the famous ''TOS'' episode "{{w|Amok Time}}", although for some inexplicable reason, the first of the two clips shown on-screen is ''mirrored''.

* Sentinel Prime says "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." The voice actor said the same line in the 1982 film ''{{w|Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan}}'' as Mr. Spock. However, in that movie, Nimoy's character dies a hero.

* To finish the Spock trifecta, when Bumblebee says his goodbyes to Sam, he uses a clip of Leonard Nimoy, as Spock, saying "I will always be your friend," another line from ''Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan''.

* [[Dutch (DOTM)|Dutch]] and his fake girlfriend's name, "India", are a reference to {{w|Dutch India}}.

* [[Wheeljack (Movie)|Que]]'s name is a reference to {{w|Q (James Bond)|Q}} from ''{{w|James Bond}}'' novels and films. Que also gives weapons to NEST soldiers while explaining the advantages and abilities for the weapons much like Q does for James Bond.

* When Bumblebee brings forth "rings" for Sam and Carly, he "hums" the {{w|Wedding March}} (or, more correctly, the {{w|Bridal Chorus}} from {{w|Richard Wagner}}'s 1850 opera ''{{w|Lohengrin (opera)|Lohengrin}}'').
*Before Sentinel gets attacked by Megatron, he quotes "There can only be one" from the film Highlander. Sentinel is also modeled after one of the film's lead stars Sean Connery.

==Other editions==

==Prequel material==
*''[[Transformers: Sector 7]]''
*''[[Transformers: Foundation]]''
*''[[Transformers: Rising Storm]]''
*''[[Transformers: Convergence]]''
*''[[Transformers: Jazz]]''
*''[[Transformers: Space Case]]''
*''[[Transformers: Ratchet]]''
*''[[Transformers: Arcee]]''
*''[[Transformers: Bumblebee]]''
*''[[Transformers: Starscream]]''
*''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (Xbox 360/PS3)]]''
*''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon: Stealth Force Edition]]''
*''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon: Autobots/Decepticons]]''
*''[[Transformers (Titan Magazine)#Dark of the Moon|Transformers (Titan Magazine)]]''
*''[[Transformers Classified: Switching Gears]]''

==Adaptations==
*''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon Movie Adaptation]]''
*''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (novel)]]''
*''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon: The Junior Novel]]''

==Soundtrack==
{{main|Dark of the Moon: The Album}}

==Score==
{{main|Dark of the Moon: The Score}}

==Home video releases==
{{main|Transformers: Dark of the Moon (film)/home video}}
''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'' was released on DVD, Blu-Ray, and Digital Download on September 30, 2011, followed by the 2-Disc Special Edition in December.<ref>[TFW2005 - Official Transformers Movie Website Updated With Transformers 3 Home Release Info http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/official-transformers-movie-website-updated-with-transformers-3-home-release-info-173245/]</ref>
===Additional Information===
{{collist|
* Close Captions in English
* Audio Description as Audio Description in English <ref>http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B005G4TJUC/audiodescriin-20</ref>|collist}}

==Theatrical posters==
<center>
<gallery perrow="3">
File:DOTM-OPbillboardposter.jpg
File:DOTM-Bumblebeebanner.jpg
File:DOTM-Shockwavebanner.jpg
File:DOTM-OPportraitposter.jpg
</gallery>
</center>

==Reception==
The film's critical reception was an improvement from ''Revenge of the Fallen'', but it was still considered a bad movie, with a mediocre 35% on Rotten Tomatoes. The film was praised for its special effects, but blasted for its running time and dialogue.<ref>https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/transformers_dark_of_the_moon</ref>

On June 23, 2011, the world premiere of ''Dark of the Moon'' was held in [[Moscow]], [[Russia]], with band [[Linkin Park]] performing a concert that included their title song for the movie, "Iridescent".

The official release date was moved up from July 1 to June 29 to allow breathing room between its release and ''{{w|Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2}}''. On June 28, 2011, the film was released in 3D and IMAX at 9pm in the US. Some theaters cheated a little and showed it at 8:45.

''Dark of the Moon'' launched with nearly 10,000 copies in 4011 theaters nationwide. On its opening day, the movie earned $37.3 million, making not only for the best opening day of 2011 up to that point, but also ranking as the sixth most successful opening on a Wednesday ever, while at the same time ranking well behind ''Revenge of the Fallen'', with $60 million on its opening day (also a Wednesday).<ref name="openingday">[http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=3197&p=.htm "'Transformers' Suboptimal on Wednesday"], Box Office Mojo, June 2011.</ref> (Of course, a lot of the print material still listed the release date as [[July 1]]st, the following Friday.)

On [[August 2]], it crossed the $1 billion mark in worldwide gross, just under 5 weeks after its release, landing it in the #9 spot for worldwide gross of all time.<ref>http://www.deadline.com/2011/08/transformers-dark-of-the-moon-crosses-1-billion-worldwide-mark-for-paramount/ Deadline Hollywood</ref> Of that, $338 million came from the US. It is currently one of two Paramount pictures to have made the $1 billion mark, the other being [[Transformers: Age of Extinction (film)|its sequel]]. (While ''Titanic'' also made over $1 billion worldwide, it was only a Paramount movie ''domestically'', where it made "only" $620 million.)

''Dark of the Moon'' ended its theatrical run in the #4 spot for highest worldwide gross of all time.

''Dark of the Moon'' was nominated for three Academy Awards, in the categories of Best Visual Effects, Sound Editing, and Sound Mixing, losing all to ''{{w|Hugo (film)|Hugo}}''.<ref>[http://oscar.go.com/nominees#t Official 2012 Oscar nominees page]</ref>

On February 25, 2012, it was announced that ''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'' was nominated for eight {{w|Golden Raspberry Award}}s. Unlike ''Revenge of the Fallen'', however, it did not receive the awards for Worst Picture, Worst Screenplay, & Worst Director, losing all of its nominations to ''{{w|Jack & Jill (film)|Jack & Jill}}''.<ref>[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/transformers-dark-of-the-moon-is-safe-from-razzies-174726/]</ref>

==Production staff==
{{stub}}

===Visual effects===
{{stub}}

===Locations department===
{{quote|[The Decepticons'] decision to attack Chicago<ref>http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-471495</ref> seems inexplicable, until you take into consideration the generous tax credits offered by the Illinois Film Office.|film critic Roger Ebert|[http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2011/07/on_the_origin_of_transformers.html On the Origin of Transformers]}}

==Development details==
===Cast and crew signing on===
[[File:TF3-licensingPrime.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Featuring a surprise appearance by Optimus Prime!]]
On May 30, 2007, a month before the official release of ''[[Transformers (film)|Transformers]]'', [[DreamWorks]] announced that two sequels were already being planned.<ref name="spy">[http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/movies/a58430/two-transformers-sequels-in-pipeline.html Digital Spy article from May 2007, confirming that two sequels were being planned]</ref> On March 16, 2009, over three months before the premiere of ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'', [[Paramount Pictures|Paramount]] announced the third movie for July 1, 2011.<ref name="3release">Pamela McClintock: [http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118001280?refCatId=13 Variety article from March 2009], confirming Transformers 3 for July 2011.</ref> Director [[Michael Bay]] promptly backpedaled, as he had intended for the third ''Transformers'' movie to be released in 2012.<ref name="baywait">[http://www.shootfortheedit.com/forum/showthread.php?3947-Wait-a-minute! Michael Bay's reaction to Paramount's July 2011 date for ''Transformers 3''], March 2009.</ref> He officially changed his mind in October 2009, agreeing to the release date set by Paramount.<ref name="bay3-2011">[http://michaelbay.com/2009/10/01/transformers-3-july-1st-2011/ Michael Bay officially confirms the 2011 release date], October 2009.</ref>

[[Roberto Orci]] and [[Alex Kurtzman]], two of the previous two movies' screenwriters, had already announced in March 2009 that they would not return for a third part.<ref name="noorcikurtz">[http://www.slashfilm.com/orci-and-kurtzman-not-returning-for-transformers-3-will-leonard-nimoy-voice-the-fallen/ Slashfilm quoting Roberto Orci that he and Kurtzman would not return for a third movie], March 2009. (Original post on Don Murphy's message board appears to no longer exist.)</ref> In September 2009, their ''Revenge'' co-writer [[Ehren Kruger]] was confirmed as the screenwriter of ''Transformers 3''.<ref name="krugernelson">[http://michaelbay.com/2009/09/14/transformers-3-pain-gain-bad-boys-3/ Michael Bay's website admin Nelson Lauren sorta-confirms Ehren Kruger as TF3's screenwriter], September 2009.</ref> Kruger had already impressed both director Michael Bay and [[Hasbro]] CEO [[Brian Goldner]] with his knowledge of ''Transformers'' mythology prior to working on ''Revenge''.<ref name="writersr">[http://www.zap2it.com/movies/news/zap-transformers2writers,0,1938976.story Zap2it story about the ROTF writers]</ref>

In an interview with ''Wonderland'' magazine in September 2009, [[Megan Fox]], the main female star of the previous two movies, discussed the harsh conditions on the sets and compared director Michael Bay to [[Adolf Hitler]].<ref name="latimesfox">[http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/the_big_picture/2009/09/megan-fox-on-michael-bay-he-wants-to-be-hitler.html Los Angeles Times article about Megan Fox's fatal interview with ''Wonderland'' magazine], September 2009.</ref> Bay initially played down the affair and still welcomed Fox back for the third installment a month later.<ref name="bay3-2011"/> Even though Fox was still spotted on the ''Transformers 3'' set in May 2010,<ref name="foxonset">[http://www.superherohype.com/news/articles/100786-megan-fox-on-set-for-transformers-3-previz Megan Fox on the DOTM set], May 2010.</ref> Paramount announced a few weeks later that she wouldn't return for a third movie after all.<ref name="nomorefox">[http://www.deadline.com/2010/05/michael-bays-revenge-no-more-megan/ Deadline article confirming that Megan Fox had been dropped off ''Transformers 3''], May 2010.</ref> Still that same month, [[Rosie Huntington-Whiteley]] was confirmed to replace her as the lead female actress.<ref name="rosierepl">[http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1640047/model-rosie-huntingtonwhiteley-cast-transformers-3.jhtml MTV.com article confirming Rosie Huntington-Whiteley as the new female star of ''Transformers ''], May 2010.</ref> Her character's name was confirmed as "[[Carly Spencer|Carly]]" by Nelson Lauren, the webmaster of Michael Bay's official website, in July 2010.<ref name="nelsonchicagojul">[http://www.shootfortheedit.com/forum/showthread.php?7566-Transformers-3-Chicago-Set-Photos Nelson posts about his visit to the Chicago set at shootfortheedit.com's forums], July 2010.</ref> In 2011, Michael Bay finally confirmed in an interview with ''GQ'' magazine that it had been [[Steven Spielberg]], executive producer of the ''Transformers'' movies, who had urged him to fire Fox following the Hitler comparison.<ref name="baygq">[http://www.gq.com/entertainment/movies-and-tv/201107/michael-bay-steven-spielberg-fired-megan-fox-transformers GQ interview with Michael Bay], June 2011.</ref> In a later interview, however, he claimed this statement had been taken out of context.<ref name="baych">[http://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/kultur/kino/Diese-Autos-muessen-zerstoert-werden--und-da-bin-ich-der-richtige-Mann/story/23997460 Interview with Michael Bay from Switzerland] (German language), July 2011.</ref>

In March 2010, Oscar winners [[John Malkovich]] and [[Frances McDormand]] as well as Comedian [[Ken Jeong]] were confirmed having signed on for supporting roles.<ref name="malkomcdor">[http://michaelbay.com/2010/03/22/transformers-3-update-from-michael-bay/ Michael Bay confirming John Malkovich, Frances McDormand and Ken Jeong for ''Transformers 3''], March 2010.</ref>

In April 2010, [[Kevin Dunn]] and [[Julie White]] were confirmed as returning as Sam Witwicky's parents.<ref name="varietydunnwhite">[http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118017329.html?categoryid=1236&cs=1 'Dunn, White sign on for 'Transformers 3''], Variety, April 2010.</ref>

In May 2010, Paramount confirmed that [[Patrick Dempsey]] has been cast in ''Transformers 3'' to play Mikaela Banes' boss (this was before Megan Fox was fired from the production).<ref name="dempsey">[http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2010/05/04/patrick-dempsey-confirmed-for-transformers-3/ "Patrick Dempsey confirmed for Transformers 3"], Hollywood Insider, May 2010.</ref>

In July 2010, Nelson Lauren confirmed that former American footballer [[Lester Speight]] would play a soldier in the movie.<ref name="nelsonchicagophotos">[http://michaelbay.com/2010/07/20/transformers-3-chicago-set-photos/ Photos of the Chicago set by michaelbay.com webmaster Nelson Lauren], July 2010.</ref>

[[Leonard Nimoy]] was confirmed as the voice actor for [[Sentinel Prime (ROTF)|Sentinel Prime]] in March 2011.<ref name="nimoysent">[http://insidemovies.ew.com/2011/03/31/leonard-nimoy-transformers-dark-of-the-moon Entertainment Weekly announces Leonard Nimoy's involvement], March 2011]</ref> Nimoy, who had previously voiced [[Galvatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Galvatron]] in 1986's ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'' and was married to Michael Bay's cousin Susan, had previously been under consideration for [[The Fallen]]'s voice in ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'', but Bay had been hesitant for fear of offending his relative with the relatively low pay allotted to voice actors.<ref name="nimoy1">[http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2009/04/21/michael-bay-afraid-to-offend-leonard-nimoy-with-transformers-family-reunion-offer/ ''Michael Bay Afraid To Offend Leonard Nimoy With ‘Transformers’ Family Reunion Offer''], MTV.com Movies blog, April 2009.</ref> Even though Nimoy openly asked Bay to simply give him a call,<ref name="nimoy2">[http://www.latinoreview.com/news/leonard-nimoy-to-michael-bay-call-me-6682 Leonard Nimoy To Michael Bay: "Call Me!"], Latino Review, April 2009.</ref> it ultimately never worked out, and The Fallen was voiced by [[Tony Todd]] instead. For ''Dark of the Moon'', Bay finally overcame his anxiety and hired Nimoy, who accepted the offer.<ref name="nimoy3">[http://insidemovies.ew.com/2011/03/31/leonard-nimoy-transformers-dark-of-the-moon/ "Leonard Nimoy joins 'Transformers: Dark of the Moon' voice cast -- EXCLUSIVE"], Entertainment Weekly, March 2011.</ref> In return, screenwriter Ehren Kruger included several nods to Nimoy's well-known character as Mr. Spock from ''[[Star Trek]]'' in the movie.<ref name="nimoystartrek">[http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1666643/transformers-dark-of-the-moon-star-trek-references.jhtml "'Transformers: Dark Of The Moon': Behind The 'Star Trek' Nods"], MTV.com, July 2011.</ref> ''Dark of the Moon'' would be Nimoy's final performance in the ''Transformers'' franchise before his death in early 2015.

===Writing and production===
After having defended the almost universally critically panned ''Revenge of the Fallen'' for a long time, Michael Bay finally acknowledged flaws of the script, but blamed the {{w|2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike}} prior to the movie for many problems. As a definite error, he singled out the "dork comedy", which he promised to avoid with ''Dark of the Moon''.<ref name="bayvisit">[http://collider.com/michael-bay-interview-transformers-dark-moon-edit-bay-visit/63824/ Collider.com article about DOTM], December 2010.</ref>

Principal shooting began in May 2010. Shooting locations included [[Chicago]] (and nearby East Chicago and Gary Indiana), Moscow,<ref name="locations">[http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=63682 "Transformers 3 Headed to Chicago and Moscow"], Comingsoon.net, February 2010.</ref> the [[Kennedy Space Center]] in Florida,<ref name="kennedyspace">[http://www.superherohype.com/news/articles/101114-the-transformers-3-shoot-at-kennedy-space-center "The Transformers 3 Shoot at Kennedy Space Center"], SuperHeroHype.com, May 2010.</ref> Milwaukee (Wisconsin),<ref name="milwaukee">[http://www.jsonline.com/entertainment/movies/98266574.html "'Transformers 3' takes over Milwaukee Art Museum"], Journal Sentinel Online, July 2010.</ref> Detroit,<ref name="detroit">[http://www.superherohype.com/news/articles/107775-photos-from-the-detroit-transformers-3-set "Photos From the Detroit Transformers 3 Set"], SuperHeroHype.com, September 2010.</ref> [[Washington, D.C.]]<ref name="militaryextras">[http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=473674758199&id=114648515718 US Department of Defense casting call for ''Dark of the Moon''], October 2010.</ref> and Angkor Wat in Cambodia.<ref name="angkor">[http://www.akp.gov.kh/?p=1184 "'Transformers 3' To Be Shot in Cambodia"], Agence Kampuchea Presse, January 2011.</ref>

For the scene where Lennox and his soldier jump out of a V-22 Osprey using wingsuits, Michael Bay used real parachutists and thus avoided unnecessary CG effects. In fact, he had been inspired for this scene in the first place by watching the parachutists in their wingsuits on television<ref name="wingsuits">[http://blog.movies.yahoo.com/blog/1498-transformers-wingsuits-no-cgi-required Yahoo! Movies article on the wingsuit parachutists], June 2011.</ref> and wrote the scene with the intention of using the parachutists in the movie.<ref name="bayvisit"/>

For the Apollo 11 moon landing mission in the flashback sequence at the beginning of the movie, astronauts [[Neil Armstrong]] and [[Buzz Aldrin]] are played by actors Don Jeanes and Cory Tucker, respectively. In the present day timeline, Aldrin himself appears briefly as his own older self.<ref name="aldrin">[http://movies.yahoo.com/news/yahoo-contributor-network/astronaut-buzz-aldrin-hangs-out-with-optimus-prime-transformers-dark-moon Yahoo! Movies article on Buzz Aldrin's appearance in DOTM], July 2011.</ref>

Over 500 cars were destroyed in the making of ''Dark of the Moon'', all of them damaged property from insurance companies intended for destruction.<ref name="baych"/>
[[Image:ROTFvsDOTMUSNavyHollenbeck.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|right|Wherever General Morshower goes, I go.]]

Two accidents happened during shooting: In September 2010, while shooting in East Chicago, Indiana, a female extra was severely injured when a stunt scene went wrong, leaving her with permanent brain damage, the left side of her body paralyzed and her left eye stitched shut. Paramount was subsequently sued for damages by the victim's family.<ref name="extrastunt">[http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-10-05/news/ct-met-transformers-lawsuit-20101005_1_gabriela-cedillo-stunt-welding Chicago tibune article on the injured extra and the subsequent lawsuit], October 2010.</ref> She was eventually granted an $18.5 million settlement in May 2012.<ref name="settlement">[http://www.tmz.com/2012/05/23/transfomers-3-injured-extra-gets-18-million-settlement/ TMZ story about Gabriela Cedillo's settlement]</ref> As a consequence, part of the scene of the car chase battle in Washington, D.C. (which would have included the shoot that had led to the accident) was instead "[[Stock footage|borrowed]]" from Michael Bay's 2005 film ''{{w|The Island (2005 film)|The Island}}''.<ref name="island1">[http://www.ign.com/articles/2011/07/04/transformers-3-re-uses-car-crash-from-the-island "Transformers 3 Re-Uses Car Crash From The Island"], IGN Movies, July 2011.</ref> While shooting in Washington, D.C., in October 2010, one of the Chevrolet Camaro prop cars that served as Bumblebee's [[alternate mode]] crashed into a {{w|Metropolitan Police}} SUV. Nobody was seriously injured this time, though Bumblebee sustained severe front-end damage.<ref name="camarocrash">[http://jalopnik.com/5661321/bumblebee-smashes-cop-car-in-yet-another-transformers-3-accident Jalopnik article on the Camaro crash], October 2010.</ref> Hasbro would later "commemorate" this latter event with the [[Toys"R"Us]] [[exclusive]] [[Cyberverse (toyline)|Cyberverse]] "Cybertronian Warriors Pack". Fans, meanwhile, joked that the SUV was Barricade getting revenge.

Another (brief) instance of recycled footage occurs during the Chicago battle: When the Navy fires several Tomahawks at the Decepticons, the mission control room scene was previously used to depict the interior of the [[USS Kidd]] in ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]''. The most obvious similarity is the [[Hollenbeck|same operator]] saying "Target acquired" both times.<ref name="recycled">[http://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=6tSMdR8vH0s Youtube video] featuring brief clips from ''Dark of the Moon'' and ''Revenge of the Fallen'', highlighting the recycled footage.</ref>

''Dark of the Moon'' is the first of the ''Transformers'' movies to be released in 3D. Despite early considerations to shoot the movie in 2D and convert it into 3D later, Michael Bay ultimately shot 60% of the film in native 3D, another 15% were done digitally, and the rest was shot in 2D and converted later. [[James Cameron]] assisted Michael Bay with the 3D effects. The movie's budget amounted to $195 million, which is about the same budget ''Revenge of the Fallen'' had. About $30 million went into the 3D effects.<ref name="cameron">[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/michael-bay-reveals-james-camerons-191774 "Michael Bay Reveals James Cameron's Secret Role in the Making of 'Transformers'"], The Hollywood Reporter, May 2011.</ref>

=== Sponsors and partners ===
==== Hasbro ====
Hasbro, licensor of the [[Transformers brand]], hoped that the third movie would once again boost toy sales, after profits had dropped in the first quarter of 2011.<ref name="hasbroq12011">[http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Hasbro-1Q-profit-drops-71-pct-apf-664090076.html?x=0&.v=11 Yahoo! Finance article about weak Hasbro toy sales in 2011's first quarter], April 2011.</ref> For the second quarter of 2011, Hasbro reported a net revenue growth of 23 percent to $908.5 million, citing brands such as ''Transformers'' and ''Beyblade'' as the main sources of the increased income.<ref name="hasbro2nsq">[http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Hasbro-Reports-Revenue-and-bw-4063497156.html?x=0&.v=1 "Hasbro Reports Revenue and Earnings Growth for the Second Quarter 2011"], Yahoo! Finance, July 2011.</ref>

==== US military and NASA ====
Like the previous two movies, ''Dark of the Moon'' featured real military personnel as extras, supported by the [[United States Department of Defense]].<ref name="militaryextras"/> Shooting locations were Hurlburt Field and [[Edwards Air Force Base]].<ref name="hurlburt">[http://www.shadowspear.com/special-operations-entertainment/105725-transformers-filmed-at-hurlburt.html "'Transformers 3 Filmed at Hurlburt, 1SOW Included as 'Extras'"], ShadowSpear Special Operations, July 2011.</ref>

In addition, ''Dark of the Moon'' was also supported by NASA, and NASA employees appear as extras in the movie as well.<ref name="nasa">[http://www.space.com/12142-transformers-film-nasa-space-program-touches.html "'Transformers: Dark of the Moon' Has Real-Life NASA Touches"], Space.com, July 2011.</ref>

==== General Motors and other car manufacturers ====
[[General Motors]] once again provided several vehicles. All recurring Autobots retain their [[alternate mode]]s from ''Revenge of the Fallen'' despite some minor tweaks, such as Sideswipe now being a convertible, and Bumblebee now sporting a rear spoiler. Once again, the cooperation was mutual, with General Motors using Bumblebee for TV commercials. The first of those, aired during the 2011 Super Bowl, also revealed some minor tweaks to Bumblebee's robot mode.<ref name="bumblebeead1">[http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2011/02/-bumblebee-appears-in-a-chevrolet-camaro-super-bowl-ad/1 "'Bumblebee' appears in Chevrolet's Super Bowl ad"], USA Today, February 2011.</ref><ref name="bumblebeead2">[http://www.autoblog.com/2011/06/06/chevy-drops-new-ad-touting-transformers-3-tie-in/ "Video: Chevy drops new ad touting Transformers 3 tie-in"], Autoblog.com, June 2011.</ref> According to Chevrolet, the ''Transformers'' movies notably affect car sales, as about ten percent of all Camaros sold in the preceding year were yellow, twice as many as with other models.<ref name="carstarscast">[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/transformers-dark-moon-how-sequels-204557 "'Transformers: Dark of the Moon': How the Sequel's Star Cars Were Cast"], The Hollywood Reporter, June 2011.</ref>

New additions for ''Dark of the Moon'' are a Ferrari 458 Italia and a Mercedes-Benz E550 as Autobots ([[Mirage (Movie)|Dino]] and [[Wheeljack (Movie)|Que]], respectively) and a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG as a Decepticon ([[Soundwave (ROTF)|Soundwave]]). In the movie, both Autobots sport names which aren't recycled from existing Hasbro toys. In the Ferrari's case, the reason for this is that Hasbro's greatest competitor, Mattel, has an exclusive license for Ferrari toys.<ref name="ferrarimattel">[http://www.ferrari.com/English/Pages/Mattel.aspx Mattel license information], Ferrari.com.</ref><ref name="nelsonnomirage">[http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-news-rumors/409844-mirage-no-longer-name-red-italia-dotm-3.html#post6103423 Michael Bay's website admin, Nelson Lauren, explaining why the Ferrari isn't named "Mirage"], TFW2005, May 2011.</ref> "Dino" is named in reference to {{w|Alfredo Ferrari|Alfredo "Dino" Ferrari}}, as per Ferrari's request. The Mercedes-Benz E550, meanwhile, was specifically customized for the movie.<ref name="e550tuning">[http://www.eurotuner.com/news/eurp_1102_mercedes_benz_e550_for_next_transformers_movie/index.html "Mercedes-Benz E550 for Next Transformers Movie - Web Exclusive"], Eurotuner.com, February 2011.</ref> "Que" is named in homage to {{w|Q (James Bond)|Q}} from ''{{w|James Bond}}. A Maybach 62S Landaulet is also featured in the movie, albeit not as a Transformer, but merely as a regular car used by [[Seymour Simmons]] and his assistant [[Dutch (DOTM)|Dutch]].

Unlike Optimus Prime, whose alternate mode was not licensed for any of the three movies, the Rosenbauer Panther 6x6 airport fire truck used for [[Sentinel Prime (ROTF)|Sentinel Prime]] was officially provided by the Rosenbauer International AG and entirely repainted specifically for the film, at a cost of thousands of dollars, as real-world aircraft fire-fighting vehicles are required by FAA regulations to have a much lighter color scheme, which didn't appeal to director [[Michael Bay]].<ref name="rosenbauer">[http://www.rosenbaueramerica.com/press/2011/06/rosenbauer-panther-6x6-to-be-f/ Rosenbauer America press release, June 28, 2011]</ref>

Since the heavily armed Chevrolet Impalas that serve as the [[Wrecker|Wreckers']] alternate modes are directly based on existing NASCAR race cars, the prop versions of [[Roadbuster (DOTM)|Roadbuster]], [[Leadfoot (DOTM)|Leadfoot]], and [[Topspin (DOTM)|Topspin]] made an appearance at [[2011]] Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on [[February 20]], four month before the movie's release, appearing both off the track as display cars, and on the track, participating in the ceremonial first lap.<ref name="daytona">[http://www.hendrickmotorsports.com/news/photos/2011/02/18/TRANSFORMERS-cars-on-display-at-Daytona "'TRANSFORMERS' cars on display at Daytona"], Hendrick Motorsports, February 2011.</ref> Director Michael Bay, actor [[Josh Duhamel]] and actress [[Rosie Huntington-Whiteley]] also attended the event, and during the television broadcast of the race, a new ''Dark of the Moon'' television spot was aired.

==== Other product placement ====
As always, various companies have their products and names prominently displayed throughout the movie, such as {{w|Northrop Grumman}}, [[CNN]], [[Fox News Channel|Fox News]], {{w|Cisco}} and {{w|Superfund}}.<ref name="brands1">[http://www.brandchannel.com/brandcameo_films.asp?movie_year_az=2011 "Transformers: Dark of the Moon"] at brandchannel.com.</ref> Paper manufacturer Double A also cooperated with Paramount and even had Michael Bay direct a commercial that features scenes from ''Dark of the Moon'', notably [[Laserbeak (DOTM)|Laserbeak]].<ref name="paper">[http://www.superherohype.com/news/articles/167497-transformers-featured-in-double-a-paper-ad "Transformers Featured in Double A Paper Ad"] at SuperHeroHype, June 2011.</ref> Of particular note is the large number of Chinese brands such as {{w|Lenovo}}, {{w|Yili Group|Yili}} Shuhua Milk, {{w|Metersbonwe Group|Metersbonwe}} Mtee shirts and {{w|TCL Corporation|TCL}} HDTV screens.<ref name="chinesebrands">[http://advertising.chinasmack.com/2011/transformers-the-rise-of-chinese-product-placement.html "Transformers: The Rise Of Chinese Product Placement"] at Chinasmack.</ref><ref name="brands2">[http://www.brandchannel.com/home/post/2011/07/05/Brandcameo-070411-Transformers-3.aspx "Transformers 3 Product Placement: If Tom Hanks Gets a Pass, Michael Bay Does Not"] at brandchannel, July 2011.</ref>

For [[Nokia]], the product placement turned out to be dated by the time the movie came out, as a mobile phone featured in the movie ran on {{w|Symbian}}, despite Nokia mostly dropping Symbian as an operating system due to their recent partnership with {{w|Microsoft}}.<ref name="nokiaobit">[http://www.thenoisecast.com/2011/07/nokia-x7-product-placement-in-transformers-3-feels-like-an-obituary/ "Nokia X7 Product Placement In Transformers 3 Feels Like An Obituary"], Noisecast, July 2011.</ref>

=== Changes before, during and after production ===
* In an interview with the Los Angeles Times in June 2009, Michael Bay suggested that [[Ramon Rodriguez]] would reprise his role as [[Leo Spitz]] from ''Revenge of the Fallen'' for the third movie.<ref name="bayramon">[http://herocomplex.latimes.com/2009/06/30/ramon-rodriguez-will-have-bigger-role-in-third-transformers-movie-bay-hints/ "Ramon Rodriguez will have bigger role in third ‘Transformers’ movie, Bay hints"], Los Angeles Times, June 2009.</ref>

* As stated above, [[Megan Fox]] was originally intended to reprise her role as [[Mikaela Banes]] from the previous two movies. She was still spotted on the ''Dark of the Moon'' set during the previsualization stage in May 2010,<ref name="foxonset"/> but was fired from the production shortly afterwards due to a falling out with director [[Michael Bay]]. [[Rosie Huntington-Whiteley]]'s character of [[Carly Spencer]] was written in as a replacement, though the fact that her part was originally written for Mikaela still shows in some parts: For example, Carly is overseeing [[Dylan Gould|Dylan]]'s car collection, which could be viewed as an extension of Mikaela's history with working with cars. Furthermore, Sam and Carly not only have [[Wheelie (ROTF)|Wheelie]] (who had been previously "domesticated" by Mikaela) as a "pet", but also her dog [[Bonecrusher (dog)|Bonecrusher]] (played by Michael Bay's eponymous real-life dog).

[[File:DOTM Skids, Mudflap, Que and Sideswipe.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|Eat this, Megan Fox.]]
*In January 2010, actor James Avery claimed in an interview that he would be playing a new Autobot named "Silverbolt".<ref name="avery">[http://unscripted.ca/episodes/show/136 James Avery interview on Unscripted], January 2010</ref> In June 2010, representatives of James Avery, responding to a bizarre rumor that he had passed away, confirmed that the actor was indeed alive and would be playing Silverbolt in ''Transformers 3''.<ref>[http://www.examiner.com/entertainment-in-national/uncle-phil-james-avery-isn-t-dead-after-all James Avery isn't dead after all], The Examiner, June 2010.</ref> Despite this, neither Avery nor Silverbolt ultimately appear in ''Dark of the Moon''.

* In January 2011, an Idaho newspaper<ref>[http://magicvalley.com/news/local/article_d4f374a4-d960-5589-8d0c-be37df66fc40.html?mode=story "Rupert's Fagerbakke finds a voice that is truly golden"]</ref> announced voice actor [[Bill Fagerbakke]] as the voice of a "Chevy Impala stock car" that would appear in ''Dark of the Moon'' (presumably meaning one of the three [[Wrecker]]s, who share that base altmode). Why Fagerbakke did not end up voicing any of the Wreckers in the final cut of the film is unknown.

* Shockwave's original voice actor, [[Corey Burton]], expressed that he had no interest in voicing him for ''Dark of the Moon'', explaining "[I] have practically no interest in that kind of mega-budget movie enterprise involvement" and that the inspiration for his Shockwave voice, {{w|David Warner (actor)|David Warner}}, was rumored to have been considered.<ref>[http://www.coreyburton.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?p=2707&highlight=#2707 Corey Burton's message board post.]</ref> In the end, Shockwave's almost-entirely-wordless-snarl-based role would have been something of a waste of Warner; the role ultimately went to Frank Welker. There's a nice touch of symmetry in the casting, with Welker taking over a Burton-originated role not long after Burton took on a Welker-originated character in [[Megatron (Animated)|''Animated'' Megatron]].

* In an earlier draft of the movie's script, Megatron is sincere when he offers Optimus Prime a truce at the end. Optimus accepts, and Megatron and the remaining Decepticons leave Earth to rebuild Cybertron. This ending is used for the [[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (novel)|novelization]] and the [[Transformers: Dark of the Moon Movie Adaptation|comic adaptation]]. According to Michael Bay's website administrator Nelson, the ending was changed because the studio didn't want the adaptations to share the same ending with the film.<ref>http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/members/nelson-47919.html#vmessage284191</ref>

* Furthermore, it was originally supposed to be [[Mirage (Movie)|Mirage/"Dino"]] rather than [[Wheeljack (Movie)|Wheeljack/"Que"]] who would have been executed by [[Soundwave (ROTF)|Soundwave]] in Chicago. This version made it into the comic adaptation and the [[Transformers: Dark of the Moon: The Junior Novel|junior novelization]].

[[File:DOTM-SentinelPrimetrailer.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|Colour me your colour, baby<br>Colour me your car<br>Colour me your colour, darling<br>I know who you are]]
* Another scrapped death for Mirage is seen in the [[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (novel)|novelization]], in where he's decapicated by [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]]. His severed head is subsequently used by Soundwave to mock the Autobots before they are about to get executed.

* A scrapped death for Wheeljack/"Que" involved the Autobot being run off of a Chicago street and into a river by the [[Driller]], where he would have been torn to pieces by Decepticon troopers lying in wait in the river.

* [[The Twins]], [[Skids (ROTF)|Skids]] and [[Mudflap (ROTF)|Mudflap]], were originally supposed to return for ''Dark of the Moon'', and to die at the hands of Sentinel Prime shortly after Ironhide. Even though [[General Motors]] provided two Chevrolet Sparks to serve as their alternate modes<ref name="chevyspark">[http://www.leftlanenews.com/chevrolet-spark-transformers-3.html Left Lane News article on two Chevrolet Sparks spotted on the DOTM set], May 2010.</ref> which were still spotted on the set as late as October 2010,<ref name="dcparking">[http://transformerslive.blogspot.com/2010/10/transformers-3-dc-parking-lot-gallery.html "Transformers 3 DC Parking Lot Gallery"], Transformers Live Action Movie Blog, October 2010.</ref> the two were mostly edited out of the final movie (their vehicle modes can barely be glimpsed in a few brief shots). Michael Bay even went so far as to offer a $25,000 reward for anyone who would see the Twins "perform" in the movie.<ref name="reward">[http://collider.com/transformers-3-twins-skids-mudflap-michael-bay/91104/ Collider.com article on Michael Bay's "reward" for spotting Skids and Mudflap "perform" in DOTM], May 2011.</ref> In the novelization and the comic adaptation, Skids and Mudflap still appear.

* Another plot point that was apparently dropped was an anti-Autobot sentiment among the human populace. Graffiti with a crossed out Autobot [[insignia|logo]] with the words "go home" below it showed up in several set photos.<ref name="gohome1">[http://transformerslive.blogspot.com/2010/05/transformers-3-filming-with-twins.html Photos from the set in Sherman Oaks, California] at the Transformers Live Action Movie Blog, May 2010.</ref><ref name="gohome2">[http://www.seibertron.com/transformers/news/possible-tf3-plot-point-revealed-autobots-go-home/19188/ Photos from the Chicago set] at Seibertron.com, July 2010.</ref> In the movie, Congress instantly passes a law exiling the Autobots from Earth following Sentinel Prime's ultimatum.

* Early working names included "[[Ultra Magnus (disambiguation)|Ultra Magnus]]" for [[Sentinel Prime (ROTF)|Sentinel Prime]],<ref name="chicagocall">[http://transformerslive.blogspot.com/2011/06/chicgo-call-sheet-for-ultra-magnus.html "Chicago Call Sheet For Ultra Magnus"], Transformers Live Action Movie Blog, June 2011.</ref> "Enzo" (after {{w|Enzo Ferrari}})<ref name="callsheet2">[http://tilallaremine.wordpress.com/2011/07/01/dark-of-the-moon-call-sheets/ Dark of the Moon Call Sheets!] at Til All Are Mine blog, July 2011.</ref> and "Rush" for Mirage/"Dino", "[[Warpath (disambiguation)|Warpath]]" for both [[Roadbuster (DOTM)|Roadbuster]] and [[Topspin (DOTM)|Topspin]], "Tempest" for Topspin, "[[Flash (disambiguation)|Flash]]" for [[Leadfoot (DOTM)|Leadfoot]], "[[Dreadwind (disambiguation)|Dreadwind]]" for [[Crankcase (DOTM)|Crankcase]], "[[Hooligan (disambiguation)|Hooligan]]" for [[Crowbar]], "[[Dirtbag]]" for [[Hatchet (DOTM)|Hatchet]], "[[Blitzwing (disambiguation)|Blitzwing]]" for [[Shockwave (Movie)|Shockwave]], "[[Breakdown (disambiguation)|Breakdown]]" for Soundwave's new vehicular design, "[[Clench (G1)|Colossus]]" for the [[Driller]],<ref name="nizzi">[http://www.joshnizzi.com/TF3.htm Josh Nizzi DOTM concepts.]</ref> "Buzzard" for [[Laserbeak (DOTM)|Laserbeak]], "[[Undermine (Cybertron)|Undermine]]" for [[Igor]] and "[[Steeljaw (disambiguation)|Steeljaw]]" for Wheeljack/"Que". However, it's quite possible a few of these were code names used to keep character identities a secret during production as images of Megatron's new cloak obscured face refer to the character as "[[Cyclonus (disambiguation)|Cyclonus]]".<ref name="wburt">[http://conceptartworld.com/?p=8388 Wesley Burt DOTM concepts.]</ref>

* Roadbuster was originally intended to have {{w|Jeff Gordon}}'s #24 {{w|DuPont}}-sponsored Chevrolet Impala as his alternate mode, rather than {{w|Dale Earnhardt, Jr.}}'s #88 Impala sponsored by {{w|AMP Energy}}.<ref name="nizzi"/>

[[File:DOTMSuperBowlvsTrailer.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|So does this qualify as a retcon?]]
* Que/Wheeljack's head was once considered to be based on {{w|Christopher Lloyd}}'s [[Doc Brown]] from ''[[Back to the Future]]'', rather than [[Albert Einstein]].<ref name="wburt"/>

* The Wreckers were originally intended to have a robot pet dog, whose working names also included "Warpath".<ref name="nizzi"/> Hasbro released a toy of the dog with the [[Human Alliance]] version of Leadfoot, named "[[Steeljaw (DOTM)|Steeljaw]]".

* Megatron was originally supposed to appear in his ''Revenge of the Fallen'' form.<ref>http://joshnizzi.com/images/TF3/JoshNizzi_TF3_56.jpg</ref>

* In an interview with MTV.com, actors [[Shia LaBeouf]] and [[John Malkovich]] hinted at some smaller scenes that were cut from the final edit of the movie. In addition to some ad-libbing by the actors, one scene would have featured Malkovich's character, [[Bruce Brazos]], attempting to get Carly's phone number.<ref name="deletedmtv">[http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1666772/transformers-dark-of-the-moon-dvd-deleted-scenes.jhtml MTV.com on deleted scenes], July 2011.</ref>

* In the original teaser trailer for ''Dark of the Moon'' that was released in December 2010, the opening scene that featured [[Neil Armstrong]] and [[Buzz Aldrin]] investigate the ''[[Ark (DOTM)|Ark]]'' on the moon had Sentinel Prime sport a gold and silver color scheme. For the final movie, his base color was changed to red.

* Similar to the teaser trailer, the Super Bowl spot also features footage that contains unfinished CG effects. Most notably, the shot that depicts Optimus Prime, equipped with his flight pack, swooping down on the Decepticons before starting his epic rampage on the ground was changed by the time the first full trailer was released: Optimus himself and the first [[M1 Abrams Decepticon]] are both rescaled and moved to different positions on-screen; a Decepticon using the same [[body-type]] as [[Blackout (Movie)|Blackout]] and [[Grindor (ROTF)|Grindor]] is removed entirely; and a Decepticon using the same body-type as Long Haul, as well as other [[generic]]s, are added. The final movie uses pretty much the same version as seen in the trailer.
{{-}}

=== Leaks and disinformation===
[[File:DOTMgameSoundwave.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|What you're about to see is totally classified.]]
The movie's title, then "Transformers: ''The'' Dark of the Moon", was first discovered on October 6, 2010 via listings for childrens' books on [[Amazon (website)|Amazon]]. The title was further confirmed by a whois check for "www.transformersdarkofthemoonmovie.com".<ref>[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/transformers-3-title-revealed-170697/ Transformers 3 Title Revealed?] @ TFW2005.com</ref> On October 31, the official website for all three movies, [http://www.transformersmovie.com/ transformersmovie.com], was updated to show the ''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'' logo as well as international release dates.

[[Shockwave (Movie)|Shockwave]] was heavily touted as the new main villain, no doubt in an attempt to conceal [[Sentinel Prime (ROTF)|Sentinel Prime]]'s unexpected betrayal halfway through the movie. A piece of information that commonly popped up in media coverage was the claim that Shockwave was the ruler of [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] while the other Autobots and Decepticons were duking it out on Earth.<ref name="pushpops">[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/transformers-3-plot-summary-revealed-170756/ "Transformers 3 Plot Summary Revealed"], TFW2005, October 2010.</ref> The last bit could be written off as a case of {{w|Chinese whispers}}: Shockwave got announced as the villain for ''Dark of the Moon'', mainstream media (such as USA Today<ref name="usatodayswitch">[http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2010-06-11-Transformers11_ST_N.htm "Next 'Transformers' is due for a switch"], USA Today, June 2010.</ref>) who aren't versed in Transformers lore looked up the character, found out about his ''[[The Transformers (franchise)|Generation 1]]'' [[Shockwave (G1)|namesake]]'s role in the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|cartoon]], included it as a piece of trivia to show they did their research, and then the trivia note got picked up as gospel by other media. Nevertheless, it was included in the ''official plot summary'' by Paramount's German branch (which also claimed that ''Shockwave'' was the robot discovered inside the ''[[Ark (DOTM)|Ark]]'' as seen in the trailer).<ref name="germansite">[http://www.transformers3-film.de/ Official German DOTM site] including faulty plot summary.</ref>

[[File:TF3HasbroSoundwaveBio.JPG|thumb|upright=1.66|left|If you breathe a word of what you see in here, you will do time for treason.]]Michael Bay and other official parties tried ''really'' hard to suppress the plot twist of the silver Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG given to [[Carly Spencer|Carly]] by [[Dylan Gould|Dylan]] turning out to be the new [[alternate mode]] of [[Soundwave (ROTF)|Soundwave]]. After the Mercedes had been spotted on the set, with [[Rosie Huntington-Whiteley]] exiting it,<ref name="mercedesset">[http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=67518 DOTM Set Photos], ComingSoon.net, July 2010.</ref> the first hint that it was more than meets the eye came with the trailer for the [[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (Xbox 360/PS3)|video game]], which showed Soundwave's robot mode with car [[kibble]] such as wheels that heavily resembled those of the Mercedes. In addition, [[Rising Storm issue 3|issue 3]] of ''[[Transformers: Rising Storm]]'' depicted Soundwave's robot mode not only with car kibble, but with a Mercedes star on his chest. Despite this, director Michael Bay insisted that the Mercedes was simply Carly's car, claiming that "Mercedes would never let us make their car into a bad Decepticon. Car company's {{sic}} really frown on that. I can't say what the game company and comics do that's their own thing. They don't have the same constraints movies do. It's Carly's car."<ref name="baynomerc">[http://www.shootfortheedit.com/forum/showthread.php?8724-Update-Is-Soundwave-the-silver-Mercedes-on-set-of-DOTM&p=169598&viewfull=1#post169598 Michael Bay's response to the fan theory that Soundwave is the Silver Mercedes.], April 2011.</ref> On April 19, 2011, an event for promoting the ''Spider-Man: Edge of Time'' and ''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'' video games was held in London. As part of this, [[High Moon Studios]] released promotional stills from the ''Dark of the Moon'' game, one of which depicted Soundwave's new robot mode, again with Mercedes parts. However, a news embargo was enforced on the attending press, which was broken by South African video game site [http://egamer.co.za egamer].<ref name="egamera">[http://egamer.co.za/2011/05/exclusive-hands-on-transformers-dark-of-the-moon/ egamer's preview of the ''Dark of the Moon'' video game]</ref> The site was soon asked to take down the article and images, as were various ''Transformers'' fan sites that had reported on the article and mirrored the images. On May 2, 2011, Hasbro's [http://www.hasbro.com/transformers/en_US/ official Transformers website] was given a massive overhaul, including the addition of the new [http://www.hasbro.com/transformers/en_US/discover/cybertronian-database.cfm Vector Sigma database]. The entry for Soundwave initially identified his alternate mode as a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, but was soon changed to "satellite". On May 3, 2011, the embargo for the video game article and promotional stills was finally lifted, allowing sites to freely show the image of Soundwave's new robot mode.

On May 5, 2011, several weeks before the trade paperback collection's official release, preview pages from [[IDW Publishing|IDW]]'s [[Transformers: Dark of the Moon Movie Adaptation|''Dark of the Moon'' comic adaptation]] were discovered at [[Amazon (website)|Amazon]]. Through some bizarre system error, ''several dozen pages'' were made available, which included the major plot twist of Sentinel Prime showing his true colors and killing [[Ironhide (Movie)|Ironhide]]. Unsurprisingly, this discovery was quickly posted on several major Transformers [[fandom|fan sites]], often without a spoiler warning.

==Notes==
* A 126-page script for the movie was leaked in December 2009,<ref>[http://www.allspark.com/content/view/6435/20/ The Allspark: Transformers News Movie Comics Animated - Script Treatment for Transformers 3? Bogus or Not, Here You Go!]</ref> causing much discussion among the fandom. It was later confirmed as fake.<ref>[http://shootfortheedit.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6532 Script]</ref>
* When word hit that [[Megan Fox]] was off the picture, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VTs5ESycpY Heidi Montag] put an "audition" for her part on YouTube. [http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/114ce28ddd/sir-ben-kingsley-shows-up-heidi-montag Sir Ben Kingsley] and [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4FZeucBO0c Ashton Kutcher] made fun of her, because life is rad.
* Several concepts that had been established by the [[Transformers (film)|first movie]] were (more or less) dropped with ''Dark of the Moon'' in favor or a more traditional, ''[[The Transformers (franchise)|Generation 1]]''-esque approach:
** In the 2007 movie, the Autobots arrive on Earth in "[[Protoform]]" entry modes (which was subsequently used as the basis for the Decepticons' arrival in [[Planetfall (Movie)|Planetfall]]). Prior to the release of the movie, screenwriter [[Roberto Orci]] defended this choice over the use of a spaceship such as the ''Ark'' by asking why "aliens who moonlight as vehicles need other vehicles to travel".<ref name="orcitravel">[http://tformers.com/Ark-Not-Making-An-Appearance-In-the-Movie/6513/news.html TFormers quoting Roberto Orci], because Don Murphy's board can only be read by registered members.</ref> He somewhat changed his mind after the movie had been released, however.<ref name="orciship">[http://boards.transformersmovie.com/showpost.php?p=388596&postcount=271 Roberto Orci on the Transformers Live Action Movie Boards], July 2007.</ref> After the Decepticons' ship, the ''[[Nemesis (ROTF)|Nemesis]]'', had made an appearance in ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'', ''Dark of the Moon'' not only introduces the movieverse version of the ''[[Ark (DOTM)|Ark]]'', but also reveals that all the new Autobots who have been on Earth since before ''Revenge of the Fallen'' had arrived in their own spaceship, the ''[[Xantium (DOTM)|Xantium]]'', making the notion of individual Transformers traveling through space as "comets" an exception rather than the rule. ''[[Transformers: Age of Extinction (film)|Age of Extinction]]'' would also later depict the Autobots as stranded on Earth after the destruction of the ''Xantium'' in this film, further pointing towards the "comet" transportation as an abandoned concept. ''[[Transformers: The Last Knight (film)|The Last Knight]]'' would also show this idea when the Autobots again declare themselves stranded, as they don't know where the ''[[Knight Ship|Knightship]]'' is, only being able to finally go home after they acquired it.
** Furthermore, ''Dark of the Moon'' largely abandons the idea of Transformers having all their weapons integrated into their bodies in favor of more traditional, separate weapons. For example, [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]], who had blades and hooks emerging from his forearms in the previous two movies now stores all his weapons (including an axe) as accessories inside his trailer (though he still carries some on his person). Also, Ironhide, whose cannons were previously affixed to his arms, now sports handheld firearms instead. Even Megatron, whose [[fusion cannon]] previously grew out of his arms, now has a hand-held shotgun. Though it can be argued that Optimus still has his swords in his arms during the Chicago battle, and both Ironhide and Megatron lost their integrated weapons in the previous film, the general change is still noticeable. The only ones who still seem to have the same converting arm cannons as in the previous movies are Bumblebee, Ratchet, and Starscream.
* Another change from the previous movies (though not rooted in ''Generation 1'') is that Transformers that take damage in battle now spill a red liquid that is very obviously meant to resemble human blood.
* [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]] finally achieves a certain consistency between his two primary modes: Ever since his upgrade to a modern Camaro in ''Transformers'' (2007), his [[license plate]] had alternated between "900 STRA" in vehicle mode and "4NZZ 454" in robot mode. ''Dark of the Moon'' finally uses "900 STRA" for the robot mode as well. Hasbro's toys, which had previously favored the CG robot model's "4NZZ 454" (barring the occasional "4NZZ'''Z''' 454" flub), follow suit.
*Speaking of license plates: [[Dutch (DOTM)|Dutch]]'s Maybach 62S Landaulet sports a German license plate, "'''S MM 6201'''", registered in the city of Stuttgart. In reality, that plate is registered to the manufacturer and used for promotional photos.<ref name="maybach">[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/update--transformers-3-rumor--who-wants-to-be-a-millionaire-170533/ Set photos and promo photos of the Maybach 62S Landaulet] at TFW2005.</ref>
*Michael Bay's private Gulfstream Aerospace G-1159A jet (registration number N4500X) has a cameo in the movie as [[Charlotte Mearing]]'s plane.

===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''''Transformers/Darkside Moon''''' (トランスフォーマー/ダークサイド・ムーン ''Toransufōmā/Dākusaido Mūn'')
*''Cantonese:'' (變形金剛: 黑月降臨, "Transformers: The Arrival of the Black Moon")
*''Finnish:'' '''''Transformers: Kuun pimeä puoli''''' ("Transformers: The Dark Side of the Moon")
*''French:'' '''''Transformers 3 : La Face cachée de la Lune''''' ("Transformers 3: The Hidden Side of the Moon")
*''German:'' '''''Transformers 3: Die dunkle Seite des Mondes''''' ("Transformers 3: The Dark Side of the Moon")
*''Italian:'' '''''Transformers 3'''''
*''Mandarin:'' '''''Biànxíng Jīngāng 3''''' (Taiwan, 變形金剛３, "Transformers 3"), '''''Biànxíng Jīngāng: Yuè Hēi zhī Shí''''' (Mainland China, 变形金刚：月黑之时, "Transformers: When the Moon Becomes Black")
*''Polish:'' '''''Transformers 3'''''
*''Portuguese:'' '''''Transformers: O Lado Oculto da Lua''''' (Brazil, "Transformers: The Hidden Side of the Moon"), '''''Transformers 3''''' (Portugal)
*''Russian:'' '''''Transformery 3: Tjomnaja storona Luny''''' (Трансформеры 3: Тёмная сторона Луны, "Transformers 3: The Dark Side of the Moon")
*''Serbian:'' '''''Transformers 3: Tama Meseca''''' ("Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon")
*''Spanish:'' '''''Transformers: El Lado Oscuro de la Luna''''' (Latin American, "Transformers: The Dark Side of the Moon"), '''''Transformers 3''''' (Spain)
*''Swedish:'' '''''Transformers 3'''''
*''Turkish:'' '''''Transformers: Ayın Karanlık Yüzü''''' ("Transformers: The Dark Side of the Moon")
*''Czech:'' '''''Transformers 3'''''
*''Hindi:'' '''''Traansaphormars: Chaand ka Andhera''''' (ट्राँसफॉर्मर्स: चांद का अंधेरा, "Transformers: Darkness of the Moon")
*''Tamil:'' '''''Ṭirāṉsḥpārmas: Ṭārk op ti mūṉ''''' (டிரான்ஸ்ஃபார்மஸ்: டார்க் ஒப் தி மூன், "Transformers: Dark of the Moon")
*''Greek:'' '''''Transformers 3'''''
*''Ukrainian:'' '''''Transformery: Temnyy bik Misyatsya''''' (Трансформери: Темний бік Місяця, "Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon")
*''Dutch:'' '''''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'''''
*''Norwegian:'' '''''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'''''
*''Hungarian:'' '''''Transformers 3'''''
*''Croatian:'' '''''Transformeri: Tamna strana Mjeseca''''' ("Transformers: The Dark Side of the Moon")
*''Latvian:'' '''''Transformeri 3: Mēness no otras puses''''' ("Transformers 3: The Moon on the Other Side")
*''Lithuanian:'' '''''Transformeriai: tamsioji Mėnulio pusė''''' ("Transformers: The Dark Side of the Moon")
*''Arabic:'' '''''Almtahawilun: Aljanib Almuzlim Lilqamar''''' (المتحولون: الجانب المظلم للقمر, "Transformers: The Dark Side of the Moon")
*''Indonesian:'' '''''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'''''
*''Malay:'' '''''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'''''
*''Hebrew:'' '''''Rvvvtrkm 3. Flt hrch''''' (רובוטריקים 3: אפלת הירח, "Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon")
*''Korean:'' '''''Teulaenseupomeo 3''''' (트랜스포머 3, "Transformers 3")
*''Romanian:'' '''''Transformers: Fața ascunsă a Lunii''''' ("Transformers: The Hidden Face of the Moon")
*''Thai:'' '''''Thrāns̄̒ fxr̒m me xr̒s̄ 3''''' (ทรานส์ฟอร์มเมอร์ส 3, "Transformers 3")

==External links==
* [http://www.transformersmovie.com/ Transformersmovie.com]
* [http://www.imdb.com/tt1399103/ ''Dark of the Moon'' at IMDB.com]
* {{w|Transformers: Dark of the Moon|''Dark of the Moon'' film on Wikipedia}}
* [https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/transformers_dark_of_the_moon/ ''Dark of the Moon'' on RottenTomatoes.com]

==Footnotes==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.transformersmovie.com/ Official ''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'' website]
*[http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/paramount/transformersdarkofthemoon/ Trailers.Apple.com ''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'' page]
* Designer portfolios: [http://www.joshnizzi.com/TF3.htm Josh Nizzi], [http://www.warrenmanser.com/WarrenManser.com/PORTFOLIO_M/Pages/TRANSFORMERS_3.html Warren Manser], [http://www.joelchang.com/index.php?/projects/transformers-dark-of-the-moon/ Joel Chang], [http://conceptartworld.com/?p=8293 The Aaron Sims Company] (at Concept Art World), [http://conceptartworld.com/?p=8388 Wesley Burt] (at Concept Art World), [http://massiveblack.com/MBwebolution/blog/?p=301 Massive Black], [http://www.ghull.com/#/125195 George Hull]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dark of the Moon (film)}}
[[Category:Dark of the Moon| Dark of the Moon (film)]]
[[Category:Dark of the Moon media| ]]
[[Category:Real world films]]

Transformers: Dark of the Moon (film)

2020-10-25T02:14:33Z

96megatron: /* Continuity Notes */

{{Nav-dotm}}
[[File:DOTM-OPportraitposter.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|"Of [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|my friend]], I can only say this: of all the souls I have encountered, he was the most... human."]]
'''''Transformers: Dark of the Moon''''' is the third film in the [[live-action film series]]. It was released in 3D and IMAX at 9PM on [[June 28]], [[2011]]<ref name="open3D">[http://michaelbay.com/2011/06/18/see-dark-of-the-moon-one-day-earlier-on-imax-3d/ See Dark Of The Moon One Day Earlier on IMAX 3D | MichaelBay]</ref> and in wide release on [[June 29]], [[2011]]<ref name="open">[http://www.deadline.com/2011/05/paramount-moving-up-transformers-3/ Paramount Moving Up ‘T’formers 3′ Release – Deadline.com]</ref> in the United States, and between [[June 29]] and July 1 for other markets.

The film is set three years after the events of ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]''. The Autobots continue to work for NEST, but no longer in secret, and for the goal of keeping peace between humans by taking out volatile overseas political targets. But after discovering a strange artifact during a mission in Chernobyl, it becomes apparent to Optimus Prime that the United States government has been less than forthright with them.

And SCENE!

{{bigquote|Aw, shit, I seen this one. It's the one where [[Spock]] goes nuts.|Wheelie|''Transformers: Dark of the Moon''}}

==Synopsis==
[[File:Dotm-Arkreflection.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.4|"Wha... this is the finest engine room in the whole Starfleet!"]]

In the distant past, during the later days of the [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertronian]] civil war, [[Sentinel Prime (ROTF)|Sentinel Prime]] attempted to leave the planet with groundbreaking technology on board the ''[[Ark (DOTM)|Ark]]''. However, his ship was shot down by the Decepticons and, after being sent hurling through space for a while, eventually crashed on the [[Earth]]'s [[Moon (moon)|moon]] in 1961. The crash is noticed by the humans on Earth, leading to the {{w|Space Race}} under President [[John F. Kennedy]]. Landing on the Moon as part of the [[Apollo 11]] mission in 1969, astronauts [[Neil Armstrong]] and [[Buzz Aldrin]] use several minutes of [[radio]] silence to investigate the spaceship and discover that Mankind is not alone in space.

[[File:DOTM - ShockwaveDriller.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|"When I swing around, I mean to deprive you of your life."]]
In the present day, the Autobots are still part of [[NEST]], cooperating with the [[United States military|US Armed Forces]]. They have also begun to help humanity in its local conflicts, as [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]], [[Sideswipe (Movie)|Sideswipe]], [[Wheeljack (Movie)|Que]], and [[Mirage (Movie)|Dino]] destroy an illegal [[Iran]]ian nuclear facility. On a mission to the [[Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant]], a NEST team led by [[William Lennox|Lt. Col. Lennox]], [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] and [[Ratchet (Movie)|Ratchet]] discovers an unknown alien fuel cell which had led to the {{w|Chernobyl disaster}}. While trying to secure the cell, they are attacked by the Decepticon [[Shockwave (Movie)|Shockwave]] and his "pet", the [[Driller]], who are eventually forced to retreat by Optimus Prime. Meanwhile, [[Laserbeak (DOTM)|Laserbeak]] kills [[Alexi Voskhod]], who had called NEST to Chernobyl and was secretly working for him. After securing the fuel cell and identifying it as part of the ''Ark'', Optimus Prime is angry at the humans for not following through with their agreement of sharing all known information relating to Cybertron and its inhabitants. Despite this, he eventually informs his allies and [[Charlotte Mearing]], the {{w|Director of National Intelligence}}, about the space bridge technology the ''Ark'' contains. Together with Ratchet, Optimus travels to the Moon, where they find Sentinel Prime inside the ship. Retrieving him along with four pillars of the space bridge and the accompanying control pillar, they return to Earth, where Optimus uses the [[Matrix of Leadership]] to reactivate Sentinel Prime. In [[Africa]], Decepticon leader [[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]] (still recovering from wounds [[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|suffered]] in [[Egypt]]) meets with his lieutenants [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]] and [[Soundwave (ROTF)|Soundwave]]. Upon learning that the Autobots have recovered Sentinel and the pillars, Megatron orders Soundwave and Laserbeak to terminate their "loose ends".

Meanwhile, [[Sam Witwicky]], the Autobots' human friend, is suffering from everyday problems. Even though President [[Barack Obama]] has awarded him a medal for saving the Earth twice, Sam has trouble finding a job. Together with his new girlfriend [[Carly Spencer]], whom he had met in the [[White House]] (after his former girlfriend [[Mikaela Banes|Mikaela]] had left him), he also gives the stranded Autobots [[Wheelie (ROTF)|Wheelie]] and [[Brains]] a home. After a long search, he finally finds a position as a mail carrier at a telecommunication company named [[Accuretta Systems]]. From his colleague, [[Jerry Wang]], he learns about a conspiracy by humans who collaborate with the Decepticons. Before Jerry can tell Sam more, however, he is killed by Laserbeak.

[[File:DOTM-Sentinelendofyourworld.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.66|"There's a man out there I haven't seen in fifteen years who's trying to kill me."]]

Locked out of participating in the investigation by Mearing, Sam turns to [[Seymour Simmons]] for help. Simmons, who has become a millionaire as a writer, and his aide, [[Dutch (DOTM)|Dutch]], help Sam find out that the Soviets have taken photos of Decepticons removing hundreds of space bridge pillars out of the ''Ark'' even before Apollo 11 had landed on the Moon. Sam and Simmons conclude that the Decepticons had left Sentinel Prime behind on purpose, knowing that only he would be able to activate the space bridge, and only Optimus Prime could reactivate him. Sam is able to warn the Autobots in time so they can protect Sentinel from a Decepticon attack and escort him back to the NEST headquarters. Upon arriving there, however, Sentinel Prime betrays them, revealing that he made a deal with Megatron to ensure Cybertron's survival. After killing [[Ironhide (Movie)|Ironhide]] and most of the NEST soldiers, Sentinel claims the remaining pillars and escapes. The other Autobots track him down to [[Washington, D.C.]], but before Optimus can stop him, Sentinel activates a space bridge to the Moon. The portal allows dozens of Decepticon troops which had remained hidden under the Moon's surface to reach Earth, forcing the Autobots to retreat.

[[File:DOTM-Moonspacebridge.jpg|thumb|upright=1.55|"We are one big, happy fleet! Ah, [[James Kirk|Kirk]], my old friend, do you know the [[Klingon]] proverb that tells us revenge is a dish that is best served cold? It is ''very'' cold in space."]]

In the meantime, Sam is worried about Carly and searches for her. He finds her with her employer, [[Dylan Gould]], who reveals to Sam that he not only arranged for Sam to get a job with Acuretta, but is also a collaborator with the Decepticons. At their request, his father had used his influence to ensure that [[NASA]] would not conduct any more missions to the Moon. When Sam and Carly attempt to flee, they discover Carly's car is a disguise for Soundwave, who takes her captive. Dylan instructs Sam to ask Optimus Prime about the Autobots' strategy, otherwise Carly will die. To ensure that Sam will not try to warn the Autobots, he attaches a Decepticon disguised as a [[Watch-bot|watch]] on Sam's wrist, and it taps into his nervous system.

Meanwhile, Sentinel Prime has given Mankind an ultimatum to exile the Autobots from Earth, since he is only trying to save Cybertron, or so he claims. The US government promptly passes a bill to this effect. Before the Autobots leave Earth aboard their spaceship, the ''[[Xantium (DOTM)|Xantium]]'', Sam asks Optimus about his plan. Optimus replies that there is no plan, and Mankind is on its own now. With all Autobots on board, the ''Xantium'' takes off, but is promptly intercepted by Starscream, who had waited in Earth's orbit. With the ''Xantium'' destroyed, the Decepticons believe the Autobots to be dead and let Sam go.

[[File:DarkoftheMoon-Chicago.jpg|thumb|upright=1.55|left|"Let them eat static. "]]
With the Autobots out of the way, the Decepticons conquer [[Chicago]], kill most of its population and set up the control pillar for the space bridge inside the city, placing the other pillars around the world. Dylan informs Carly that the Decepticons do not intend to return to Cybertron; instead, they want to transport Cybertron into Earth's orbit, because Earth not only has the necessary resources, but also six billion slaves to rebuild the Transformers' home planet.

Sam decides to go to Chicago, where Dylan has taken Carly. Former NEST soldier [[Robert Epps]], who now works for NASA, accompanies him, together with other former NEST members. Upon arrival in Chicago, they are promptly attacked by the Decepticons, but are rescued by Optimus Prime and the other Autobots. Having never intended to leave Earth, they had hidden themselves inside a modified rocket booster that was jettisoned before Starscream destroyed the ''Xantium''.

[[File:DOTM Driller vs Prime.jpg|thumb|upright=1.55|"From Hell's heart, I stab at thee!"]]

The Autobots and the humans soldiers make their way to the skyscraper where Dylan is located in order to destroy the space bridge's control pillar. Sam and Bumblebee rescue Carly, killing Laserbeak in the process, during which they find a damaged UAV and alert the military to the Decepticons plans. Due to another attack by a team of Decepticons led by Shockwave, the team is separated once more. While the Autobots battle the Decepticons, Epps and his team try to destroy the pillar from another skyscraper. However, they are attacked by Shockwave and the Driller, who brings the skyscraper crashing down. Optimus Prime comes to their aid and destroys the Driller, but is shot by Shockwave and becomes trapped in crane cables.

In the meantime, Lennox and the rest of NEST have managed to make their way into the city using [[wingsuit]]s, and with Lennox's help, Sam destroys Starscream using weapons provided to him by the Autobot scientist Que. Meanwhile, the Decepticons have captured several Autobots, but Dylan convinces them not to keep prisoners and kill them all. [[Barricade (Movie)|Barricade]] executes Que, and Soundwave moves to kill Bumblebee next, but the Autobots Wheelie and Brains have managed to make one of the Decepticons' ships crash, thereby distracting Soundwave long enough for Bumblebee and the other Autobots to get free. Bumblebee overpowers and kills Soundwave. NEST soldiers and US Marines snipe the Decepticons. Autobots and Tanks roll in and ambush the Decepticons. Optimus Prime returns and massacres a large group of Decepticons. He then kills Shockwave and uses the Decepticon's arm cannon to topple over the space bridge's control pillar, deactivating the bridge.

[[File:DOTMCybertrontransit.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.55|"Earth was created in six days. Now, watch out! Here comes Genesis! We'll do it for you in six minutes!"]]

Optimus Prime then confronts Sentinel Prime and the two engage in a ferocious battle of Student vs Master. Carly stumbles across Megatron outside the main battle zone. Having previously witnessed a violent argument between Sentinel Prime and Megatron, she appeals to his pride and makes him realize that he will never be able to rule over Cybertron as long as Sentinel is alive. Meanwhile, after a long fight, Sentinel gains the upper hand over Optimus and severs his right arm. However, before he can execute his former pupil, an infuriated Megatron attacks Sentinel and severely damages him, declaring that Earth is his planet to rule. Megatron realized how far he had fallen in power within the past few years, and has decided to once again take his rightful place at the top of the command chain. Meanwhile, Dylan manages to reactivate the toppled pillar, but is attacked by Sam, who hurls him against the pillar, killing him. Subsequently, Bumblebee destroys the pillar for good, thus destroying the space bridge and, presumably, Cybertron with it. Seeing this, Megatron half-heartedly offers Optimus Prime a truce on the condition that he will remain in charge of the Decepticons, mockingly saying that they would be nothing without each other. Realizing that the offer is less than sincere, Optimus refuses and attacks Megatron, decapitating him with an axe. The weakened Sentinel Prime tries to excuse his actions, but Optimus, claiming Sentinel "betrayed himself," executes the treacherous Prime with Megatron's shotgun.

[[File:DOTM Autobots NEST victorious.jpg|thumb|upright=1.55|"Live long... and prosper..."]]

With the battle over, Sam and Carly are reunited, and Simmons takes an opportunity to kiss Mearing, who he still has feelings for, and she has him arrested. With their home planet now forever beyond reach, and the forces of the Decepticons destroyed, the remaining Autobots finally accept Earth as their new home, as Optimus Prime states that the Autobots will always be here, to protect the Earth and all who live on it.
{{--}}

==Quotes==

'''Mission Control''': We are not alone after all, are we? <br>
'''Buzz Aldrin''': No, sir. We are not alone. <br>
:—Buzz Aldrin makes history, and raises the hackles of conspiracy theorists.

'''Dino''': "He's in a bad mood. He's not talking to anybody today." <br>
'''Mearing''': "What is this, the silent treatment?" <br>
'''Ironhide''': "We've seen that and this is ''not'' that." <br>
'''Que''': "Definitely not." <br>
'''Ironhide''': "This is ''worse''. Prime! Make something of yourself! (Ironhide taps Optimus's roof) He's pissed."
:—Ironhide discusses Optimus Prime's foul mood.

"Who wants some chicken dinner now, bitch? Huh? 'Cause somebody messed with the wrong Wang today!" <br>
:—'''Jerry Wang''', being crazy. But also awesome.

"The thing about Russians is, they never like to talk. Gonna take a little of the 'international language.'" <Doorman opens sliding hatch> "''Do svidaniya''." <br>
"That means 'goodbye!'" <closes hatch>
:—'''Simmons''' tries to reason with a '''Russian''', to no avail.

"It's a Cyrillic alphabet; it's like all the buttons you never push on a calculator!"
:—'''Dutch''' tries to translate Russian, also to no avail.

"Woah! Little Mexican standoff we got here!"
:-'''Sideswipe''', talking to Ironhide and the Dreads.

"Class dismissed."
:—'''Ironhide''', after dispatching the Dreads.

"What you must realize, my Autobot brothers, is that we were never going to win the war. For the sake of our planet's survival, a deal had to be made...with ''Megatron''."
:—'''Sentinel Prime''' reveals his treachery.

[[File:DOTM-MegatronLincoln.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|"I'll give him this: [[Atlantis, Arise!|he's]] [[Transformers The Game (console)|consistent]]!"]]
"Here we are. Fight us ''now''."
:—'''Megatron''', pulling the evil overlord cliché on us while sitting atop the [[Abraham Lincoln|Lincoln Memorial]]

"If you go in this building, that's if she's even still alive, there's no way you're going to reach her!"<br>
"What do you suggest I do?!"<br>
"...it's over. I'm sorry, but it's over."<br>
:—'''Robert Epps''' tells '''Sam Witwicky''' that they've run out of plans.

"We will kill them all."
:—'''Optimus Prime''' offers an alternative plan.

"They got my trailer. I ''need'' that flight tech!"<br>
:—'''Optimus Prime''', valiantly [[To sell toys|selling toys]].

"I bring you Cybertron, your home! and still you choose humanity."<br>
"You are the one who taught me [[Bio|freedom is everyone's right]]."<br>
:—'''Sentinel''' VS '''Optimus Prime'''.

"Your Decepticons are finally conquering this planet, and yet their leader won't be you."<br>
"IT WILL BE ME! It will ''always'' be me!<br>
"In any minute now, you'll be nothing but Sentinel's bitch."
:—'''Carly Spencer''' tells '''Megatron''' that if he's going to be the Starscream, he should ''act'' like it.

"Optimus. All I ever wanted...was the survival of our race. You must see why I had to betray you..."<br>
"You didn't betray me. You betrayed yourself..."<br>
:—'''Optimus Prime''''s final exchange with '''Sentinel Prime''' before effectively ''double-tapping'' him.

"Who would you be without me, Prime?"<br>
"Time to find out."<br>
:—'''Megatron''' and '''Optimus Prime''' exchange pre-fight banter one last time.

"In any war, there are calms between storms. There will be days when we lose faith. Days when our allies turn against us... but the day will never come that we forsake this planet and its people."
:—'''Optimus Prime'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s closing narration, [[Transformers: Age of Extinction (film)|which predicts what will]] [[Transformers: The Last Knight (film)|happen to them years later.]]

==Main cast==

{{featuredcharacters|
h1=[[Autobot]]s|c1=
*[[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] ([[Peter Cullen]])
*[[Sentinel Prime (ROTF)|Sentinel Prime]] ([[Leonard Nimoy]])
*[[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]]
*[[Ironhide (Movie)|Ironhide]] ([[Jess Harnell]])
*[[Ratchet (Movie)|Ratchet]] ([[Robert Foxworth]])
*[[Sideswipe (Movie)|Sideswipe]] ([[James Remar]])
*[[Mirage (Movie)|Dino]]<ref name="credits">Mirage and Wheeljack, known by those names in the toyline and essentially all supporting media, are respectively named "Dino" and "Que" in the film. While Dino is simply credited as such, Que is listed in the credits as "Que/Wheeljack".</ref> ([[Francesco Quinn]])
*[[Wheeljack (Movie)|Que/Wheeljack]]<ref name="credits"/> ([[George Coe]])
*The [[Wrecker]]s
**[[Roadbuster (DOTM)|Roadbuster]]<ref>Roadbuster is listed as "Roadbuster/Amp" in the credits, a reference to his car mode's sponsor. His name is not used in the film, but he is called "Roadbuster" in the toyline and supporting media.</ref> ([[Ron Bottitta]])
**[[Topspin (DOTM)|Topspin]]
**[[Leadfoot (DOTM)|Leadfoot]]<ref>Leadfoot is listed in the film's end credits as "Leadfoot/Target", a reference to his car mode's sponsor. His name is not spoken in the film, but he is called "Leadfoot" in the toyline and the supporting media.</ref> ([[John DiMaggio]])
*[[Wheelie (ROTF)|Wheelie]] ([[Tom Kenny]])
*[[Brains]] ([[Reno Wilson]])
*[[Skids (ROTF)|Skids]]<ref name=skidsandmudflap>Skids and Mudflap only appear during the convoy scene at the beginning of the film</ref> (cameo)
*[[Mudflap (ROTF)|Mudflap]]<ref name=skidsandmudflap/> (cameo)

|h2=[[Decepticon]]s|c2=
*[[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]] ([[Hugo Weaving]])
*[[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]] ([[Charlie Adler]])
*[[Shockwave (Movie)|Shockwave]] ([[Frank Welker]])
**[[Driller]]
*[[Soundwave (ROTF)|Soundwave]] ([[Frank Welker]])
**[[Laserbeak (DOTM)|Laserbeak]] ([[Keith Szarabajka]])
*[[Barricade (Movie)|Barricade]] (''Frank Welker'')
*[[Loader]]
*[[Devcon (DOTM)|Devcon]]
*[[Igor]] ([[Greg Berg]])
* [[Dread (DOTM)|The Dreads]]
**[[Crankcase (DOTM)|Crankcase]]
**[[Hatchet (DOTM)|Hatchet]]
**[[Crowbar]]
*[[Hatchling]]s
*[[Scrapper (ROTF)|Scrapper]] type Decepticon
*[[Long Haul (ROTF)|Long Haul]] type Decepticon
*[[Audi R8 Decepticon]]
*Two [[M1 Abrams Decepticon]]s
*[[Garagebot]]
*[[Lensmeter Decepticon]]s
*[[Protoform]]s
*[[Watch-bot]]<ref>Repeatedly referred to as the "Watch-bot" (proper noun) in the ''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon: The Junior Novel]]''</ref>
*[[Pickup Decepticon]]
*[[Police car Decepticon]]

|h3=[[Human]]s|c3=
*[[Sam Witwicky]] ([[Shia LaBeouf]])
*[[Carly Spencer]] ([[Rosie Huntington-Whiteley]])
*[[William Lennox]] ([[Josh Duhamel]])
*[[Robert Epps]] ([[Tyrese Gibson]])
*[[Seymour Simmons]] ([[John Turturro]])
*[[Charlotte Mearing]] ([[Frances McDormand]])
*[[Dylan Gould]] ([[Patrick Dempsey]])
*[[Bruce Brazos]] ([[John Malkovich]])
*[[Hardcore Eddie]] ([[Lester Speight]])
*[[Morshower]] ([[Glenn Morshower]])
*[[Dutch (DOTM)|Dutch]] ([[Alan Tudyk]])
*[[Ron Witwicky]] ([[Kevin Dunn]])
*[[Judy Witwicky]] ([[Julie White]])
*[[Jerry Wang]] ([[Ken Jeong]])
*[[Neil Armstrong]] ([[Don Jeanes]])
*[[Buzz Aldrin]] ([[Cory Tucker]]/himself)
*[[Walter Cronkite]]
*[[Bill O'Reilly]] (himself)
*[[Alexi Voskhod]] ([[Ravil Isyanov]])
}}

==Continuity Notes==
*Sam has since graduated from college, being three months out of school, and is currently looking for a job.
*Since the events of ''Revenge of the Fallen'', Sam and Mikaela had broke up (despite having to spend an entire film of Sam needing to say the L-word). Prior to the events of this film, he started a relationship with Carly Spencer.
*In the years since the Autobots arrival in 2007, Earth has boosted up security, Energon detectors guard Earth’s cities, while long-range defense systems watch the skies.
*Prior to the events of ''Dark of the Moon'', Autobots Que/Wheeljack and Dino have joined N.E.S.T.
*Decepticon Enforcer Shockwave, and his massive, devasting pet, The Driller, arrived on Earth sometime before the events of this film.
*Bumblebee, who was living in the Witwicky's garage at the start of the second film, is now an active member of NEST. In ''ROTF'', Sam had suggested for Bumblebee to join up with the other Autobots, instead of being cooped up in his family's garage. Sam wanted a robot civil war-free college experience and it seems he got it.
*NEST’s barracks for the Autobots have moved from a hanger on the island of Diego Garcia to a building, with Health and Human Services used as a cover, and are operating from Washington D.C.
*Sometime after the events of Operation: Firestorm, Sergeant Epps retired from combat duty, and now is tasked with maintaining both the Autobot ship named the Xantium and relationships between the human engineers and the bloodthirsty Wreckers.
*The Wreckers, according to Charlotte Mearing arrived on Earth, aboard the Xantium, and brought the second wave of Autobots. That would mean they arrived with Sideswipe and co., in the second film, if we're to assume the second wave of Autobots are the ''ROTF'' bots, while the first wave was Optimus and 07' bots. If they were on Earth during the events of the second film, the reason for the Wreckers not participating in Operation Firestorm, might be because Mearing mentioned them not being allowed off the base much, due to their behavior.
*The only returning Autobots, that made their debut in ''Revenge of the Fallen'' to return are Sideswipe and Wheelie (Also The Twins, but only in a few minor cameos, having been cut from a majority of the film). Wheelie, now joined by his companion, Brains, are both currently living with Sam and Carly.
*Returning Decepticons are Megatron and Starscream, who both managed to survive the final battle of ''Revenge of the Fallen'', although the former received serious injuries. Soundwave, made his live-action debut in the last film, now joined by Laserbeak, is revealed to have been active on Earth since at least the 1970s and was tasked with hiding Megatron’s secret plan, hidden on the dark side of the moon. Barricade makes a surprising return during the final battle in Chicago, last seen driving alongside Bonecrusher on the highway, before the latter engaged the Autobot Leader in the first film, while not being an active participant during the events of the second film.
*Following his injuries sustained during the final fight of ''Revenge of the Fallen'', Megatron had acquired a new arm, nearly repaired his damaged face, he has even adopted an earth mode, and is hiding and plotting in Namibia, Africa.
*Seymour Simmons, now a billionaire, makes his return, having made his fortune by sharing to the world the ins-and-outs of the robot civil war. He is also a proud supporter of the Autobot movement, even defending them on public television, and is quick to answer the call from the alien bad news magnet. He also has a bodyguard named Dutch, who is more than meets the eye.
*Optimus Prime's main moral compass that "freedom is the right of all sentient beings", is revealed to have been taught to him by his predecessor and mentor, Sentinel Prime. This had been one of the motivations behind Optimus protecting humans from 'Decepticon' tyranny throughout the films (and various parts of the franchise).
*Introduced in the second film, Optimus uses The Matrix of Leadership to revive Sentinel Prime, having retrieved it from the remains of the Star Harvester, sometime following the climax of the second film. In the same film, Megatron had suspected the Matrix could be used to revive Optimus and was proven right when Sam succeeded, a fact Megatron exploits for his plan in this film.
*This also reveals that in this continuity, Optimus wasn't always the leader of the Autobots, with Sentinel Prime (like in other continuities) being the leader of the Autobots before him.
*Megatron and Sentinel Prime were meant to rendezvous on Earth together to enact Project Pillar, before fate waylaid them both. Megatron was frozen in ice, in his pursuit of the Allspark, after crash landing in the arctic, later ending up in the vault of Sector Seven, before the events of the first film. While Sentinel Prime's ship was accidentally shot down by a random Decepticon soldier piloting an Orbital Assault Carrier, in pursuit of The Ark's as it was making its escape from Cybertron, as seen in this film's prologue. Seemingly unaware of the secret truce between their leader, Megatron, with Sentinel Prime, the enemy leader.
*Sentinel Prime was first mentioned in the previous film, by Sam Witwicky during one of his many Allspark induced exposition dump. The Fallen not being able to sense Sentinel Prime was probably due to the latter being in stasis lock.
*Megatron's deal with Sentinel Prime makes one question his relationship with The Fallen, as The Fallen himself stated "only a Prime can defeat me", wonder how he would have felt if he knew Megatron had another Prime locked away somewhere, in secret.
*In the last film, if Earth's government ultimately decided that it would be in humanity's best interest to further deny the Autobots' further asylum on our planet, Optimus said that if they'd reach such a decision, that they would honor their request and leave peacefully. Although the Autobots weren't fully transparent on their end as they didn't fully trust the Decepticons. Even though Galloway assumed the Decepticons' reasons for continuing to invade Earth was because the Autobots were here. And apparently, prior to the events of this film, a poll was taken that showed half the world shared the same sentiment. However, revealed after the Autobots left, they weren't the Decepticons' intended target. As once they left, Carly managed to correctly deduce that the Decepticons were after our resources, one unique to our own planet, us.

==Errors==
===Filming, animation and technical errors===
* When Sam is holding Brains in his hand after catching him spying on him and Carly, there is a short shot in which Sam is briefly seen in the background, holding nothing in hand, Brains is missing. In the next shot, Brains is back in the hand.
* After killing Ironhide, while Sentinel Prime is storming the NEST base, Sentinel Prime, Ironhide and most likely Bumblebee are all missing in a short shot in which we see two cars projected by an explosion, supposed to be a result of one of Sentinel's gun shots.
* When Megatron is sitting on Abraham Lincoln's chair in Washington, D.C., watching the Space Bridge bringing Decepticons to Earth, both his legs are going through the steps of the stairs. Several wheels are seen cut in right-angled corner by the steps.
===Astronomical and historical errors===
* The Moon does not rotate with respect to Earth, and Mare Tranquillitatis is near the middle of the near side. Therefore, Tranquility Base could never be described as being on the far side, and Earth is never as close to the horizon as shown in the movie.
* The Apollo 11 Command/Service Module is seen flying to the Moon without the Lunar Module. The Lunar Module is attached when the vehicle is orbiting the Moon, however.
* When the modern day site of the Apollo 11 landing is seen, the ascent module (the cabin Buzz and Neil flew back to orbit in) is still there.
* In real life, Apollo 11 did not land on the far side of the Moon. Tranquility Base is on the near side of the Moon.
* One of the directors of NASA says that all six Apollo missions recovered parts of the Ark but this not possible as the six missions all had different landing sites which were all a significant distance apart.
* Cybertron is apparently several times the size of Earth, yet the characters talk of bringing it "into Earth's atmosphere".
* The Space Bridge starts to bring Cybertron amazingly close to Earth - less than one Earth-diameter away. Assuming Cybertron's mass is proportional to its size, Cybertron's gravitational field would [[The Ultimate Doom|tear the Earth apart]] at that distance.

===Geographic discontinuities===
* The [[Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant]] is shown to be located ''inside'' of, or at least right next to the abandoned city of {{w|Pripyat}}, and the human characters access it through nearby buildings. In reality, the power plant is situated on the outskirts of the city. Even worse, [[Alexi Voskhod]] ''explicitly'' says that the entrance leads through a ''school''. Who builds a ''school'' right next to a ''nuclear power plant''?
* Furthermore, Pripyat's infamous Ferris wheel as shown in the movie is not only the wrong model (the real one's passenger cabins have canopies), but the real one is also located in an open field far away from any buildings.<ref name="ferris">[http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pripyat_-_Ferris_wheel.jpg Photo of the Pripyat Ferris wheel] showing the closest nearby buildings.</ref> But hey, at least it's the right color!
* Also, why exactly is the Sputnik mission case inside the Chernobyl reactor building? Did the Soviets never bother to discard the packaging of their toy after starting to play with it?
* When Megatron transforms for the first time, he's in a grassy savannah. In the next shot, he's standing in the middle of a desert... and in the establishing shot of the Decepticon camp, it's back in the savannah.
* {{w|Mount Kilimanjaro}} is seen in the background of many of the scenes in Namibia; in reality, the mountain is located in Tanzania, more than three thousand kilometers away.
[[File:DOTM-Wreckers-Prime-Cables.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|Chicago's own [[knockoff]] of a prominent Chinese building.]]
* In a [[Atlantis, Arise!|fairly common cinematic contrivance]], the film depicts multiple skyscrapers in the background of many scenes set in Washington, D.C., while the real-life city has no skyscrapers.
* Also, Washington, D.C. almost entirely lacks old industrial buildings that could be converted into lofts, and likewise doesn't have the kind of densely urban streets that Sam is shown to live on.
* NEST Headquarters, supposedly in Washington, is actually Chicago's abandoned Main Post Office.
* Likewise, Dylan's auto collection museum, also set in (land-locked) Washington, is actually the Milwaukee Art Museum. [[Lake Michigan]] is even visible through the windows!
* When Optimus Prime (using his jetpack) gets himself caught in wires below an under-construction building, that building bears a striking resemblance to the {{w|China Central Television Headquarters}} in [[Beijing]], [[China]]... a far shot from [[Chicago]]. Since construction for the CCTV building was finished in 2008, long before ''Dark of the Moon'' was even ''conceived'', this appears to be an intentional instance of a "cool building" being inserted just for the sake of it.

===Continuity errors===
* Like in ''Revenge of the Fallen'', Ironhide sports his [[license plate]] from the [[Transformers (film)|first movie]], "4PCI382", on his robot mode chest, but doesn't have a license plate in vehicle mode. (According to set photos, his license plate in vehicle mode is mostly black, with a NEST logo on it.)
* Speaking of inconsistencies between robot and vehicle mode: Bumblebee's updated Chevrolet Camaro alternate mode no longer has pinstripes bordering his black racing stripes, but the CG robot model still has the pinstripes.
[[Image:DOTM-SoundwaveMercedesStar.jpg|thumb|upright=1.9|right|Is this the reverse of hidden faction insignias in vehicle mode?]]
*Soundwave has [[kibble]] from his [[Mercedes-Benz|Mercedes]] alternate mode while he is in Africa, but his chest has only a blank grille. The Mercedes star is only added to his chest from the scene where he reveals himself to be Carly's car onward.
* After Megatron pulls out his shotgun for the first time, he holsters it on the right side of his back. In the next scene it is on his left side.
* In the highway battle scene with the [[Dread (DOTM)|Dreads]], Crowbar smashes into some traffic signs and knocks them over. In the next shot when the other two Dreads use them as ramps, the angle at which the signs fell has changed. After Hatchet and Crankcase transform, the signs revert into their original position.
* Also in the highway battle, Bumblebee enhances his front wheels to evade Hatchet, yet in the next scene he's fully in Stealth Force mode.
*When Hatchet is killed by Bumblebee and Dino, the last shot shows him being thrown onto a car (using footage recycled from Michael Bay's 2005 film ''{{w|The Island (2005 film)|The Island}}'', as elaborated on below), with Dino's grappling hook cables still attached to Hatchet, which would imply that Dino is still in robot mode at this point. However, the very next shot shows Dino in the far background, driving behind Bumblebee in vehicle mode.
* During Ironhide and Sideswipe's "Mexican standoff" with Crankcase and Crowbar, all combatants drop their firearms, but when Ironhide is speared, his guns are on his back again. They disappear in subsequent shots.
* In addition, the spear impaled in Ironhide disappears when he shoots Crowbar, only to reappear in subsequent shots.
* Despite being captured by Soundwave in her evening gown, Carly is somehow able to change into more convenient clothes (but still wearing high heels!) after arriving at Dylan's place, and has yet another outfit following the attack on Chicago the following day. Not only that, she changes her earrings, too!
* When the Autobots are boarding the ''Xantium,'' Simmons mentions that nine Autobots are leaving. Former Decepticons Wheelie and Brains apparently don't count. Poor little guys!
* The Wreckers claim they had been hiding inside a rocket booster that was jettisoned from the ''Xantium'' before Starscream destroyed it. The boosters are only seen to be detached after Starscream destroys the ship, after it has barely taken off from the ground.
* Though it's a standard action movie contrivance, it sure is convenient that the glass windows inside skyscrapers are extremely fragile when needed, and glass shards are as dangerous as bread crumbs so nobody suffers a single cut from sliding across them.
* Shortly after everyone jumps through the window and starts sliding down, a downwards shot of the building shows all of the windows behind them are intact.
* As everyone tumbles through a lower floor of the building, [[Stone]] is shown to fall right through and out the other side with a collection of office furniture, but not long after is back with Epps's squad.
* Despite the Decepticons taking over Chicago and killing a whole bunch of people, there seem to be a lot of people continuing to go about their daily lives. The skyscraper Epps's team goes into to launch a rocket from still seems to have plenty of office workers in it when the Driller attacks it. When Sam's being thrown around on the end of the grapple glove rope while fighting Starscream, he crashes through a wall into a dry-cleaning business where a woman appears to be calmly hanging up a shirt. Did they all just not get the memo?
* The sequence beginning with Sam, Carly, Epps and the rest of the soldiers jumping out of the windows of the tilted skyscraper is one giant continuity headache: First they jump out of the windows, then slide down several stories, then the camera angle changes and they're sliding down several more stories, and ''then'' a wide shot shows the top of the skyscraper from an angle where the characters cannot be seen, then slowly pans around and eventually shows them all sliding down from one of the topmosts floors all over again! Eventually, they crash back into one of the lowest floors near the break. After the Driller has toppled the top portion of the skyscraper over, the group is ''again'' shown to escape from one one of the topmost floors to the neighboring building!
* Though it is Barricade who kicks and shoves Que along before executing him, the voice heard is Soundwave's. Presumably, this was an artifact of the early alternate version of the scene, in which Soundwave was to kill Dino, and they just re-used the audio.
*While fighting the Autobots at the end of the film, Sentinel Prime's cape disappears for a brief scene before reappearing on his back when the camera angle changes.
*When Sam and Dylan are fighting, the clock behind them changes to different times every shot. It starts at 00:40, then 02:25, 00:15 and 11:00 in the following shots.
*When Sam and Carly are reunited after the final battle, Carly's hands keep changing the position on every cut, sometimes on Sam's neck, sometimes on his shoulders.
*Not intentional: Skids and Mudflap appear for a brief few seconds in the film. This leaves questions as to what happened to them. They weren't seen departing from Earth or taking part in the Chicago battle.
*It's said that four Autobots were captured by the Decepticons in Chicago, but actually five Autobots were captured. (Unless this observation was made ''before'' Bumblebee arrived after saving Sam and Lennox)
*When Que is about to be executed, the "cardboard head on a stick" prop used for [[Mirage (Movie)|Dino]] during the shooting of the movie (a common method used for the movies to give the actors ''something'' to react to) can be spotted in the final edit of the film,<ref name="headprop">[http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-movie-discussion/494618-movies-errors-mirage-prop-final-movie-edit.html "Movies Errors - Mirage prop in final movie edit"] at TFW2005</ref> possibly a leftover from an earlier draft of the script where Soundwave mocked Bumblebee with Dino's disembodied head.

==Transformers references==
In addition to recurring elements from the previous films, ''Dark of the Moon'' bases a number of elements on previous versions of the ''Transformers'' mythos, including plot elements based on older stories, something fairly rare in the other two movies:
* New characters [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] and [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] are heavily based upon their Generation 1 counterparts. [[Wheeljack (Movie)|Que]] is derived from G1 character [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]]. [[Sentinel Prime (disambiguation)|Sentinel Prime]] is the name of Optimus's predecessor in many continuities, and in this instance, he continues his [[Sentinel Prime (Animated)|predecessor]]'s [[Sentinel Prime (G1)#2005 IDW continuity|legacy]] of being a giant jerk.

* Megatron's camp is full of salvaged artifacts from the previous film. A piece of the harvester is being used as part of a tent and several Decepticon corpses are laying around the area. While most are unrecognizable, one of them is a headless Long Haul. Its head was presumable used to create Igor. Megatron's new right hand appears to be salvaged from a fallen Decepticon. The matching left hand can be seen laying around the campsite.

* "Carly" was the name of [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]]'s [[Carly|girlfriend and eventual wife]] in the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|original cartoon]].

* The ''[[Ark (DOTM)|Ark]]'' gets its name from the Autobots' crashed spaceship in the [[Marvel Comics|Marvel]] [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|''Transformers'' comics]].

* The ''[[Xantium (G1)|Xantium]]'' is the name of the [[Wrecker]]s' spaceship in the [[IDW Publishing]]'s ''Transformers'' comics.

* [[Roadbuster (DOTM)|Roadbuster]] and [[Topspin (DOTM)|Topspin]] being members of the Wreckers recalls their original G1 counterparts being likewise part of the Wreckers.

* Optimus's new trailer is based on the trailer that [[Optimus Prime (G1)|his Generation 1 counterpart]] hauled around, including its ability to open up into a weapons base.

* Optimus now carries the Matrix around in his chest as he has in past incarnations.

* The corrosive end met by Ironhide comes at the hands of [[Cosmic Rust (disease)|Cosmic Rust]], the oxidizing pathogen that first appeared in the Generation 1 cartoon episode [[Cosmic Rust (episode)|of the same name]]. Though not named in the film, its identity is made clear by production artwork by [[Josh Nizzi]] which labels Sentinel Prime's gun a "Cosmic Rust gun".

* Megatron removing [[Abraham Lincoln]] from his chair at the {{w|Lincoln Memorial}} and then sitting in it is a scene taken directly from the Generation 1 cartoon episode, "[[Atlantis, Arise!]]", and the Decepticon ending for ''[[Transformers The Game]]'' (sort of).

* The idea of bringing Cybertron to Earth via space bridge and enslaving humans was the plot of the Generation 1 multi-part episode "[[The Ultimate Doom]]."

* Likewise, the idea of an influential and powerful human joining forces with the Decepticons, resulting in the Autobots being exiled from Earth by the government via a spacecraft, only for that spacecraft to be destroyed, was the plot behind another Generation 1 cartoon multi-part episode, "[[Megatron's Master Plan, Part 1|Megatron's Master Plan]]."

* Megatron's first line - a weary "[[The Transformers: All Hail Megatron|All hail Megatron]]" - is the title of IDW's direction-changing comic maxi-series, which had just wrapped up when production on the film was beginning.

* When the worker at Accureta Systems is trying to make the [[Laserbeak (DOTM)|photocopier]] work, it beeps the "more than meets the eye" refrain from the original cartoon's [[theme song]].

* The [[Transformation#The noise|transformation noise]] can be heard at the end of the film when Bumblebee transforms to robot mode, the final onscreen transformation, just as it was heard during [[Blackout (Movie)|Blackout's]] transformation, which was also the first onscreen transformation in the first film.

* The technique of shooting at a skyscraper until it breaks in half and the top falls horizontally on other buildings has been done by [[Megatron (BW)|another Megatron]] in [[Endgame Pt. III: Seeds of the Future|another city]].

==Real-world references==
* When Brains and Wheelie are watching ''{{w|Star Trek: The Original Series}}'', the screen features [[Spock|Mr. Spock]], portrayed by Leonard Nimoy—who voices Sentinel Prime. Wheelie comments that it is "the one where Spock goes nuts," which foreshadows Sentinel's heel turn. The episode itself is the famous ''TOS'' episode "{{w|Amok Time}}", although for some inexplicable reason, the first of the two clips shown on-screen is ''mirrored''.

* Sentinel Prime says "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." The voice actor said the same line in the 1982 film ''{{w|Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan}}'' as Mr. Spock. However, in that movie, Nimoy's character dies a hero.

* To finish the Spock trifecta, when Bumblebee says his goodbyes to Sam, he uses a clip of Leonard Nimoy, as Spock, saying "I will always be your friend," another line from ''Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan''.

* [[Dutch (DOTM)|Dutch]] and his fake girlfriend's name, "India", are a reference to {{w|Dutch India}}.

* [[Wheeljack (Movie)|Que]]'s name is a reference to {{w|Q (James Bond)|Q}} from ''{{w|James Bond}}'' novels and films. Que also gives weapons to NEST soldiers while explaining the advantages and abilities for the weapons much like Q does for James Bond.

* When Bumblebee brings forth "rings" for Sam and Carly, he "hums" the {{w|Wedding March}} (or, more correctly, the {{w|Bridal Chorus}} from {{w|Richard Wagner}}'s 1850 opera ''{{w|Lohengrin (opera)|Lohengrin}}'').
*Before Sentinel gets attacked by Megatron, he quotes "There can only be one" from the film Highlander. Sentinel is also modeled after one of the film's lead stars Sean Connery.

==Other editions==

==Prequel material==
*''[[Transformers: Sector 7]]''
*''[[Transformers: Foundation]]''
*''[[Transformers: Rising Storm]]''
*''[[Transformers: Convergence]]''
*''[[Transformers: Jazz]]''
*''[[Transformers: Space Case]]''
*''[[Transformers: Ratchet]]''
*''[[Transformers: Arcee]]''
*''[[Transformers: Bumblebee]]''
*''[[Transformers: Starscream]]''
*''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (Xbox 360/PS3)]]''
*''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon: Stealth Force Edition]]''
*''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon: Autobots/Decepticons]]''
*''[[Transformers (Titan Magazine)#Dark of the Moon|Transformers (Titan Magazine)]]''
*''[[Transformers Classified: Switching Gears]]''

==Adaptations==
*''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon Movie Adaptation]]''
*''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (novel)]]''
*''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon: The Junior Novel]]''

==Soundtrack==
{{main|Dark of the Moon: The Album}}

==Score==
{{main|Dark of the Moon: The Score}}

==Home video releases==
{{main|Transformers: Dark of the Moon (film)/home video}}
''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'' was released on DVD, Blu-Ray, and Digital Download on September 30, 2011, followed by the 2-Disc Special Edition in December.<ref>[TFW2005 - Official Transformers Movie Website Updated With Transformers 3 Home Release Info http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/official-transformers-movie-website-updated-with-transformers-3-home-release-info-173245/]</ref>
===Additional Information===
{{collist|
* Close Captions in English
* Audio Description as Audio Description in English <ref>http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B005G4TJUC/audiodescriin-20</ref>|collist}}

==Theatrical posters==
<center>
<gallery perrow="3">
File:DOTM-OPbillboardposter.jpg
File:DOTM-Bumblebeebanner.jpg
File:DOTM-Shockwavebanner.jpg
File:DOTM-OPportraitposter.jpg
</gallery>
</center>

==Reception==
The film's critical reception was an improvement from ''Revenge of the Fallen'', but it was still considered a bad movie, with a mediocre 35% on Rotten Tomatoes. The film was praised for its special effects, but blasted for its running time and dialogue.<ref>https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/transformers_dark_of_the_moon</ref>

On June 23, 2011, the world premiere of ''Dark of the Moon'' was held in [[Moscow]], [[Russia]], with band [[Linkin Park]] performing a concert that included their title song for the movie, "Iridescent".

The official release date was moved up from July 1 to June 29 to allow breathing room between its release and ''{{w|Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2}}''. On June 28, 2011, the film was released in 3D and IMAX at 9pm in the US. Some theaters cheated a little and showed it at 8:45.

''Dark of the Moon'' launched with nearly 10,000 copies in 4011 theaters nationwide. On its opening day, the movie earned $37.3 million, making not only for the best opening day of 2011 up to that point, but also ranking as the sixth most successful opening on a Wednesday ever, while at the same time ranking well behind ''Revenge of the Fallen'', with $60 million on its opening day (also a Wednesday).<ref name="openingday">[http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=3197&p=.htm "'Transformers' Suboptimal on Wednesday"], Box Office Mojo, June 2011.</ref> (Of course, a lot of the print material still listed the release date as [[July 1]]st, the following Friday.)

On [[August 2]], it crossed the $1 billion mark in worldwide gross, just under 5 weeks after its release, landing it in the #9 spot for worldwide gross of all time.<ref>http://www.deadline.com/2011/08/transformers-dark-of-the-moon-crosses-1-billion-worldwide-mark-for-paramount/ Deadline Hollywood</ref> Of that, $338 million came from the US. It is currently one of two Paramount pictures to have made the $1 billion mark, the other being [[Transformers: Age of Extinction (film)|its sequel]]. (While ''Titanic'' also made over $1 billion worldwide, it was only a Paramount movie ''domestically'', where it made "only" $620 million.)

''Dark of the Moon'' ended its theatrical run in the #4 spot for highest worldwide gross of all time.

''Dark of the Moon'' was nominated for three Academy Awards, in the categories of Best Visual Effects, Sound Editing, and Sound Mixing, losing all to ''{{w|Hugo (film)|Hugo}}''.<ref>[http://oscar.go.com/nominees#t Official 2012 Oscar nominees page]</ref>

On February 25, 2012, it was announced that ''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'' was nominated for eight {{w|Golden Raspberry Award}}s. Unlike ''Revenge of the Fallen'', however, it did not receive the awards for Worst Picture, Worst Screenplay, & Worst Director, losing all of its nominations to ''{{w|Jack & Jill (film)|Jack & Jill}}''.<ref>[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/transformers-dark-of-the-moon-is-safe-from-razzies-174726/]</ref>

==Production staff==
{{stub}}

===Visual effects===
{{stub}}

===Locations department===
{{quote|[The Decepticons'] decision to attack Chicago<ref>http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-471495</ref> seems inexplicable, until you take into consideration the generous tax credits offered by the Illinois Film Office.|film critic Roger Ebert|[http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2011/07/on_the_origin_of_transformers.html On the Origin of Transformers]}}

==Development details==
===Cast and crew signing on===
[[File:TF3-licensingPrime.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Featuring a surprise appearance by Optimus Prime!]]
On May 30, 2007, a month before the official release of ''[[Transformers (film)|Transformers]]'', [[DreamWorks]] announced that two sequels were already being planned.<ref name="spy">[http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/movies/a58430/two-transformers-sequels-in-pipeline.html Digital Spy article from May 2007, confirming that two sequels were being planned]</ref> On March 16, 2009, over three months before the premiere of ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'', [[Paramount Pictures|Paramount]] announced the third movie for July 1, 2011.<ref name="3release">Pamela McClintock: [http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118001280?refCatId=13 Variety article from March 2009], confirming Transformers 3 for July 2011.</ref> Director [[Michael Bay]] promptly backpedaled, as he had intended for the third ''Transformers'' movie to be released in 2012.<ref name="baywait">[http://www.shootfortheedit.com/forum/showthread.php?3947-Wait-a-minute! Michael Bay's reaction to Paramount's July 2011 date for ''Transformers 3''], March 2009.</ref> He officially changed his mind in October 2009, agreeing to the release date set by Paramount.<ref name="bay3-2011">[http://michaelbay.com/2009/10/01/transformers-3-july-1st-2011/ Michael Bay officially confirms the 2011 release date], October 2009.</ref>

[[Roberto Orci]] and [[Alex Kurtzman]], two of the previous two movies' screenwriters, had already announced in March 2009 that they would not return for a third part.<ref name="noorcikurtz">[http://www.slashfilm.com/orci-and-kurtzman-not-returning-for-transformers-3-will-leonard-nimoy-voice-the-fallen/ Slashfilm quoting Roberto Orci that he and Kurtzman would not return for a third movie], March 2009. (Original post on Don Murphy's message board appears to no longer exist.)</ref> In September 2009, their ''Revenge'' co-writer [[Ehren Kruger]] was confirmed as the screenwriter of ''Transformers 3''.<ref name="krugernelson">[http://michaelbay.com/2009/09/14/transformers-3-pain-gain-bad-boys-3/ Michael Bay's website admin Nelson Lauren sorta-confirms Ehren Kruger as TF3's screenwriter], September 2009.</ref> Kruger had already impressed both director Michael Bay and [[Hasbro]] CEO [[Brian Goldner]] with his knowledge of ''Transformers'' mythology prior to working on ''Revenge''.<ref name="writersr">[http://www.zap2it.com/movies/news/zap-transformers2writers,0,1938976.story Zap2it story about the ROTF writers]</ref>

In an interview with ''Wonderland'' magazine in September 2009, [[Megan Fox]], the main female star of the previous two movies, discussed the harsh conditions on the sets and compared director Michael Bay to [[Adolf Hitler]].<ref name="latimesfox">[http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/the_big_picture/2009/09/megan-fox-on-michael-bay-he-wants-to-be-hitler.html Los Angeles Times article about Megan Fox's fatal interview with ''Wonderland'' magazine], September 2009.</ref> Bay initially played down the affair and still welcomed Fox back for the third installment a month later.<ref name="bay3-2011"/> Even though Fox was still spotted on the ''Transformers 3'' set in May 2010,<ref name="foxonset">[http://www.superherohype.com/news/articles/100786-megan-fox-on-set-for-transformers-3-previz Megan Fox on the DOTM set], May 2010.</ref> Paramount announced a few weeks later that she wouldn't return for a third movie after all.<ref name="nomorefox">[http://www.deadline.com/2010/05/michael-bays-revenge-no-more-megan/ Deadline article confirming that Megan Fox had been dropped off ''Transformers 3''], May 2010.</ref> Still that same month, [[Rosie Huntington-Whiteley]] was confirmed to replace her as the lead female actress.<ref name="rosierepl">[http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1640047/model-rosie-huntingtonwhiteley-cast-transformers-3.jhtml MTV.com article confirming Rosie Huntington-Whiteley as the new female star of ''Transformers ''], May 2010.</ref> Her character's name was confirmed as "[[Carly Spencer|Carly]]" by Nelson Lauren, the webmaster of Michael Bay's official website, in July 2010.<ref name="nelsonchicagojul">[http://www.shootfortheedit.com/forum/showthread.php?7566-Transformers-3-Chicago-Set-Photos Nelson posts about his visit to the Chicago set at shootfortheedit.com's forums], July 2010.</ref> In 2011, Michael Bay finally confirmed in an interview with ''GQ'' magazine that it had been [[Steven Spielberg]], executive producer of the ''Transformers'' movies, who had urged him to fire Fox following the Hitler comparison.<ref name="baygq">[http://www.gq.com/entertainment/movies-and-tv/201107/michael-bay-steven-spielberg-fired-megan-fox-transformers GQ interview with Michael Bay], June 2011.</ref> In a later interview, however, he claimed this statement had been taken out of context.<ref name="baych">[http://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/kultur/kino/Diese-Autos-muessen-zerstoert-werden--und-da-bin-ich-der-richtige-Mann/story/23997460 Interview with Michael Bay from Switzerland] (German language), July 2011.</ref>

In March 2010, Oscar winners [[John Malkovich]] and [[Frances McDormand]] as well as Comedian [[Ken Jeong]] were confirmed having signed on for supporting roles.<ref name="malkomcdor">[http://michaelbay.com/2010/03/22/transformers-3-update-from-michael-bay/ Michael Bay confirming John Malkovich, Frances McDormand and Ken Jeong for ''Transformers 3''], March 2010.</ref>

In April 2010, [[Kevin Dunn]] and [[Julie White]] were confirmed as returning as Sam Witwicky's parents.<ref name="varietydunnwhite">[http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118017329.html?categoryid=1236&cs=1 'Dunn, White sign on for 'Transformers 3''], Variety, April 2010.</ref>

In May 2010, Paramount confirmed that [[Patrick Dempsey]] has been cast in ''Transformers 3'' to play Mikaela Banes' boss (this was before Megan Fox was fired from the production).<ref name="dempsey">[http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2010/05/04/patrick-dempsey-confirmed-for-transformers-3/ "Patrick Dempsey confirmed for Transformers 3"], Hollywood Insider, May 2010.</ref>

In July 2010, Nelson Lauren confirmed that former American footballer [[Lester Speight]] would play a soldier in the movie.<ref name="nelsonchicagophotos">[http://michaelbay.com/2010/07/20/transformers-3-chicago-set-photos/ Photos of the Chicago set by michaelbay.com webmaster Nelson Lauren], July 2010.</ref>

[[Leonard Nimoy]] was confirmed as the voice actor for [[Sentinel Prime (ROTF)|Sentinel Prime]] in March 2011.<ref name="nimoysent">[http://insidemovies.ew.com/2011/03/31/leonard-nimoy-transformers-dark-of-the-moon Entertainment Weekly announces Leonard Nimoy's involvement], March 2011]</ref> Nimoy, who had previously voiced [[Galvatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Galvatron]] in 1986's ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'' and was married to Michael Bay's cousin Susan, had previously been under consideration for [[The Fallen]]'s voice in ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'', but Bay had been hesitant for fear of offending his relative with the relatively low pay allotted to voice actors.<ref name="nimoy1">[http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2009/04/21/michael-bay-afraid-to-offend-leonard-nimoy-with-transformers-family-reunion-offer/ ''Michael Bay Afraid To Offend Leonard Nimoy With ‘Transformers’ Family Reunion Offer''], MTV.com Movies blog, April 2009.</ref> Even though Nimoy openly asked Bay to simply give him a call,<ref name="nimoy2">[http://www.latinoreview.com/news/leonard-nimoy-to-michael-bay-call-me-6682 Leonard Nimoy To Michael Bay: "Call Me!"], Latino Review, April 2009.</ref> it ultimately never worked out, and The Fallen was voiced by [[Tony Todd]] instead. For ''Dark of the Moon'', Bay finally overcame his anxiety and hired Nimoy, who accepted the offer.<ref name="nimoy3">[http://insidemovies.ew.com/2011/03/31/leonard-nimoy-transformers-dark-of-the-moon/ "Leonard Nimoy joins 'Transformers: Dark of the Moon' voice cast -- EXCLUSIVE"], Entertainment Weekly, March 2011.</ref> In return, screenwriter Ehren Kruger included several nods to Nimoy's well-known character as Mr. Spock from ''[[Star Trek]]'' in the movie.<ref name="nimoystartrek">[http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1666643/transformers-dark-of-the-moon-star-trek-references.jhtml "'Transformers: Dark Of The Moon': Behind The 'Star Trek' Nods"], MTV.com, July 2011.</ref> ''Dark of the Moon'' would be Nimoy's final performance in the ''Transformers'' franchise before his death in early 2015.

===Writing and production===
After having defended the almost universally critically panned ''Revenge of the Fallen'' for a long time, Michael Bay finally acknowledged flaws of the script, but blamed the {{w|2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike}} prior to the movie for many problems. As a definite error, he singled out the "dork comedy", which he promised to avoid with ''Dark of the Moon''.<ref name="bayvisit">[http://collider.com/michael-bay-interview-transformers-dark-moon-edit-bay-visit/63824/ Collider.com article about DOTM], December 2010.</ref>

Principal shooting began in May 2010. Shooting locations included [[Chicago]] (and nearby East Chicago and Gary Indiana), Moscow,<ref name="locations">[http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=63682 "Transformers 3 Headed to Chicago and Moscow"], Comingsoon.net, February 2010.</ref> the [[Kennedy Space Center]] in Florida,<ref name="kennedyspace">[http://www.superherohype.com/news/articles/101114-the-transformers-3-shoot-at-kennedy-space-center "The Transformers 3 Shoot at Kennedy Space Center"], SuperHeroHype.com, May 2010.</ref> Milwaukee (Wisconsin),<ref name="milwaukee">[http://www.jsonline.com/entertainment/movies/98266574.html "'Transformers 3' takes over Milwaukee Art Museum"], Journal Sentinel Online, July 2010.</ref> Detroit,<ref name="detroit">[http://www.superherohype.com/news/articles/107775-photos-from-the-detroit-transformers-3-set "Photos From the Detroit Transformers 3 Set"], SuperHeroHype.com, September 2010.</ref> [[Washington, D.C.]]<ref name="militaryextras">[http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=473674758199&id=114648515718 US Department of Defense casting call for ''Dark of the Moon''], October 2010.</ref> and Angkor Wat in Cambodia.<ref name="angkor">[http://www.akp.gov.kh/?p=1184 "'Transformers 3' To Be Shot in Cambodia"], Agence Kampuchea Presse, January 2011.</ref>

For the scene where Lennox and his soldier jump out of a V-22 Osprey using wingsuits, Michael Bay used real parachutists and thus avoided unnecessary CG effects. In fact, he had been inspired for this scene in the first place by watching the parachutists in their wingsuits on television<ref name="wingsuits">[http://blog.movies.yahoo.com/blog/1498-transformers-wingsuits-no-cgi-required Yahoo! Movies article on the wingsuit parachutists], June 2011.</ref> and wrote the scene with the intention of using the parachutists in the movie.<ref name="bayvisit"/>

For the Apollo 11 moon landing mission in the flashback sequence at the beginning of the movie, astronauts [[Neil Armstrong]] and [[Buzz Aldrin]] are played by actors Don Jeanes and Cory Tucker, respectively. In the present day timeline, Aldrin himself appears briefly as his own older self.<ref name="aldrin">[http://movies.yahoo.com/news/yahoo-contributor-network/astronaut-buzz-aldrin-hangs-out-with-optimus-prime-transformers-dark-moon Yahoo! Movies article on Buzz Aldrin's appearance in DOTM], July 2011.</ref>

Over 500 cars were destroyed in the making of ''Dark of the Moon'', all of them damaged property from insurance companies intended for destruction.<ref name="baych"/>
[[Image:ROTFvsDOTMUSNavyHollenbeck.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|right|Wherever General Morshower goes, I go.]]

Two accidents happened during shooting: In September 2010, while shooting in East Chicago, Indiana, a female extra was severely injured when a stunt scene went wrong, leaving her with permanent brain damage, the left side of her body paralyzed and her left eye stitched shut. Paramount was subsequently sued for damages by the victim's family.<ref name="extrastunt">[http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-10-05/news/ct-met-transformers-lawsuit-20101005_1_gabriela-cedillo-stunt-welding Chicago tibune article on the injured extra and the subsequent lawsuit], October 2010.</ref> She was eventually granted an $18.5 million settlement in May 2012.<ref name="settlement">[http://www.tmz.com/2012/05/23/transfomers-3-injured-extra-gets-18-million-settlement/ TMZ story about Gabriela Cedillo's settlement]</ref> As a consequence, part of the scene of the car chase battle in Washington, D.C. (which would have included the shoot that had led to the accident) was instead "[[Stock footage|borrowed]]" from Michael Bay's 2005 film ''{{w|The Island (2005 film)|The Island}}''.<ref name="island1">[http://www.ign.com/articles/2011/07/04/transformers-3-re-uses-car-crash-from-the-island "Transformers 3 Re-Uses Car Crash From The Island"], IGN Movies, July 2011.</ref> While shooting in Washington, D.C., in October 2010, one of the Chevrolet Camaro prop cars that served as Bumblebee's [[alternate mode]] crashed into a {{w|Metropolitan Police}} SUV. Nobody was seriously injured this time, though Bumblebee sustained severe front-end damage.<ref name="camarocrash">[http://jalopnik.com/5661321/bumblebee-smashes-cop-car-in-yet-another-transformers-3-accident Jalopnik article on the Camaro crash], October 2010.</ref> Hasbro would later "commemorate" this latter event with the [[Toys"R"Us]] [[exclusive]] [[Cyberverse (toyline)|Cyberverse]] "Cybertronian Warriors Pack". Fans, meanwhile, joked that the SUV was Barricade getting revenge.

Another (brief) instance of recycled footage occurs during the Chicago battle: When the Navy fires several Tomahawks at the Decepticons, the mission control room scene was previously used to depict the interior of the [[USS Kidd]] in ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]''. The most obvious similarity is the [[Hollenbeck|same operator]] saying "Target acquired" both times.<ref name="recycled">[http://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=6tSMdR8vH0s Youtube video] featuring brief clips from ''Dark of the Moon'' and ''Revenge of the Fallen'', highlighting the recycled footage.</ref>

''Dark of the Moon'' is the first of the ''Transformers'' movies to be released in 3D. Despite early considerations to shoot the movie in 2D and convert it into 3D later, Michael Bay ultimately shot 60% of the film in native 3D, another 15% were done digitally, and the rest was shot in 2D and converted later. [[James Cameron]] assisted Michael Bay with the 3D effects. The movie's budget amounted to $195 million, which is about the same budget ''Revenge of the Fallen'' had. About $30 million went into the 3D effects.<ref name="cameron">[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/michael-bay-reveals-james-camerons-191774 "Michael Bay Reveals James Cameron's Secret Role in the Making of 'Transformers'"], The Hollywood Reporter, May 2011.</ref>

=== Sponsors and partners ===
==== Hasbro ====
Hasbro, licensor of the [[Transformers brand]], hoped that the third movie would once again boost toy sales, after profits had dropped in the first quarter of 2011.<ref name="hasbroq12011">[http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Hasbro-1Q-profit-drops-71-pct-apf-664090076.html?x=0&.v=11 Yahoo! Finance article about weak Hasbro toy sales in 2011's first quarter], April 2011.</ref> For the second quarter of 2011, Hasbro reported a net revenue growth of 23 percent to $908.5 million, citing brands such as ''Transformers'' and ''Beyblade'' as the main sources of the increased income.<ref name="hasbro2nsq">[http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Hasbro-Reports-Revenue-and-bw-4063497156.html?x=0&.v=1 "Hasbro Reports Revenue and Earnings Growth for the Second Quarter 2011"], Yahoo! Finance, July 2011.</ref>

==== US military and NASA ====
Like the previous two movies, ''Dark of the Moon'' featured real military personnel as extras, supported by the [[United States Department of Defense]].<ref name="militaryextras"/> Shooting locations were Hurlburt Field and [[Edwards Air Force Base]].<ref name="hurlburt">[http://www.shadowspear.com/special-operations-entertainment/105725-transformers-filmed-at-hurlburt.html "'Transformers 3 Filmed at Hurlburt, 1SOW Included as 'Extras'"], ShadowSpear Special Operations, July 2011.</ref>

In addition, ''Dark of the Moon'' was also supported by NASA, and NASA employees appear as extras in the movie as well.<ref name="nasa">[http://www.space.com/12142-transformers-film-nasa-space-program-touches.html "'Transformers: Dark of the Moon' Has Real-Life NASA Touches"], Space.com, July 2011.</ref>

==== General Motors and other car manufacturers ====
[[General Motors]] once again provided several vehicles. All recurring Autobots retain their [[alternate mode]]s from ''Revenge of the Fallen'' despite some minor tweaks, such as Sideswipe now being a convertible, and Bumblebee now sporting a rear spoiler. Once again, the cooperation was mutual, with General Motors using Bumblebee for TV commercials. The first of those, aired during the 2011 Super Bowl, also revealed some minor tweaks to Bumblebee's robot mode.<ref name="bumblebeead1">[http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2011/02/-bumblebee-appears-in-a-chevrolet-camaro-super-bowl-ad/1 "'Bumblebee' appears in Chevrolet's Super Bowl ad"], USA Today, February 2011.</ref><ref name="bumblebeead2">[http://www.autoblog.com/2011/06/06/chevy-drops-new-ad-touting-transformers-3-tie-in/ "Video: Chevy drops new ad touting Transformers 3 tie-in"], Autoblog.com, June 2011.</ref> According to Chevrolet, the ''Transformers'' movies notably affect car sales, as about ten percent of all Camaros sold in the preceding year were yellow, twice as many as with other models.<ref name="carstarscast">[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/transformers-dark-moon-how-sequels-204557 "'Transformers: Dark of the Moon': How the Sequel's Star Cars Were Cast"], The Hollywood Reporter, June 2011.</ref>

New additions for ''Dark of the Moon'' are a Ferrari 458 Italia and a Mercedes-Benz E550 as Autobots ([[Mirage (Movie)|Dino]] and [[Wheeljack (Movie)|Que]], respectively) and a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG as a Decepticon ([[Soundwave (ROTF)|Soundwave]]). In the movie, both Autobots sport names which aren't recycled from existing Hasbro toys. In the Ferrari's case, the reason for this is that Hasbro's greatest competitor, Mattel, has an exclusive license for Ferrari toys.<ref name="ferrarimattel">[http://www.ferrari.com/English/Pages/Mattel.aspx Mattel license information], Ferrari.com.</ref><ref name="nelsonnomirage">[http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-news-rumors/409844-mirage-no-longer-name-red-italia-dotm-3.html#post6103423 Michael Bay's website admin, Nelson Lauren, explaining why the Ferrari isn't named "Mirage"], TFW2005, May 2011.</ref> "Dino" is named in reference to {{w|Alfredo Ferrari|Alfredo "Dino" Ferrari}}, as per Ferrari's request. The Mercedes-Benz E550, meanwhile, was specifically customized for the movie.<ref name="e550tuning">[http://www.eurotuner.com/news/eurp_1102_mercedes_benz_e550_for_next_transformers_movie/index.html "Mercedes-Benz E550 for Next Transformers Movie - Web Exclusive"], Eurotuner.com, February 2011.</ref> "Que" is named in homage to {{w|Q (James Bond)|Q}} from ''{{w|James Bond}}. A Maybach 62S Landaulet is also featured in the movie, albeit not as a Transformer, but merely as a regular car used by [[Seymour Simmons]] and his assistant [[Dutch (DOTM)|Dutch]].

Unlike Optimus Prime, whose alternate mode was not licensed for any of the three movies, the Rosenbauer Panther 6x6 airport fire truck used for [[Sentinel Prime (ROTF)|Sentinel Prime]] was officially provided by the Rosenbauer International AG and entirely repainted specifically for the film, at a cost of thousands of dollars, as real-world aircraft fire-fighting vehicles are required by FAA regulations to have a much lighter color scheme, which didn't appeal to director [[Michael Bay]].<ref name="rosenbauer">[http://www.rosenbaueramerica.com/press/2011/06/rosenbauer-panther-6x6-to-be-f/ Rosenbauer America press release, June 28, 2011]</ref>

Since the heavily armed Chevrolet Impalas that serve as the [[Wrecker|Wreckers']] alternate modes are directly based on existing NASCAR race cars, the prop versions of [[Roadbuster (DOTM)|Roadbuster]], [[Leadfoot (DOTM)|Leadfoot]], and [[Topspin (DOTM)|Topspin]] made an appearance at [[2011]] Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on [[February 20]], four month before the movie's release, appearing both off the track as display cars, and on the track, participating in the ceremonial first lap.<ref name="daytona">[http://www.hendrickmotorsports.com/news/photos/2011/02/18/TRANSFORMERS-cars-on-display-at-Daytona "'TRANSFORMERS' cars on display at Daytona"], Hendrick Motorsports, February 2011.</ref> Director Michael Bay, actor [[Josh Duhamel]] and actress [[Rosie Huntington-Whiteley]] also attended the event, and during the television broadcast of the race, a new ''Dark of the Moon'' television spot was aired.

==== Other product placement ====
As always, various companies have their products and names prominently displayed throughout the movie, such as {{w|Northrop Grumman}}, [[CNN]], [[Fox News Channel|Fox News]], {{w|Cisco}} and {{w|Superfund}}.<ref name="brands1">[http://www.brandchannel.com/brandcameo_films.asp?movie_year_az=2011 "Transformers: Dark of the Moon"] at brandchannel.com.</ref> Paper manufacturer Double A also cooperated with Paramount and even had Michael Bay direct a commercial that features scenes from ''Dark of the Moon'', notably [[Laserbeak (DOTM)|Laserbeak]].<ref name="paper">[http://www.superherohype.com/news/articles/167497-transformers-featured-in-double-a-paper-ad "Transformers Featured in Double A Paper Ad"] at SuperHeroHype, June 2011.</ref> Of particular note is the large number of Chinese brands such as {{w|Lenovo}}, {{w|Yili Group|Yili}} Shuhua Milk, {{w|Metersbonwe Group|Metersbonwe}} Mtee shirts and {{w|TCL Corporation|TCL}} HDTV screens.<ref name="chinesebrands">[http://advertising.chinasmack.com/2011/transformers-the-rise-of-chinese-product-placement.html "Transformers: The Rise Of Chinese Product Placement"] at Chinasmack.</ref><ref name="brands2">[http://www.brandchannel.com/home/post/2011/07/05/Brandcameo-070411-Transformers-3.aspx "Transformers 3 Product Placement: If Tom Hanks Gets a Pass, Michael Bay Does Not"] at brandchannel, July 2011.</ref>

For [[Nokia]], the product placement turned out to be dated by the time the movie came out, as a mobile phone featured in the movie ran on {{w|Symbian}}, despite Nokia mostly dropping Symbian as an operating system due to their recent partnership with {{w|Microsoft}}.<ref name="nokiaobit">[http://www.thenoisecast.com/2011/07/nokia-x7-product-placement-in-transformers-3-feels-like-an-obituary/ "Nokia X7 Product Placement In Transformers 3 Feels Like An Obituary"], Noisecast, July 2011.</ref>

=== Changes before, during and after production ===
* In an interview with the Los Angeles Times in June 2009, Michael Bay suggested that [[Ramon Rodriguez]] would reprise his role as [[Leo Spitz]] from ''Revenge of the Fallen'' for the third movie.<ref name="bayramon">[http://herocomplex.latimes.com/2009/06/30/ramon-rodriguez-will-have-bigger-role-in-third-transformers-movie-bay-hints/ "Ramon Rodriguez will have bigger role in third ‘Transformers’ movie, Bay hints"], Los Angeles Times, June 2009.</ref>

* As stated above, [[Megan Fox]] was originally intended to reprise her role as [[Mikaela Banes]] from the previous two movies. She was still spotted on the ''Dark of the Moon'' set during the previsualization stage in May 2010,<ref name="foxonset"/> but was fired from the production shortly afterwards due to a falling out with director [[Michael Bay]]. [[Rosie Huntington-Whiteley]]'s character of [[Carly Spencer]] was written in as a replacement, though the fact that her part was originally written for Mikaela still shows in some parts: For example, Carly is overseeing [[Dylan Gould|Dylan]]'s car collection, which could be viewed as an extension of Mikaela's history with working with cars. Furthermore, Sam and Carly not only have [[Wheelie (ROTF)|Wheelie]] (who had been previously "domesticated" by Mikaela) as a "pet", but also her dog [[Bonecrusher (dog)|Bonecrusher]] (played by Michael Bay's eponymous real-life dog).

[[File:DOTM Skids, Mudflap, Que and Sideswipe.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|Eat this, Megan Fox.]]
*In January 2010, actor James Avery claimed in an interview that he would be playing a new Autobot named "Silverbolt".<ref name="avery">[http://unscripted.ca/episodes/show/136 James Avery interview on Unscripted], January 2010</ref> In June 2010, representatives of James Avery, responding to a bizarre rumor that he had passed away, confirmed that the actor was indeed alive and would be playing Silverbolt in ''Transformers 3''.<ref>[http://www.examiner.com/entertainment-in-national/uncle-phil-james-avery-isn-t-dead-after-all James Avery isn't dead after all], The Examiner, June 2010.</ref> Despite this, neither Avery nor Silverbolt ultimately appear in ''Dark of the Moon''.

* In January 2011, an Idaho newspaper<ref>[http://magicvalley.com/news/local/article_d4f374a4-d960-5589-8d0c-be37df66fc40.html?mode=story "Rupert's Fagerbakke finds a voice that is truly golden"]</ref> announced voice actor [[Bill Fagerbakke]] as the voice of a "Chevy Impala stock car" that would appear in ''Dark of the Moon'' (presumably meaning one of the three [[Wrecker]]s, who share that base altmode). Why Fagerbakke did not end up voicing any of the Wreckers in the final cut of the film is unknown.

* Shockwave's original voice actor, [[Corey Burton]], expressed that he had no interest in voicing him for ''Dark of the Moon'', explaining "[I] have practically no interest in that kind of mega-budget movie enterprise involvement" and that the inspiration for his Shockwave voice, {{w|David Warner (actor)|David Warner}}, was rumored to have been considered.<ref>[http://www.coreyburton.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?p=2707&highlight=#2707 Corey Burton's message board post.]</ref> In the end, Shockwave's almost-entirely-wordless-snarl-based role would have been something of a waste of Warner; the role ultimately went to Frank Welker. There's a nice touch of symmetry in the casting, with Welker taking over a Burton-originated role not long after Burton took on a Welker-originated character in [[Megatron (Animated)|''Animated'' Megatron]].

* In an earlier draft of the movie's script, Megatron is sincere when he offers Optimus Prime a truce at the end. Optimus accepts, and Megatron and the remaining Decepticons leave Earth to rebuild Cybertron. This ending is used for the [[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (novel)|novelization]] and the [[Transformers: Dark of the Moon Movie Adaptation|comic adaptation]]. According to Michael Bay's website administrator Nelson, the ending was changed because the studio didn't want the adaptations to share the same ending with the film.<ref>http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/members/nelson-47919.html#vmessage284191</ref>

* Furthermore, it was originally supposed to be [[Mirage (Movie)|Mirage/"Dino"]] rather than [[Wheeljack (Movie)|Wheeljack/"Que"]] who would have been executed by [[Soundwave (ROTF)|Soundwave]] in Chicago. This version made it into the comic adaptation and the [[Transformers: Dark of the Moon: The Junior Novel|junior novelization]].

[[File:DOTM-SentinelPrimetrailer.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|Colour me your colour, baby<br>Colour me your car<br>Colour me your colour, darling<br>I know who you are]]
* Another scrapped death for Mirage is seen in the [[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (novel)|novelization]], in where he's decapicated by [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]]. His severed head is subsequently used by Soundwave to mock the Autobots before they are about to get executed.

* A scrapped death for Wheeljack/"Que" involved the Autobot being run off of a Chicago street and into a river by the [[Driller]], where he would have been torn to pieces by Decepticon troopers lying in wait in the river.

* [[The Twins]], [[Skids (ROTF)|Skids]] and [[Mudflap (ROTF)|Mudflap]], were originally supposed to return for ''Dark of the Moon'', and to die at the hands of Sentinel Prime shortly after Ironhide. Even though [[General Motors]] provided two Chevrolet Sparks to serve as their alternate modes<ref name="chevyspark">[http://www.leftlanenews.com/chevrolet-spark-transformers-3.html Left Lane News article on two Chevrolet Sparks spotted on the DOTM set], May 2010.</ref> which were still spotted on the set as late as October 2010,<ref name="dcparking">[http://transformerslive.blogspot.com/2010/10/transformers-3-dc-parking-lot-gallery.html "Transformers 3 DC Parking Lot Gallery"], Transformers Live Action Movie Blog, October 2010.</ref> the two were mostly edited out of the final movie (their vehicle modes can barely be glimpsed in a few brief shots). Michael Bay even went so far as to offer a $25,000 reward for anyone who would see the Twins "perform" in the movie.<ref name="reward">[http://collider.com/transformers-3-twins-skids-mudflap-michael-bay/91104/ Collider.com article on Michael Bay's "reward" for spotting Skids and Mudflap "perform" in DOTM], May 2011.</ref> In the novelization and the comic adaptation, Skids and Mudflap still appear.

* Another plot point that was apparently dropped was an anti-Autobot sentiment among the human populace. Graffiti with a crossed out Autobot [[insignia|logo]] with the words "go home" below it showed up in several set photos.<ref name="gohome1">[http://transformerslive.blogspot.com/2010/05/transformers-3-filming-with-twins.html Photos from the set in Sherman Oaks, California] at the Transformers Live Action Movie Blog, May 2010.</ref><ref name="gohome2">[http://www.seibertron.com/transformers/news/possible-tf3-plot-point-revealed-autobots-go-home/19188/ Photos from the Chicago set] at Seibertron.com, July 2010.</ref> In the movie, Congress instantly passes a law exiling the Autobots from Earth following Sentinel Prime's ultimatum.

* Early working names included "[[Ultra Magnus (disambiguation)|Ultra Magnus]]" for [[Sentinel Prime (ROTF)|Sentinel Prime]],<ref name="chicagocall">[http://transformerslive.blogspot.com/2011/06/chicgo-call-sheet-for-ultra-magnus.html "Chicago Call Sheet For Ultra Magnus"], Transformers Live Action Movie Blog, June 2011.</ref> "Enzo" (after {{w|Enzo Ferrari}})<ref name="callsheet2">[http://tilallaremine.wordpress.com/2011/07/01/dark-of-the-moon-call-sheets/ Dark of the Moon Call Sheets!] at Til All Are Mine blog, July 2011.</ref> and "Rush" for Mirage/"Dino", "[[Warpath (disambiguation)|Warpath]]" for both [[Roadbuster (DOTM)|Roadbuster]] and [[Topspin (DOTM)|Topspin]], "Tempest" for Topspin, "[[Flash (disambiguation)|Flash]]" for [[Leadfoot (DOTM)|Leadfoot]], "[[Dreadwind (disambiguation)|Dreadwind]]" for [[Crankcase (DOTM)|Crankcase]], "[[Hooligan (disambiguation)|Hooligan]]" for [[Crowbar]], "[[Dirtbag]]" for [[Hatchet (DOTM)|Hatchet]], "[[Blitzwing (disambiguation)|Blitzwing]]" for [[Shockwave (Movie)|Shockwave]], "[[Breakdown (disambiguation)|Breakdown]]" for Soundwave's new vehicular design, "[[Clench (G1)|Colossus]]" for the [[Driller]],<ref name="nizzi">[http://www.joshnizzi.com/TF3.htm Josh Nizzi DOTM concepts.]</ref> "Buzzard" for [[Laserbeak (DOTM)|Laserbeak]], "[[Undermine (Cybertron)|Undermine]]" for [[Igor]] and "[[Steeljaw (disambiguation)|Steeljaw]]" for Wheeljack/"Que". However, it's quite possible a few of these were code names used to keep character identities a secret during production as images of Megatron's new cloak obscured face refer to the character as "[[Cyclonus (disambiguation)|Cyclonus]]".<ref name="wburt">[http://conceptartworld.com/?p=8388 Wesley Burt DOTM concepts.]</ref>

* Roadbuster was originally intended to have {{w|Jeff Gordon}}'s #24 {{w|DuPont}}-sponsored Chevrolet Impala as his alternate mode, rather than {{w|Dale Earnhardt, Jr.}}'s #88 Impala sponsored by {{w|AMP Energy}}.<ref name="nizzi"/>

[[File:DOTMSuperBowlvsTrailer.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|So does this qualify as a retcon?]]
* Que/Wheeljack's head was once considered to be based on {{w|Christopher Lloyd}}'s [[Doc Brown]] from ''[[Back to the Future]]'', rather than [[Albert Einstein]].<ref name="wburt"/>

* The Wreckers were originally intended to have a robot pet dog, whose working names also included "Warpath".<ref name="nizzi"/> Hasbro released a toy of the dog with the [[Human Alliance]] version of Leadfoot, named "[[Steeljaw (DOTM)|Steeljaw]]".

* Megatron was originally supposed to appear in his ''Revenge of the Fallen'' form.<ref>http://joshnizzi.com/images/TF3/JoshNizzi_TF3_56.jpg</ref>

* In an interview with MTV.com, actors [[Shia LaBeouf]] and [[John Malkovich]] hinted at some smaller scenes that were cut from the final edit of the movie. In addition to some ad-libbing by the actors, one scene would have featured Malkovich's character, [[Bruce Brazos]], attempting to get Carly's phone number.<ref name="deletedmtv">[http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1666772/transformers-dark-of-the-moon-dvd-deleted-scenes.jhtml MTV.com on deleted scenes], July 2011.</ref>

* In the original teaser trailer for ''Dark of the Moon'' that was released in December 2010, the opening scene that featured [[Neil Armstrong]] and [[Buzz Aldrin]] investigate the ''[[Ark (DOTM)|Ark]]'' on the moon had Sentinel Prime sport a gold and silver color scheme. For the final movie, his base color was changed to red.

* Similar to the teaser trailer, the Super Bowl spot also features footage that contains unfinished CG effects. Most notably, the shot that depicts Optimus Prime, equipped with his flight pack, swooping down on the Decepticons before starting his epic rampage on the ground was changed by the time the first full trailer was released: Optimus himself and the first [[M1 Abrams Decepticon]] are both rescaled and moved to different positions on-screen; a Decepticon using the same [[body-type]] as [[Blackout (Movie)|Blackout]] and [[Grindor (ROTF)|Grindor]] is removed entirely; and a Decepticon using the same body-type as Long Haul, as well as other [[generic]]s, are added. The final movie uses pretty much the same version as seen in the trailer.
{{-}}

=== Leaks and disinformation===
[[File:DOTMgameSoundwave.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|What you're about to see is totally classified.]]
The movie's title, then "Transformers: ''The'' Dark of the Moon", was first discovered on October 6, 2010 via listings for childrens' books on [[Amazon (website)|Amazon]]. The title was further confirmed by a whois check for "www.transformersdarkofthemoonmovie.com".<ref>[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/transformers-3-title-revealed-170697/ Transformers 3 Title Revealed?] @ TFW2005.com</ref> On October 31, the official website for all three movies, [http://www.transformersmovie.com/ transformersmovie.com], was updated to show the ''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'' logo as well as international release dates.

[[Shockwave (Movie)|Shockwave]] was heavily touted as the new main villain, no doubt in an attempt to conceal [[Sentinel Prime (ROTF)|Sentinel Prime]]'s unexpected betrayal halfway through the movie. A piece of information that commonly popped up in media coverage was the claim that Shockwave was the ruler of [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] while the other Autobots and Decepticons were duking it out on Earth.<ref name="pushpops">[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/transformers-3-plot-summary-revealed-170756/ "Transformers 3 Plot Summary Revealed"], TFW2005, October 2010.</ref> The last bit could be written off as a case of {{w|Chinese whispers}}: Shockwave got announced as the villain for ''Dark of the Moon'', mainstream media (such as USA Today<ref name="usatodayswitch">[http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2010-06-11-Transformers11_ST_N.htm "Next 'Transformers' is due for a switch"], USA Today, June 2010.</ref>) who aren't versed in Transformers lore looked up the character, found out about his ''[[The Transformers (franchise)|Generation 1]]'' [[Shockwave (G1)|namesake]]'s role in the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|cartoon]], included it as a piece of trivia to show they did their research, and then the trivia note got picked up as gospel by other media. Nevertheless, it was included in the ''official plot summary'' by Paramount's German branch (which also claimed that ''Shockwave'' was the robot discovered inside the ''[[Ark (DOTM)|Ark]]'' as seen in the trailer).<ref name="germansite">[http://www.transformers3-film.de/ Official German DOTM site] including faulty plot summary.</ref>

[[File:TF3HasbroSoundwaveBio.JPG|thumb|upright=1.66|left|If you breathe a word of what you see in here, you will do time for treason.]]Michael Bay and other official parties tried ''really'' hard to suppress the plot twist of the silver Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG given to [[Carly Spencer|Carly]] by [[Dylan Gould|Dylan]] turning out to be the new [[alternate mode]] of [[Soundwave (ROTF)|Soundwave]]. After the Mercedes had been spotted on the set, with [[Rosie Huntington-Whiteley]] exiting it,<ref name="mercedesset">[http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=67518 DOTM Set Photos], ComingSoon.net, July 2010.</ref> the first hint that it was more than meets the eye came with the trailer for the [[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (Xbox 360/PS3)|video game]], which showed Soundwave's robot mode with car [[kibble]] such as wheels that heavily resembled those of the Mercedes. In addition, [[Rising Storm issue 3|issue 3]] of ''[[Transformers: Rising Storm]]'' depicted Soundwave's robot mode not only with car kibble, but with a Mercedes star on his chest. Despite this, director Michael Bay insisted that the Mercedes was simply Carly's car, claiming that "Mercedes would never let us make their car into a bad Decepticon. Car company's {{sic}} really frown on that. I can't say what the game company and comics do that's their own thing. They don't have the same constraints movies do. It's Carly's car."<ref name="baynomerc">[http://www.shootfortheedit.com/forum/showthread.php?8724-Update-Is-Soundwave-the-silver-Mercedes-on-set-of-DOTM&p=169598&viewfull=1#post169598 Michael Bay's response to the fan theory that Soundwave is the Silver Mercedes.], April 2011.</ref> On April 19, 2011, an event for promoting the ''Spider-Man: Edge of Time'' and ''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'' video games was held in London. As part of this, [[High Moon Studios]] released promotional stills from the ''Dark of the Moon'' game, one of which depicted Soundwave's new robot mode, again with Mercedes parts. However, a news embargo was enforced on the attending press, which was broken by South African video game site [http://egamer.co.za egamer].<ref name="egamera">[http://egamer.co.za/2011/05/exclusive-hands-on-transformers-dark-of-the-moon/ egamer's preview of the ''Dark of the Moon'' video game]</ref> The site was soon asked to take down the article and images, as were various ''Transformers'' fan sites that had reported on the article and mirrored the images. On May 2, 2011, Hasbro's [http://www.hasbro.com/transformers/en_US/ official Transformers website] was given a massive overhaul, including the addition of the new [http://www.hasbro.com/transformers/en_US/discover/cybertronian-database.cfm Vector Sigma database]. The entry for Soundwave initially identified his alternate mode as a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, but was soon changed to "satellite". On May 3, 2011, the embargo for the video game article and promotional stills was finally lifted, allowing sites to freely show the image of Soundwave's new robot mode.

On May 5, 2011, several weeks before the trade paperback collection's official release, preview pages from [[IDW Publishing|IDW]]'s [[Transformers: Dark of the Moon Movie Adaptation|''Dark of the Moon'' comic adaptation]] were discovered at [[Amazon (website)|Amazon]]. Through some bizarre system error, ''several dozen pages'' were made available, which included the major plot twist of Sentinel Prime showing his true colors and killing [[Ironhide (Movie)|Ironhide]]. Unsurprisingly, this discovery was quickly posted on several major Transformers [[fandom|fan sites]], often without a spoiler warning.

==Notes==
* A 126-page script for the movie was leaked in December 2009,<ref>[http://www.allspark.com/content/view/6435/20/ The Allspark: Transformers News Movie Comics Animated - Script Treatment for Transformers 3? Bogus or Not, Here You Go!]</ref> causing much discussion among the fandom. It was later confirmed as fake.<ref>[http://shootfortheedit.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6532 Script]</ref>
* When word hit that [[Megan Fox]] was off the picture, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VTs5ESycpY Heidi Montag] put an "audition" for her part on YouTube. [http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/114ce28ddd/sir-ben-kingsley-shows-up-heidi-montag Sir Ben Kingsley] and [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4FZeucBO0c Ashton Kutcher] made fun of her, because life is rad.
* Several concepts that had been established by the [[Transformers (film)|first movie]] were (more or less) dropped with ''Dark of the Moon'' in favor or a more traditional, ''[[The Transformers (franchise)|Generation 1]]''-esque approach:
** In the 2007 movie, the Autobots arrive on Earth in "[[Protoform]]" entry modes (which was subsequently used as the basis for the Decepticons' arrival in [[Planetfall (Movie)|Planetfall]]). Prior to the release of the movie, screenwriter [[Roberto Orci]] defended this choice over the use of a spaceship such as the ''Ark'' by asking why "aliens who moonlight as vehicles need other vehicles to travel".<ref name="orcitravel">[http://tformers.com/Ark-Not-Making-An-Appearance-In-the-Movie/6513/news.html TFormers quoting Roberto Orci], because Don Murphy's board can only be read by registered members.</ref> He somewhat changed his mind after the movie had been released, however.<ref name="orciship">[http://boards.transformersmovie.com/showpost.php?p=388596&postcount=271 Roberto Orci on the Transformers Live Action Movie Boards], July 2007.</ref> After the Decepticons' ship, the ''[[Nemesis (ROTF)|Nemesis]]'', had made an appearance in ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'', ''Dark of the Moon'' not only introduces the movieverse version of the ''[[Ark (DOTM)|Ark]]'', but also reveals that all the new Autobots who have been on Earth since before ''Revenge of the Fallen'' had arrived in their own spaceship, the ''[[Xantium (DOTM)|Xantium]]'', making the notion of individual Transformers traveling through space as "comets" an exception rather than the rule. ''[[Transformers: Age of Extinction (film)|Age of Extinction]]'' would also later depict the Autobots as stranded on Earth after the destruction of the ''Xantium'' in this film, further pointing towards the "comet" transportation as an abandoned concept. ''[[Transformers: The Last Knight (film)|The Last Knight]]'' would also show this idea when the Autobots again declare themselves stranded, as they don't know where the ''[[Knight Ship|Knightship]]'' is, only being able to finally go home after they acquired it.
** Furthermore, ''Dark of the Moon'' largely abandons the idea of Transformers having all their weapons integrated into their bodies in favor of more traditional, separate weapons. For example, [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]], who had blades and hooks emerging from his forearms in the previous two movies now stores all his weapons (including an axe) as accessories inside his trailer (though he still carries some on his person). Also, Ironhide, whose cannons were previously affixed to his arms, now sports handheld firearms instead. Even Megatron, whose [[fusion cannon]] previously grew out of his arms, now has a hand-held shotgun. Though it can be argued that Optimus still has his swords in his arms during the Chicago battle, and both Ironhide and Megatron lost their integrated weapons in the previous film, the general change is still noticeable. The only ones who still seem to have the same converting arm cannons as in the previous movies are Bumblebee, Ratchet, and Starscream.
* Another change from the previous movies (though not rooted in ''Generation 1'') is that Transformers that take damage in battle now spill a red liquid that is very obviously meant to resemble human blood.
* [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]] finally achieves a certain consistency between his two primary modes: Ever since his upgrade to a modern Camaro in ''Transformers'' (2007), his [[license plate]] had alternated between "900 STRA" in vehicle mode and "4NZZ 454" in robot mode. ''Dark of the Moon'' finally uses "900 STRA" for the robot mode as well. Hasbro's toys, which had previously favored the CG robot model's "4NZZ 454" (barring the occasional "4NZZ'''Z''' 454" flub), follow suit.
*Speaking of license plates: [[Dutch (DOTM)|Dutch]]'s Maybach 62S Landaulet sports a German license plate, "'''S MM 6201'''", registered in the city of Stuttgart. In reality, that plate is registered to the manufacturer and used for promotional photos.<ref name="maybach">[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/update--transformers-3-rumor--who-wants-to-be-a-millionaire-170533/ Set photos and promo photos of the Maybach 62S Landaulet] at TFW2005.</ref>
*Michael Bay's private Gulfstream Aerospace G-1159A jet (registration number N4500X) has a cameo in the movie as [[Charlotte Mearing]]'s plane.

===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''''Transformers/Darkside Moon''''' (トランスフォーマー/ダークサイド・ムーン ''Toransufōmā/Dākusaido Mūn'')
*''Cantonese:'' (變形金剛: 黑月降臨, "Transformers: The Arrival of the Black Moon")
*''Finnish:'' '''''Transformers: Kuun pimeä puoli''''' ("Transformers: The Dark Side of the Moon")
*''French:'' '''''Transformers 3 : La Face cachée de la Lune''''' ("Transformers 3: The Hidden Side of the Moon")
*''German:'' '''''Transformers 3: Die dunkle Seite des Mondes''''' ("Transformers 3: The Dark Side of the Moon")
*''Italian:'' '''''Transformers 3'''''
*''Mandarin:'' '''''Biànxíng Jīngāng 3''''' (Taiwan, 變形金剛３, "Transformers 3"), '''''Biànxíng Jīngāng: Yuè Hēi zhī Shí''''' (Mainland China, 变形金刚：月黑之时, "Transformers: When the Moon Becomes Black")
*''Polish:'' '''''Transformers 3'''''
*''Portuguese:'' '''''Transformers: O Lado Oculto da Lua''''' (Brazil, "Transformers: The Hidden Side of the Moon"), '''''Transformers 3''''' (Portugal)
*''Russian:'' '''''Transformery 3: Tjomnaja storona Luny''''' (Трансформеры 3: Тёмная сторона Луны, "Transformers 3: The Dark Side of the Moon")
*''Serbian:'' '''''Transformers 3: Tama Meseca''''' ("Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon")
*''Spanish:'' '''''Transformers: El Lado Oscuro de la Luna''''' (Latin American, "Transformers: The Dark Side of the Moon"), '''''Transformers 3''''' (Spain)
*''Swedish:'' '''''Transformers 3'''''
*''Turkish:'' '''''Transformers: Ayın Karanlık Yüzü''''' ("Transformers: The Dark Side of the Moon")
*''Czech:'' '''''Transformers 3'''''
*''Hindi:'' '''''Traansaphormars: Chaand ka Andhera''''' (ट्राँसफॉर्मर्स: चांद का अंधेरा, "Transformers: Darkness of the Moon")
*''Tamil:'' '''''Ṭirāṉsḥpārmas: Ṭārk op ti mūṉ''''' (டிரான்ஸ்ஃபார்மஸ்: டார்க் ஒப் தி மூன், "Transformers: Dark of the Moon")
*''Greek:'' '''''Transformers 3'''''
*''Ukrainian:'' '''''Transformery: Temnyy bik Misyatsya''''' (Трансформери: Темний бік Місяця, "Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon")
*''Dutch:'' '''''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'''''
*''Norwegian:'' '''''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'''''
*''Hungarian:'' '''''Transformers 3'''''
*''Croatian:'' '''''Transformeri: Tamna strana Mjeseca''''' ("Transformers: The Dark Side of the Moon")
*''Latvian:'' '''''Transformeri 3: Mēness no otras puses''''' ("Transformers 3: The Moon on the Other Side")
*''Lithuanian:'' '''''Transformeriai: tamsioji Mėnulio pusė''''' ("Transformers: The Dark Side of the Moon")
*''Arabic:'' '''''Almtahawilun: Aljanib Almuzlim Lilqamar''''' (المتحولون: الجانب المظلم للقمر, "Transformers: The Dark Side of the Moon")
*''Indonesian:'' '''''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'''''
*''Malay:'' '''''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'''''
*''Hebrew:'' '''''Rvvvtrkm 3. Flt hrch''''' (רובוטריקים 3: אפלת הירח, "Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon")
*''Korean:'' '''''Teulaenseupomeo 3''''' (트랜스포머 3, "Transformers 3")
*''Romanian:'' '''''Transformers: Fața ascunsă a Lunii''''' ("Transformers: The Hidden Face of the Moon")
*''Thai:'' '''''Thrāns̄̒ fxr̒m me xr̒s̄ 3''''' (ทรานส์ฟอร์มเมอร์ส 3, "Transformers 3")

==External links==
* [http://www.transformersmovie.com/ Transformersmovie.com]
* [http://www.imdb.com/tt1399103/ ''Dark of the Moon'' at IMDB.com]
* {{w|Transformers: Dark of the Moon|''Dark of the Moon'' film on Wikipedia}}
* [https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/transformers_dark_of_the_moon/ ''Dark of the Moon'' on RottenTomatoes.com]

==Footnotes==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.transformersmovie.com/ Official ''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'' website]
*[http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/paramount/transformersdarkofthemoon/ Trailers.Apple.com ''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'' page]
* Designer portfolios: [http://www.joshnizzi.com/TF3.htm Josh Nizzi], [http://www.warrenmanser.com/WarrenManser.com/PORTFOLIO_M/Pages/TRANSFORMERS_3.html Warren Manser], [http://www.joelchang.com/index.php?/projects/transformers-dark-of-the-moon/ Joel Chang], [http://conceptartworld.com/?p=8293 The Aaron Sims Company] (at Concept Art World), [http://conceptartworld.com/?p=8388 Wesley Burt] (at Concept Art World), [http://massiveblack.com/MBwebolution/blog/?p=301 Massive Black], [http://www.ghull.com/#/125195 George Hull]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dark of the Moon (film)}}
[[Category:Dark of the Moon| Dark of the Moon (film)]]
[[Category:Dark of the Moon media| ]]
[[Category:Real world films]]

User talk:Cyberlink420

2020-08-03T02:09:14Z

96megatron: /* Continuity Notes */

==Previous discussions==
Previous discussions can be found at [[User talk:Cyberlink420/Archive1|Archive]]. However, please do not edit the Archive page.



== Editing Pages ==

I see you have taken out one of my edits in the Starscream tfp page.... was that edit irrelevant or something? [[User:LittleAutobot1218|LittleAutobot1218]] 12:23, 13 February 2020 (EST)
: More or less. The edit didn't really add anything of substance to the article, and it had both grammar and formatting issues. -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 12:36, 13 February 2020 (EST)
Sorry... I didn't really know about that [[User:LittleAutobot1218|LittleAutobot1218]] 8:57, 2 20 February 2020 (EST)

=="Unidentified character"==
Yeah let’s just say Blurr was unidentified by me. But if u say it is Blurr i’ll take you from your word. Btw I don’t know who Blurr is {{unsigned|Octane}}

=="Red Five" (Cyberverse)==

I thought that too, but I also thought that the way he was part of the group that was otherwise made up of named characters, his prominent red colouring and the fact he was the first one to be "shot down" as part of the diversion was a reference to the Redshirt trope, which then became playing with the trope because he didn't ''actually'' die.

I have to admit that as soon as I saw the guy, I thought, "A red generic? Oh, no. The poor doomed bastard." And then when his shuttle blew up first...{{unsigned|WM-R}}

==Didn't they confirm that the Bumblebee movie is a reboot?==

It's what I read. Apparently,it was announced at the New York Toy Fair 2019 {{unsigned|‎Thetransformersmorethanmeetstheeye}}
:Already discussed [[Talk:Live-action_film_series#Bumblebee_needs_to_be_removed|here]]. The upshot is that the announcement was vague marketing speak but that actual released products link the BB movie to the previous ones. Basically, the announcement was Hasbro's way of saying "we know the old movies sucked, we promise future ones will be better" without actually insulting their own prior product. --[[User:Khajidha|Khajidha]] ([[User talk:Khajidha|talk]]) 10:35, 15 November 2019 (EST)

== Removing Periods ==

So I am really sorry for doing this I was at work and was working on this and left my computer open when i went to a meeting and one of my coworkers must of messed with it.--[[User:Oldmajor|Oldmajor]] ([[User talk:Oldmajor|talk]]) 11:46, 14 January 2020 (EST)

== Phil LaMarr ==
Your right, I know I shouldn't be reverting back and fourth with occupations, I apologize for that. I just couldn't make up my mind to agree on if he's notable for being a comedian or not, because he did work on MadTV. But like I said before, I'm really sorry. [[User:MarioKartFan9|MarioKartFan9]] ([[User talk:MarioKartFan9|talk]]) 16:09, 5 February 2020 (EST)

== Creating a page ==

I wanted to add a page regarding Outright Games due to their role in publishing Transformers: Battlegrounds and I wanted to ask if it was okay to add the page before the game has been released or not. If so and the game is cancelled, I'm willing to delete it afterwards. -- [[User:DKSlayer64|DKSlayer64]] 13:21, 12 June 2020 (EDT)
:There's no reason why not, though I would recommend looking at some other game company articles on the wiki as examples so you get an idea of how to properly format the article. -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 15:18, 12 June 2020 (EDT)

== On 3A/ThreeA/ThreeZero ==

Considering that the line of ThreeZero and its figures, I wanted to ask if we should consider adding the figures that are being made by the company under the corresponding characters' Merchandise pages, if possible. -- [[User:DKSlayer64|DKSlayer64]] ([[User talk:DKSlayer64|talk]]) 13:56, 12 June 2020 (EDT)
:It's an officially-licensed product, so yeah, it should probably on there. -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 15:18, 12 June 2020 (EDT)

== rba ==

Did u watch the decepticon episode More than meets the eye of rescue bots academy and if so. how?[[User:Freakertron|Freakertron]] ([[User talk:Freakertron|talk]]) 03:38, 21 June 2020 (EDT)
:It aired in the UK; it's floating out there if you know where to look. (and no, I won't say where) -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 09:49, 21 June 2020 (EDT)

== Continuity Notes ==

How are Continuity Notes defined? What are some examples? {{unsigned|96megatron}}
:Intentional callbacks and references to past events, not just vague connections. For example, using a macguffin obtained in the last movie or a character specifically mentioning something that happened in a previous movie would constitute a continuity note. A list of new characters or "character uses a weapon they've used in every other movie" is not, nor is just a list of film plot points. -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 20:28, 2 August 2020 (EDT)
Thank you for taking the time for the response. Are there any of these bullet points that can be kept?
−
*This film reveals the existence of ‘The Creators’, a mysterious race of aliens responsible for the extinction of the dinosaurs and creating our titular transforming robotic aliens, or at least their elemental metal. Originally it was believed the Allspark was the sole progenitor of the race of ‘Transformers’. How 'the Allspark' and ‘The Creators’ are connected remains to be told.
*Sometime after the 'Battle for Chicago', the U.S. has provided the company, Kinetic Solutions Incorporated, with the collected Decepticons’ remains and their abandoned technology for research. However, during the massive clean up some of the technology was stolen by quite a hefty amount of people, not associated with the U.S. government. Even ending up in the hands of those both within and outside of the United States, the Russians have even started a bidding war.
*Following the disbanding of NEST, a new paramilitary unit, called Cemetery Wind was formed, composed of just humans, some who’ve lost families in the Battle of Chicago, and is headed by Harold Attinger, tasked with dealing with the remaining Decepticons forces. Although some of Earth’s government officials are under the assumption that the Autobots are still assisting in efforts to put an end to the remaining Decepticons threat.
*Brains, last seen in the previous film going down with the Decepticon mothership, alongside Wheelie, leaving his fate ambiguous is revealed to still be alive (albeit without one of his legs attached, using it as a makeshift cane). Wheelie's fate was something that was still unknown, until his reappearance in the following film, ''The Last Knight''.
*Sometime after the final battle of ''Dark of the Moon'', Optimus had his arm reattached, after being removed by Sentinel Prime during their final fight, presumably by Ratchet, our best offscreen medic.
*In the KSI lab, among the spoils of war, are the heads of Sentinel Prime and Megatron, provided through government contracts.
*Established in the first film, Optimus Prime has held a no-harming-or-killing-humans rule (although his Autobots don't always follow that rule), the betrayal and subsequent hunting of his kind by the humans challenges Optimus' one rule.
--[[User:96megatron|96megatron]]

User talk:Cyberlink420

2020-08-03T02:08:46Z

96megatron: /* Continuity Notes */

==Previous discussions==
Previous discussions can be found at [[User talk:Cyberlink420/Archive1|Archive]]. However, please do not edit the Archive page.



== Editing Pages ==

I see you have taken out one of my edits in the Starscream tfp page.... was that edit irrelevant or something? [[User:LittleAutobot1218|LittleAutobot1218]] 12:23, 13 February 2020 (EST)
: More or less. The edit didn't really add anything of substance to the article, and it had both grammar and formatting issues. -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 12:36, 13 February 2020 (EST)
Sorry... I didn't really know about that [[User:LittleAutobot1218|LittleAutobot1218]] 8:57, 2 20 February 2020 (EST)

=="Unidentified character"==
Yeah let’s just say Blurr was unidentified by me. But if u say it is Blurr i’ll take you from your word. Btw I don’t know who Blurr is {{unsigned|Octane}}

=="Red Five" (Cyberverse)==

I thought that too, but I also thought that the way he was part of the group that was otherwise made up of named characters, his prominent red colouring and the fact he was the first one to be "shot down" as part of the diversion was a reference to the Redshirt trope, which then became playing with the trope because he didn't ''actually'' die.

I have to admit that as soon as I saw the guy, I thought, "A red generic? Oh, no. The poor doomed bastard." And then when his shuttle blew up first...{{unsigned|WM-R}}

==Didn't they confirm that the Bumblebee movie is a reboot?==

It's what I read. Apparently,it was announced at the New York Toy Fair 2019 {{unsigned|‎Thetransformersmorethanmeetstheeye}}
:Already discussed [[Talk:Live-action_film_series#Bumblebee_needs_to_be_removed|here]]. The upshot is that the announcement was vague marketing speak but that actual released products link the BB movie to the previous ones. Basically, the announcement was Hasbro's way of saying "we know the old movies sucked, we promise future ones will be better" without actually insulting their own prior product. --[[User:Khajidha|Khajidha]] ([[User talk:Khajidha|talk]]) 10:35, 15 November 2019 (EST)

== Removing Periods ==

So I am really sorry for doing this I was at work and was working on this and left my computer open when i went to a meeting and one of my coworkers must of messed with it.--[[User:Oldmajor|Oldmajor]] ([[User talk:Oldmajor|talk]]) 11:46, 14 January 2020 (EST)

== Phil LaMarr ==
Your right, I know I shouldn't be reverting back and fourth with occupations, I apologize for that. I just couldn't make up my mind to agree on if he's notable for being a comedian or not, because he did work on MadTV. But like I said before, I'm really sorry. [[User:MarioKartFan9|MarioKartFan9]] ([[User talk:MarioKartFan9|talk]]) 16:09, 5 February 2020 (EST)

== Creating a page ==

I wanted to add a page regarding Outright Games due to their role in publishing Transformers: Battlegrounds and I wanted to ask if it was okay to add the page before the game has been released or not. If so and the game is cancelled, I'm willing to delete it afterwards. -- [[User:DKSlayer64|DKSlayer64]] 13:21, 12 June 2020 (EDT)
:There's no reason why not, though I would recommend looking at some other game company articles on the wiki as examples so you get an idea of how to properly format the article. -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 15:18, 12 June 2020 (EDT)

== On 3A/ThreeA/ThreeZero ==

Considering that the line of ThreeZero and its figures, I wanted to ask if we should consider adding the figures that are being made by the company under the corresponding characters' Merchandise pages, if possible. -- [[User:DKSlayer64|DKSlayer64]] ([[User talk:DKSlayer64|talk]]) 13:56, 12 June 2020 (EDT)
:It's an officially-licensed product, so yeah, it should probably on there. -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 15:18, 12 June 2020 (EDT)

== rba ==

Did u watch the decepticon episode More than meets the eye of rescue bots academy and if so. how?[[User:Freakertron|Freakertron]] ([[User talk:Freakertron|talk]]) 03:38, 21 June 2020 (EDT)
:It aired in the UK; it's floating out there if you know where to look. (and no, I won't say where) -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 09:49, 21 June 2020 (EDT)

== Continuity Notes ==

How are Continuity Notes defined? What are some examples? {{unsigned|96megatron}}
:Intentional callbacks and references to past events, not just vague connections. For example, using a macguffin obtained in the last movie or a character specifically mentioning something that happened in a previous movie would constitute a continuity note. A list of new characters or "character uses a weapon they've used in every other movie" is not, nor is just a list of film plot points. -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 20:28, 2 August 2020 (EDT)
Thank you for taking the time for the response. Are there any of these bullet points that can be kept?
−
*This film reveals the existence of ‘The Creators’, a mysterious race of aliens responsible for the extinction of the dinosaurs and creating our titular transforming robotic aliens, or at least their elemental metal. Originally it was believed the Allspark was the sole progenitor of the race of ‘Transformers’. How 'the Allspark' and ‘The Creators’ are connected remains to be told.

*Sometime after the 'Battle for Chicago', the U.S. has provided the company, Kinetic Solutions Incorporated, with the collected Decepticons’ remains and their abandoned technology for research. However, during the massive clean up some of the technology was stolen by quite a hefty amount of people, not associated with the U.S. government. Even ending up in the hands of those both within and outside of the United States, the Russians have even started a bidding war.

*Following the disbanding of NEST, a new paramilitary unit, called Cemetery Wind was formed, composed of just humans, some who’ve lost families in the Battle of Chicago, and is headed by Harold Attinger, tasked with dealing with the remaining Decepticons forces. Although some of Earth’s government officials are under the assumption that the Autobots are still assisting in efforts to put an end to the remaining Decepticons threat.

*Brains, last seen in the previous film going down with the Decepticon mothership, alongside Wheelie, leaving his fate ambiguous is revealed to still be alive (albeit without one of his legs attached, using it as a makeshift cane). Wheelie's fate was something that was still unknown, until his reappearance in the following film, ''The Last Knight''.

*Sometime after the final battle of ''Dark of the Moon'', Optimus had his arm reattached, after being removed by Sentinel Prime during their final fight, presumably by Ratchet, our best offscreen medic.

*In the KSI lab, among the spoils of war, are the heads of Sentinel Prime and Megatron, provided through government contracts.

*Established in the first film, Optimus Prime has held a no-harming-or-killing-humans rule (although his Autobots don't always follow that rule), the betrayal and subsequent hunting of his kind by the humans challenges Optimus' one rule.
--[[User:96megatron|96megatron]]

User talk:Cyberlink420

2020-08-02T23:55:47Z

96megatron: /* Continuity Notes */ new section

Transformers: Age of Extinction (film)

2020-08-02T23:34:55Z

96megatron: Undo revision 1434544 by Cyberlink420 (talk)

{{Nav-aoe}}
[[File:Transformers- Age of ExtinctionOptimusPrimePoster.jpg‎|thumb|upright=1.67|An adventure 65 million years in the making.]]

'''''Transformers: Age of Extinction''''' is the fourth film in the [[live-action film series]]. It was released on [[June 27]], [[2014]].

Following the [[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (film)|Battle of Chicago]], humanity has come to fear both Autobots and Decepticons alike. With the aid of a Transformer mercenary named [[Lockdown (ROTF)|Lockdown]], a CIA [[Cemetery Wind|task-force]] operated by [[Harold Attinger]] begins hunting the remaining [[Transformer]]s on [[Earth]]. Hunted by enemies that were once his allies, [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] loses faith in humanity and sends his forces into hiding. Now, five years later, struggling inventor and single-father [[Cade Yeager]] discovers a damaged Transformer, placing both himself and his [[Tessa Yeager|daughter]] on a collision course with events that threaten the extinction of humankind itself.

{{bigquote|The trouble with loyalty to a cause is that the cause will ''always'' betray you.|[[Lockdown (ROTF)|Lockdown]]|''Transformers: Age of Extinction''}}

==Synopsis==

[[File:The Creators cyberforming Earth AOE.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.67|"God creates dinosaurs. God destroys dinosaurs. God creates man. Man destroys God. Man creates dinosaurs."]]
65 million years ago, on Cretaceous [[Earth]], a ''Psittacosaurus'' is out hunting for food. The small dinosaur finds a fish and starts to feed, but stops as hundreds of alien ships enter Earth's atmosphere, piloted by the mysterious [[Creator (AOE)|"Creators"]]. The alien ships launch dozens of strange [[Seed]]s across the planet. As they detonate, they convert the landscape and the herds of panicking dinosaurs into a metallic substance, ending the Age of Dinosaurs. Millions of years later, while digging in the [[Arctic]], a team of geologists uncover a mysterious pair of metallized dinosaur skeletons - a discovery that attracts the attention of [[Darcy Tirrel]]...

Five years after the invasion of [[Chicago]], tensions between humans and Cybertronians have risen dramatically. Although the Autobots are officially granted asylum on Earth, public opinion has turned against all Transformers. The government of the United States has terminated all human-Autobot joint programs and instated [[Cemetery Wind]], an elite [[CIA]] unit intended to flush out the handful of [[Decepticon]]s left on Earth. What the President doesn't know is that [[Harold Attinger]], the leader of the operation, is slaughtering all Transformers, regardless of faction. On one such mission, the team pinpoints [[Ratchet (Movie)|Ratchet]] hiding within an abandoned boat. He immediately tries to flee, but is crippled and brought down by their weapons. The team leader, [[James Savoy]], mockingly asks why Ratchet ran if he's not their enemy, and Ratchet replays a transmission he received from [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]], ordering all Autobots to hide from humans. However, Savoy dismisses his pleas as his sister was killed in Chicago. A Transformer bounty hunter, [[Lockdown (ROTF)|Lockdown]], who has actually been helping Cemetery Wind hunt the Autobots, emerges from the nearby swamp and attacks Ratchet, further damaging him. Walking past his human allies, Lockdown demands to know [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]]'s whereabouts. When Ratchet refuses, Lockdown brutally kills him by ripping out his spark.
[[File:AOE Ratchet dying.jpg|thumb|upright=1.67|"Condors. Condors are on the verge of extinction..."]]

In Texas, struggling inventor [[Cade Yeager]] and his friend/employee [[Lucas Flannery]] meet at an old theater, looking for salvage. He finds an old truck, and upon inspection it seems to be full of artillery shells. He buys the truck along with the other theater equipment and puts it in his garage. [[Tessa Yeager|Tessa]], Cade's daughter, observes this while video-chatting with her boyfriend and criticizes her dad for buying the heap of junk. While attempting to salvage the truck's engine to sell, Cade realizes it's actually a badly-damaged Transformer. After calling Lucas and Tessa, he connects jumper cables to its engine, only for it to begin replaying the distress call Ratchet had received earlier. Lucas and Tessa advocate calling the government, claiming that there is a huge reward for Transformers. Cade convinces them not to call the authorities until he can spend more time working on the truck, as he may be able to stumble on a technological breakthrough if he can figure out how the Transformers work. When Cade removes a live missile from the truck's "power core," it transforms into a heavily injured Optimus Prime, who roars at them to stay back while he swings his weapon around the barn. Cade, Lucas, and Tessa ask why Optimus is so badly damaged, to which he replies that the Autobots are being hunted and he must help them. Cade offers to repair him, and sends Lucas to buy the parts that will enable him to fix Optimus. Cade and Optimus begin to bond as the repairs begin.
[[File:AOE-injuredoptimus.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.67|"Should we chance moving him?"]]

In the Arctic, Attinger arrives via helicopter at [[Knight Ship|Lockdown's ship]] and demands to know why Optimus Prime escaped him in [[Mexico]]. Lockdown derisively tells Attinger that Optimus Prime would not have escaped were it not for Cemetery Wind's interference, stressing that he does not care about Attinger or his goals and wishes only to capture Optimus Prime.

Shortly after returning to [[Washington, D.C.]], Attinger receives a tip that Optimus Prime has been located in Texas and sends Savoy and Cemetery Wind to apprehend him. The agents swarm the barn, but there is no trace of Prime inside. When Savoy threatens Tessa to force Cade to tell him of Prime's whereabouts, the Autobot leader explodes out of the barn's basement in which he was hiding. He escapes after a brief skirmish that destroys the Yeager residence, with both Cemetery Wind and Lockdown in pursuit. As Cade catches one of Cemetery Wind's mini drones, a white rally car zooms over the adjacent fields and picks up the Yeagers and Lucas. The driver turns out to be [[Shane Dyson|Shane]], a rally car racer who is also Tessa's boyfriend. A group of Cemetery Wind vehicles begins chasing them.
[[File:Optimus shooting humans AOE.jpg|thumb|upright=1.67|"You think they'll have that on the tour?"]]

Both the rally car and Optimus Prime are chased into an abandoned factory, where Optimus Prime fights off Lockdown. Shane puts his driving skills to good use and pulls a series of tight maneuvers that result in the Cemetery Wind cars crashing, destroys his car in the process. Optimus Prime, who has caught Lockdown in a crane cable, transforms and tells the humans to pile into him and escape. Lockdown throws a grenade at the humans as they run towards Optimus Prime; though Shane and the Yeagers escape, Lucas is caught in the blast and killed.

Arriving at an abandoned gas station, Optimus orders the humans out and drives off to ensure that they have not been followed. Cade confronts Tessa and Shane about their relationship but Tessa gets angry at Cade for putting them all in danger. The next day, Optimus and the humans set off towards Monument Valley. Prime [[trans-scan|scans]] a passing truck, sheds his layer of rust and takes on a new form with his old paint scheme. They arrive in Monument Valley where they meet the other surviving Autobots in the form of [[Crosshairs (AOE)|Crosshairs]], [[Hound (Movie)|Hound]], [[Drift (AOE)|Drift]], and their de facto leader [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]]. Crosshairs and Hound start threatening the humans for having their species betray them but Optimus convinces them that they have risked their lives to save his. The Humans notice that there are clear tensions between the Autobots. Cade reveals footage of the attack on Ratchet and [[Leadfoot (DOTM)|Leadfoot's]] demise using the stolen aerial drone and Prime declares that he will kill the one responsible for hunting down the Autobots.

[[File:Autobots unite monument valley AOE.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.67|"Dr. Grant, my dear Dr. Sattler... Welcome to [[Jurassic Park]]." ]]

Inspection of the drone leads them to a company named [[Kinetic Solutions Incorporated|KSI]], located in a rebuilt Chicago. It is run by [[Joshua Joyce]], who is working with [[Su Yueming]] and Attinger to create artificial Transformers to eventually be used in the military. Using the remains of [[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]], [[Sentinel Prime (ROTF)|Sentinel Prime]], [[Starscream (Movie)|the]] [[Soundwave (ROTF)|countless]] [[Shockwave (Movie)|Decepticons]] from the Chicago battle and the hunted Autobots, they have synthesized the metal that the Transformers are made of, calling it [[Living metal#Live-action film series|Transformium]]. When given commands through a computer, Transformium can be changed into various shapes or objects. Although a drone called [[Stinger (AOE)|Stinger]] (designed after Bumblebee) is active, Joshua's major project is a bigger, stronger drone called [[Megatron (Movie)|Galvatron]]. However, his attempts have not been successful; the drone keeps resembling Megatron instead of the friendlier image of Optimus Prime. Bumblebee builds Cade and Shane faux-ID badges which the duo use to infiltrate KSI. Cade goes further in and projects imagery of Ratchet's severed head being melted down, which sends Prime into a rage.

[[File:Joshua Joyce Transformium Experiment AOE.jpg|thumb|upright=1.67|"God help us, we're in the hands of engineers."]]

However, Cade is caught when his ID badge is found to have been scanned twice (by him and its original owner). He is taken to the upper floors and confronted by Attinger, who claims that what he has witnessed is in the name of world peace. He also asks him about the whereabouts of Optimus Prime but Cade maintains his silence.

Furious over how the humans have mutilated their comrades, Optimus orders an attack on KSI. Bumblebee, carried by Drift in copter mode, rescues Cade. The others trash the lab, free the injured and enslaved [[Brains]], and confront Joshua, only for him to openly declare that what is being done is being done to prevent more Transformer-caused damage and that the humans "don't need" the Autobots. Disheartened, Prime orders a retreat.

As the Autobots exit the factory and leave, Attinger catches up with Joshua and claims that the Autobots are terrorists for attacking the facility. He coerces Joyce to use the two functional drones to take down the Autobots. Galvatron and Stinger activate and pursue their quarry across a highway, with Galvatron doing more damage than his KSI handlers intend. Bumblebee fires upon Galvatron but is surprised to see him simply disintegrate and reintegrate again. Galvatron attacks Prime. As they battle, Optimus declares that the artificial creation has no soul, to which it retorts "That is why I have no FEAR!"

[[File:AOEGalvatron.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.67|"Kids! You want to have one of those?"]]

As Tessa scrambles for cover in a nearby vehicle, Prime is suddenly shot from the back and falls; Lockdown has arrived, along with his ship! Lockdown gloats to his prisoner, claiming that Optimus was built, not born, and now the Creators want him returned in one piece. The bounty hunter orders a net dropped over Optimus and hoists both the Autobot leader and Tessa's hiding place into his ship. Cade desperately clings to the net, but his strength gives out and he falls to the fields below. As the spaceship departs, Cade and Shane vow to get Tessa back.

Lockdown throws Prime in a cage and orders his lackeys to dispose of Tessa. Prime takes note of several other aliens in similar cages, including [[Dinobot (AOE)|other Cybertronian warriors]]. He also discovers the original purpose of the mercenary ship: it was originally used by a group of legendary Knights (presumably including Prime himself) but now acts as Lockdown's flying prison. Lockdown's ship hovers over Chicago, triggering panic in the streets, but Attinger manages to talk down the authorities and send Savoy to rendezvous with Lockdown. As payment for Prime's capture, Lockdown gives him a Seed.

Cade, Shane, and the other Autobots get aboard the ship as it flies low over a bridge. While being pursued by Lockdown's henchmen, the two humans find a strange Knight armory, from which Cade takes a sword that opens up to form a gun. While Shane and Cade rescue Tessa, Crosshairs deploys the ship's mooring cables, which fire into the Willis Tower and preventing the ship from breaking atmosphere. The humans begin to clamber down the cables to safety, but they are pursued by a pack of [[Steeljaw (AOE)|Steeljaw]]s. Bumblebee manages to save the trio. The other Autobots locate Optimus, who reveals that the section of the ship they are on can separate from the main body. Crosshairs uses a gunship to pick up Bumblebee and the humans, then leads them on a dogfight through Chicago's streets, destroying some of Lockdown's [[Shadow Raider|mercenaries]].

[[File:Prime gets shotAOE.jpg|thumb|upright=1.67|"It could have been worse, John. A lot worse."]]

Back at KSI, it is decided that all equipment is to be moved to the Beijing facility to continue operations. Joshua is also none too pleased about the previous field test of Galvatron; not only was it a loss on several fronts, but the drone also ''spoke'', which was something it was ''not'' programmed to do!

The Autobots land their new ship at an abandoned train yard. Optimus claims that he sensed Megatron's presence during his fight with Galvatron. Brains explains Galvatron's true nature: while he decoded dead Transformer brains, he learned that Megatron's mind had survived and planned to transfer itself to Galvatron's body, explaining Galvatron's sinister appearance. The tiny bot further mentions how Galvatron used his knowledge to build Stinger and the other drones, with plans to make them into his personal army. As Tessa tells the group about the Seed she saw, Optimus and Hound explain that the Creators used Seeds to convert organic material into metal, then harvested the resulting Transformium for their own purposes. Cade makes a call to Joyce and relays the newfound data about Galvatron. Knowing that Joyce is also an inventor with a heart, he pleads with Joyce to shut down Galvatron before things escalate. Although Joyce puts up an unconvinced façade, he demands increased security around Galvatron after hanging up.

As police cars surround the train yard, the Autobots board their shuttle again and take to the air. Optimus says that though the Autobots will travel to Hong Kong and get the Seed back, they will leave Earth afterwards; they are done protecting humanity. Cade disagrees but Prime is non-responsive. They later debate the matter, with Cade attempting to reignite Prime's faith in humanity.

In deep space, Lockdown finally discovers the absence of the smaller ship. He grumbles about Optimus Prime taking his trophy case and how the Prime will feel his wrath while he reverses course. Joyce meets with Attinger and Savoy and receives the Seed. Joyce intends to detonate it in a region of the [[Gobi Desert]], which will generate enough Transformium to last a century. Attinger is eager to expedite production but grows incensed when Joshua disagrees and says that they should go slower, quite obviously moved by Cade's call. Meanwhile, Galvatron activates ''himself'' and starts to infect the legion of over fifty other KSI Transformers. When the alarm rings regarding Galvatron's escape, Joyce has Attinger and Savoy evacuated from the building and gets in a car with Su, an associate named Darcy, and the Seed. They decide to try to hide the Seed in [[Hong Kong]].

Being hunted by Attinger and Savoy, Joyce seeks refuge on a rooftop when the Autobot-piloted ship arrives and attempts to pick him and the Seed up. However, Galvatron and his drones ramy arrive and shoot down the airborne vessel, causing Bumblebee, Hound, and the Yeagers to spill out while the others (Prime, Crosshairs, Drift, and the captured Knights) to careen away into the Wulong Valley. Savoy finds the Yeagers and Joyce on the rooftop and open fires on them but Cade leads him away from the others. The two jump across rooftops, eventually crashing into a house and getting into a fist fight which ends with Savoy falling from a window to his death.

Hound and Bumblebee attempt to escort the humans and the Seed out of the city, but are cut short when Joshua points out that the KSI-built Transformers were specifically built to destroy any Autobots or Decepticons left on Earth. This prompts Prime to enter the crashed ship and activate the armory as well as release the other captives within the ship. As Hound and Bumblebee hold the line and protect the humans, Optimus tries to convince the Legendary Warriors to fight alongside them. Their [[Grimlock (AOE)|apparent leader]] violently declines at first, fighting the Prime in both his massive robot mode and his Tyrannosaurus mode. Optimus quickly defeats him, saying that he and the other warriors will protect his family or die, then mounts the metal dinosaur. The Autobots mount their Dinobots and charge over the mountains into Hong Kong.

[[File:Dinobots ready for battle AOE.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.67|"''T. rex'' doesn't want to be fed. He wants to ''hunt''."]]

Meanwhile, as Hound and Bumblebee are starting to be overwhelmed by Galvatron's drone forces, Optimus and his fellow Autobots storm into the city, slamming, crushing, stomping, and chomping all nearby enemies. Galvatron retreats as the Autobots and Dinobots decimate his forces. With this battle over, Optimus confronts Joshua for his actions and gives the order to defend the humans and escort them, and the Seed, away from the city. On the way, a homing beacon within the Seed activates, allowing Lockdown to track the Autobots down. He activates a massive magnet, wreaking havoc on Hong Kong. Everything metal from kitchenware to massive ships are picked up by the magnet, including the Autobots and Dinobots. After narrowly avoiding the magnet, the Yeagers are momentarily separated from the Autobots. Optimus shoots at the magnet, destroying it and releasing the Transformers from its influence. The ship retreats to a nearby factory, with Optimus hot on its trail. Cade tells his daughter to stay with Shane and the Autobots, as he wishes to fight alongside Optimus against Lockdown. As Optimus Prime and Lockdown battle one-on-one, Attinger corners Yeager with a pistol, accusing him of choosing aliens over his own race, but he is quickly shot and killed by Optimus.

Because of Optimus's choice to save Cade before defending himself, Lockdown gains the upper hand, impaling Optimus through the chest with his own sword and pinning him to a concrete pillar. Meanwhile, Tessa convinces Bumblebee to turn around and the three join in fighting Lockdown, allowing Shane to use a tow truck to unpin Prime. Just as Lockdown is about to kill Cade, Optimus jumps up and slices the bounty hunter in half. Activating one of Lockdown's grenades, Prime tells the humans to hold on and uses rocket boosters to escape while the grenade destroys the last of the KSI drones. Galvatron has survived and retreated to the outskirts of the city; watching Prime blast off, he tells Optimus to beware, for he is reborn...

[[File:AOE-DefendThisFamily.jpg|thumb|upright=1.67|"I don't know. I guess... I guess we'll just have to evolve too."]]

The Autobots, Dinobots, and their human allies all regroup on the waterfront. Cade and Tessa happily reconcile and Cade finally accepts Shane. Joshua nobly says he will help them with their destroyed home. Prime declares the Dinobots are now free as they depart for parts unknown. With the bounty on his head placing the entire Earth in danger, Prime blasts off into space with the Seed to confront the Creators and discover the mystery behind his own origins, but not before ordering the Autobots to protect the Yeager family. As he leaves Earth's atmosphere, Optimus Prime sends a message to his Creators to leave planet Earth alone, because he's coming for them.

{{--}}

==Quotes==
"Lockdown...?"<br>
"Autobots, Decepticons, like little children, always fighting; making a mess out of the universe, then ''I've'' got to clean it up! There is one way you survive. Tell me where he's hiding. Where is Optimus Prime?"<br>
"Never."<br>
''(Lockdown rips out Ratchet's spark)''<br>
"Never is here."<br>
:—'''Ratchet''''s final moments before '''Lockdown''' kills him.

"In this planet we have a saying: ''The enemy of my enemy is my friend''." <br/>
"I also have a saying: '''''I don't care'''''."
:—'''Harold Attinger''' discusses with '''Lockdown'''.

"Every galaxy I've traveled, all you species are the same. You all think you're the center of the universe. You have no idea..."
:—'''Lockdown''' never truly appreciated one of his clients.

"Human beings. Bunch of backstabbing weasels!" <br>
"Hound, find your inner compass. ''Loyalty is but a flower in the winds of fear and temptation.''" <br>
"What the hell are you saying?!?" <br>
"It's a haiku."<br>
"Cut the crap before I drop a grenade down your throat!"<br>
"Try it, you'll be dead!"<br>
"Oh, please pull it. Please do it."
:—'''Hound''' doesn't appreciate '''Drift's''' haikus.

"With your fate unknown, Bumblebee has held command, despite his complete and total lack of anything resembling warrior discipline. He's like a child."<br>
"This child is about to ''kick your ass!''"
:—'''Drift''' and '''Bumblebee'''

"Autobots, I have sworn never to kill humans..."<br>
"Big mistake."<br>
"...but when I find out who's behind this...he's going to ''die''."<br>
"Hoo-ah!"
:—'''Prime's''' rage is fueled by '''Hound'''.

"Destroy the lab! Destroy it all!" <br>
''(The Autobots lay waste to the KSI research facility)'' <br>
"Hey, you! Stop! That's company property!" <br>
"They're not ''your'' property! ''They were my friends.''" <br>
:—'''Optimus Prime''' duly informs '''Joshua Joyce''' that Transformers aren't just machines.

"You have no soul!"<br>
"That is why I have no ''fear''!"
:—'''Optimus Prime'''' is shocked to find '''Galvatron''' isn't as lifeless as he thought.

"We're behind enemy lines now. Lockdown's ship has booby traps! Eyes open."<br>
"Beware of his bone-grinders, brain-blinders, flesh-stealers, chromosomal-inverters, catatonic slugs, black hole trapdoors and of course, radiation."

:—'''Hound''' and '''Crosshairs''' warn the humans of the perils held within Lockdown's ship.

"I was expecting a [[Grimlock (G1)/toys#Alternators.2FBinaltech|giant car!]]"
:—'''Drift''' witnessing Grimlock transform into a dinosaur.

"Autobots, we're going to prove who we are, and ''why we're here''!"
:—'''Optimus Prime''' rallies his troops with his characteristic passion and charisma.

"Ugh, you just wanna die for the guy. ''That's'' leadership. Or brainwashing, or something."<br>
"No, that's Optimus Prime."
:—'''Crosshairs''' and '''Drift''', remarking on their [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|leader]]/[[Dinobot (AOE)|Giant Robot Dinosaur]] tamer.

"I'm like a fat ballerina who takes scalps and slits throats!"
:—'''Hound''' takes another five levels in badass and ballerina class.

"How do you say 'Get the f&%# out of the way' in Chinese?"
:—'''Joshua''' has some issues with the language barrier.

"I hate cheap knockoffs."
:—'''Bumblebee''' looking for [[Jazz (Movie)#Human_Alliance|Human Alliance Jazz]] on [[eBay|eBay]].

"We shall meet again, Prime, for I am reborn."
:—'''Galvatron''' retreats to fight another day.

"There are mysteries to the universe we were never meant to solve, but who we are and why we are here are not among them. Those answers we carry inside. I am Optimus Prime, and this message is to my Creators. Leave planet Earth alone. 'Cause I'm coming...for you."
:—'''Optimus Prime'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s closing narration.

==Main cast==
{{featuredcharacters|
h1=[[Autobot]]s|c1=
*[[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] ([[Peter Cullen]])
*[[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]]
*[[Hound (Movie)|Hound]] ([[John Goodman]])
*[[Drift (AOE)|Drift]] ([[Ken Watanabe]])
*[[Ratchet (Movie)|Ratchet]] ([[Robert Foxworth]])
*[[Crosshairs (AOE)|Crosshairs]] ([[John DiMaggio]])
*[[Leadfoot (DOTM)|Leadfoot]] (''Robert Foxworth'', video footage)
*[[Brains]] ([[Reno Wilson]])
*[[Sentinel Prime (ROTF)|Sentinel Prime]]'s head
'''[[Dinobot (AOE)|Dinobots]]'''
*[[Grimlock (AOE)|Grimlock]]
*[[Scorn]]
*[[Slug (AOE)|Slug]]
*[[Strafe (AOE)|Strafe]]

|h2=[[Decepticon]]s|c2=
*[[Megatron (Movie)|Galvatron]] ([[Frank Welker]])
*[[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]]'s head
*[[Stinger (AOE)|Stinger]]
*[[Junkheap (AOE)|Junkheap]]s
*[[KSI Sentry|KSI Sentries]]
*[[KSI Boss]]es
*"[[Two Head]]s"
*[[McLaren Decepticon]]
*[[Aston Martin Decepticon]]
*[[Insecticon (Movie)|Insecticons]]
*[[Barricade (Movie)|Barricade]] (reused video footage)
*[[Protoform]]s (reused video footage)

|h3=[[Human]]s|c3=
*[[Cade Yeager]] ([[Mark Wahlberg]])
*[[Tessa Yeager]] ([[Nicola Peltz]])
*[[Shane Dyson]] ([[Jack Reynor]])
*[[Joshua Joyce]] ([[Stanley Tucci]])
*[[Harold Attinger]] ([[Kelsey Grammer]])
*[[James Savoy]] ([[Titus Welliver]])
*[[Lucas Flannery]] ([[T. J. Miller]])
*[[Darcy Tirrel]] ([[Sophia Myles]])
*[[Su Yueming]] ([[Li Bingbing]])
*[[Gill Wembley]] ([[James Bachman]])
*[[Chief of Staff]] ([[Thomas Lennon]])

|h4=Others|c4=
*[[Creator (AOE)|Creators]]
'''Lockdown's crew'''
*[[Lockdown (ROTF)|Lockdown]] ([[Mark Ryan]])
*[[Shadow Raider]]s
*[[Steeljaw (AOE)|Steeljaws]]
*[[Stupid Drone]]s
'''[[Kinetic Solutions Incorporated|KSI]] prototypes'''
*[[Oreo Transformer]] (uncredited)
|nonumbering=true
}}

==Continuity Notes==
*This film reveals the existence of ‘The Creators’, a mysterious race of aliens responsible for the extinction of the dinosaurs and creating our titular transforming robotic aliens, or at least their elemental metal. Originally it was believed the Allspark was the sole progenitor of the race of ‘Transformers’. How 'the Allspark' and ‘The Creators’ are connected remains to be told.
*Sometime after the 'Battle for Chicago' in the last film, the U.S. has provided the company, Kinetic Solutions Incorporated, with the collected Decepticons’ remains and their abandoned technology for research. However, during the massive clean up some of the technology was stolen by quite a hefty amount of people, not with the U.S. government. Even ending up in the hands of those both within and outside of the United States, the Russians have even started a bidding war.
*During the events of ''Dark of the Moon'', under duress, the UN voted for the Autobot-Government Cooperation Act to be expunged (first initiated between the events of the first and second films). Effectively, putting an end to the alliance and dispansion of NEST. As of the preceding events of this film, it has not been reinstated.
*With the disbanding of NEST, a new paramilitary unit, called Cemetery Wind was formed, composed of just humans, such as CIA operatives, some who’ve lost families in the Battle of Chicago, and is headed by Harold Attinger, tasked with dealing with the remaining Decepticons forces. Although some of Earth’s government officials are under the assumption that the Autobots are still assisting in efforts to put an end to the remaining Decepticons threat.
*Despite the end of their alliance, several Autobots (presumably the ''DOTM'' survivors and new arrivals) were given sanctuary for their aid in putting an end to the war they brought to our planet.
*Of course, both Autobots Optimus Prime and Bumblebee return, along with Ratchet, Leadfoot (via drone footage), also Brains, who was last seen in the previous film, going down with the Decepticon mothership, alongside Wheelie, after sabotaging it, preventing Bumblebee and the other Autobots (except Wheeljack/Que) from being executed by Soundwave and others. Wheelie's fate was something still unknown, until his reappearance in the following film, ''The Last Knight''.
*In the five-year gap, between ''Dark of the Moon'' and ''Age of Extinction'', Autobots Hound, Crosshairs, and Drift had arrived on Earth and due to the hostile actions of ‘Cemetery Wind’ have been forced into hiding. Somehow ending up under the command of the experienced expert of Earth, Bumblebee [[Drift (AOE)|(some are not impressed)]].
*Sometime after the final battle of ''Dark of the Moon'', Optimus had his arm reattached, after being removed by Sentinel Prime during their final fight, presumably by Ratchet, our best offscreen medic.
*Also, Optimus uses his Energon sword (used in every film, ever since the first one) and his mega-striker shotgun (first used in the third film) for the last time. The former seen being shredded to pieces by Galvatron onscreen. Nooo. Ratchet also uses his gun for the final time, being utilized for battle and/or for intimidation throughout the first trilogy.
*In the KSI lab, among the spoils of war, are the heads of Sentinel Prime and Megatron, provided through government contracts.
*Established in the first film, Optimus Prime has held a no-harming-or-killing-humans rule (although his Autobots don't always follow that rule), the betrayal and subsequent hunting of his kind by the humans challenges Optimus' one rule.
*During Optimus Prime's fight with Grimlock, he tries to convince Grimlock and his Dinobots that they should join forces to fight against Lockdown, Galvatron's forces, and their mysterious 'Creators', as well as saving the nearby populace. Promising them 'freedom', Prime's moral compass established in the first film, albeit Grimlock must physically test Prime's strength, forcing Optimus to use force. He later holds up his end of the bargain by setting Grimlock and the other Dinbotos free after the day is saved, while thanking and commending them. Optimus doesn't task them with protecting Cade and his family, instead leaving it to his fellow Autobots already voluntarily under his command.

==Errors==
===Continuity errors===
[[File:DeceasedTransformersAOE.jpg‎|thumb|upright=1.6|Your attention, please. Will the ''real'' Optimus Prime please stand up?]]
[[File:AOECrosshairsDriftWeirdEdit.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|What just happened? No, seriously. Is there some kind of timey-wimey thing going on?]]
[[File:AOE savoy eyegouge.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|"An eye for an eye makes the whole world-OH MY GOD!!!"]]
*[[Ironhide (Movie)|Ironhide]] is seen on the cards Attinger pulls out early in the film, listed as deceased and having been last seen in Chicago. However, Ironhide was killed by Sentinel Prime in Washington, D.C., midway through ''Dark of the Moon'', and long before the final battle in Chicago.
*Scenes from the Decepticons' invasion of Chicago in ''Dark of the Moon'' are shown as archival footage presented by Attinger. While it is conceivable some lucky people with cameras recorded the initial attack and managed to survive and publish their footage, it's highly unlikely people would've been able to get close-up video footage of the NEST team taking down [[Barricade (Movie)|Barricade]] and the other Decepticons.
*A Cemetery Wind vehicle smashes into the side of Shane's car during the chase through the cornfield, but the car doesn't show any damage to that side in subsequent shots.
*Tessa and Shane's reliance on Romeo and Juliet laws is unnecessary, since the age of consent in Texas is 17.
*During the 'Autobots reunite' sequence, Drift starts out in car mode on a road with Bumblebee and Crosshairs, before suddenly appearing atop a rock formation in robot mode and transforming to helicopter mode to meet up with Optimus Prime.
*When Crosshairs and Drift are talking on board Lockdown's ship shortly after boarding it, a ''very'' bizarre edit occurs in the middle of Drift's line "Better hurry, because dark matter drives are preparing to take off". The camera angle is now slightly different than before, but it's not a switch between a long shot and a close-up or a complete change of perspective. Oddly, Drift is still seen from the almost the ''exact same angle'' as before the edit, but even though his and Crosshairs's bodies were at an almost 90 degree angle before the edit, they're now suddenly almost standing in parallel to each other, with Crosshairs' head turned towards Drift. In addition, a flame that appeared in front of Drift just before the edit is suddenly gone.
*When Shane shouts "I surrender!" and drops his "gun-sword", the hilt is facing to the right, but after a close-up showed it landing on the ground and firing a shot, the hilt is suddenly facing to the ''left'' in the subsequent long shot when it fires more shots.
*When Joshua reunites with the rest of the group in Hong Kong, Darcy tells him she'll do a diversion, and to get the Seed somewhere safe. Yet, no diversion of any kind happens.
*As Cade and Savoy grapple in the apartment, Cade jams his thumb deep into Savoy's eye socket (see right), with accompanying "squlech" sound effect, and appropriate reaction from Savoy in the form of a long howl of pain through gritted teeth and a string of drool flowing uncontrolled from his mouth. But as soon as the two separate, Savoy's eye is absolutely fine, with no indication anything is supposed to have happened to it.
*During Hound's fight with [[Two Head]], Cade is seen wearing his jacket but reverts back to his shirt following the Decepticon's defeat.
*While Lockdown is pulling up parts of the city, Shane backs the car into a building which is two stories high at most, but appears much larger on the inside.
*In vehicle mode, Stinger's engine sound is inaccurate to what his alt mode actually is (a Pagani Huayra) and sounds more like a McLaren F1.

===Technical/animation errors===
*The shot right before the close-up of the cyberformed dinosaurs has no cyberformed dinosaurs at all, despite having all the excavation vehicles in the same positions as the next scene.
* Arcee is seen on Attinger's cards misspelled as "Acree".
** Additionally, the image on the card is of [[Elita-One (Movie)|Elita-One]]; while an Arcee ''sister'', is not Arcee herself. This could potentially be explained by the movie ignoring the retcon from the comics that changed her from one character with three bodies to three characters psychically linked by a single spark.
*When Savoy says "Use the mini drones", you can clearly see the green screen in the monitors.
*As Cemetery Wind are attacking Ratchet, a helicopter fires several missiles at him. Two of the missiles miss him, but do not detonate or cause any explosion of any kind to the structures immediately behind Ratchet, and are not even seen to hit them- they simply disappear.
*When Attinger takes over the operation to scramble Cemetery Wind after Optimus, and dismisses everyone in the room, he does so by saying "Ladies and gentlemen, this room is going dark. The exit is on your left." All the people then get up and begin to exit to their ''right''.
*Scrambling Cemetery Wind seems to scramble the timeline. From the deployment of Cemetery Wind to Lucas's death, the time of day is in limbo. For example, Optimus escapes from the Yeager property at sunset, joining the pursuit that takes place in early afternoon, not to mention that Cemetery Wind arrives at the Yeagers' home town at what appears to be dawn. In some instances, repeated changes between shots correspond with changes between different times of day, as different positions of the sun result in very very obviously different lighting conditions.
*When Lockdown transforms to prepare for the attack on Optimus, one can clearly see a faux-part Lamborghini logo pop out from inside the car, while the actual logo disappears.
*In the shot of Shane's car pulling up outside of the Yeager farm after Cemetery Wind has stormed in, nobody is seen inside the vehicle.
*During the scene where Cade is pretending to be a truck driver with Optimus still in his flat-nose truck form, he has a cap and white plaid shirt on. After Optimus scans into his newer form, Cade's back to wearing his leather jacket.
*When Shane's car gets sideswiped in the cornfield, the back left window is shattered. A couple scenes later, the window is just rolled down.
*When Shane's car breaks into a building, the woman sitting right in the middle of the room is clearly waiting on the glass-breaking noise to start running.
*After Lucas' death, there is nothing really stopping Lockdown or Cemetery Wind from continuing to chase Optimus. Lockdown is much faster and could easily catch up to Optimus whilst Cemetery Wind could chase in their remaining vehicles.
*When Optimus transforms to and from his Marmon 97 alternate mode, the windows and grille that make up his chest visibly change size and shape.
*When Optimus transforms out of his flat-nosed truck mode and punches the ground, Tessa and Shane are standing next to each other, as viewed from behind Optimus. When the view immediately switches to be facing Optimus, Cade is suddenly standing between the two.
*Shane defends his relationship with Tessa by stating that the 'Romeo and Juliet laws' "statute 2705-3" protect their relationship, yet the card he shows Cade reads "Statute 22.011". This is also the number that appears in the English subtitles of the DVD, meaning that it was scripted as 22.011 and not 2705-3.
*The truck that Optimus scans, while still being from the Western Star manufacturer, is an older and different model than the one he transforms into.
*When Optimus is on his way to the reunion site, the human characters inside are sitting this way: Shane to the right, Tessa in the Middle and Cade to the left. However when Optimus gets to the reunion point Cade comes out of the truck using Shane's side door (right) instead of his (left). It is clear they (the director and his crew) were trying to get a "superhero" pose but it doesn't make sense.
*When Optimus arrived to the reunion site you can see the filming crew in the reflection of his front chrome parts.
*The statement that Drift claims to be a haiku ("Loyalty is but a flower in the winds of fear and temptation") is not actually a haiku: poems of that style generally consist of three separate statements in a 5-7-5 syllable pattern; the one mentioned in the film is a single unbroken statement that totals to the 17 syllables that a haiku technically consists of.
*Hound's dialogue when he's bickering with Drift doesn't really match up to what we see. Drift pulls his swords on Hound, but the big guy goads him on to "pull it", suggesting Drift was originally supposed to aim a firearm at him.
[[File:Uncolored Ratchet head prop.jpg‎|thumb|upright=1.67|Gray is the new green.]]
*When Joshua is in the lab showing Darcy Transformium, in two different shots, a gray, uncolored prop of Ratchet's head can be seen being worked on in the next room.
*As Cade's drone scans a KSI employee's name tag, it displays its location onscreen as around N 38°44'55", W115°28'27". These coordinates are for a [https://www.google.com/maps/place/38%C2%B044%2755.0%22N+115%C2%B028%2727.0%22W/@38.7486111,-115.4741667,3048m patch of desert in Nevada] rather than any place in Chicago.
*While first infiltrating KSI, in the showroom where Stinger is first viewed, Bumblebee is in car mode when Joshua walks in with Yueming. Bumblebee's engine audibly revs, yet Joshua doesn't notice that there's no one in the car to rev the engine.
[[File:Megatron Head at KSI.jpg|right|upright=1.4|thumb|Screw logic!]]
*Megatron's severed head is in somewhat good shape for someone who got an axe stabbed on the top of his head. Furthermore, his head is more in line with its appearance in the first movie, not ''Dark of the Moon''.
*Not to mention, after Joshua's group leaves and Bumblebee knocks Stinger down, there's no transformation noise right before Bumblebee returns to his altmode and the KSI executive walks in. Additionally, Bumblebee starts playing M.C. Hammer's "U Can't Touch This", '''when no one is in the car''' to turn the stereo on. Ostensibly it was for a comic moment, but it didn't raise anyone's suspicions that a car that wasn't typical of the ones being scanned, operating the engine and the stereo with no human inside, might be a disguised Cybertronian?
*After Bumblebee scans his new alternate mode, the camera pans over the car and Tessa and Shane are not inside. However, when he's getting his new upgraded form, you can see that they used stunt doubles for Shane and Tessa. That scene wasn't dangerous enough to require stunt doubles, was it?
*Some security guards in KSI fail to react to Crosshairs's shooting and shouting until a few seconds before the scene changes.
*When Galvatron first transforms and crashes into a truck, the way he is composed in the scene makes it look like he is simply floating above the wreckage, instead of being in the middle causing it.
*When Optimus transforms, Cade and Shane leap out of Optimus, while Tessa is trapped and rolls away. However, previous shots establish that the seating order in Optimus is Shane, Tessa, Cade. This means that Cade crawled over his daughter to escape(!), which is not quite logical or possible.
*Lockdown fires two missiles at Optimus Prime that, despite piercing his chest, don't manifest any kind of visible damage on his person, despite the previous shot showing Optimus's chest getting blown apart.
*When Lockdown is approaching Optimus after gunning him down, the driver's door of the Cadillac SRX he's resting on is shown to be open in two exterior shots, even though Tessa previously closed it after getting inside, and it's also shown closed in other (mostly interior) shots.
*When he loses his grip on the net holding Optimus and the car containing Tessa, Cade is shown falling toward the street, but he lands on the grass by the road.
*When the Autobots are on a bridge, before boarding Lockdown's ship, Crosshairs is clearly shown to be speaking but no dialogue is heard.
*Also in that same scene when Hound says "It's a bad idea but I'm all about bad ideas" his mouth movements are slightly out of synch.
*When Tessa gets taken to the trash in Lockdown's ship, a green screen can be seen at the end of the corridor.
*While locking up Optimus, Lockdown's scar is on the left side of his face. While talking to Savoy upon delivering the seed, it's on the right side of his face; however, it switches back to the left side right before he walks off after bidding Earth farewell.
*While the human characters are climbing across the anchor cables to the high-rise building, some of the Steeljaws begin to climb out after them. Cade tells his daughter not to look back and see them, but when we cut back to her, with a clear view of the cables behind her, the Steeljaws are gone.
*When Bumblebee jumps off Lockdown's ship to save the humans, he is followed by a Steeljaw. In the following shot, the Steeljaw is gone.
*While explaining Megatron's plans to the Autobots, Brains rings a bell on a train. In the next shot, the bell is not moving.
*During the motorcycle chase, the CIA cars change. At first, Joshua and Su are trailed by a Cadillac and an Audi; in the middle of the chase, the Cadillac is replaced by another Audi. By the end of the chase, the Cadillac is back.
*In Hong Kong, when Cade, Joshua, Tessa, and Shane enter the elevator to run away from the rooftop, the elevator won't move and Cade says it's overloaded. But in the next scene, we see that the maximum number of people that the elevator can carry is nine, and it's very clear that the Seed doesn't weight as much as five people.
*When Grimlock transforms to his dino mode and charges at Optimus, there are no other Dinobots, nor the ship, to be seen in the background. However, after Optimus punches Grimlock and the shot changes, Dinobots are standing almost right next to him.
*Optimus somehow has enough strength to not only maintain his ground, but propel Grimlock through the air during his charge. Considering Grimlock's strength, velocity and weight, it is highly unlikely Optimus would win.
*Immediately after he transforms into his triceratops mode, Slug is shown to have a very visible Autobot logo on his dino-mode forehead, yet he just met Optimus and the other Autobots moments before.
*One of the air conditioning units kicked off the building exterior by Savoy falls away to reveal ... a solid wall, with no connection to an apartment's interior.
*During Hound's stand in Hong Kong, the pickup truck he uses as a shield sways left to right whilst his arm remains still.
*The damage Hound receives after being shot down, most noticeably the pipe on his left shoulder, is fixed in subsequent shots.
*Crosshairs is seen driving alongside Drift and Hound through the bridge to take the Seed away from the city ... right after we just saw him staying behind to hold the line with the Dinobots.
*During the final fight, Bumblebee decides to just leave midway. Considering the distance between the factory and the dock where they met, he must have left long before Optimus flew there.
*Also during the final flight, Cade is hiding on his own behind a wall. After Lockdown fires, a second person is seen behind him. In the next shot this person has disappeared. Looking closely, the second person is wearing a suit like Attinger. Alternate take of his death, perhaps?
*After Optimus takes off, the other Autobots are absent from the shot of the main cast watching Optimus fly off.

===Geographic discontinuities===
*When Cade tries to use his card at an ATM, not only is the card issued from a Chinese bank, which wouldn't have any branches in north Texas, where the Yeagers live, the text on the ATM screen (behind the ''Access Denied'' warning) is in Chinese.
*Despite being from north Texas, Cade and Tessa have no Texas accents. Not all Texans have noticeable accents of course, but Wahlberg in particular spends the whole film speaking with his natural ''Boston'' accent.
*Despite the KSI pursuit scene taking place on a two lane highway, there are several scenes spliced in of the Transformers with supercar alt modes (like Stinger and Crosshairs) driving on what is obviously a racecourse (specifically the GM proving grounds in Milford, Michigan). This is apparent by the horizontal incline of the road in some of the shots that are also missing the markings that would normally be on a road, and a reaction shot for Stinger that shows a straight, one lane ninety degree turn.
*The entirety of the KSI pursuit scene switches between taking place between the left and right sides of the two-lane highway, despite being only supposed to take place on the right side. Furthermore, the shot showing stray missiles colliding with oncoming traffic takes place on a completely different highway, one with five lanes instead of three and a wooden fence on the side of the street as opposed to a guardrail. Moreover; the car crashing stunt for the bridge jump scene starts on the five lane highway, continues on the left side of the three lane highway, and then finishes on the ''right side'' of the three lane highway. Trouble finding shots, eh?I
*Furthermore, because this is in Chicago, a U.S. City, it makes no sense for cars to be driving on the left side of the road, instead of the right.
*All of the vehicles seen in Hong Kong are left-hand drive, rather than the right-hand drive you'd expect in a location that drives on the left.
*Some scenes supposed to take place in Hong Kong depict a very distinctively American city with traffic lights suspended by wires above the street.
*Chicago's Willis Tower can be seen in the background of Hong Kong.
*The bridge out of the city shown in the film (Tsing Ma Bridge) is at least a half-hour drive from the battlefield in Central.
*Furthermore, despite Optimus's comment, there are no bridges connecting Hong Kong Island (where all the action allegedly takes place) to the mainland. The only way to get off Hong Kong Island (other than by boat or swimming) is via one of three tunnels, none of which are used, referenced or mentioned in the film.
*Speaking of bridges, Tsing Ma Bridge (the gray version of the Golden Gate Bridge) shown in the movie is effectively a dead end unless one is going to the airport or Disneyland, because it only leads to/from Lantau Island.
*The bridge where Grimlock "digs in" is an expressway bypass. Geographically defending it is pointless as there are multiple other routes (including at least one that is faster) to bypass the bridge and tunnel yet end up at the same place on the other side.
*In one of the fight scenes there is an overhead railway (the {{w|Detroit People Mover}}). There are no overhead railways on Hong Kong Island (yet) and the {{w|MTR}} (the subway train network) trains look nothing like the train used in the scenes, as they are a completely different shape and color.
*There are no "glass houses" on Hong Kong Island.
*There are no Chinese temple ruins on Hong Kong Island. The temples there are all intact and frequently used or preserved and don't have giant metal umbrellas ''at all''.
*The area where Optimus battles and "tames" Grimlock is in the Wushan Valley in Northern China which is over 1100 km from Hong Kong, yet is depicted as being in Pok Fu Lam on the South Western side of Hong Kong Island (which is a high rise residential area). Even flying it would take well over 2 hours to get from Wushan Valley to Hong Kong.
*It's not possible to drive a car from Beijing into Hong Kong, as the number plates would be invalid, and it would take over a day to drive that distance. Chinese vehicles coming into Hong Kong have to be from the Canton area (number plates are black) and have to be registered with Hong Kong plates, which means they must display both plates at all times one above the other. (In addition, the process to obtain permission for a car to have that is also lengthy and costly.)
*The blue SUV used by Cade and his companions is not a type of vehicle that exists in Hong Kong. In addition, its steering wheel is located on the left side, even though cars in Hong Kong have their steering wheels on the right side.
*Optimus Prime's Western Star alternate mode would be illegal to drive on Hong Kong roads, since it's is oversized. The Freightliner truck used for Galvatron is the maximum size/gauge allowed on Hong Kong roads. All scenes with Optimus driving in truck mode were filmed elsewhere, the Western Star truck was never brought to Hong Kong. Even his previous Peterbilt alternate mode would be illegal in Hong Kong.
*The area depicted as the final battle scene where Optimus and Lockdown face off was digitally added on the map of Hong Kong shown in the movie. It doesn't exist at all in real life, where it's actually a breakwater/typhoon shelter full of boats on Victora Harbour. In addition, the factories in Hong Kong (which are all located on Kowloon, because Hong Kong Island is purely a residential/business/shopping district) look nothing like the buildings used in the scene.

===[[Dinobot Island, Part 1|Paleontology weeps]]===
*The cyberformed remains of a ''Tyrannosaurus'' and a ''Spinosaurus'' appear frozen together in the arctic at the beginning of the film, which is rather odd considering the two are found on different continents (North America and Africa respectively) and separated by around 35 million years of evolution. Note that a few months after the release of the movie, the morphology of ''Spinosaurus'' was completely revised, with a different spine shape and shorter legs.
[[File:ExtinctionOfTheDinosaurus.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|And another thing! How is that sauropod running!?!]]
*The opening scene of the movie shows a ''Psittaccosaurus'' (100-120 million years old), a generic hadrosaur that might be either an ''Edmontosaurus'' or a ''Shantungosaurus'' (65-70 million years old), and a brachiosaurid (100-157 million years old) all present during what is implied to be the K-Pg extinction event (64.5-65 million years old).
*The ''Psittaccosaurus'', a well known herbivorous animal, is seen actively hunting and killing live prey. In a nod to paleontological accuracy, however, it is depicted with a row of quill-like feathers along its back, as many ceratopsian dinosaurs are believed to have had.
*The Dinobots' alternate modes are orders of magnitude larger than the real dinosaurs on which they're based. In an interesting twist, using Optimus as a proxy for the average human, all the Dinobots bar Strafe have been accurately scaled up. At 850 tonnes <ref name="Grimlock stats">[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/entertainment-weekly-reveals-new-details-on-transformers-4-age-of-extinction-new-grimlock-image-179675] summarised on TFW2005.</ref> Grimlock is as large compared to Optimus as a real ''Tyrannosaurus'' would be next to a human.

==Transformers references==

* As usual, many of the new characters have roots in older portions of the mythos:
** [[Drift (AOE)|Drift]] is based on [[Drift (G1)|a Generation 1 character]] introduced in IDW's 2008 ''[[The Transformers: All Hail Megatron|All Hail Megatron]]'' series.
** Lockdown is derived from [[Lockdown (Animated)|a character in the 2008 ''Animated'' cartoon]] who had already jumped over to the G1 comics and, in toy form, to the movie universe.
** [[Hound (disambiguation)|Hound]] shares a military-green alternate mode with his [[Hound (G1)|Generation 1 counterpart]], but is otherwise unrelated. His portly physique has put many a fan in mind of similar military-green Autobot [[Bulkhead (disambiguation)|Bulkhead]], but again, the movie character's crusty, violence-hungry, trigger-happy personality owes nothing to that gentle Autobot giant.
** The name [[Crosshairs (disambiguation)|Crosshairs]] has been used by a few characters before, but this version has nothing to do with any of them.
** Galvatron being a new form for Megatron has been a thing for [[Galvatron (disambiguation)|basically forever]]. With Joyce's intentions of creating him as a counterpart to Optimus Prime, he also takes cues from [[Nemesis Prime (disambiguation)|Nemesis Prime]]; in particular the human-controlled ''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Prime]]'' [[Nemesis Prime (Prime)|character]].
** The Dinobots are the latest iteration of [[Dinobot (G1)|the powerhouse subfaction]] that first appeared in the early days of Generation 1. Their leader Grimlock is a direct analog of [[Grimlock (G1)|his Generation 1 counterpart]]; Strafe and Slug are based on Generation 1 [[Swoop (G1)|Swoop]] and [[Slag (G1)|Slag]], respectively.
* The Creators seem inspired by the alien [[Quintesson]]s from the Sunbow ''The Transformers'' cartoon, who were revealed to be the creators of the Cybertronian race in the third season of said cartoon.
* In the film's opening act, Optimus has adopted a cabover truck alternate mode akin to that of his [[Optimus Prime (G1)|G1 counterpart]]. His robot mode also draws some inspiration from his G1 design, such as the large grill on his chest.
* Ratchet and Lockdown are paired off against each other; the first incarnation of [[Lockdown (Animated)|Lockdown]] from ''Transformers: Animated'' was pitted off against that version of [[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]] in his very first appearance, presumably inspiring their scene together.
* As he hunts for Ratchet, Lockdown's head-up display shows characters in [[Cybertronian language|Ancient Autobot]], an alphabet originating in the Generation 1 episode "[[Cosmic Rust (episode)|Cosmic Rust]]". Unlike some uses of the language, it appears at random here, with no secret messages to decode.
* In the scene where Optimus scans a passing truck, the classic [[Transformation#The noise|transformation noise]] plays when the Autobot symbol emerges from his grill.
* The scene where Galvatron goes active and breaks free in KSI's Chinese facility mirrors the scene in the 2007 ''Transformers'' movie when Megatron breaks free inside [[Sector Seven]]'s facility, down to a reuse of the line "I am Megatron", only with the name changed to "Galvatron".
* The ringtone on Gill Wembley's cell phone is a remixed version of the original ''The Transformers'' cartoon's [[theme song]].

==Real-life references==
[[File:Rainbow Dash Age of Extinction.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|"I found the magic!"]]

*Among the objects KSI makes from Transformium in the film is a Rainbow Dash doll from ''[[My Little Pony]]''.

==Other editions==

==Prequel material==
*''[[Transformers (Titan Magazine)|Transformers: Age of Extinction]]'' magazine ([[Titan Books|Titan Comics]])

==Adaptations==
Unusually, no novel or comic adaptations of the film were released. The ''[[Transformers Annual 2015]]'' contained an extremely cut down prose summary of events.

==Music==
==Score==
{{main|Age of Extinction: The Score}}

==Home video releases==
{{main|Transformers: Age of Extinction (film)/home video}}

==Theatrical posters==
<center><gallery>
File:Transformers- Age of ExtinctionTeaserPoster.jpg|Something has survived...
File:Transformers- Age of ExtinctionOptimusPrimePoster.jpg|Will you follow me... for the fourth time?
File:Transformers Age of Extinction poster-IMAX.jpg|The Prime, the Grim, and the Marky.
File:Transformers Age of Extinction Cade poster.jpg|Cade, look out behind you! Ah, too late, Lockdown's ship got him.
File:Transformers Age of Extinction Shane poster.jpg|So the five minute scene about statutory was supposed to be funny?
File:Transformers Age of Extinction Tessa poster.jpg|She wants you to forget she was in ''{{w|The Last Airbender (film)|The Last Airbender}}''.
File:Transformers Age of Extinction Su poster.jpg|So the minor character gets a poster and two lengthy filler action scenes to herself?
File:Transformers Age of Extinction Lockdown poster.jpg|''Age of Extinction'', come and spend your money here!
File:Transformers Age of Extinction Rules Have Changed.jpg|It's a scene not in the movie!
File:Transformers Age of Extinction This Is Not War.jpg|This is not human extinction, it's just war.
File:Transformers Age of Extinction Stand Together1.jpg|So we face extinction if we don't stand with you? Huh, that's kinda harsh...
File:Transformers Age of Extinction Stand Together2.jpg|"Now look down. Now look at me. I'm on a dinosaur."
</gallery></center>

==Reception==

{{quote|"The few authentic inspirations to be found in the movie's hundred and sixty-five roiling minutes involve gigantic science-fiction contrivances."|[http://www.newyorker.com/arts/reviews/film/transformers_age_of_extinction_bay The New Yorker's Richard Brody on Transformers 4: Age of Extinction], Richard Brody|[http://newyorker.com newyorker.com] [[2014]]}}

''Transformers: Age of Extinction'' was critically panned, and nearly universally condemned on the American front, receiving a rating of 18% positive critical reviews on RottenTomatoes.com, one percent lower than the final score for ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]''. Common criticisms leveled against it included its relatively long run time of 2 hours and 45 minutes, the disproportionately small amount of screen time the Dinobots got in relation to their relatively large exposure in promotional materials for the film, an over-reliance on product placement, and the decision to set the final act in Hong Kong, which was perceived as a choice solely done to pander towards the Chinese audience for the film. However, the film received praise for its visual effects, action sequences, and the performances of some of the human actors, mainly Mark Wahlberg, Stanley Tucci, and Kelsey Grammer.<ref>http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/transformers_age_of_extinction/</ref> Despite any criticisms, the film was the worldwide top-grossing film for 2014, earning over a billion dollars.<ref>[http://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?view2=worldwide&yr=2014 Box Office Mojo's 2014 Worldwide Grosses]</ref>

It {{w|35th Golden Raspberry Awards|won one Golden Raspberry Award}} for Worst Director ([[Michael Bay]]), was one of four movies contributing to [[Kelsey Grammer]]'s Worst Supporting Actor win (along with ''{{w|The Expendables 3}}'', ''{{w|Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return}}'' and ''{{w|Think Like a Man Too}}''), and was unsuccessfully nominated for Worst Picture; Worst Supporting Actress ([[Nicola Peltz]] as [[Tessa Yeager]]); Worst Screen Combo ("Any two robots, actors (or robotic actors)"); Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel; and Worst Screenplay ("screenplay by [[Ehren Kruger]], based on Hasbro's Transformers action figures").

For Chinese audiences, however, it was a phenomenon and some farmers started making replica Transformers as a new job. <ref>[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/chinese-villagers-give-up-farming-719236 The Hollywood Reporter: "Chinese Villagers Give Up Farming to Build Giant Transformers From Old Car Parts", July 16 2014]</ref>

==Production staff==
''Age of Extinction'' was written by [[Ehren Kruger]], who also wrote ''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (film)|Dark of the Moon]]'' and helped write ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]''.
===Visual effects===
Like the previous films in the series, [[Industrial Light & Magic]] (with assistance from [[Atomic Fiction]] and [[Base FX]]) was employed to do the visual effects. [[Method Studios]] and [[Tippett Studios]] also contributed to the film's VFX production.

===Locations department===

==Development details==
===Cast and crew signing on===
On June 26, 2011, thirteen days before the official theatrical release of ''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (film)|Dark of the Moon]]'', actor [[Tyrese Gibson]] gave an interview to Movieweb, in which he claimed that [[Michael Bay]] would not return for a fourth ''Transformers'' installment; instead, executive producer [[Steven Spielberg]] himself was allegedly interested in directing a sequel.<ref name="tyresemovieweb">[http://movieweb.com/exclusive-steven-spielberg-may-direct-transformers-4/ Movieweb interview with Tyrese Gibson], with several names missing from the text; the full excerpt in question is quoted [http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/rumor-transformers-4-directed-by-steven-spielberg-172501/ here] on TFW2005.</ref> Ten days later, on June 26, 2011, still three days before the official theatrical release of ''Dark of the Moon'', Michael Bay posted praise for actor [[Shia LaBeouf]] on his official forums, while at the same time expressing regret for leaving the ''Transformers'' franchise.<ref name="bayshialeaving">[http://www.shootfortheedit.com/forum/showthread.php?9502-Love-Shia-as-an-Actor Michael Bay's praise for Shia LaBeouf] at the official Michael Bay forums.</ref> Another two days later, on June 28, 2011, LaBeouf confirmed that ''Dark of the Moon'' would definitely be his last ''Transformers'' film, as he didn't think there was "anywhere to take" his character of [[Sam Witwicky]].<ref name="endshia">[http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2011/06/28/transformers-dark-of-the-moon-shia-labeouf/ "'Transformers: Dark Of The Moon' Is The End For Shia LaBeouf"], MTV Movies Blog.</ref>

Eight months later, on February 13, 2012, producer [[Lorenzo di Bonaventura]] gave an interview during [[Toy Fair 2012]], in which he confirmed that a fourth film was scheduled for a release in the Summer of 2014, Michael Bay would direct it after all, and that the movie would be a "reboot". He promptly clarified that it was actually a "hybrid", an "evolution" of the franchise that would be in continuity with the previous films, citing 2012's ''{{w|The Amazing Spider-Man (2012 film)|The Amazing Spider-Man}}'' reboot of the ''[[Spider-Man]]'' film franchise as an example of what people should ''not'' expect from a fourth ''Transformers'' film. Di Bonaventura also confirmed that no casting discussions had taken place yet at that point, since there was no set story yet. However, there would be "a lot of new cast", and it was still uncertain at that point whether any of the previous cast members would return. The only characters that would "certainly" return would be [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] and [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]].<ref name="lorenzointerview">["http://www.mtv.com/videos/movies/733426/a-new-transformers-to-hit-theaters-in-summer-2014.jhtml "a new 'transformers' to hit theaters in summer 2014"], interview with Lorenzo Di Bonaventura at MTV.com.</ref> A day later, on February 14, 2012, Bay himself and [[Paramount Pictures]] officially announced that Bay had indeed signed a deal to make a fourth ''Transformers'' film. The film's release date was stated alternatively as either June 27 or June 29, 2014.<ref name="bayfourthfilm1">[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/transformers-4-release-date-revealed-174395/ "Transformers 4 Release Date Revealed"] at TFW2005.</ref><ref name="bayfourthfilm">[http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-17028248 "Transformers director Michael Bay signs for fourth film"], BBC.co.uk.</ref> That same day, Bay also confirmed that he and Spielberg were working on a "whole new re imagining{{sic}} of ''Transformers''".<ref name="reimagining">[http://www.shootfortheedit.com/forum/showthread.php?10284-Transformers-4 Michael Bay confirming that ''Transformers 4'' would be a "reimaginging"] at the official Michael Bay forums.</ref> Two days later, on February 16, 2012, actor [[Josh Duhamel]] expressed his doubts that he, Shia LaBeouf, [[Rosie Huntington-Whiteley]] or Tyrese Gibson would return for the fourth installment.<ref name="noshiarosie">[http://eonline.com/news/294791/josh-duhamel-not-coming-back-for-transformers-4-is-anyone "Josh Duhamel Not Coming Back for Transformers 4: Is Anyone?!"] at E! Online.</ref>

Four months later, on June 6, 2012, Michael Bay confirmed in an interview centered around ''[[Transformers: The Ride – 3D|Transformers: The Ride]]'' that the fourth film would feature "some redesigns of the robots and an entirely new cast", and that it would be the last ''Transformers'' film he would direct.<ref name="ride">[http://herocomplex.latimes.com/movies/transformers-the-ride-3d-even-impresses-disney-rivals/ "‘Transformers’ taking new shape with Universal ride and fourth film"], LA Times Hero Complex.</ref> A few weeks later, on June 21, 2012, Bay confirmed that the fourth film would feature "different human actors", but the film would not be strictly a "reboot", but rather take the story "in a new direction". While hinting that the story might venture into space for "a little bit", he still wanted to keep it "grounded".<ref name="starsspace">[http://herocomplex.latimes.com/movies/transformers-4-michael-bay-purges-stars-may-go-into-space/ "‘Transformers 4’: Michael Bay purges stars, may go into space"], LA Times Hero Complex.</ref>

[[File:TF4 Chinese Reality Show contestants.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|If ''Age of Extinction'' teaches us anything, it's that more movies should be cast using reality shows.]]On September 21, 2012, Michael Bay confirmed the first "cast" member for the film in the broadest sense, namely the fact that voice actor [[Peter Cullen]] would be kept on as [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]]. He also confirmed that the film would ''not'' be a reboot, but would pick up the story from where ''Dark of the Moon'' had left off in [[Chicago]].<ref name="cullen">[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/21/michael-bay-transformers-4-pain-and-gain_n_1903523.html "Michael Bay, 'Transformers 4' Director, On The Struggles Of 'Pain & Gain'"], Huffington Post interview.</ref> One and a half months later, on November 8, 2012, Bay confirmed [[Mark Wahlberg]] as the first human cast member,<ref name="wahlberg">[http://michaelbay.com/2012/11/08/michael-bay-re-teams-with-his-pain-gain-star-mark-wahlberg-for-transformers-4/ "Michael Bay Re-Teams With His 'Pain & Gain' Star Mark Wahlberg for Transformers 4"], on Michael Bay's official site.</ref> after having referred to such claims as "just a rumor" a mere month earlier.<ref name="baynowahlberg">[http://michaelbay.com/2012/10/23/transformers-4-casting-rumor/ "Transformers 4 Casting Rumor"], on Michael Bay's official site.</ref> On December 15, 2012, Wahlberg himself confirmed that filming would commence in May 2013.<ref name="wahlbergmay">[http://collider.com/ted-2-sequel-mark-wahlberg-transformers-4/218011/ "Mark Wahlberg Talks TED 2, TRANSFORMERS 4, and PAIN AND GAIN; Says TF Starts Shooting in May Followed By TED Sequel"], interview with Collider.com.</ref> Another month later, on January 8, 2013, Irish American actor [[Jack Reynor]] was confirmed as the second human cast member.<ref name="reynor">[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/jack-reynor-lands-starring-role-409850 "Jack Reynor Lands Starring Role in 'Transformers 4'"] at Hollywood Reporter.</ref> [[Nicola Peltz]] was confirmed on March 26, 2013,<ref name="welcomepeltz">[http://michaelbay.com/2013/03/26/welcome-nicola-peltz-to-transformers-4/ "Welcome Nicola Peltz to Transformers 4"], on Michael Bay's official site.</ref> followed by [[Stanley Tucci]] (confirmed to be an antagonist) on April 16, 2013.,<ref name="tucci">[http://www.comingsoon.net/news/cinemaconnews.php?id=103034 "CinemaCon: Stanley Tucci Joins Transformers 4"]</ref> [[Kelsey Grammer]] as a lead (human) villain named "Harold Attinger" on May 1, 2013,<ref name="grammerattinger">[http://www.deadline.com/2013/05/kelsey-grammer-lands-lead-human-villain-in-transformers-sequel/ "Kelsey Grammer Lands Lead (Human) Villain In ‘Transformers’ Sequel"] at Deadline.com.</ref> [[Sophia Myles]] as a scientist on May 6, 2013,<ref name="mylesscientist">[http://www.thewrap.com/movies/column-post/sophia-myles-join-mark-wahlberg-michael-bays-transformers-4-exclusive-89661 "Sophia Myles to Join Mark Wahlberg in Michael Bay's 'Transformers 4' (Exclusive)"] at TheWrap.com.</ref> Chinese actress [[Li Bingbing]] in an at that point still unspecified role on May 20, 2013,<ref name="bingbing">[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/chinas-li-bingbing-boards-transformers-525370 "China's Li Bingbing Boards 'Transformers 4'"] at Hollywood Reporter</ref> and actor-comedian [[T. J. Miller]] as a mechanic and best friend to Wahlberg's character on May 28, 2013.<ref name="miller">[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/tj-miller-joins-transformers-4-559359 "T.J. Miller Joins 'Transformers 4'"] at Hollywood Reporter.</ref> [[Titus Welliver]] wasn't officially confirmed until July 25, 2013, after he had been spotted on set in Texas.<ref name="welliver">[http://www.deadline.com/2013/07/transformers-4-adds-titus-welliver/ "‘Transformers 4′ Adds Titus Welliver"], Deadline.com.</ref> In the lead-up to the release of the movie, Welliver would stir up a minor controversy with an interview in which he stated that the film would be darker and "not a kid's movie". Following a storm of online discussion regarding this statement, he issued a new statement to the effect that ''Age of Extinction'' is in fact a kid's movie, and he meant to say it would expand the audience.<ref name="nerdist">[https://www.nerdist.com/2014/02/titus-welliver-talks-about-transformers-4-and-clark-greggs-s-h-i-e-l-d-comments/ Titus Welliver Talks About TRANSFORMERS 4 and Clark Gregg’s S.H.I.E.L.D. Comments], Nerdist.com.</ref>

A rather unusual addition to the cast were [[Byron Li]], [[Candice Zhao]], [[Austin Lin]] and [[Teresa Daley]], which won their part through participating in the ''[[Transformers 4 Chinese Actors Talent Search Reality Show]]'' on August 25, 2013.<ref name="reality">[http://beijing.china.org.cn/2013-08/28/content_29845758.htm "'Transformers 4' recruits 4 Chinese actors"], China.org.cn.</ref>

The remaining robot voice cast (barring Optimus Prime) wasn't officially revealed until May 8, 2014.<ref name="voicecast">[http://michaelbay.com/2014/05/08/john-goodman-and-ken-watanabe-join-the-autobot-voice-cast-in-michael-bays-transformers-age-of-extinction/ "John Goodman And Ken Watanabe Join The Autobot Voice Cast in Michael Bay’s ‘Transformers: Age Of Extinction’"] at the official Michael Bay website.</ref>

===Writing and production===
On March 20, 2013, the Michigan Film Office announced that the fourth film would return to [[Detroit]].<ref name="michigan">[http://www.michiganfilmoffice.org/The-Film-Office/Press-Releases/Detail.aspx?id=11620 "Transformers Returning to Michigan, Approved for Film Incentive" at the Michigan Film Office website.]</ref> Principal photography began on May 28, 2013, at {{w|Monument Valley}}.<ref name="monument">[http://michaelbay.com/2013/05/28/transformers-4-starts-filming-in-monument-valley-navajo-tribal-park/ "Transformers 4 Starts Filming in Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park"], on Michael Bay's official site.</ref> Other shooting locations were the small towns of Lockhart, Taylor, Elgin and Pflugerville in Texas.<ref name="texas">[http://www.dallasnews.com/entertainment/movies/headlines/20130426-fourth-transformers-film-to-shoot-in-texas.ece "Fourth ‘Transformers’ film to shoot in Texas"] at Dallas Morning News.</ref> Shooting in Michigan involved two historic passenger steamboats, the ''{{w|SS Columbia}}'' and her sister ship, the ''{{w|Ste. Claire (passenger steamboat)|SS Ste. Claire}}'', which were docked in {{w|River Rouge, Michigan|River Rouge}} awaiting restoration at the time being used as props.<ref name="boblo">[http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/story/2013/07/26/wdr-boblo-boats-transformers-four.html "Historic Boblo boats land role in Transformers 4"], CBC News.</ref> While shooting in Detroit, Mark Wahlberg's children visited the set and were given small parts in the movie upon their father's request.<ref name="wahlkids">[http://comicbook.com/blog/2013/07/30/mark-wahlbergs-kids-cast-in-transformers-4/ "Mark Wahlberg's Kids Cast In Transformers 4"], Comicbook.com.</ref>

[[File:AOE Michael Bay Nicola Peltz on set.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Michael Bay uses his legendary charm to get the very best performance out of his actors.]]
Due to an increased focus of Hollywood studios trying to market its movies to the Chinese audience, parts of the movie were not only set in China, but actually filmed there. One of the shooting sites was Hong Kong. While there, the movie crew encountered the risks of shooting a movie in China firsthand when director Michael Bay was assaulted on the set by two locals demanding money; according to some sources, they were store owners that were not satisfied with the compensation they received for the inconvenience of having a movie filming nearby. Bay received minor injuries, but played the incident off on his blog. Both he and an official Paramount statement suggested that the assailants were under the influence of drugs.<ref name="attack1">[http://deadline.com/2013/10/hong-kong-police-called-to-transformers-4-set-amid-alleged-extortion-attempt-report-613912/ "Extortion Attempt On ‘Transformers 4′ Set; Michael Bay Suffers Minor Injury: Report"], Deadline.com.</ref><ref name="attack2">[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/michael-bay-attacked-transformers-4-649183 "Michael Bay Attacked on 'Transformers 4' Set in Hong Kong"], Hollywood Reporter.</ref><ref name="attack3">[http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-24566287 "Transformers director Michael Bay attacked in Hong Kong"], BBC.</ref name="attack4">[http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/michael-bay-attacked-on-transformers-hong-kong-film-shoot-1.2100953 "Michael Bay attacked on Transformers Hong Kong film shoot"], CBC News.</ref><ref name="attack5">[http://michaelbay.com/2013/10/17/hong-kong-incident/ "Hong Kong Incident"] on Michael Bay's official Blog.</ref> A second extortion attempt occured several days later, this time allegedly by several triad gang members. Although one of them was later arrested, no-one was injured this time around.<ref name="extortion2">[http://www.businessinsider.com/michael-bay-transformers-4hong-kong-second-extortion-incident-2013-10?IR=T "More Trouble For 'Transformers 4' In Hong Kong As Second Extortion Attempt Reported"], Business Insider.</ref><ref name="extortion3">[http://edition.cnn.com/2013/10/25/world/asia/hong-kong-transformers-triad-extortion/ "Transformers versus the triads of Hong Kong: the sequel"], CNN.</ref> Once again, Bay played down the extortion attempts in an interview, noting that most of the locals were apologetic over what took place, and that he wanted to film more projects in Hong Kong.<ref name="eager">[http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1342084/hollywood-director-michael-bay-eager-shoot-hong-kong-again "Hollywood director Michael Bay eager to shoot in Hong Kong again"], ''South China Morning Post'']</ref>

[[File:AOEOptimusRidingGrimlock.jpg|thumb|upright=1.9|left|"Get me closer! I want to hit them with my sword!"]]Late script changes resulted in Bay and his crew returning to the Chinese city of {{w|Chongqing}} for a week reshooting a scene in January 2014.<ref name="reshoot">[http://www.ecns.cn/2014/01-23/98337.shtml "'Transformers 4' back to China for additional shots"], China News Service (Ecns.cn).</ref>

Some of [[Industrial Light & Magic|ILM]]'s post-production effects were done at a newly opened Lucasfilm facility in Singapore.<ref name="ilmsg">[http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/lifestyle/story/lucasfilm-singapore-work-new-avengers-and-transformers-movies-20140116 "Lucasfilm Singapore to work on new Avengers and Transformers movies"], The Straits Times.</ref>

{{--}}

=== Sponsors and partners ===
==== General Motors and other car manufacturers ====
[[File:AOE Optimus Prime truck.jpg|thumb|upright=1.34|When having one's midlife crisis, it's not unusual to get a souped-up alternate mode.]]
''Age of Extinction'' continues the collaboration with General Motors. Earlier in the film, Bumblebee chooses a customized 1967 Chevrolet Camaro SS as his disguise when hiding from [[Cemetery Wind]], whereas later on, he upgrades to the newest model, a 2014 Camaro concept car. (The production crew was actually accused of ripping off a one-of-a-kind custom for the 1967 version.<ref name="1967custom">[http://jalopnik.com/did-transformers-4-rip-off-this-guys-design-for-the-ne-510655228 "Did Transformers 4 Rip Off This Guy's Design For The New Bumblebee?"] at Jalopnik.com.</ref>) Furthermore, new addition [[Crosshairs (AOE)|Crosshairs]]'s alternate mode is a 2014 Chevrolet C7 Corvette Stingray, and recurring character Ratchet briefly appears at the beginning of the movie and transforms into his Hummer H2 ambulance mode (in the color scheme from ''Dark of the Moon'') before being killed at the hands of Cemetery Wind and [[Lockdown (ROTF)|Lockdown]].

''Age of Extinction'' is the first movie to feature an official partnership with a manufacturer for [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]]'s alternate mode. Earlier in the movie, he transforms into an old, rusty Marmon 97 truck cab (presumably without support from the manufacturer), but later upgrades into a brand new Western Star "5700 OP" concept truck that was designed specifically for the movie by "Twins Custom Coaches" and the team at West Coast Customs, with Western Star being a subsidiary of Daimler Trucks, who also provided a 2012 Freightliner Argosy that serves as [[Megatron (Movie)|Galvatron]]'s alternate mode.

Other manufacturers that provided vehicles to be used for characters' alternate modes were the Oshkosh Corporation with an Oshkosh Defense FMTV truck for [[Hound (Movie)|Hound]], the Volkswagen group with a 2013 Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse for [[Drift (AOE)|Drift]] and a Lamborghini Aventador for Lockdown, and independent Italian manufacturer Pagani Automobili with a Pagani Huayra for [[Stinger (AOE)|Stinger]].

=== Changes before, during and after production ===
* [[Slash (AOE)|Slash]] was originally intended to appear in the film (he even made it into some concept artwork).<ref name="burt">[http://www.seibertron.com/transformers/news/transformers-age-of-extinction-concept-art-from-wesley-burt/30723/ Age of Extiction concept art by Wesley Burt], mirrored at Seibertron.com.</ref>
* [[Glenn Morshower]] was originally set to return in this film, reprising his role of [[Morshower|General Morshower]], but didn't return due to a scheduling conflict.<ref>http://transformerslive.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/general-morshower-not-returning-to.html</ref>
* Both [[Josh Duhamel]] and [[Tyrese Gibson]] were intended to cameo reprising their roles as [[William Lennox]] and [[Robert Epps]] but were cut before filming started.<ref>http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/tyrese-gibson-in-talks-for-transformers-4-176078/</ref><ref>http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/tyrese-gibson-to-make-cameo-appearance-only-in-transformers-4-177407/</ref><ref>http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/josh-duhamel-to-make-cameo-appearance-in-transformers-4-177026/</ref><ref>http://transformerslive.blogspot.com/2013/06/josh-duhamel-not-in-transformers-4.html</ref>
* Ed Welburn, [[General Motors]]' vice president for global design, was originally set to cameo as the C.I.A. head before being recast as a KSI employee.<ref>http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/29/automobiles/ed-welburn-gets-a-part-in-transformers.html?_r=0</ref>
* A scene depicting Hound and Bumblebee dancing with Tessa (while Drift bobs his head in the background) was not present in the final cut of the film.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnxZ7Gg2yV4</ref>
* Scorn's toys lack the additional two sails he has in the film, suggesting it was a late design change.
*The Pagani Huayra that eventually ended up as [[Stinger (AOE)|Stinger]] was at one point intended as the alternate mode of a female robot with the working name "Widow Maker".<ref name="vitaly">[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-9/age-of-extinction-concept-art-by-vitaly-bulgarov-180636/ Age of Extinction concept art by Vitaly Bulgarov] at TFW2005, including "Widow Maker".</ref><ref name="jung">[http://comicbook.com/blog/2014/07/20/transformers-age-of-extinction-concept-art-shows-off-epic-scope-/ Age of Extinction concept art by Steve Jung] at Comicbook.com, including "Widow Maker".</ref>
* Wahlberg's character was named "Flynn 'Ray' Vincent" rather than "Cade Yeager" in a casting call. The same casting call also revealed that actor [[Glenn Morshower]] was supposed to reprise his role as [[Morshower|General Morshower]] from the previous two films.<ref name="txcasting">[http://www.featurefilmauditions.com/2013/05/casting-for-transformers-4-actors-and.html "Transformers 4' open casting calls for actors and extras in Austin, TX and Detroit, MI"] at Film Auditions.</ref>
* A scene where Cade says "Stick behind me" is not present in the final cut of the film.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXSkXQs890g</ref>
* Another piece of dialogue cut from the film is when Cade says "You tell me" to Attinger when he asks for Optimus Prime.
* In some concept artwork, Grimlock appears as a horn-less T-Rex.
* The original running time of the film was 2 hours and 7 minutes, which would have made it the shortest film in the franchise. The final running time was 2 hours and 30 minutes <ref>http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/BatFreak/news/?a=77992</ref><ref>http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/transformers-4-age-of-extinction-running-time-revealed-180165/</ref>
* [[Dwayne Johnson]] was originally offered the role of Cade Yeager, but due to his commitment to ''Hercules: The Thracian Wars'', the role was later taken over by his ''Pain & Gain'' co-star Mark Wahlberg.<ref>[https://twitter.com/TheRock/statuses/327892048978006016 Dwayne Johnson on Twitter]</ref>
*In some concept artwork, Drift was colored orange instead of blue. but according to the Generation 2 featurette in the Blu-ray release, this was changed because the vehicle that was going to play Drift was sold off.
*Some concept artwork shows that Optimus was intended to have his original trilogy body in the scenes where he had his new look.
*According to Ehren Kruger in the Generation 2 featurette, in the early drafts of the film, it was not originally centered on the Cade Yeager character.
*Numerous silver [[redeco]] toys were produced for Optimus Prime with the moniker of "Silver Knight", suggesting that he was originally supposed to take on this alternate appearance in the film itself, almost certainly upon drawing a sword from the Knights' armory. In the finished film, he does undergo some slight physical alteration at this point, his arms reconfiguring to resemble armor plates, but that's as far as it goes. This was also ''prrrrobably'' where he was supposed to get the rocket-boots he suddenly deploys at the film's end.
*A scene depicting Harold Attinger throwing a man out of a moving vehicle was reportedly cut from the film.<ref>http://news.tfw2005.com/2014/08/16/kelsey-grammer-explains-a-deleted-scene-from-transformers-age-of-extinction-180984</ref>

{{-}}

===Disinformation campaign===

Like ''Revenge of the Fallen'' and ''Dark of The Moon'' before it, ''Age of Extinction'' had a campaign that would mask details of the final film. However, unlike the previous films, this one was all encompassing; no novelization or comics by [[IDW Publishing]] was released, allowing for a great deal of the movie's spoilers to actually remain unknown longer than for the previous three films.

In the original Michigan Film Office press release published on March 20, 2013, several vague plot details were revealed, including the fact that Autobots and Decepticons had "[[Cemetery Wind|all but vanished from the face of the planet]]", a "[[Kinetic Solutions Incorporated|group of [...] businessman and scientists]]" were developing new technologies based on past encounters with the Transformers, and an "[[Lockdown (ROTF)|ancient, powerful Transformer menace]]" was targeting Earth.<ref name="plotunveiled">[http://www.thewrap.com/node/82001/ "‘Transformers 4’ Plot Unveiled by Michigan Film Office"] at TheWrap.com.</ref> These plot details were later claimed to be inaccurate by Paramount Pictures,<ref name="notaccurate">[http://screenrant.com/transformers-4-movie-plot-synopsis-cast/ Unofficial "'Transformers 4' Plot Synopsis Is Not Accurate"] at Screenrant.com</ref> but in all their vagueness ultimately turned out to be not too far off from the film's plot.

A lot of the newly-added characters were given "code names" during production, most of them related to the ''Rocky'' saga: "Duke" for Hound, "Adrian" for Galvatron, "Ivan" for Grimlock, "Rocky" for Slash (who was originally intended to appear in the movie, as noted above), "Southpaw" for Scorn, "Paulie" for Strafe, and "Thunderlips" for Slug. In addition, Crosshairs was code-named "Slingshot", Drift was code-named "Bruce", Lockdown was code-named "Max", and Steeljaw was code-named "Wolf" (which ''might'' have simply been a working name).<ref name="customer">[http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-news-rumors/961952-monzos-mega-hasbro-customer-service-listing-breakdown.html Hasbro customer service list]</ref>

==Notes==
*Not only do the [[Dinobot (AOE)|Dinobots]] go unnamed in the film (other than [[Scorn]] getting the nickname, "Spike"), the word Dinobot is never even said by anyone. The audio description soundtrack on the home video releases refers to them as warriors or barbarians, but notes during the final scene that they "turn into Dinobots" (of course it also refers to Galvatron transforming "into an Autobot" when he turns into a robot, so make of that what you will).
*In addition to the Shadow Raiders, Steeljaws, the ball-shaped drones, and Stupid Drones, inside Lockdown's ship there were also several hovering drones. These drones appear to be of the same type as those the United States used in ''Dark of the Moon'' (the one that got sucked into the engine of Bumblebee's commandeered Decepticon fighter). Maybe Attinger sold them to Lockdown?
*Michael Bay's website incorrectly refers to the film as "Transformers 4 The Age Of Extinction"
* The Autobots and Decepticons shown in the cards Attinger pulled early in the film includes: Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, [[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]], [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]], [[Ironhide (Movie)|Ironhide]], [[Sentinel Prime (ROTF)|Sentinel Prime]], [[Wheeljack (Movie)|Que]], [[Mirage (Movie)|Dino]], [[Shockwave (Movie)|Shockwave]], [[Arcee (Movie)|Arcee]], [[Loader]], [[Garagebot]], and the [[Driller]].
** Even though most of these Transformers are listed as deceased, Dino and Garagebot are not. Therefore, they could have been alive during the events of the film.
* This film seems to put a final nail in the coffin regarding the films' abandonment of the concept of using [[protoform]]s to travel through space; when the Autobots steal a ship from [[Lockdown (ROTF)|Lockdown]], they immediately move to leave Earth, indicating they had been stranded on Earth for the past five years without a spaceship (following the destruction of the ''[[Xantium (DOTM)|Xantium]]''). The fact that no mention is made of searching for any possible survivors of Cemetery Wind's hunt also suggests that all Autobots who did not return for this film have been killed off as well.
**Fortunately, [[Wheelie (ROTF)|Wheelie]] and [[Topspin (DOTM)|Topspin]] reapppear in [[Transformers: The Last Knight (film)|the next film]]. By taking that, Dino among the "not deceased" Transformers cards, and the fact that [[Sideswipe (Movie)|Sideswipe]] is stated to have been killed by Cemetery Wind in some tie-in material into consideration, the only Autobot from ''Dark of the Moon'' whose fate after that film is uncertain is... [[Roadbuster (DOTM)|Roadbuster]].
*The robot designs in this film are markedly different than the previous three; the robots have less alien appearances and are more heavily influenced by human forms with far less visible vehicle parts.
*Speaking of the appearance of the Autobots - they all are based on specific types of human combatants throughout history: Optimus is obviously a medieval knight, Hound heavily resembles a World War II-era commando, Crosshairs looks like a mercenary or assassin, Bumblebee's new form is highly Ninja-like, and Drift is unsurprisingly a samurai.
*Director Michael Bay makes a cameo appearance in the film as a guy sitting in the passenger seat of a truck whose trailer Optimus Prime and Bumblebee crash through after being attacked by Galvatron and Stinger.<ref name="magiceffects">[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btn2tPxjisA "Behind the Magic: The Visual Effects of 'Transformers Age of Extinction'"] on the official ILMVisualFX Youtube channel.</ref> Heck with it, much of the KSI cars are part of his personal collection!

===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''''Transformers: Lost Age''''' (トランスフォーマーロストエイジ ''Toransufōmā Rosuto Eiji'')
*''Cantonese:'' '''''Binying Gamgong: Chimmit Saigei''''' (變形金剛：殲滅世紀 "Transformers: The Century of Annihilation")
*''French:'' '''''Transformers : L'Âge de l'extinction''''' (France, "Transformers: The Age of Extinction"), '''''Transformers : L'Ère de l'extinction''''' (Canada, "Transformers: The Extinction Era")
*''German:'' '''''Transformers: Ära des Untergangs''''' ("Transformers: Era of Doom")
*''Mandarin:'' '''''Pièn-hsíng Chīn-kāng Ssù: Chuéh-chī Ch'óng-shēng''''' (Taiwan, 變型金剛4：絕跡重生), '''''Biànxíng Jīngāng Sì: Juéjī Chóngshēng''''' (China, 变形金刚4：绝迹重生, "Transformers 4: Rebirth from the Extinction")
*''Polish:'' '''''Transformers: Wiek zagłady''''' ("Transformers: Age of Extinction")
*''Portuguese:'' '''''Transformers: A Era da Extinção''''' ("Transformers: The Age of Extinction")
*''Russian:'' '''''Transformery: Epokha istrebleniya''''' (Трансформеры: Эпоха истребления "Transformers: Age of Extermination")
*''Spanish:'' '''''Transformers 4''''' (Argentina)
*''Turkish:'' '''''Transformers: Kayıp Çağ''''' ("Transformers: Lost Age")
*''Czech:'' '''''Transformers: Zánik''''' (Transformers: Extinction)

==External links==
* [http://www.transformersmovie.com/ Transformersmovie.com]
* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2109248/?ref_=nv_sr_1 ''Age of Extinction'' at IMDB.com]
* {{w|Transformers: Ag of Extinction|''Age of Extinction'' film on Wikipedia}}
* [https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/transformers_age_of_extinction/ ''Age of Extinction'' on RottenTomatoes.com]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

{{stub}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Age of Extinction (film)}}

[[Category:Age of Extinction| Age of Extinction (film)]]
[[Category:Real world films]]

Siege episode 5

2020-08-02T23:20:46Z

96megatron: /* Transformers references */

{{episode|
|otherseries=''[[Transformers: War for Cybertron Trilogy (cartoon)|Transformers: War for Cybertron Trilogy: Siege]]''
|image=WarForCybertronSiege Ep5.jpg
|caption=
|prev=Siege episode 4
|next=Siege episode 6
|title=Episode 5
|airdate=[[July 30]], [[2020]] (Netflix)
|production company=[[Allspark Animation]], [[Rooster Teeth]]
|written by=[[Brandon M. Easton]] and [[Gavin Hignight]]
|director=[[Takashi Kamei]]
|animation studio=[[Polygon Pictures]]
}}

'''With time quickly running out, the Autobots must divide and conquer to prepare their escape plan.'''

==Synopsis==
{{episodestub}}

==Featured characters==
Characters in ''italic text'' appear only in flashbacks.
{{episodestub}}

==Quotes==

==Notes==
===Transformers references===
* Bumblebee mentions a former seeker named Dreadwing. Whether this refers to the [[Dreadwing (G1)|combined Powermaster jet]], the alternate name for [[Dreadwind (G1)|one]] of those said Powermasters, or the ''Generation 2'' [[Dreadwing (G2)|stealth bomber]] is unknown. Although him being a seeker would be reminiscent of the [[Dreadwing (Prime)|one]] from ''Prime'' who was [[Dreadwing (Prime)|a captain of an army of seekers]].
* The Sea of Rust is a location on Cybertron well known to fans of the franchise, notably being the stated place of origin for the Rust Renegades in the ''Combiner Wars'' toyline.

===Animation and technical errors===
* Like his red clone in episode 2, Cog's torso piece disappears when he combines with Arcee.
===Trivia===
*While both Arcee and Cliffjumper got their own new toys in ''Earthrise'', the designs for them were presumably not ready to be used in the ''Siege'' cartoon. As a result, Cliffjumper uses Bumblebee's recolored character model, while Arcee uses a new model based on her general character design rather than any pre-existing toy, similar to Bumblebee and Elita-1.
*Moonracer's model is mostly reskinned from Chromia, with grenades added on to her backpack.
*Sooundblaster's model sports a few differences from his ''Siege'' toy, namely additional black parts, a flatter chest, and a Mercenary symbol instead of a Decepticon badge.

===Foreign localization===

==External Links==
*[https://www.netflix.com/watch/81056817 Episode 5 on Netflix]

[[Category:War for Cybertron: Siege‎]]
[[Category:War for Cybertron Trilogy episodes]]

Transformers: Age of Extinction (film)

2020-08-01T23:59:03Z

96megatron: /* Continuity Notes */

Transformers: Age of Extinction (film)

2020-08-01T23:57:39Z

96megatron: /* Continuity Notes */

{{Nav-aoe}}
[[File:Transformers- Age of ExtinctionOptimusPrimePoster.jpg‎|thumb|upright=1.67|An adventure 65 million years in the making.]]

'''''Transformers: Age of Extinction''''' is the fourth film in the [[live-action film series]]. It was released on [[June 27]], [[2014]].

Following the [[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (film)|Battle of Chicago]], humanity has come to fear both Autobots and Decepticons alike. With the aid of a Transformer mercenary named [[Lockdown (ROTF)|Lockdown]], a CIA [[Cemetery Wind|task-force]] operated by [[Harold Attinger]] begins hunting the remaining [[Transformer]]s on [[Earth]]. Hunted by enemies that were once his allies, [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] loses faith in humanity and sends his forces into hiding. Now, five years later, struggling inventor and single-father [[Cade Yeager]] discovers a damaged Transformer, placing both himself and his [[Tessa Yeager|daughter]] on a collision course with events that threaten the extinction of humankind itself.

{{bigquote|The trouble with loyalty to a cause is that the cause will ''always'' betray you.|[[Lockdown (ROTF)|Lockdown]]|''Transformers: Age of Extinction''}}

==Synopsis==

[[File:The Creators cyberforming Earth AOE.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.67|"God creates dinosaurs. God destroys dinosaurs. God creates man. Man destroys God. Man creates dinosaurs."]]
65 million years ago, on Cretaceous [[Earth]], a ''Psittacosaurus'' is out hunting for food. The small dinosaur finds a fish and starts to feed, but stops as hundreds of alien ships enter Earth's atmosphere, piloted by the mysterious [[Creator (AOE)|"Creators"]]. The alien ships launch dozens of strange [[Seed]]s across the planet. As they detonate, they convert the landscape and the herds of panicking dinosaurs into a metallic substance, ending the Age of Dinosaurs. Millions of years later, while digging in the [[Arctic]], a team of geologists uncover a mysterious pair of metallized dinosaur skeletons - a discovery that attracts the attention of [[Darcy Tirrel]]...

Five years after the invasion of [[Chicago]], tensions between humans and Cybertronians have risen dramatically. Although the Autobots are officially granted asylum on Earth, public opinion has turned against all Transformers. The government of the United States has terminated all human-Autobot joint programs and instated [[Cemetery Wind]], an elite [[CIA]] unit intended to flush out the handful of [[Decepticon]]s left on Earth. What the President doesn't know is that [[Harold Attinger]], the leader of the operation, is slaughtering all Transformers, regardless of faction. On one such mission, the team pinpoints [[Ratchet (Movie)|Ratchet]] hiding within an abandoned boat. He immediately tries to flee, but is crippled and brought down by their weapons. The team leader, [[James Savoy]], mockingly asks why Ratchet ran if he's not their enemy, and Ratchet replays a transmission he received from [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]], ordering all Autobots to hide from humans. However, Savoy dismisses his pleas as his sister was killed in Chicago. A Transformer bounty hunter, [[Lockdown (ROTF)|Lockdown]], who has actually been helping Cemetery Wind hunt the Autobots, emerges from the nearby swamp and attacks Ratchet, further damaging him. Walking past his human allies, Lockdown demands to know [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]]'s whereabouts. When Ratchet refuses, Lockdown brutally kills him by ripping out his spark.
[[File:AOE Ratchet dying.jpg|thumb|upright=1.67|"Condors. Condors are on the verge of extinction..."]]

In Texas, struggling inventor [[Cade Yeager]] and his friend/employee [[Lucas Flannery]] meet at an old theater, looking for salvage. He finds an old truck, and upon inspection it seems to be full of artillery shells. He buys the truck along with the other theater equipment and puts it in his garage. [[Tessa Yeager|Tessa]], Cade's daughter, observes this while video-chatting with her boyfriend and criticizes her dad for buying the heap of junk. While attempting to salvage the truck's engine to sell, Cade realizes it's actually a badly-damaged Transformer. After calling Lucas and Tessa, he connects jumper cables to its engine, only for it to begin replaying the distress call Ratchet had received earlier. Lucas and Tessa advocate calling the government, claiming that there is a huge reward for Transformers. Cade convinces them not to call the authorities until he can spend more time working on the truck, as he may be able to stumble on a technological breakthrough if he can figure out how the Transformers work. When Cade removes a live missile from the truck's "power core," it transforms into a heavily injured Optimus Prime, who roars at them to stay back while he swings his weapon around the barn. Cade, Lucas, and Tessa ask why Optimus is so badly damaged, to which he replies that the Autobots are being hunted and he must help them. Cade offers to repair him, and sends Lucas to buy the parts that will enable him to fix Optimus. Cade and Optimus begin to bond as the repairs begin.
[[File:AOE-injuredoptimus.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.67|"Should we chance moving him?"]]

In the Arctic, Attinger arrives via helicopter at [[Knight Ship|Lockdown's ship]] and demands to know why Optimus Prime escaped him in [[Mexico]]. Lockdown derisively tells Attinger that Optimus Prime would not have escaped were it not for Cemetery Wind's interference, stressing that he does not care about Attinger or his goals and wishes only to capture Optimus Prime.

Shortly after returning to [[Washington, D.C.]], Attinger receives a tip that Optimus Prime has been located in Texas and sends Savoy and Cemetery Wind to apprehend him. The agents swarm the barn, but there is no trace of Prime inside. When Savoy threatens Tessa to force Cade to tell him of Prime's whereabouts, the Autobot leader explodes out of the barn's basement in which he was hiding. He escapes after a brief skirmish that destroys the Yeager residence, with both Cemetery Wind and Lockdown in pursuit. As Cade catches one of Cemetery Wind's mini drones, a white rally car zooms over the adjacent fields and picks up the Yeagers and Lucas. The driver turns out to be [[Shane Dyson|Shane]], a rally car racer who is also Tessa's boyfriend. A group of Cemetery Wind vehicles begins chasing them.
[[File:Optimus shooting humans AOE.jpg|thumb|upright=1.67|"You think they'll have that on the tour?"]]

Both the rally car and Optimus Prime are chased into an abandoned factory, where Optimus Prime fights off Lockdown. Shane puts his driving skills to good use and pulls a series of tight maneuvers that result in the Cemetery Wind cars crashing, destroys his car in the process. Optimus Prime, who has caught Lockdown in a crane cable, transforms and tells the humans to pile into him and escape. Lockdown throws a grenade at the humans as they run towards Optimus Prime; though Shane and the Yeagers escape, Lucas is caught in the blast and killed.

Arriving at an abandoned gas station, Optimus orders the humans out and drives off to ensure that they have not been followed. Cade confronts Tessa and Shane about their relationship but Tessa gets angry at Cade for putting them all in danger. The next day, Optimus and the humans set off towards Monument Valley. Prime [[trans-scan|scans]] a passing truck, sheds his layer of rust and takes on a new form with his old paint scheme. They arrive in Monument Valley where they meet the other surviving Autobots in the form of [[Crosshairs (AOE)|Crosshairs]], [[Hound (Movie)|Hound]], [[Drift (AOE)|Drift]], and their de facto leader [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]]. Crosshairs and Hound start threatening the humans for having their species betray them but Optimus convinces them that they have risked their lives to save his. The Humans notice that there are clear tensions between the Autobots. Cade reveals footage of the attack on Ratchet and [[Leadfoot (DOTM)|Leadfoot's]] demise using the stolen aerial drone and Prime declares that he will kill the one responsible for hunting down the Autobots.

[[File:Autobots unite monument valley AOE.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.67|"Dr. Grant, my dear Dr. Sattler... Welcome to [[Jurassic Park]]." ]]

Inspection of the drone leads them to a company named [[Kinetic Solutions Incorporated|KSI]], located in a rebuilt Chicago. It is run by [[Joshua Joyce]], who is working with [[Su Yueming]] and Attinger to create artificial Transformers to eventually be used in the military. Using the remains of [[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]], [[Sentinel Prime (ROTF)|Sentinel Prime]], [[Starscream (Movie)|the]] [[Soundwave (ROTF)|countless]] [[Shockwave (Movie)|Decepticons]] from the Chicago battle and the hunted Autobots, they have synthesized the metal that the Transformers are made of, calling it [[Living metal#Live-action film series|Transformium]]. When given commands through a computer, Transformium can be changed into various shapes or objects. Although a drone called [[Stinger (AOE)|Stinger]] (designed after Bumblebee) is active, Joshua's major project is a bigger, stronger drone called [[Megatron (Movie)|Galvatron]]. However, his attempts have not been successful; the drone keeps resembling Megatron instead of the friendlier image of Optimus Prime. Bumblebee builds Cade and Shane faux-ID badges which the duo use to infiltrate KSI. Cade goes further in and projects imagery of Ratchet's severed head being melted down, which sends Prime into a rage.

[[File:Joshua Joyce Transformium Experiment AOE.jpg|thumb|upright=1.67|"God help us, we're in the hands of engineers."]]

However, Cade is caught when his ID badge is found to have been scanned twice (by him and its original owner). He is taken to the upper floors and confronted by Attinger, who claims that what he has witnessed is in the name of world peace. He also asks him about the whereabouts of Optimus Prime but Cade maintains his silence.

Furious over how the humans have mutilated their comrades, Optimus orders an attack on KSI. Bumblebee, carried by Drift in copter mode, rescues Cade. The others trash the lab, free the injured and enslaved [[Brains]], and confront Joshua, only for him to openly declare that what is being done is being done to prevent more Transformer-caused damage and that the humans "don't need" the Autobots. Disheartened, Prime orders a retreat.

As the Autobots exit the factory and leave, Attinger catches up with Joshua and claims that the Autobots are terrorists for attacking the facility. He coerces Joyce to use the two functional drones to take down the Autobots. Galvatron and Stinger activate and pursue their quarry across a highway, with Galvatron doing more damage than his KSI handlers intend. Bumblebee fires upon Galvatron but is surprised to see him simply disintegrate and reintegrate again. Galvatron attacks Prime. As they battle, Optimus declares that the artificial creation has no soul, to which it retorts "That is why I have no FEAR!"

[[File:AOEGalvatron.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.67|"Kids! You want to have one of those?"]]

As Tessa scrambles for cover in a nearby vehicle, Prime is suddenly shot from the back and falls; Lockdown has arrived, along with his ship! Lockdown gloats to his prisoner, claiming that Optimus was built, not born, and now the Creators want him returned in one piece. The bounty hunter orders a net dropped over Optimus and hoists both the Autobot leader and Tessa's hiding place into his ship. Cade desperately clings to the net, but his strength gives out and he falls to the fields below. As the spaceship departs, Cade and Shane vow to get Tessa back.

Lockdown throws Prime in a cage and orders his lackeys to dispose of Tessa. Prime takes note of several other aliens in similar cages, including [[Dinobot (AOE)|other Cybertronian warriors]]. He also discovers the original purpose of the mercenary ship: it was originally used by a group of legendary Knights (presumably including Prime himself) but now acts as Lockdown's flying prison. Lockdown's ship hovers over Chicago, triggering panic in the streets, but Attinger manages to talk down the authorities and send Savoy to rendezvous with Lockdown. As payment for Prime's capture, Lockdown gives him a Seed.

Cade, Shane, and the other Autobots get aboard the ship as it flies low over a bridge. While being pursued by Lockdown's henchmen, the two humans find a strange Knight armory, from which Cade takes a sword that opens up to form a gun. While Shane and Cade rescue Tessa, Crosshairs deploys the ship's mooring cables, which fire into the Willis Tower and preventing the ship from breaking atmosphere. The humans begin to clamber down the cables to safety, but they are pursued by a pack of [[Steeljaw (AOE)|Steeljaw]]s. Bumblebee manages to save the trio. The other Autobots locate Optimus, who reveals that the section of the ship they are on can separate from the main body. Crosshairs uses a gunship to pick up Bumblebee and the humans, then leads them on a dogfight through Chicago's streets, destroying some of Lockdown's [[Shadow Raider|mercenaries]].

[[File:Prime gets shotAOE.jpg|thumb|upright=1.67|"It could have been worse, John. A lot worse."]]

Back at KSI, it is decided that all equipment is to be moved to the Beijing facility to continue operations. Joshua is also none too pleased about the previous field test of Galvatron; not only was it a loss on several fronts, but the drone also ''spoke'', which was something it was ''not'' programmed to do!

The Autobots land their new ship at an abandoned train yard. Optimus claims that he sensed Megatron's presence during his fight with Galvatron. Brains explains Galvatron's true nature: while he decoded dead Transformer brains, he learned that Megatron's mind had survived and planned to transfer itself to Galvatron's body, explaining Galvatron's sinister appearance. The tiny bot further mentions how Galvatron used his knowledge to build Stinger and the other drones, with plans to make them into his personal army. As Tessa tells the group about the Seed she saw, Optimus and Hound explain that the Creators used Seeds to convert organic material into metal, then harvested the resulting Transformium for their own purposes. Cade makes a call to Joyce and relays the newfound data about Galvatron. Knowing that Joyce is also an inventor with a heart, he pleads with Joyce to shut down Galvatron before things escalate. Although Joyce puts up an unconvinced façade, he demands increased security around Galvatron after hanging up.

As police cars surround the train yard, the Autobots board their shuttle again and take to the air. Optimus says that though the Autobots will travel to Hong Kong and get the Seed back, they will leave Earth afterwards; they are done protecting humanity. Cade disagrees but Prime is non-responsive. They later debate the matter, with Cade attempting to reignite Prime's faith in humanity.

In deep space, Lockdown finally discovers the absence of the smaller ship. He grumbles about Optimus Prime taking his trophy case and how the Prime will feel his wrath while he reverses course. Joyce meets with Attinger and Savoy and receives the Seed. Joyce intends to detonate it in a region of the [[Gobi Desert]], which will generate enough Transformium to last a century. Attinger is eager to expedite production but grows incensed when Joshua disagrees and says that they should go slower, quite obviously moved by Cade's call. Meanwhile, Galvatron activates ''himself'' and starts to infect the legion of over fifty other KSI Transformers. When the alarm rings regarding Galvatron's escape, Joyce has Attinger and Savoy evacuated from the building and gets in a car with Su, an associate named Darcy, and the Seed. They decide to try to hide the Seed in [[Hong Kong]].

Being hunted by Attinger and Savoy, Joyce seeks refuge on a rooftop when the Autobot-piloted ship arrives and attempts to pick him and the Seed up. However, Galvatron and his drones ramy arrive and shoot down the airborne vessel, causing Bumblebee, Hound, and the Yeagers to spill out while the others (Prime, Crosshairs, Drift, and the captured Knights) to careen away into the Wulong Valley. Savoy finds the Yeagers and Joyce on the rooftop and open fires on them but Cade leads him away from the others. The two jump across rooftops, eventually crashing into a house and getting into a fist fight which ends with Savoy falling from a window to his death.

Hound and Bumblebee attempt to escort the humans and the Seed out of the city, but are cut short when Joshua points out that the KSI-built Transformers were specifically built to destroy any Autobots or Decepticons left on Earth. This prompts Prime to enter the crashed ship and activate the armory as well as release the other captives within the ship. As Hound and Bumblebee hold the line and protect the humans, Optimus tries to convince the Legendary Warriors to fight alongside them. Their [[Grimlock (AOE)|apparent leader]] violently declines at first, fighting the Prime in both his massive robot mode and his Tyrannosaurus mode. Optimus quickly defeats him, saying that he and the other warriors will protect his family or die, then mounts the metal dinosaur. The Autobots mount their Dinobots and charge over the mountains into Hong Kong.

[[File:Dinobots ready for battle AOE.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.67|"''T. rex'' doesn't want to be fed. He wants to ''hunt''."]]

Meanwhile, as Hound and Bumblebee are starting to be overwhelmed by Galvatron's drone forces, Optimus and his fellow Autobots storm into the city, slamming, crushing, stomping, and chomping all nearby enemies. Galvatron retreats as the Autobots and Dinobots decimate his forces. With this battle over, Optimus confronts Joshua for his actions and gives the order to defend the humans and escort them, and the Seed, away from the city. On the way, a homing beacon within the Seed activates, allowing Lockdown to track the Autobots down. He activates a massive magnet, wreaking havoc on Hong Kong. Everything metal from kitchenware to massive ships are picked up by the magnet, including the Autobots and Dinobots. After narrowly avoiding the magnet, the Yeagers are momentarily separated from the Autobots. Optimus shoots at the magnet, destroying it and releasing the Transformers from its influence. The ship retreats to a nearby factory, with Optimus hot on its trail. Cade tells his daughter to stay with Shane and the Autobots, as he wishes to fight alongside Optimus against Lockdown. As Optimus Prime and Lockdown battle one-on-one, Attinger corners Yeager with a pistol, accusing him of choosing aliens over his own race, but he is quickly shot and killed by Optimus.

Because of Optimus's choice to save Cade before defending himself, Lockdown gains the upper hand, impaling Optimus through the chest with his own sword and pinning him to a concrete pillar. Meanwhile, Tessa convinces Bumblebee to turn around and the three join in fighting Lockdown, allowing Shane to use a tow truck to unpin Prime. Just as Lockdown is about to kill Cade, Optimus jumps up and slices the bounty hunter in half. Activating one of Lockdown's grenades, Prime tells the humans to hold on and uses rocket boosters to escape while the grenade destroys the last of the KSI drones. Galvatron has survived and retreated to the outskirts of the city; watching Prime blast off, he tells Optimus to beware, for he is reborn...

[[File:AOE-DefendThisFamily.jpg|thumb|upright=1.67|"I don't know. I guess... I guess we'll just have to evolve too."]]

The Autobots, Dinobots, and their human allies all regroup on the waterfront. Cade and Tessa happily reconcile and Cade finally accepts Shane. Joshua nobly says he will help them with their destroyed home. Prime declares the Dinobots are now free as they depart for parts unknown. With the bounty on his head placing the entire Earth in danger, Prime blasts off into space with the Seed to confront the Creators and discover the mystery behind his own origins, but not before ordering the Autobots to protect the Yeager family. As he leaves Earth's atmosphere, Optimus Prime sends a message to his Creators to leave planet Earth alone, because he's coming for them.

{{--}}

==Quotes==
"Lockdown...?"<br>
"Autobots, Decepticons, like little children, always fighting; making a mess out of the universe, then ''I've'' got to clean it up! There is one way you survive. Tell me where he's hiding. Where is Optimus Prime?"<br>
"Never."<br>
''(Lockdown rips out Ratchet's spark)''<br>
"Never is here."<br>
:—'''Ratchet''''s final moments before '''Lockdown''' kills him.

"In this planet we have a saying: ''The enemy of my enemy is my friend''." <br/>
"I also have a saying: '''''I don't care'''''."
:—'''Harold Attinger''' discusses with '''Lockdown'''.

"Every galaxy I've traveled, all you species are the same. You all think you're the center of the universe. You have no idea..."
:—'''Lockdown''' never truly appreciated one of his clients.

"Human beings. Bunch of backstabbing weasels!" <br>
"Hound, find your inner compass. ''Loyalty is but a flower in the winds of fear and temptation.''" <br>
"What the hell are you saying?!?" <br>
"It's a haiku."<br>
"Cut the crap before I drop a grenade down your throat!"<br>
"Try it, you'll be dead!"<br>
"Oh, please pull it. Please do it."
:—'''Hound''' doesn't appreciate '''Drift's''' haikus.

"With your fate unknown, Bumblebee has held command, despite his complete and total lack of anything resembling warrior discipline. He's like a child."<br>
"This child is about to ''kick your ass!''"
:—'''Drift''' and '''Bumblebee'''

"Autobots, I have sworn never to kill humans..."<br>
"Big mistake."<br>
"...but when I find out who's behind this...he's going to ''die''."<br>
"Hoo-ah!"
:—'''Prime's''' rage is fueled by '''Hound'''.

"Destroy the lab! Destroy it all!" <br>
''(The Autobots lay waste to the KSI research facility)'' <br>
"Hey, you! Stop! That's company property!" <br>
"They're not ''your'' property! ''They were my friends.''" <br>
:—'''Optimus Prime''' duly informs '''Joshua Joyce''' that Transformers aren't just machines.

"You have no soul!"<br>
"That is why I have no ''fear''!"
:—'''Optimus Prime'''' is shocked to find '''Galvatron''' isn't as lifeless as he thought.

"We're behind enemy lines now. Lockdown's ship has booby traps! Eyes open."<br>
"Beware of his bone-grinders, brain-blinders, flesh-stealers, chromosomal-inverters, catatonic slugs, black hole trapdoors and of course, radiation."

:—'''Hound''' and '''Crosshairs''' warn the humans of the perils held within Lockdown's ship.

"I was expecting a [[Grimlock (G1)/toys#Alternators.2FBinaltech|giant car!]]"
:—'''Drift''' witnessing Grimlock transform into a dinosaur.

"Autobots, we're going to prove who we are, and ''why we're here''!"
:—'''Optimus Prime''' rallies his troops with his characteristic passion and charisma.

"Ugh, you just wanna die for the guy. ''That's'' leadership. Or brainwashing, or something."<br>
"No, that's Optimus Prime."
:—'''Crosshairs''' and '''Drift''', remarking on their [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|leader]]/[[Dinobot (AOE)|Giant Robot Dinosaur]] tamer.

"I'm like a fat ballerina who takes scalps and slits throats!"
:—'''Hound''' takes another five levels in badass and ballerina class.

"How do you say 'Get the f&%# out of the way' in Chinese?"
:—'''Joshua''' has some issues with the language barrier.

"I hate cheap knockoffs."
:—'''Bumblebee''' looking for [[Jazz (Movie)#Human_Alliance|Human Alliance Jazz]] on [[eBay|eBay]].

"We shall meet again, Prime, for I am reborn."
:—'''Galvatron''' retreats to fight another day.

"There are mysteries to the universe we were never meant to solve, but who we are and why we are here are not among them. Those answers we carry inside. I am Optimus Prime, and this message is to my Creators. Leave planet Earth alone. 'Cause I'm coming...for you."
:—'''Optimus Prime'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s closing narration.

==Main cast==
{{featuredcharacters|
h1=[[Autobot]]s|c1=
*[[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] ([[Peter Cullen]])
*[[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]]
*[[Hound (Movie)|Hound]] ([[John Goodman]])
*[[Drift (AOE)|Drift]] ([[Ken Watanabe]])
*[[Ratchet (Movie)|Ratchet]] ([[Robert Foxworth]])
*[[Crosshairs (AOE)|Crosshairs]] ([[John DiMaggio]])
*[[Leadfoot (DOTM)|Leadfoot]] (''Robert Foxworth'', video footage)
*[[Brains]] ([[Reno Wilson]])
*[[Sentinel Prime (ROTF)|Sentinel Prime]]'s head
'''[[Dinobot (AOE)|Dinobots]]'''
*[[Grimlock (AOE)|Grimlock]]
*[[Scorn]]
*[[Slug (AOE)|Slug]]
*[[Strafe (AOE)|Strafe]]

|h2=[[Decepticon]]s|c2=
*[[Megatron (Movie)|Galvatron]] ([[Frank Welker]])
*[[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]]'s head
*[[Stinger (AOE)|Stinger]]
*[[Junkheap (AOE)|Junkheap]]s
*[[KSI Sentry|KSI Sentries]]
*[[KSI Boss]]es
*"[[Two Head]]s"
*[[McLaren Decepticon]]
*[[Aston Martin Decepticon]]
*[[Insecticon (Movie)|Insecticons]]
*[[Barricade (Movie)|Barricade]] (reused video footage)
*[[Protoform]]s (reused video footage)

|h3=[[Human]]s|c3=
*[[Cade Yeager]] ([[Mark Wahlberg]])
*[[Tessa Yeager]] ([[Nicola Peltz]])
*[[Shane Dyson]] ([[Jack Reynor]])
*[[Joshua Joyce]] ([[Stanley Tucci]])
*[[Harold Attinger]] ([[Kelsey Grammer]])
*[[James Savoy]] ([[Titus Welliver]])
*[[Lucas Flannery]] ([[T. J. Miller]])
*[[Darcy Tirrel]] ([[Sophia Myles]])
*[[Su Yueming]] ([[Li Bingbing]])
*[[Gill Wembley]] ([[James Bachman]])
*[[Chief of Staff]] ([[Thomas Lennon]])

|h4=Others|c4=
*[[Creator (AOE)|Creators]]
'''Lockdown's crew'''
*[[Lockdown (ROTF)|Lockdown]] ([[Mark Ryan]])
*[[Shadow Raider]]s
*[[Steeljaw (AOE)|Steeljaws]]
*[[Stupid Drone]]s
'''[[Kinetic Solutions Incorporated|KSI]] prototypes'''
*[[Oreo Transformer]] (uncredited)
|nonumbering=true
}}

==Continuity Notes==
*This film reveals the existence of ‘The Creators’, a mysterious race of aliens responsible for the extinction of the dinosaurs and creating our titular transforming robotic aliens, or at least their elemental metal. Originally it was believed the Allspark was the sole progenitor of the race of ‘Transformers’. How 'the Allspark' and ‘The Creators’ are connected remains to be told.
*Sometime after the 'Battle for Chicago' in the last film, the U.S. has provided the company, Kinetic Solutions Incorporated, with the collected Decepticons’ remains and their abandoned technology for research. However, during the massive clean up some of the technology was stolen by quite a hefty amount of people, not with the U.S. government. Even ending up in the hands of those both within and outside of the United States, the Russians have even started a bidding war.
*During the events of ''Dark of the Moon'', under duress, the UN voted for the Autobot-Government Cooperation Act to be expunged (first initiated between the events of the first and second films). Effectively, putting an end to the alliance and dispansion of NEST. As of the preceding events of this film, it has not been reinstated.
*With the disbanding of NEST, a new paramilitary unit, called Cemetery Wind was formed, composed of just humans, such as CIA operatives, some who’ve lost families in the Battle of Chicago, and is headed by Harold Attinger, tasked with dealing with the remaining Decepticons forces. Although some of Earth’s government officials are under the assumption that the Autobots are still assisting in efforts to put an end to the remaining Decepticons threat.
*Despite the end of their alliance, several Autobots (presumably the ''DOTM'' survivors and new arrivals) were given sanctuary for their aid in putting an end to the war they brought to our planet.
*Of course, both Autobots Optimus Prime and Bumblebee return, along with Ratchet, Leadfoot (via drone footage), also Brains, who was last seen in the previous film, going down with the Decepticon mothership, alongside Wheelie, after sabotaging it, preventing Bumblebee and the other Autobots (except Wheeljack/Que) from being executed by Soundwave and others. Wheelie's fate was something still unknown, until his reappearance in the following film, ''The Last Knight''.
*In the five-year gap, between ''Dark of the Moon'' and ''Age of Extinction'', Autobots Hound, Crosshairs, and Drift had arrived on Earth and due to the hostile actions of ‘Cemetery Wind’ have been forced into hiding. Somehow ending up under the command of the experienced expert of Earth, Bumblebee [[Drift (AOE)|(some are not impressed)]] .
*Sometime after the final battle of ''Dark of the Moon'', Optimus had his arm reattached, after being removed by Sentinel Prime during their final fight, presumably by Ratchet, our best offscreen medic.
*Also, Optimus uses his Energon sword (used in every film, ever since the first one) and his mega-striker shotgun (first used in the third film) for the last time. The former seen being shredded to pieces by Galvatron onscreen. Nooo. Ratchet also uses his gun for the final time, being utilized for battle and/or for intimidation throughout the first trilogy.
*In the KSI lab, among the spoils of war, are the heads of Sentinel Prime and Megatron, provided through government contracts.
*Established in the first film, Optimus Prime has held a no-harming-or-killing-humans rule (although his Autobots don't always follow that rule), the betrayal and subsequent hunting of his kind by the humans challenges Optimus' one rule.
*During Optimus Prime's fight with Grimlock, he tries to convince Grimlock and his Dinobots that they should join forces to fight against Lockdown, Galvatron's forces, and their mysterious 'Creators', as well as saving the nearby populace. Promising them 'freedom', Prime's moral compass established in the first film, albeit Grimlock must physically test Prime's strength, forcing Optimus to use force. He later holds up his end of the bargain by setting Grimlock and the other Dinbotos free after the day is saved, while thanking and commending them. Optimus doesn't task them with protecting Cade and his family, instead leaving it to his fellow Autobots already voluntarily under his command.

==Errors==
===Continuity errors===
[[File:DeceasedTransformersAOE.jpg‎|thumb|upright=1.6|Your attention, please. Will the ''real'' Optimus Prime please stand up?]]
[[File:AOECrosshairsDriftWeirdEdit.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|What just happened? No, seriously. Is there some kind of timey-wimey thing going on?]]
[[File:AOE savoy eyegouge.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|"An eye for an eye makes the whole world-OH MY GOD!!!"]]
*[[Ironhide (Movie)|Ironhide]] is seen on the cards Attinger pulls out early in the film, listed as deceased and having been last seen in Chicago. However, Ironhide was killed by Sentinel Prime in Washington, D.C., midway through ''Dark of the Moon'', and long before the final battle in Chicago.
*Scenes from the Decepticons' invasion of Chicago in ''Dark of the Moon'' are shown as archival footage presented by Attinger. While it is conceivable some lucky people with cameras recorded the initial attack and managed to survive and publish their footage, it's highly unlikely people would've been able to get close-up video footage of the NEST team taking down [[Barricade (Movie)|Barricade]] and the other Decepticons.
*A Cemetery Wind vehicle smashes into the side of Shane's car during the chase through the cornfield, but the car doesn't show any damage to that side in subsequent shots.
*Tessa and Shane's reliance on Romeo and Juliet laws is unnecessary, since the age of consent in Texas is 17.
*During the 'Autobots reunite' sequence, Drift starts out in car mode on a road with Bumblebee and Crosshairs, before suddenly appearing atop a rock formation in robot mode and transforming to helicopter mode to meet up with Optimus Prime.
*When Crosshairs and Drift are talking on board Lockdown's ship shortly after boarding it, a ''very'' bizarre edit occurs in the middle of Drift's line "Better hurry, because dark matter drives are preparing to take off". The camera angle is now slightly different than before, but it's not a switch between a long shot and a close-up or a complete change of perspective. Oddly, Drift is still seen from the almost the ''exact same angle'' as before the edit, but even though his and Crosshairs's bodies were at an almost 90 degree angle before the edit, they're now suddenly almost standing in parallel to each other, with Crosshairs' head turned towards Drift. In addition, a flame that appeared in front of Drift just before the edit is suddenly gone.
*When Shane shouts "I surrender!" and drops his "gun-sword", the hilt is facing to the right, but after a close-up showed it landing on the ground and firing a shot, the hilt is suddenly facing to the ''left'' in the subsequent long shot when it fires more shots.
*When Joshua reunites with the rest of the group in Hong Kong, Darcy tells him she'll do a diversion, and to get the Seed somewhere safe. Yet, no diversion of any kind happens.
*As Cade and Savoy grapple in the apartment, Cade jams his thumb deep into Savoy's eye socket (see right), with accompanying "squlech" sound effect, and appropriate reaction from Savoy in the form of a long howl of pain through gritted teeth and a string of drool flowing uncontrolled from his mouth. But as soon as the two separate, Savoy's eye is absolutely fine, with no indication anything is supposed to have happened to it.
*During Hound's fight with [[Two Head]], Cade is seen wearing his jacket but reverts back to his shirt following the Decepticon's defeat.
*While Lockdown is pulling up parts of the city, Shane backs the car into a building which is two stories high at most, but appears much larger on the inside.
*In vehicle mode, Stinger's engine sound is inaccurate to what his alt mode actually is (a Pagani Huayra) and sounds more like a McLaren F1.

===Technical/animation errors===
*The shot right before the close-up of the cyberformed dinosaurs has no cyberformed dinosaurs at all, despite having all the excavation vehicles in the same positions as the next scene.
* Arcee is seen on Attinger's cards misspelled as "Acree".
** Additionally, the image on the card is of [[Elita-One (Movie)|Elita-One]]; while an Arcee ''sister'', is not Arcee herself. This could potentially be explained by the movie ignoring the retcon from the comics that changed her from one character with three bodies to three characters psychically linked by a single spark.
*When Savoy says "Use the mini drones", you can clearly see the green screen in the monitors.
*As Cemetery Wind are attacking Ratchet, a helicopter fires several missiles at him. Two of the missiles miss him, but do not detonate or cause any explosion of any kind to the structures immediately behind Ratchet, and are not even seen to hit them- they simply disappear.
*When Attinger takes over the operation to scramble Cemetery Wind after Optimus, and dismisses everyone in the room, he does so by saying "Ladies and gentlemen, this room is going dark. The exit is on your left." All the people then get up and begin to exit to their ''right''.
*Scrambling Cemetery Wind seems to scramble the timeline. From the deployment of Cemetery Wind to Lucas's death, the time of day is in limbo. For example, Optimus escapes from the Yeager property at sunset, joining the pursuit that takes place in early afternoon, not to mention that Cemetery Wind arrives at the Yeagers' home town at what appears to be dawn. In some instances, repeated changes between shots correspond with changes between different times of day, as different positions of the sun result in very very obviously different lighting conditions.
*When Lockdown transforms to prepare for the attack on Optimus, one can clearly see a faux-part Lamborghini logo pop out from inside the car, while the actual logo disappears.
*In the shot of Shane's car pulling up outside of the Yeager farm after Cemetery Wind has stormed in, nobody is seen inside the vehicle.
*During the scene where Cade is pretending to be a truck driver with Optimus still in his flat-nose truck form, he has a cap and white plaid shirt on. After Optimus scans into his newer form, Cade's back to wearing his leather jacket.
*When Shane's car gets sideswiped in the cornfield, the back left window is shattered. A couple scenes later, the window is just rolled down.
*When Shane's car breaks into a building, the woman sitting right in the middle of the room is clearly waiting on the glass-breaking noise to start running.
*After Lucas' death, there is nothing really stopping Lockdown or Cemetery Wind from continuing to chase Optimus. Lockdown is much faster and could easily catch up to Optimus whilst Cemetery Wind could chase in their remaining vehicles.
*When Optimus transforms to and from his Marmon 97 alternate mode, the windows and grille that make up his chest visibly change size and shape.
*When Optimus transforms out of his flat-nosed truck mode and punches the ground, Tessa and Shane are standing next to each other, as viewed from behind Optimus. When the view immediately switches to be facing Optimus, Cade is suddenly standing between the two.
*Shane defends his relationship with Tessa by stating that the 'Romeo and Juliet laws' "statute 2705-3" protect their relationship, yet the card he shows Cade reads "Statute 22.011". This is also the number that appears in the English subtitles of the DVD, meaning that it was scripted as 22.011 and not 2705-3.
*The truck that Optimus scans, while still being from the Western Star manufacturer, is an older and different model than the one he transforms into.
*When Optimus is on his way to the reunion site, the human characters inside are sitting this way: Shane to the right, Tessa in the Middle and Cade to the left. However when Optimus gets to the reunion point Cade comes out of the truck using Shane's side door (right) instead of his (left). It is clear they (the director and his crew) were trying to get a "superhero" pose but it doesn't make sense.
*When Optimus arrived to the reunion site you can see the filming crew in the reflection of his front chrome parts.
*The statement that Drift claims to be a haiku ("Loyalty is but a flower in the winds of fear and temptation") is not actually a haiku: poems of that style generally consist of three separate statements in a 5-7-5 syllable pattern; the one mentioned in the film is a single unbroken statement that totals to the 17 syllables that a haiku technically consists of.
*Hound's dialogue when he's bickering with Drift doesn't really match up to what we see. Drift pulls his swords on Hound, but the big guy goads him on to "pull it", suggesting Drift was originally supposed to aim a firearm at him.
[[File:Uncolored Ratchet head prop.jpg‎|thumb|upright=1.67|Gray is the new green.]]
*When Joshua is in the lab showing Darcy Transformium, in two different shots, a gray, uncolored prop of Ratchet's head can be seen being worked on in the next room.
*As Cade's drone scans a KSI employee's name tag, it displays its location onscreen as around N 38°44'55", W115°28'27". These coordinates are for a [https://www.google.com/maps/place/38%C2%B044%2755.0%22N+115%C2%B028%2727.0%22W/@38.7486111,-115.4741667,3048m patch of desert in Nevada] rather than any place in Chicago.
*While first infiltrating KSI, in the showroom where Stinger is first viewed, Bumblebee is in car mode when Joshua walks in with Yueming. Bumblebee's engine audibly revs, yet Joshua doesn't notice that there's no one in the car to rev the engine.
[[File:Megatron Head at KSI.jpg|right|upright=1.4|thumb|Screw logic!]]
*Megatron's severed head is in somewhat good shape for someone who got an axe stabbed on the top of his head. Furthermore, his head is more in line with its appearance in the first movie, not ''Dark of the Moon''.
*Not to mention, after Joshua's group leaves and Bumblebee knocks Stinger down, there's no transformation noise right before Bumblebee returns to his altmode and the KSI executive walks in. Additionally, Bumblebee starts playing M.C. Hammer's "U Can't Touch This", '''when no one is in the car''' to turn the stereo on. Ostensibly it was for a comic moment, but it didn't raise anyone's suspicions that a car that wasn't typical of the ones being scanned, operating the engine and the stereo with no human inside, might be a disguised Cybertronian?
*After Bumblebee scans his new alternate mode, the camera pans over the car and Tessa and Shane are not inside. However, when he's getting his new upgraded form, you can see that they used stunt doubles for Shane and Tessa. That scene wasn't dangerous enough to require stunt doubles, was it?
*Some security guards in KSI fail to react to Crosshairs's shooting and shouting until a few seconds before the scene changes.
*When Galvatron first transforms and crashes into a truck, the way he is composed in the scene makes it look like he is simply floating above the wreckage, instead of being in the middle causing it.
*When Optimus transforms, Cade and Shane leap out of Optimus, while Tessa is trapped and rolls away. However, previous shots establish that the seating order in Optimus is Shane, Tessa, Cade. This means that Cade crawled over his daughter to escape(!), which is not quite logical or possible.
*Lockdown fires two missiles at Optimus Prime that, despite piercing his chest, don't manifest any kind of visible damage on his person, despite the previous shot showing Optimus's chest getting blown apart.
*When Lockdown is approaching Optimus after gunning him down, the driver's door of the Cadillac SRX he's resting on is shown to be open in two exterior shots, even though Tessa previously closed it after getting inside, and it's also shown closed in other (mostly interior) shots.
*When he loses his grip on the net holding Optimus and the car containing Tessa, Cade is shown falling toward the street, but he lands on the grass by the road.
*When the Autobots are on a bridge, before boarding Lockdown's ship, Crosshairs is clearly shown to be speaking but no dialogue is heard.
*Also in that same scene when Hound says "It's a bad idea but I'm all about bad ideas" his mouth movements are slightly out of synch.
*When Tessa gets taken to the trash in Lockdown's ship, a green screen can be seen at the end of the corridor.
*While locking up Optimus, Lockdown's scar is on the left side of his face. While talking to Savoy upon delivering the seed, it's on the right side of his face; however, it switches back to the left side right before he walks off after bidding Earth farewell.
*While the human characters are climbing across the anchor cables to the high-rise building, some of the Steeljaws begin to climb out after them. Cade tells his daughter not to look back and see them, but when we cut back to her, with a clear view of the cables behind her, the Steeljaws are gone.
*When Bumblebee jumps off Lockdown's ship to save the humans, he is followed by a Steeljaw. In the following shot, the Steeljaw is gone.
*While explaining Megatron's plans to the Autobots, Brains rings a bell on a train. In the next shot, the bell is not moving.
*During the motorcycle chase, the CIA cars change. At first, Joshua and Su are trailed by a Cadillac and an Audi; in the middle of the chase, the Cadillac is replaced by another Audi. By the end of the chase, the Cadillac is back.
*In Hong Kong, when Cade, Joshua, Tessa, and Shane enter the elevator to run away from the rooftop, the elevator won't move and Cade says it's overloaded. But in the next scene, we see that the maximum number of people that the elevator can carry is nine, and it's very clear that the Seed doesn't weight as much as five people.
*When Grimlock transforms to his dino mode and charges at Optimus, there are no other Dinobots, nor the ship, to be seen in the background. However, after Optimus punches Grimlock and the shot changes, Dinobots are standing almost right next to him.
*Optimus somehow has enough strength to not only maintain his ground, but propel Grimlock through the air during his charge. Considering Grimlock's strength, velocity and weight, it is highly unlikely Optimus would win.
*Immediately after he transforms into his triceratops mode, Slug is shown to have a very visible Autobot logo on his dino-mode forehead, yet he just met Optimus and the other Autobots moments before.
*One of the air conditioning units kicked off the building exterior by Savoy falls away to reveal ... a solid wall, with no connection to an apartment's interior.
*During Hound's stand in Hong Kong, the pickup truck he uses as a shield sways left to right whilst his arm remains still.
*The damage Hound receives after being shot down, most noticeably the pipe on his left shoulder, is fixed in subsequent shots.
*Crosshairs is seen driving alongside Drift and Hound through the bridge to take the Seed away from the city ... right after we just saw him staying behind to hold the line with the Dinobots.
*During the final fight, Bumblebee decides to just leave midway. Considering the distance between the factory and the dock where they met, he must have left long before Optimus flew there.
*Also during the final flight, Cade is hiding on his own behind a wall. After Lockdown fires, a second person is seen behind him. In the next shot this person has disappeared. Looking closely, the second person is wearing a suit like Attinger. Alternate take of his death, perhaps?
*After Optimus takes off, the other Autobots are absent from the shot of the main cast watching Optimus fly off.

===Geographic discontinuities===
*When Cade tries to use his card at an ATM, not only is the card issued from a Chinese bank, which wouldn't have any branches in north Texas, where the Yeagers live, the text on the ATM screen (behind the ''Access Denied'' warning) is in Chinese.
*Despite being from north Texas, Cade and Tessa have no Texas accents. Not all Texans have noticeable accents of course, but Wahlberg in particular spends the whole film speaking with his natural ''Boston'' accent.
*Despite the KSI pursuit scene taking place on a two lane highway, there are several scenes spliced in of the Transformers with supercar alt modes (like Stinger and Crosshairs) driving on what is obviously a racecourse (specifically the GM proving grounds in Milford, Michigan). This is apparent by the horizontal incline of the road in some of the shots that are also missing the markings that would normally be on a road, and a reaction shot for Stinger that shows a straight, one lane ninety degree turn.
*The entirety of the KSI pursuit scene switches between taking place between the left and right sides of the two-lane highway, despite being only supposed to take place on the right side. Furthermore, the shot showing stray missiles colliding with oncoming traffic takes place on a completely different highway, one with five lanes instead of three and a wooden fence on the side of the street as opposed to a guardrail. Moreover; the car crashing stunt for the bridge jump scene starts on the five lane highway, continues on the left side of the three lane highway, and then finishes on the ''right side'' of the three lane highway. Trouble finding shots, eh?I
*Furthermore, because this is in Chicago, a U.S. City, it makes no sense for cars to be driving on the left side of the road, instead of the right.
*All of the vehicles seen in Hong Kong are left-hand drive, rather than the right-hand drive you'd expect in a location that drives on the left.
*Some scenes supposed to take place in Hong Kong depict a very distinctively American city with traffic lights suspended by wires above the street.
*Chicago's Willis Tower can be seen in the background of Hong Kong.
*The bridge out of the city shown in the film (Tsing Ma Bridge) is at least a half-hour drive from the battlefield in Central.
*Furthermore, despite Optimus's comment, there are no bridges connecting Hong Kong Island (where all the action allegedly takes place) to the mainland. The only way to get off Hong Kong Island (other than by boat or swimming) is via one of three tunnels, none of which are used, referenced or mentioned in the film.
*Speaking of bridges, Tsing Ma Bridge (the gray version of the Golden Gate Bridge) shown in the movie is effectively a dead end unless one is going to the airport or Disneyland, because it only leads to/from Lantau Island.
*The bridge where Grimlock "digs in" is an expressway bypass. Geographically defending it is pointless as there are multiple other routes (including at least one that is faster) to bypass the bridge and tunnel yet end up at the same place on the other side.
*In one of the fight scenes there is an overhead railway (the {{w|Detroit People Mover}}). There are no overhead railways on Hong Kong Island (yet) and the {{w|MTR}} (the subway train network) trains look nothing like the train used in the scenes, as they are a completely different shape and color.
*There are no "glass houses" on Hong Kong Island.
*There are no Chinese temple ruins on Hong Kong Island. The temples there are all intact and frequently used or preserved and don't have giant metal umbrellas ''at all''.
*The area where Optimus battles and "tames" Grimlock is in the Wushan Valley in Northern China which is over 1100 km from Hong Kong, yet is depicted as being in Pok Fu Lam on the South Western side of Hong Kong Island (which is a high rise residential area). Even flying it would take well over 2 hours to get from Wushan Valley to Hong Kong.
*It's not possible to drive a car from Beijing into Hong Kong, as the number plates would be invalid, and it would take over a day to drive that distance. Chinese vehicles coming into Hong Kong have to be from the Canton area (number plates are black) and have to be registered with Hong Kong plates, which means they must display both plates at all times one above the other. (In addition, the process to obtain permission for a car to have that is also lengthy and costly.)
*The blue SUV used by Cade and his companions is not a type of vehicle that exists in Hong Kong. In addition, its steering wheel is located on the left side, even though cars in Hong Kong have their steering wheels on the right side.
*Optimus Prime's Western Star alternate mode would be illegal to drive on Hong Kong roads, since it's is oversized. The Freightliner truck used for Galvatron is the maximum size/gauge allowed on Hong Kong roads. All scenes with Optimus driving in truck mode were filmed elsewhere, the Western Star truck was never brought to Hong Kong. Even his previous Peterbilt alternate mode would be illegal in Hong Kong.
*The area depicted as the final battle scene where Optimus and Lockdown face off was digitally added on the map of Hong Kong shown in the movie. It doesn't exist at all in real life, where it's actually a breakwater/typhoon shelter full of boats on Victora Harbour. In addition, the factories in Hong Kong (which are all located on Kowloon, because Hong Kong Island is purely a residential/business/shopping district) look nothing like the buildings used in the scene.

===[[Dinobot Island, Part 1|Paleontology weeps]]===
*The cyberformed remains of a ''Tyrannosaurus'' and a ''Spinosaurus'' appear frozen together in the arctic at the beginning of the film, which is rather odd considering the two are found on different continents (North America and Africa respectively) and separated by around 35 million years of evolution. Note that a few months after the release of the movie, the morphology of ''Spinosaurus'' was completely revised, with a different spine shape and shorter legs.
[[File:ExtinctionOfTheDinosaurus.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|And another thing! How is that sauropod running!?!]]
*The opening scene of the movie shows a ''Psittaccosaurus'' (100-120 million years old), a generic hadrosaur that might be either an ''Edmontosaurus'' or a ''Shantungosaurus'' (65-70 million years old), and a brachiosaurid (100-157 million years old) all present during what is implied to be the K-Pg extinction event (64.5-65 million years old).
*The ''Psittaccosaurus'', a well known herbivorous animal, is seen actively hunting and killing live prey. In a nod to paleontological accuracy, however, it is depicted with a row of quill-like feathers along its back, as many ceratopsian dinosaurs are believed to have had.
*The Dinobots' alternate modes are orders of magnitude larger than the real dinosaurs on which they're based. In an interesting twist, using Optimus as a proxy for the average human, all the Dinobots bar Strafe have been accurately scaled up. At 850 tonnes <ref name="Grimlock stats">[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/entertainment-weekly-reveals-new-details-on-transformers-4-age-of-extinction-new-grimlock-image-179675] summarised on TFW2005.</ref> Grimlock is as large compared to Optimus as a real ''Tyrannosaurus'' would be next to a human.

==Transformers references==

* As usual, many of the new characters have roots in older portions of the mythos:
** [[Drift (AOE)|Drift]] is based on [[Drift (G1)|a Generation 1 character]] introduced in IDW's 2008 ''[[The Transformers: All Hail Megatron|All Hail Megatron]]'' series.
** Lockdown is derived from [[Lockdown (Animated)|a character in the 2008 ''Animated'' cartoon]] who had already jumped over to the G1 comics and, in toy form, to the movie universe.
** [[Hound (disambiguation)|Hound]] shares a military-green alternate mode with his [[Hound (G1)|Generation 1 counterpart]], but is otherwise unrelated. His portly physique has put many a fan in mind of similar military-green Autobot [[Bulkhead (disambiguation)|Bulkhead]], but again, the movie character's crusty, violence-hungry, trigger-happy personality owes nothing to that gentle Autobot giant.
** The name [[Crosshairs (disambiguation)|Crosshairs]] has been used by a few characters before, but this version has nothing to do with any of them.
** Galvatron being a new form for Megatron has been a thing for [[Galvatron (disambiguation)|basically forever]]. With Joyce's intentions of creating him as a counterpart to Optimus Prime, he also takes cues from [[Nemesis Prime (disambiguation)|Nemesis Prime]]; in particular the human-controlled ''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Prime]]'' [[Nemesis Prime (Prime)|character]].
** The Dinobots are the latest iteration of [[Dinobot (G1)|the powerhouse subfaction]] that first appeared in the early days of Generation 1. Their leader Grimlock is a direct analog of [[Grimlock (G1)|his Generation 1 counterpart]]; Strafe and Slug are based on Generation 1 [[Swoop (G1)|Swoop]] and [[Slag (G1)|Slag]], respectively.
* The Creators seem inspired by the alien [[Quintesson]]s from the Sunbow ''The Transformers'' cartoon, who were revealed to be the creators of the Cybertronian race in the third season of said cartoon.
* In the film's opening act, Optimus has adopted a cabover truck alternate mode akin to that of his [[Optimus Prime (G1)|G1 counterpart]]. His robot mode also draws some inspiration from his G1 design, such as the large grill on his chest.
* Ratchet and Lockdown are paired off against each other; the first incarnation of [[Lockdown (Animated)|Lockdown]] from ''Transformers: Animated'' was pitted off against that version of [[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]] in his very first appearance, presumably inspiring their scene together.
* As he hunts for Ratchet, Lockdown's head-up display shows characters in [[Cybertronian language|Ancient Autobot]], an alphabet originating in the Generation 1 episode "[[Cosmic Rust (episode)|Cosmic Rust]]". Unlike some uses of the language, it appears at random here, with no secret messages to decode.
* In the scene where Optimus scans a passing truck, the classic [[Transformation#The noise|transformation noise]] plays when the Autobot symbol emerges from his grill.
* The scene where Galvatron goes active and breaks free in KSI's Chinese facility mirrors the scene in the 2007 ''Transformers'' movie when Megatron breaks free inside [[Sector Seven]]'s facility, down to a reuse of the line "I am Megatron", only with the name changed to "Galvatron".
* The ringtone on Gill Wembley's cell phone is a remixed version of the original ''The Transformers'' cartoon's [[theme song]].

==Real-life references==
[[File:Rainbow Dash Age of Extinction.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|"I found the magic!"]]

*Among the objects KSI makes from Transformium in the film is a Rainbow Dash doll from ''[[My Little Pony]]''.

==Other editions==

==Prequel material==
*''[[Transformers (Titan Magazine)|Transformers: Age of Extinction]]'' magazine ([[Titan Books|Titan Comics]])

==Adaptations==
Unusually, no novel or comic adaptations of the film were released. The ''[[Transformers Annual 2015]]'' contained an extremely cut down prose summary of events.

==Music==
==Score==
{{main|Age of Extinction: The Score}}

==Home video releases==
{{main|Transformers: Age of Extinction (film)/home video}}

==Theatrical posters==
<center><gallery>
File:Transformers- Age of ExtinctionTeaserPoster.jpg|Something has survived...
File:Transformers- Age of ExtinctionOptimusPrimePoster.jpg|Will you follow me... for the fourth time?
File:Transformers Age of Extinction poster-IMAX.jpg|The Prime, the Grim, and the Marky.
File:Transformers Age of Extinction Cade poster.jpg|Cade, look out behind you! Ah, too late, Lockdown's ship got him.
File:Transformers Age of Extinction Shane poster.jpg|So the five minute scene about statutory was supposed to be funny?
File:Transformers Age of Extinction Tessa poster.jpg|She wants you to forget she was in ''{{w|The Last Airbender (film)|The Last Airbender}}''.
File:Transformers Age of Extinction Su poster.jpg|So the minor character gets a poster and two lengthy filler action scenes to herself?
File:Transformers Age of Extinction Lockdown poster.jpg|''Age of Extinction'', come and spend your money here!
File:Transformers Age of Extinction Rules Have Changed.jpg|It's a scene not in the movie!
File:Transformers Age of Extinction This Is Not War.jpg|This is not human extinction, it's just war.
File:Transformers Age of Extinction Stand Together1.jpg|So we face extinction if we don't stand with you? Huh, that's kinda harsh...
File:Transformers Age of Extinction Stand Together2.jpg|"Now look down. Now look at me. I'm on a dinosaur."
</gallery></center>

==Reception==

{{quote|"The few authentic inspirations to be found in the movie's hundred and sixty-five roiling minutes involve gigantic science-fiction contrivances."|[http://www.newyorker.com/arts/reviews/film/transformers_age_of_extinction_bay The New Yorker's Richard Brody on Transformers 4: Age of Extinction], Richard Brody|[http://newyorker.com newyorker.com] [[2014]]}}

''Transformers: Age of Extinction'' was critically panned, and nearly universally condemned on the American front, receiving a rating of 18% positive critical reviews on RottenTomatoes.com, one percent lower than the final score for ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]''. Common criticisms leveled against it included its relatively long run time of 2 hours and 45 minutes, the disproportionately small amount of screen time the Dinobots got in relation to their relatively large exposure in promotional materials for the film, an over-reliance on product placement, and the decision to set the final act in Hong Kong, which was perceived as a choice solely done to pander towards the Chinese audience for the film. However, the film received praise for its visual effects, action sequences, and the performances of some of the human actors, mainly Mark Wahlberg, Stanley Tucci, and Kelsey Grammer.<ref>http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/transformers_age_of_extinction/</ref> Despite any criticisms, the film was the worldwide top-grossing film for 2014, earning over a billion dollars.<ref>[http://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?view2=worldwide&yr=2014 Box Office Mojo's 2014 Worldwide Grosses]</ref>

It {{w|35th Golden Raspberry Awards|won one Golden Raspberry Award}} for Worst Director ([[Michael Bay]]), was one of four movies contributing to [[Kelsey Grammer]]'s Worst Supporting Actor win (along with ''{{w|The Expendables 3}}'', ''{{w|Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return}}'' and ''{{w|Think Like a Man Too}}''), and was unsuccessfully nominated for Worst Picture; Worst Supporting Actress ([[Nicola Peltz]] as [[Tessa Yeager]]); Worst Screen Combo ("Any two robots, actors (or robotic actors)"); Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel; and Worst Screenplay ("screenplay by [[Ehren Kruger]], based on Hasbro's Transformers action figures").

For Chinese audiences, however, it was a phenomenon and some farmers started making replica Transformers as a new job. <ref>[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/chinese-villagers-give-up-farming-719236 The Hollywood Reporter: "Chinese Villagers Give Up Farming to Build Giant Transformers From Old Car Parts", July 16 2014]</ref>

==Production staff==
''Age of Extinction'' was written by [[Ehren Kruger]], who also wrote ''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (film)|Dark of the Moon]]'' and helped write ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]''.
===Visual effects===
Like the previous films in the series, [[Industrial Light & Magic]] (with assistance from [[Atomic Fiction]] and [[Base FX]]) was employed to do the visual effects. [[Method Studios]] and [[Tippett Studios]] also contributed to the film's VFX production.

===Locations department===

==Development details==
===Cast and crew signing on===
On June 26, 2011, thirteen days before the official theatrical release of ''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (film)|Dark of the Moon]]'', actor [[Tyrese Gibson]] gave an interview to Movieweb, in which he claimed that [[Michael Bay]] would not return for a fourth ''Transformers'' installment; instead, executive producer [[Steven Spielberg]] himself was allegedly interested in directing a sequel.<ref name="tyresemovieweb">[http://movieweb.com/exclusive-steven-spielberg-may-direct-transformers-4/ Movieweb interview with Tyrese Gibson], with several names missing from the text; the full excerpt in question is quoted [http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/rumor-transformers-4-directed-by-steven-spielberg-172501/ here] on TFW2005.</ref> Ten days later, on June 26, 2011, still three days before the official theatrical release of ''Dark of the Moon'', Michael Bay posted praise for actor [[Shia LaBeouf]] on his official forums, while at the same time expressing regret for leaving the ''Transformers'' franchise.<ref name="bayshialeaving">[http://www.shootfortheedit.com/forum/showthread.php?9502-Love-Shia-as-an-Actor Michael Bay's praise for Shia LaBeouf] at the official Michael Bay forums.</ref> Another two days later, on June 28, 2011, LaBeouf confirmed that ''Dark of the Moon'' would definitely be his last ''Transformers'' film, as he didn't think there was "anywhere to take" his character of [[Sam Witwicky]].<ref name="endshia">[http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2011/06/28/transformers-dark-of-the-moon-shia-labeouf/ "'Transformers: Dark Of The Moon' Is The End For Shia LaBeouf"], MTV Movies Blog.</ref>

Eight months later, on February 13, 2012, producer [[Lorenzo di Bonaventura]] gave an interview during [[Toy Fair 2012]], in which he confirmed that a fourth film was scheduled for a release in the Summer of 2014, Michael Bay would direct it after all, and that the movie would be a "reboot". He promptly clarified that it was actually a "hybrid", an "evolution" of the franchise that would be in continuity with the previous films, citing 2012's ''{{w|The Amazing Spider-Man (2012 film)|The Amazing Spider-Man}}'' reboot of the ''[[Spider-Man]]'' film franchise as an example of what people should ''not'' expect from a fourth ''Transformers'' film. Di Bonaventura also confirmed that no casting discussions had taken place yet at that point, since there was no set story yet. However, there would be "a lot of new cast", and it was still uncertain at that point whether any of the previous cast members would return. The only characters that would "certainly" return would be [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] and [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]].<ref name="lorenzointerview">["http://www.mtv.com/videos/movies/733426/a-new-transformers-to-hit-theaters-in-summer-2014.jhtml "a new 'transformers' to hit theaters in summer 2014"], interview with Lorenzo Di Bonaventura at MTV.com.</ref> A day later, on February 14, 2012, Bay himself and [[Paramount Pictures]] officially announced that Bay had indeed signed a deal to make a fourth ''Transformers'' film. The film's release date was stated alternatively as either June 27 or June 29, 2014.<ref name="bayfourthfilm1">[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/transformers-4-release-date-revealed-174395/ "Transformers 4 Release Date Revealed"] at TFW2005.</ref><ref name="bayfourthfilm">[http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-17028248 "Transformers director Michael Bay signs for fourth film"], BBC.co.uk.</ref> That same day, Bay also confirmed that he and Spielberg were working on a "whole new re imagining{{sic}} of ''Transformers''".<ref name="reimagining">[http://www.shootfortheedit.com/forum/showthread.php?10284-Transformers-4 Michael Bay confirming that ''Transformers 4'' would be a "reimaginging"] at the official Michael Bay forums.</ref> Two days later, on February 16, 2012, actor [[Josh Duhamel]] expressed his doubts that he, Shia LaBeouf, [[Rosie Huntington-Whiteley]] or Tyrese Gibson would return for the fourth installment.<ref name="noshiarosie">[http://eonline.com/news/294791/josh-duhamel-not-coming-back-for-transformers-4-is-anyone "Josh Duhamel Not Coming Back for Transformers 4: Is Anyone?!"] at E! Online.</ref>

Four months later, on June 6, 2012, Michael Bay confirmed in an interview centered around ''[[Transformers: The Ride – 3D|Transformers: The Ride]]'' that the fourth film would feature "some redesigns of the robots and an entirely new cast", and that it would be the last ''Transformers'' film he would direct.<ref name="ride">[http://herocomplex.latimes.com/movies/transformers-the-ride-3d-even-impresses-disney-rivals/ "‘Transformers’ taking new shape with Universal ride and fourth film"], LA Times Hero Complex.</ref> A few weeks later, on June 21, 2012, Bay confirmed that the fourth film would feature "different human actors", but the film would not be strictly a "reboot", but rather take the story "in a new direction". While hinting that the story might venture into space for "a little bit", he still wanted to keep it "grounded".<ref name="starsspace">[http://herocomplex.latimes.com/movies/transformers-4-michael-bay-purges-stars-may-go-into-space/ "‘Transformers 4’: Michael Bay purges stars, may go into space"], LA Times Hero Complex.</ref>

[[File:TF4 Chinese Reality Show contestants.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|If ''Age of Extinction'' teaches us anything, it's that more movies should be cast using reality shows.]]On September 21, 2012, Michael Bay confirmed the first "cast" member for the film in the broadest sense, namely the fact that voice actor [[Peter Cullen]] would be kept on as [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]]. He also confirmed that the film would ''not'' be a reboot, but would pick up the story from where ''Dark of the Moon'' had left off in [[Chicago]].<ref name="cullen">[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/21/michael-bay-transformers-4-pain-and-gain_n_1903523.html "Michael Bay, 'Transformers 4' Director, On The Struggles Of 'Pain & Gain'"], Huffington Post interview.</ref> One and a half months later, on November 8, 2012, Bay confirmed [[Mark Wahlberg]] as the first human cast member,<ref name="wahlberg">[http://michaelbay.com/2012/11/08/michael-bay-re-teams-with-his-pain-gain-star-mark-wahlberg-for-transformers-4/ "Michael Bay Re-Teams With His 'Pain & Gain' Star Mark Wahlberg for Transformers 4"], on Michael Bay's official site.</ref> after having referred to such claims as "just a rumor" a mere month earlier.<ref name="baynowahlberg">[http://michaelbay.com/2012/10/23/transformers-4-casting-rumor/ "Transformers 4 Casting Rumor"], on Michael Bay's official site.</ref> On December 15, 2012, Wahlberg himself confirmed that filming would commence in May 2013.<ref name="wahlbergmay">[http://collider.com/ted-2-sequel-mark-wahlberg-transformers-4/218011/ "Mark Wahlberg Talks TED 2, TRANSFORMERS 4, and PAIN AND GAIN; Says TF Starts Shooting in May Followed By TED Sequel"], interview with Collider.com.</ref> Another month later, on January 8, 2013, Irish American actor [[Jack Reynor]] was confirmed as the second human cast member.<ref name="reynor">[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/jack-reynor-lands-starring-role-409850 "Jack Reynor Lands Starring Role in 'Transformers 4'"] at Hollywood Reporter.</ref> [[Nicola Peltz]] was confirmed on March 26, 2013,<ref name="welcomepeltz">[http://michaelbay.com/2013/03/26/welcome-nicola-peltz-to-transformers-4/ "Welcome Nicola Peltz to Transformers 4"], on Michael Bay's official site.</ref> followed by [[Stanley Tucci]] (confirmed to be an antagonist) on April 16, 2013.,<ref name="tucci">[http://www.comingsoon.net/news/cinemaconnews.php?id=103034 "CinemaCon: Stanley Tucci Joins Transformers 4"]</ref> [[Kelsey Grammer]] as a lead (human) villain named "Harold Attinger" on May 1, 2013,<ref name="grammerattinger">[http://www.deadline.com/2013/05/kelsey-grammer-lands-lead-human-villain-in-transformers-sequel/ "Kelsey Grammer Lands Lead (Human) Villain In ‘Transformers’ Sequel"] at Deadline.com.</ref> [[Sophia Myles]] as a scientist on May 6, 2013,<ref name="mylesscientist">[http://www.thewrap.com/movies/column-post/sophia-myles-join-mark-wahlberg-michael-bays-transformers-4-exclusive-89661 "Sophia Myles to Join Mark Wahlberg in Michael Bay's 'Transformers 4' (Exclusive)"] at TheWrap.com.</ref> Chinese actress [[Li Bingbing]] in an at that point still unspecified role on May 20, 2013,<ref name="bingbing">[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/chinas-li-bingbing-boards-transformers-525370 "China's Li Bingbing Boards 'Transformers 4'"] at Hollywood Reporter</ref> and actor-comedian [[T. J. Miller]] as a mechanic and best friend to Wahlberg's character on May 28, 2013.<ref name="miller">[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/tj-miller-joins-transformers-4-559359 "T.J. Miller Joins 'Transformers 4'"] at Hollywood Reporter.</ref> [[Titus Welliver]] wasn't officially confirmed until July 25, 2013, after he had been spotted on set in Texas.<ref name="welliver">[http://www.deadline.com/2013/07/transformers-4-adds-titus-welliver/ "‘Transformers 4′ Adds Titus Welliver"], Deadline.com.</ref> In the lead-up to the release of the movie, Welliver would stir up a minor controversy with an interview in which he stated that the film would be darker and "not a kid's movie". Following a storm of online discussion regarding this statement, he issued a new statement to the effect that ''Age of Extinction'' is in fact a kid's movie, and he meant to say it would expand the audience.<ref name="nerdist">[https://www.nerdist.com/2014/02/titus-welliver-talks-about-transformers-4-and-clark-greggs-s-h-i-e-l-d-comments/ Titus Welliver Talks About TRANSFORMERS 4 and Clark Gregg’s S.H.I.E.L.D. Comments], Nerdist.com.</ref>

A rather unusual addition to the cast were [[Byron Li]], [[Candice Zhao]], [[Austin Lin]] and [[Teresa Daley]], which won their part through participating in the ''[[Transformers 4 Chinese Actors Talent Search Reality Show]]'' on August 25, 2013.<ref name="reality">[http://beijing.china.org.cn/2013-08/28/content_29845758.htm "'Transformers 4' recruits 4 Chinese actors"], China.org.cn.</ref>

The remaining robot voice cast (barring Optimus Prime) wasn't officially revealed until May 8, 2014.<ref name="voicecast">[http://michaelbay.com/2014/05/08/john-goodman-and-ken-watanabe-join-the-autobot-voice-cast-in-michael-bays-transformers-age-of-extinction/ "John Goodman And Ken Watanabe Join The Autobot Voice Cast in Michael Bay’s ‘Transformers: Age Of Extinction’"] at the official Michael Bay website.</ref>

===Writing and production===
On March 20, 2013, the Michigan Film Office announced that the fourth film would return to [[Detroit]].<ref name="michigan">[http://www.michiganfilmoffice.org/The-Film-Office/Press-Releases/Detail.aspx?id=11620 "Transformers Returning to Michigan, Approved for Film Incentive" at the Michigan Film Office website.]</ref> Principal photography began on May 28, 2013, at {{w|Monument Valley}}.<ref name="monument">[http://michaelbay.com/2013/05/28/transformers-4-starts-filming-in-monument-valley-navajo-tribal-park/ "Transformers 4 Starts Filming in Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park"], on Michael Bay's official site.</ref> Other shooting locations were the small towns of Lockhart, Taylor, Elgin and Pflugerville in Texas.<ref name="texas">[http://www.dallasnews.com/entertainment/movies/headlines/20130426-fourth-transformers-film-to-shoot-in-texas.ece "Fourth ‘Transformers’ film to shoot in Texas"] at Dallas Morning News.</ref> Shooting in Michigan involved two historic passenger steamboats, the ''{{w|SS Columbia}}'' and her sister ship, the ''{{w|Ste. Claire (passenger steamboat)|SS Ste. Claire}}'', which were docked in {{w|River Rouge, Michigan|River Rouge}} awaiting restoration at the time being used as props.<ref name="boblo">[http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/story/2013/07/26/wdr-boblo-boats-transformers-four.html "Historic Boblo boats land role in Transformers 4"], CBC News.</ref> While shooting in Detroit, Mark Wahlberg's children visited the set and were given small parts in the movie upon their father's request.<ref name="wahlkids">[http://comicbook.com/blog/2013/07/30/mark-wahlbergs-kids-cast-in-transformers-4/ "Mark Wahlberg's Kids Cast In Transformers 4"], Comicbook.com.</ref>

[[File:AOE Michael Bay Nicola Peltz on set.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Michael Bay uses his legendary charm to get the very best performance out of his actors.]]
Due to an increased focus of Hollywood studios trying to market its movies to the Chinese audience, parts of the movie were not only set in China, but actually filmed there. One of the shooting sites was Hong Kong. While there, the movie crew encountered the risks of shooting a movie in China firsthand when director Michael Bay was assaulted on the set by two locals demanding money; according to some sources, they were store owners that were not satisfied with the compensation they received for the inconvenience of having a movie filming nearby. Bay received minor injuries, but played the incident off on his blog. Both he and an official Paramount statement suggested that the assailants were under the influence of drugs.<ref name="attack1">[http://deadline.com/2013/10/hong-kong-police-called-to-transformers-4-set-amid-alleged-extortion-attempt-report-613912/ "Extortion Attempt On ‘Transformers 4′ Set; Michael Bay Suffers Minor Injury: Report"], Deadline.com.</ref><ref name="attack2">[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/michael-bay-attacked-transformers-4-649183 "Michael Bay Attacked on 'Transformers 4' Set in Hong Kong"], Hollywood Reporter.</ref><ref name="attack3">[http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-24566287 "Transformers director Michael Bay attacked in Hong Kong"], BBC.</ref name="attack4">[http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/michael-bay-attacked-on-transformers-hong-kong-film-shoot-1.2100953 "Michael Bay attacked on Transformers Hong Kong film shoot"], CBC News.</ref><ref name="attack5">[http://michaelbay.com/2013/10/17/hong-kong-incident/ "Hong Kong Incident"] on Michael Bay's official Blog.</ref> A second extortion attempt occured several days later, this time allegedly by several triad gang members. Although one of them was later arrested, no-one was injured this time around.<ref name="extortion2">[http://www.businessinsider.com/michael-bay-transformers-4hong-kong-second-extortion-incident-2013-10?IR=T "More Trouble For 'Transformers 4' In Hong Kong As Second Extortion Attempt Reported"], Business Insider.</ref><ref name="extortion3">[http://edition.cnn.com/2013/10/25/world/asia/hong-kong-transformers-triad-extortion/ "Transformers versus the triads of Hong Kong: the sequel"], CNN.</ref> Once again, Bay played down the extortion attempts in an interview, noting that most of the locals were apologetic over what took place, and that he wanted to film more projects in Hong Kong.<ref name="eager">[http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1342084/hollywood-director-michael-bay-eager-shoot-hong-kong-again "Hollywood director Michael Bay eager to shoot in Hong Kong again"], ''South China Morning Post'']</ref>

[[File:AOEOptimusRidingGrimlock.jpg|thumb|upright=1.9|left|"Get me closer! I want to hit them with my sword!"]]Late script changes resulted in Bay and his crew returning to the Chinese city of {{w|Chongqing}} for a week reshooting a scene in January 2014.<ref name="reshoot">[http://www.ecns.cn/2014/01-23/98337.shtml "'Transformers 4' back to China for additional shots"], China News Service (Ecns.cn).</ref>

Some of [[Industrial Light & Magic|ILM]]'s post-production effects were done at a newly opened Lucasfilm facility in Singapore.<ref name="ilmsg">[http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/lifestyle/story/lucasfilm-singapore-work-new-avengers-and-transformers-movies-20140116 "Lucasfilm Singapore to work on new Avengers and Transformers movies"], The Straits Times.</ref>

{{--}}

=== Sponsors and partners ===
==== General Motors and other car manufacturers ====
[[File:AOE Optimus Prime truck.jpg|thumb|upright=1.34|When having one's midlife crisis, it's not unusual to get a souped-up alternate mode.]]
''Age of Extinction'' continues the collaboration with General Motors. Earlier in the film, Bumblebee chooses a customized 1967 Chevrolet Camaro SS as his disguise when hiding from [[Cemetery Wind]], whereas later on, he upgrades to the newest model, a 2014 Camaro concept car. (The production crew was actually accused of ripping off a one-of-a-kind custom for the 1967 version.<ref name="1967custom">[http://jalopnik.com/did-transformers-4-rip-off-this-guys-design-for-the-ne-510655228 "Did Transformers 4 Rip Off This Guy's Design For The New Bumblebee?"] at Jalopnik.com.</ref>) Furthermore, new addition [[Crosshairs (AOE)|Crosshairs]]'s alternate mode is a 2014 Chevrolet C7 Corvette Stingray, and recurring character Ratchet briefly appears at the beginning of the movie and transforms into his Hummer H2 ambulance mode (in the color scheme from ''Dark of the Moon'') before being killed at the hands of Cemetery Wind and [[Lockdown (ROTF)|Lockdown]].

''Age of Extinction'' is the first movie to feature an official partnership with a manufacturer for [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]]'s alternate mode. Earlier in the movie, he transforms into an old, rusty Marmon 97 truck cab (presumably without support from the manufacturer), but later upgrades into a brand new Western Star "5700 OP" concept truck that was designed specifically for the movie by "Twins Custom Coaches" and the team at West Coast Customs, with Western Star being a subsidiary of Daimler Trucks, who also provided a 2012 Freightliner Argosy that serves as [[Megatron (Movie)|Galvatron]]'s alternate mode.

Other manufacturers that provided vehicles to be used for characters' alternate modes were the Oshkosh Corporation with an Oshkosh Defense FMTV truck for [[Hound (Movie)|Hound]], the Volkswagen group with a 2013 Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse for [[Drift (AOE)|Drift]] and a Lamborghini Aventador for Lockdown, and independent Italian manufacturer Pagani Automobili with a Pagani Huayra for [[Stinger (AOE)|Stinger]].

=== Changes before, during and after production ===
* [[Slash (AOE)|Slash]] was originally intended to appear in the film (he even made it into some concept artwork).<ref name="burt">[http://www.seibertron.com/transformers/news/transformers-age-of-extinction-concept-art-from-wesley-burt/30723/ Age of Extiction concept art by Wesley Burt], mirrored at Seibertron.com.</ref>
* [[Glenn Morshower]] was originally set to return in this film, reprising his role of [[Morshower|General Morshower]], but didn't return due to a scheduling conflict.<ref>http://transformerslive.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/general-morshower-not-returning-to.html</ref>
* Both [[Josh Duhamel]] and [[Tyrese Gibson]] were intended to cameo reprising their roles as [[William Lennox]] and [[Robert Epps]] but were cut before filming started.<ref>http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/tyrese-gibson-in-talks-for-transformers-4-176078/</ref><ref>http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/tyrese-gibson-to-make-cameo-appearance-only-in-transformers-4-177407/</ref><ref>http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/josh-duhamel-to-make-cameo-appearance-in-transformers-4-177026/</ref><ref>http://transformerslive.blogspot.com/2013/06/josh-duhamel-not-in-transformers-4.html</ref>
* Ed Welburn, [[General Motors]]' vice president for global design, was originally set to cameo as the C.I.A. head before being recast as a KSI employee.<ref>http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/29/automobiles/ed-welburn-gets-a-part-in-transformers.html?_r=0</ref>
* A scene depicting Hound and Bumblebee dancing with Tessa (while Drift bobs his head in the background) was not present in the final cut of the film.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnxZ7Gg2yV4</ref>
* Scorn's toys lack the additional two sails he has in the film, suggesting it was a late design change.
*The Pagani Huayra that eventually ended up as [[Stinger (AOE)|Stinger]] was at one point intended as the alternate mode of a female robot with the working name "Widow Maker".<ref name="vitaly">[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-9/age-of-extinction-concept-art-by-vitaly-bulgarov-180636/ Age of Extinction concept art by Vitaly Bulgarov] at TFW2005, including "Widow Maker".</ref><ref name="jung">[http://comicbook.com/blog/2014/07/20/transformers-age-of-extinction-concept-art-shows-off-epic-scope-/ Age of Extinction concept art by Steve Jung] at Comicbook.com, including "Widow Maker".</ref>
* Wahlberg's character was named "Flynn 'Ray' Vincent" rather than "Cade Yeager" in a casting call. The same casting call also revealed that actor [[Glenn Morshower]] was supposed to reprise his role as [[Morshower|General Morshower]] from the previous two films.<ref name="txcasting">[http://www.featurefilmauditions.com/2013/05/casting-for-transformers-4-actors-and.html "Transformers 4' open casting calls for actors and extras in Austin, TX and Detroit, MI"] at Film Auditions.</ref>
* A scene where Cade says "Stick behind me" is not present in the final cut of the film.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXSkXQs890g</ref>
* Another piece of dialogue cut from the film is when Cade says "You tell me" to Attinger when he asks for Optimus Prime.
* In some concept artwork, Grimlock appears as a horn-less T-Rex.
* The original running time of the film was 2 hours and 7 minutes, which would have made it the shortest film in the franchise. The final running time was 2 hours and 30 minutes <ref>http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/BatFreak/news/?a=77992</ref><ref>http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/transformers-4-age-of-extinction-running-time-revealed-180165/</ref>
* [[Dwayne Johnson]] was originally offered the role of Cade Yeager, but due to his commitment to ''Hercules: The Thracian Wars'', the role was later taken over by his ''Pain & Gain'' co-star Mark Wahlberg.<ref>[https://twitter.com/TheRock/statuses/327892048978006016 Dwayne Johnson on Twitter]</ref>
*In some concept artwork, Drift was colored orange instead of blue. but according to the Generation 2 featurette in the Blu-ray release, this was changed because the vehicle that was going to play Drift was sold off.
*Some concept artwork shows that Optimus was intended to have his original trilogy body in the scenes where he had his new look.
*According to Ehren Kruger in the Generation 2 featurette, in the early drafts of the film, it was not originally centered on the Cade Yeager character.
*Numerous silver [[redeco]] toys were produced for Optimus Prime with the moniker of "Silver Knight", suggesting that he was originally supposed to take on this alternate appearance in the film itself, almost certainly upon drawing a sword from the Knights' armory. In the finished film, he does undergo some slight physical alteration at this point, his arms reconfiguring to resemble armor plates, but that's as far as it goes. This was also ''prrrrobably'' where he was supposed to get the rocket-boots he suddenly deploys at the film's end.
*A scene depicting Harold Attinger throwing a man out of a moving vehicle was reportedly cut from the film.<ref>http://news.tfw2005.com/2014/08/16/kelsey-grammer-explains-a-deleted-scene-from-transformers-age-of-extinction-180984</ref>

{{-}}

===Disinformation campaign===

Like ''Revenge of the Fallen'' and ''Dark of The Moon'' before it, ''Age of Extinction'' had a campaign that would mask details of the final film. However, unlike the previous films, this one was all encompassing; no novelization or comics by [[IDW Publishing]] was released, allowing for a great deal of the movie's spoilers to actually remain unknown longer than for the previous three films.

In the original Michigan Film Office press release published on March 20, 2013, several vague plot details were revealed, including the fact that Autobots and Decepticons had "[[Cemetery Wind|all but vanished from the face of the planet]]", a "[[Kinetic Solutions Incorporated|group of [...] businessman and scientists]]" were developing new technologies based on past encounters with the Transformers, and an "[[Lockdown (ROTF)|ancient, powerful Transformer menace]]" was targeting Earth.<ref name="plotunveiled">[http://www.thewrap.com/node/82001/ "‘Transformers 4’ Plot Unveiled by Michigan Film Office"] at TheWrap.com.</ref> These plot details were later claimed to be inaccurate by Paramount Pictures,<ref name="notaccurate">[http://screenrant.com/transformers-4-movie-plot-synopsis-cast/ Unofficial "'Transformers 4' Plot Synopsis Is Not Accurate"] at Screenrant.com</ref> but in all their vagueness ultimately turned out to be not too far off from the film's plot.

A lot of the newly-added characters were given "code names" during production, most of them related to the ''Rocky'' saga: "Duke" for Hound, "Adrian" for Galvatron, "Ivan" for Grimlock, "Rocky" for Slash (who was originally intended to appear in the movie, as noted above), "Southpaw" for Scorn, "Paulie" for Strafe, and "Thunderlips" for Slug. In addition, Crosshairs was code-named "Slingshot", Drift was code-named "Bruce", Lockdown was code-named "Max", and Steeljaw was code-named "Wolf" (which ''might'' have simply been a working name).<ref name="customer">[http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-news-rumors/961952-monzos-mega-hasbro-customer-service-listing-breakdown.html Hasbro customer service list]</ref>

==Notes==
*Not only do the [[Dinobot (AOE)|Dinobots]] go unnamed in the film (other than [[Scorn]] getting the nickname, "Spike"), the word Dinobot is never even said by anyone. The audio description soundtrack on the home video releases refers to them as warriors or barbarians, but notes during the final scene that they "turn into Dinobots" (of course it also refers to Galvatron transforming "into an Autobot" when he turns into a robot, so make of that what you will).
*In addition to the Shadow Raiders, Steeljaws, the ball-shaped drones, and Stupid Drones, inside Lockdown's ship there were also several hovering drones. These drones appear to be of the same type as those the United States used in ''Dark of the Moon'' (the one that got sucked into the engine of Bumblebee's commandeered Decepticon fighter). Maybe Attinger sold them to Lockdown?
*Michael Bay's website incorrectly refers to the film as "Transformers 4 The Age Of Extinction"
* The Autobots and Decepticons shown in the cards Attinger pulled early in the film includes: Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, [[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]], [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]], [[Ironhide (Movie)|Ironhide]], [[Sentinel Prime (ROTF)|Sentinel Prime]], [[Wheeljack (Movie)|Que]], [[Mirage (Movie)|Dino]], [[Shockwave (Movie)|Shockwave]], [[Arcee (Movie)|Arcee]], [[Loader]], [[Garagebot]], and the [[Driller]].
** Even though most of these Transformers are listed as deceased, Dino and Garagebot are not. Therefore, they could have been alive during the events of the film.
* This film seems to put a final nail in the coffin regarding the films' abandonment of the concept of using [[protoform]]s to travel through space; when the Autobots steal a ship from [[Lockdown (ROTF)|Lockdown]], they immediately move to leave Earth, indicating they had been stranded on Earth for the past five years without a spaceship (following the destruction of the ''[[Xantium (DOTM)|Xantium]]''). The fact that no mention is made of searching for any possible survivors of Cemetery Wind's hunt also suggests that all Autobots who did not return for this film have been killed off as well.
**Fortunately, [[Wheelie (ROTF)|Wheelie]] and [[Topspin (DOTM)|Topspin]] reapppear in [[Transformers: The Last Knight (film)|the next film]]. By taking that, Dino among the "not deceased" Transformers cards, and the fact that [[Sideswipe (Movie)|Sideswipe]] is stated to have been killed by Cemetery Wind in some tie-in material into consideration, the only Autobot from ''Dark of the Moon'' whose fate after that film is uncertain is... [[Roadbuster (DOTM)|Roadbuster]].
*The robot designs in this film are markedly different than the previous three; the robots have less alien appearances and are more heavily influenced by human forms with far less visible vehicle parts.
*Speaking of the appearance of the Autobots - they all are based on specific types of human combatants throughout history: Optimus is obviously a medieval knight, Hound heavily resembles a World War II-era commando, Crosshairs looks like a mercenary or assassin, Bumblebee's new form is highly Ninja-like, and Drift is unsurprisingly a samurai.
*Director Michael Bay makes a cameo appearance in the film as a guy sitting in the passenger seat of a truck whose trailer Optimus Prime and Bumblebee crash through after being attacked by Galvatron and Stinger.<ref name="magiceffects">[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btn2tPxjisA "Behind the Magic: The Visual Effects of 'Transformers Age of Extinction'"] on the official ILMVisualFX Youtube channel.</ref> Heck with it, much of the KSI cars are part of his personal collection!

===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''''Transformers: Lost Age''''' (トランスフォーマーロストエイジ ''Toransufōmā Rosuto Eiji'')
*''Cantonese:'' '''''Binying Gamgong: Chimmit Saigei''''' (變形金剛：殲滅世紀 "Transformers: The Century of Annihilation")
*''French:'' '''''Transformers : L'Âge de l'extinction''''' (France, "Transformers: The Age of Extinction"), '''''Transformers : L'Ère de l'extinction''''' (Canada, "Transformers: The Extinction Era")
*''German:'' '''''Transformers: Ära des Untergangs''''' ("Transformers: Era of Doom")
*''Mandarin:'' '''''Pièn-hsíng Chīn-kāng Ssù: Chuéh-chī Ch'óng-shēng''''' (Taiwan, 變型金剛4：絕跡重生), '''''Biànxíng Jīngāng Sì: Juéjī Chóngshēng''''' (China, 变形金刚4：绝迹重生, "Transformers 4: Rebirth from the Extinction")
*''Polish:'' '''''Transformers: Wiek zagłady''''' ("Transformers: Age of Extinction")
*''Portuguese:'' '''''Transformers: A Era da Extinção''''' ("Transformers: The Age of Extinction")
*''Russian:'' '''''Transformery: Epokha istrebleniya''''' (Трансформеры: Эпоха истребления "Transformers: Age of Extermination")
*''Spanish:'' '''''Transformers 4''''' (Argentina)
*''Turkish:'' '''''Transformers: Kayıp Çağ''''' ("Transformers: Lost Age")
*''Czech:'' '''''Transformers: Zánik''''' (Transformers: Extinction)

==External links==
* [http://www.transformersmovie.com/ Transformersmovie.com]
* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2109248/?ref_=nv_sr_1 ''Age of Extinction'' at IMDB.com]
* {{w|Transformers: Ag of Extinction|''Age of Extinction'' film on Wikipedia}}
* [https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/transformers_age_of_extinction/ ''Age of Extinction'' on RottenTomatoes.com]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Age of Extinction (film)}}

[[Category:Age of Extinction| Age of Extinction (film)]]
[[Category:Real world films]]

Transformers: Age of Extinction (film)

2020-08-01T23:57:11Z

96megatron: /* Continuity Notes */

{{Nav-aoe}}
[[File:Transformers- Age of ExtinctionOptimusPrimePoster.jpg‎|thumb|upright=1.67|An adventure 65 million years in the making.]]

'''''Transformers: Age of Extinction''''' is the fourth film in the [[live-action film series]]. It was released on [[June 27]], [[2014]].

Following the [[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (film)|Battle of Chicago]], humanity has come to fear both Autobots and Decepticons alike. With the aid of a Transformer mercenary named [[Lockdown (ROTF)|Lockdown]], a CIA [[Cemetery Wind|task-force]] operated by [[Harold Attinger]] begins hunting the remaining [[Transformer]]s on [[Earth]]. Hunted by enemies that were once his allies, [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] loses faith in humanity and sends his forces into hiding. Now, five years later, struggling inventor and single-father [[Cade Yeager]] discovers a damaged Transformer, placing both himself and his [[Tessa Yeager|daughter]] on a collision course with events that threaten the extinction of humankind itself.

{{bigquote|The trouble with loyalty to a cause is that the cause will ''always'' betray you.|[[Lockdown (ROTF)|Lockdown]]|''Transformers: Age of Extinction''}}

==Synopsis==

[[File:The Creators cyberforming Earth AOE.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.67|"God creates dinosaurs. God destroys dinosaurs. God creates man. Man destroys God. Man creates dinosaurs."]]
65 million years ago, on Cretaceous [[Earth]], a ''Psittacosaurus'' is out hunting for food. The small dinosaur finds a fish and starts to feed, but stops as hundreds of alien ships enter Earth's atmosphere, piloted by the mysterious [[Creator (AOE)|"Creators"]]. The alien ships launch dozens of strange [[Seed]]s across the planet. As they detonate, they convert the landscape and the herds of panicking dinosaurs into a metallic substance, ending the Age of Dinosaurs. Millions of years later, while digging in the [[Arctic]], a team of geologists uncover a mysterious pair of metallized dinosaur skeletons - a discovery that attracts the attention of [[Darcy Tirrel]]...

Five years after the invasion of [[Chicago]], tensions between humans and Cybertronians have risen dramatically. Although the Autobots are officially granted asylum on Earth, public opinion has turned against all Transformers. The government of the United States has terminated all human-Autobot joint programs and instated [[Cemetery Wind]], an elite [[CIA]] unit intended to flush out the handful of [[Decepticon]]s left on Earth. What the President doesn't know is that [[Harold Attinger]], the leader of the operation, is slaughtering all Transformers, regardless of faction. On one such mission, the team pinpoints [[Ratchet (Movie)|Ratchet]] hiding within an abandoned boat. He immediately tries to flee, but is crippled and brought down by their weapons. The team leader, [[James Savoy]], mockingly asks why Ratchet ran if he's not their enemy, and Ratchet replays a transmission he received from [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]], ordering all Autobots to hide from humans. However, Savoy dismisses his pleas as his sister was killed in Chicago. A Transformer bounty hunter, [[Lockdown (ROTF)|Lockdown]], who has actually been helping Cemetery Wind hunt the Autobots, emerges from the nearby swamp and attacks Ratchet, further damaging him. Walking past his human allies, Lockdown demands to know [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]]'s whereabouts. When Ratchet refuses, Lockdown brutally kills him by ripping out his spark.
[[File:AOE Ratchet dying.jpg|thumb|upright=1.67|"Condors. Condors are on the verge of extinction..."]]

In Texas, struggling inventor [[Cade Yeager]] and his friend/employee [[Lucas Flannery]] meet at an old theater, looking for salvage. He finds an old truck, and upon inspection it seems to be full of artillery shells. He buys the truck along with the other theater equipment and puts it in his garage. [[Tessa Yeager|Tessa]], Cade's daughter, observes this while video-chatting with her boyfriend and criticizes her dad for buying the heap of junk. While attempting to salvage the truck's engine to sell, Cade realizes it's actually a badly-damaged Transformer. After calling Lucas and Tessa, he connects jumper cables to its engine, only for it to begin replaying the distress call Ratchet had received earlier. Lucas and Tessa advocate calling the government, claiming that there is a huge reward for Transformers. Cade convinces them not to call the authorities until he can spend more time working on the truck, as he may be able to stumble on a technological breakthrough if he can figure out how the Transformers work. When Cade removes a live missile from the truck's "power core," it transforms into a heavily injured Optimus Prime, who roars at them to stay back while he swings his weapon around the barn. Cade, Lucas, and Tessa ask why Optimus is so badly damaged, to which he replies that the Autobots are being hunted and he must help them. Cade offers to repair him, and sends Lucas to buy the parts that will enable him to fix Optimus. Cade and Optimus begin to bond as the repairs begin.
[[File:AOE-injuredoptimus.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.67|"Should we chance moving him?"]]

In the Arctic, Attinger arrives via helicopter at [[Knight Ship|Lockdown's ship]] and demands to know why Optimus Prime escaped him in [[Mexico]]. Lockdown derisively tells Attinger that Optimus Prime would not have escaped were it not for Cemetery Wind's interference, stressing that he does not care about Attinger or his goals and wishes only to capture Optimus Prime.

Shortly after returning to [[Washington, D.C.]], Attinger receives a tip that Optimus Prime has been located in Texas and sends Savoy and Cemetery Wind to apprehend him. The agents swarm the barn, but there is no trace of Prime inside. When Savoy threatens Tessa to force Cade to tell him of Prime's whereabouts, the Autobot leader explodes out of the barn's basement in which he was hiding. He escapes after a brief skirmish that destroys the Yeager residence, with both Cemetery Wind and Lockdown in pursuit. As Cade catches one of Cemetery Wind's mini drones, a white rally car zooms over the adjacent fields and picks up the Yeagers and Lucas. The driver turns out to be [[Shane Dyson|Shane]], a rally car racer who is also Tessa's boyfriend. A group of Cemetery Wind vehicles begins chasing them.
[[File:Optimus shooting humans AOE.jpg|thumb|upright=1.67|"You think they'll have that on the tour?"]]

Both the rally car and Optimus Prime are chased into an abandoned factory, where Optimus Prime fights off Lockdown. Shane puts his driving skills to good use and pulls a series of tight maneuvers that result in the Cemetery Wind cars crashing, destroys his car in the process. Optimus Prime, who has caught Lockdown in a crane cable, transforms and tells the humans to pile into him and escape. Lockdown throws a grenade at the humans as they run towards Optimus Prime; though Shane and the Yeagers escape, Lucas is caught in the blast and killed.

Arriving at an abandoned gas station, Optimus orders the humans out and drives off to ensure that they have not been followed. Cade confronts Tessa and Shane about their relationship but Tessa gets angry at Cade for putting them all in danger. The next day, Optimus and the humans set off towards Monument Valley. Prime [[trans-scan|scans]] a passing truck, sheds his layer of rust and takes on a new form with his old paint scheme. They arrive in Monument Valley where they meet the other surviving Autobots in the form of [[Crosshairs (AOE)|Crosshairs]], [[Hound (Movie)|Hound]], [[Drift (AOE)|Drift]], and their de facto leader [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]]. Crosshairs and Hound start threatening the humans for having their species betray them but Optimus convinces them that they have risked their lives to save his. The Humans notice that there are clear tensions between the Autobots. Cade reveals footage of the attack on Ratchet and [[Leadfoot (DOTM)|Leadfoot's]] demise using the stolen aerial drone and Prime declares that he will kill the one responsible for hunting down the Autobots.

[[File:Autobots unite monument valley AOE.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.67|"Dr. Grant, my dear Dr. Sattler... Welcome to [[Jurassic Park]]." ]]

Inspection of the drone leads them to a company named [[Kinetic Solutions Incorporated|KSI]], located in a rebuilt Chicago. It is run by [[Joshua Joyce]], who is working with [[Su Yueming]] and Attinger to create artificial Transformers to eventually be used in the military. Using the remains of [[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]], [[Sentinel Prime (ROTF)|Sentinel Prime]], [[Starscream (Movie)|the]] [[Soundwave (ROTF)|countless]] [[Shockwave (Movie)|Decepticons]] from the Chicago battle and the hunted Autobots, they have synthesized the metal that the Transformers are made of, calling it [[Living metal#Live-action film series|Transformium]]. When given commands through a computer, Transformium can be changed into various shapes or objects. Although a drone called [[Stinger (AOE)|Stinger]] (designed after Bumblebee) is active, Joshua's major project is a bigger, stronger drone called [[Megatron (Movie)|Galvatron]]. However, his attempts have not been successful; the drone keeps resembling Megatron instead of the friendlier image of Optimus Prime. Bumblebee builds Cade and Shane faux-ID badges which the duo use to infiltrate KSI. Cade goes further in and projects imagery of Ratchet's severed head being melted down, which sends Prime into a rage.

[[File:Joshua Joyce Transformium Experiment AOE.jpg|thumb|upright=1.67|"God help us, we're in the hands of engineers."]]

However, Cade is caught when his ID badge is found to have been scanned twice (by him and its original owner). He is taken to the upper floors and confronted by Attinger, who claims that what he has witnessed is in the name of world peace. He also asks him about the whereabouts of Optimus Prime but Cade maintains his silence.

Furious over how the humans have mutilated their comrades, Optimus orders an attack on KSI. Bumblebee, carried by Drift in copter mode, rescues Cade. The others trash the lab, free the injured and enslaved [[Brains]], and confront Joshua, only for him to openly declare that what is being done is being done to prevent more Transformer-caused damage and that the humans "don't need" the Autobots. Disheartened, Prime orders a retreat.

As the Autobots exit the factory and leave, Attinger catches up with Joshua and claims that the Autobots are terrorists for attacking the facility. He coerces Joyce to use the two functional drones to take down the Autobots. Galvatron and Stinger activate and pursue their quarry across a highway, with Galvatron doing more damage than his KSI handlers intend. Bumblebee fires upon Galvatron but is surprised to see him simply disintegrate and reintegrate again. Galvatron attacks Prime. As they battle, Optimus declares that the artificial creation has no soul, to which it retorts "That is why I have no FEAR!"

[[File:AOEGalvatron.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.67|"Kids! You want to have one of those?"]]

As Tessa scrambles for cover in a nearby vehicle, Prime is suddenly shot from the back and falls; Lockdown has arrived, along with his ship! Lockdown gloats to his prisoner, claiming that Optimus was built, not born, and now the Creators want him returned in one piece. The bounty hunter orders a net dropped over Optimus and hoists both the Autobot leader and Tessa's hiding place into his ship. Cade desperately clings to the net, but his strength gives out and he falls to the fields below. As the spaceship departs, Cade and Shane vow to get Tessa back.

Lockdown throws Prime in a cage and orders his lackeys to dispose of Tessa. Prime takes note of several other aliens in similar cages, including [[Dinobot (AOE)|other Cybertronian warriors]]. He also discovers the original purpose of the mercenary ship: it was originally used by a group of legendary Knights (presumably including Prime himself) but now acts as Lockdown's flying prison. Lockdown's ship hovers over Chicago, triggering panic in the streets, but Attinger manages to talk down the authorities and send Savoy to rendezvous with Lockdown. As payment for Prime's capture, Lockdown gives him a Seed.

Cade, Shane, and the other Autobots get aboard the ship as it flies low over a bridge. While being pursued by Lockdown's henchmen, the two humans find a strange Knight armory, from which Cade takes a sword that opens up to form a gun. While Shane and Cade rescue Tessa, Crosshairs deploys the ship's mooring cables, which fire into the Willis Tower and preventing the ship from breaking atmosphere. The humans begin to clamber down the cables to safety, but they are pursued by a pack of [[Steeljaw (AOE)|Steeljaw]]s. Bumblebee manages to save the trio. The other Autobots locate Optimus, who reveals that the section of the ship they are on can separate from the main body. Crosshairs uses a gunship to pick up Bumblebee and the humans, then leads them on a dogfight through Chicago's streets, destroying some of Lockdown's [[Shadow Raider|mercenaries]].

[[File:Prime gets shotAOE.jpg|thumb|upright=1.67|"It could have been worse, John. A lot worse."]]

Back at KSI, it is decided that all equipment is to be moved to the Beijing facility to continue operations. Joshua is also none too pleased about the previous field test of Galvatron; not only was it a loss on several fronts, but the drone also ''spoke'', which was something it was ''not'' programmed to do!

The Autobots land their new ship at an abandoned train yard. Optimus claims that he sensed Megatron's presence during his fight with Galvatron. Brains explains Galvatron's true nature: while he decoded dead Transformer brains, he learned that Megatron's mind had survived and planned to transfer itself to Galvatron's body, explaining Galvatron's sinister appearance. The tiny bot further mentions how Galvatron used his knowledge to build Stinger and the other drones, with plans to make them into his personal army. As Tessa tells the group about the Seed she saw, Optimus and Hound explain that the Creators used Seeds to convert organic material into metal, then harvested the resulting Transformium for their own purposes. Cade makes a call to Joyce and relays the newfound data about Galvatron. Knowing that Joyce is also an inventor with a heart, he pleads with Joyce to shut down Galvatron before things escalate. Although Joyce puts up an unconvinced façade, he demands increased security around Galvatron after hanging up.

As police cars surround the train yard, the Autobots board their shuttle again and take to the air. Optimus says that though the Autobots will travel to Hong Kong and get the Seed back, they will leave Earth afterwards; they are done protecting humanity. Cade disagrees but Prime is non-responsive. They later debate the matter, with Cade attempting to reignite Prime's faith in humanity.

In deep space, Lockdown finally discovers the absence of the smaller ship. He grumbles about Optimus Prime taking his trophy case and how the Prime will feel his wrath while he reverses course. Joyce meets with Attinger and Savoy and receives the Seed. Joyce intends to detonate it in a region of the [[Gobi Desert]], which will generate enough Transformium to last a century. Attinger is eager to expedite production but grows incensed when Joshua disagrees and says that they should go slower, quite obviously moved by Cade's call. Meanwhile, Galvatron activates ''himself'' and starts to infect the legion of over fifty other KSI Transformers. When the alarm rings regarding Galvatron's escape, Joyce has Attinger and Savoy evacuated from the building and gets in a car with Su, an associate named Darcy, and the Seed. They decide to try to hide the Seed in [[Hong Kong]].

Being hunted by Attinger and Savoy, Joyce seeks refuge on a rooftop when the Autobot-piloted ship arrives and attempts to pick him and the Seed up. However, Galvatron and his drones ramy arrive and shoot down the airborne vessel, causing Bumblebee, Hound, and the Yeagers to spill out while the others (Prime, Crosshairs, Drift, and the captured Knights) to careen away into the Wulong Valley. Savoy finds the Yeagers and Joyce on the rooftop and open fires on them but Cade leads him away from the others. The two jump across rooftops, eventually crashing into a house and getting into a fist fight which ends with Savoy falling from a window to his death.

Hound and Bumblebee attempt to escort the humans and the Seed out of the city, but are cut short when Joshua points out that the KSI-built Transformers were specifically built to destroy any Autobots or Decepticons left on Earth. This prompts Prime to enter the crashed ship and activate the armory as well as release the other captives within the ship. As Hound and Bumblebee hold the line and protect the humans, Optimus tries to convince the Legendary Warriors to fight alongside them. Their [[Grimlock (AOE)|apparent leader]] violently declines at first, fighting the Prime in both his massive robot mode and his Tyrannosaurus mode. Optimus quickly defeats him, saying that he and the other warriors will protect his family or die, then mounts the metal dinosaur. The Autobots mount their Dinobots and charge over the mountains into Hong Kong.

[[File:Dinobots ready for battle AOE.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.67|"''T. rex'' doesn't want to be fed. He wants to ''hunt''."]]

Meanwhile, as Hound and Bumblebee are starting to be overwhelmed by Galvatron's drone forces, Optimus and his fellow Autobots storm into the city, slamming, crushing, stomping, and chomping all nearby enemies. Galvatron retreats as the Autobots and Dinobots decimate his forces. With this battle over, Optimus confronts Joshua for his actions and gives the order to defend the humans and escort them, and the Seed, away from the city. On the way, a homing beacon within the Seed activates, allowing Lockdown to track the Autobots down. He activates a massive magnet, wreaking havoc on Hong Kong. Everything metal from kitchenware to massive ships are picked up by the magnet, including the Autobots and Dinobots. After narrowly avoiding the magnet, the Yeagers are momentarily separated from the Autobots. Optimus shoots at the magnet, destroying it and releasing the Transformers from its influence. The ship retreats to a nearby factory, with Optimus hot on its trail. Cade tells his daughter to stay with Shane and the Autobots, as he wishes to fight alongside Optimus against Lockdown. As Optimus Prime and Lockdown battle one-on-one, Attinger corners Yeager with a pistol, accusing him of choosing aliens over his own race, but he is quickly shot and killed by Optimus.

Because of Optimus's choice to save Cade before defending himself, Lockdown gains the upper hand, impaling Optimus through the chest with his own sword and pinning him to a concrete pillar. Meanwhile, Tessa convinces Bumblebee to turn around and the three join in fighting Lockdown, allowing Shane to use a tow truck to unpin Prime. Just as Lockdown is about to kill Cade, Optimus jumps up and slices the bounty hunter in half. Activating one of Lockdown's grenades, Prime tells the humans to hold on and uses rocket boosters to escape while the grenade destroys the last of the KSI drones. Galvatron has survived and retreated to the outskirts of the city; watching Prime blast off, he tells Optimus to beware, for he is reborn...

[[File:AOE-DefendThisFamily.jpg|thumb|upright=1.67|"I don't know. I guess... I guess we'll just have to evolve too."]]

The Autobots, Dinobots, and their human allies all regroup on the waterfront. Cade and Tessa happily reconcile and Cade finally accepts Shane. Joshua nobly says he will help them with their destroyed home. Prime declares the Dinobots are now free as they depart for parts unknown. With the bounty on his head placing the entire Earth in danger, Prime blasts off into space with the Seed to confront the Creators and discover the mystery behind his own origins, but not before ordering the Autobots to protect the Yeager family. As he leaves Earth's atmosphere, Optimus Prime sends a message to his Creators to leave planet Earth alone, because he's coming for them.

{{--}}

==Quotes==
"Lockdown...?"<br>
"Autobots, Decepticons, like little children, always fighting; making a mess out of the universe, then ''I've'' got to clean it up! There is one way you survive. Tell me where he's hiding. Where is Optimus Prime?"<br>
"Never."<br>
''(Lockdown rips out Ratchet's spark)''<br>
"Never is here."<br>
:—'''Ratchet''''s final moments before '''Lockdown''' kills him.

"In this planet we have a saying: ''The enemy of my enemy is my friend''." <br/>
"I also have a saying: '''''I don't care'''''."
:—'''Harold Attinger''' discusses with '''Lockdown'''.

"Every galaxy I've traveled, all you species are the same. You all think you're the center of the universe. You have no idea..."
:—'''Lockdown''' never truly appreciated one of his clients.

"Human beings. Bunch of backstabbing weasels!" <br>
"Hound, find your inner compass. ''Loyalty is but a flower in the winds of fear and temptation.''" <br>
"What the hell are you saying?!?" <br>
"It's a haiku."<br>
"Cut the crap before I drop a grenade down your throat!"<br>
"Try it, you'll be dead!"<br>
"Oh, please pull it. Please do it."
:—'''Hound''' doesn't appreciate '''Drift's''' haikus.

"With your fate unknown, Bumblebee has held command, despite his complete and total lack of anything resembling warrior discipline. He's like a child."<br>
"This child is about to ''kick your ass!''"
:—'''Drift''' and '''Bumblebee'''

"Autobots, I have sworn never to kill humans..."<br>
"Big mistake."<br>
"...but when I find out who's behind this...he's going to ''die''."<br>
"Hoo-ah!"
:—'''Prime's''' rage is fueled by '''Hound'''.

"Destroy the lab! Destroy it all!" <br>
''(The Autobots lay waste to the KSI research facility)'' <br>
"Hey, you! Stop! That's company property!" <br>
"They're not ''your'' property! ''They were my friends.''" <br>
:—'''Optimus Prime''' duly informs '''Joshua Joyce''' that Transformers aren't just machines.

"You have no soul!"<br>
"That is why I have no ''fear''!"
:—'''Optimus Prime'''' is shocked to find '''Galvatron''' isn't as lifeless as he thought.

"We're behind enemy lines now. Lockdown's ship has booby traps! Eyes open."<br>
"Beware of his bone-grinders, brain-blinders, flesh-stealers, chromosomal-inverters, catatonic slugs, black hole trapdoors and of course, radiation."

:—'''Hound''' and '''Crosshairs''' warn the humans of the perils held within Lockdown's ship.

"I was expecting a [[Grimlock (G1)/toys#Alternators.2FBinaltech|giant car!]]"
:—'''Drift''' witnessing Grimlock transform into a dinosaur.

"Autobots, we're going to prove who we are, and ''why we're here''!"
:—'''Optimus Prime''' rallies his troops with his characteristic passion and charisma.

"Ugh, you just wanna die for the guy. ''That's'' leadership. Or brainwashing, or something."<br>
"No, that's Optimus Prime."
:—'''Crosshairs''' and '''Drift''', remarking on their [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|leader]]/[[Dinobot (AOE)|Giant Robot Dinosaur]] tamer.

"I'm like a fat ballerina who takes scalps and slits throats!"
:—'''Hound''' takes another five levels in badass and ballerina class.

"How do you say 'Get the f&%# out of the way' in Chinese?"
:—'''Joshua''' has some issues with the language barrier.

"I hate cheap knockoffs."
:—'''Bumblebee''' looking for [[Jazz (Movie)#Human_Alliance|Human Alliance Jazz]] on [[eBay|eBay]].

"We shall meet again, Prime, for I am reborn."
:—'''Galvatron''' retreats to fight another day.

"There are mysteries to the universe we were never meant to solve, but who we are and why we are here are not among them. Those answers we carry inside. I am Optimus Prime, and this message is to my Creators. Leave planet Earth alone. 'Cause I'm coming...for you."
:—'''Optimus Prime'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s closing narration.

==Main cast==
{{featuredcharacters|
h1=[[Autobot]]s|c1=
*[[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] ([[Peter Cullen]])
*[[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]]
*[[Hound (Movie)|Hound]] ([[John Goodman]])
*[[Drift (AOE)|Drift]] ([[Ken Watanabe]])
*[[Ratchet (Movie)|Ratchet]] ([[Robert Foxworth]])
*[[Crosshairs (AOE)|Crosshairs]] ([[John DiMaggio]])
*[[Leadfoot (DOTM)|Leadfoot]] (''Robert Foxworth'', video footage)
*[[Brains]] ([[Reno Wilson]])
*[[Sentinel Prime (ROTF)|Sentinel Prime]]'s head
'''[[Dinobot (AOE)|Dinobots]]'''
*[[Grimlock (AOE)|Grimlock]]
*[[Scorn]]
*[[Slug (AOE)|Slug]]
*[[Strafe (AOE)|Strafe]]

|h2=[[Decepticon]]s|c2=
*[[Megatron (Movie)|Galvatron]] ([[Frank Welker]])
*[[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]]'s head
*[[Stinger (AOE)|Stinger]]
*[[Junkheap (AOE)|Junkheap]]s
*[[KSI Sentry|KSI Sentries]]
*[[KSI Boss]]es
*"[[Two Head]]s"
*[[McLaren Decepticon]]
*[[Aston Martin Decepticon]]
*[[Insecticon (Movie)|Insecticons]]
*[[Barricade (Movie)|Barricade]] (reused video footage)
*[[Protoform]]s (reused video footage)

|h3=[[Human]]s|c3=
*[[Cade Yeager]] ([[Mark Wahlberg]])
*[[Tessa Yeager]] ([[Nicola Peltz]])
*[[Shane Dyson]] ([[Jack Reynor]])
*[[Joshua Joyce]] ([[Stanley Tucci]])
*[[Harold Attinger]] ([[Kelsey Grammer]])
*[[James Savoy]] ([[Titus Welliver]])
*[[Lucas Flannery]] ([[T. J. Miller]])
*[[Darcy Tirrel]] ([[Sophia Myles]])
*[[Su Yueming]] ([[Li Bingbing]])
*[[Gill Wembley]] ([[James Bachman]])
*[[Chief of Staff]] ([[Thomas Lennon]])

|h4=Others|c4=
*[[Creator (AOE)|Creators]]
'''Lockdown's crew'''
*[[Lockdown (ROTF)|Lockdown]] ([[Mark Ryan]])
*[[Shadow Raider]]s
*[[Steeljaw (AOE)|Steeljaws]]
*[[Stupid Drone]]s
'''[[Kinetic Solutions Incorporated|KSI]] prototypes'''
*[[Oreo Transformer]] (uncredited)
|nonumbering=true
}}

==Continuity Notes==
*This film reveals the existence of ‘The Creators’, a mysterious race of aliens responsible for the extinction of the dinosaurs and creating our titular transforming robotic aliens, or at least their elemental metal. Originally it was believed the Allspark was the sole progenitor of the race of ‘Transformers’. How 'the Allspark' and ‘The Creators’ are connected remains to be told.
*Sometime after the 'Battle for Chicago' in the last film, the U.S. has provided the company, Kinetic Solutions Incorporated, with the collected Decepticons’ remains and their abandoned technology for research. However, during the massive clean up some of the technology was stolen by quite a hefty amount of people, not with the U.S. government. Even ending up in the hands of those both within and outside of the United States, the Russians have even started a bidding war.
*During the events of ''Dark of the Moon'', under duress, the UN voted for the Autobot-Government Cooperation Act to be expunged (first initiated between the events of the first and second films). Effectively, putting an end to the alliance and dispansion of NEST. As of the preceding events of this film, it has not been reinstated.
*With the disbanding of NEST, a new paramilitary unit, called Cemetery Wind was formed, composed of just humans, such as CIA operatives, some who’ve lost families in the Battle of Chicago, and is headed by Harold Attinger, tasked with dealing with the remaining Decepticons forces. Although some of Earth’s government officials are under the assumption that the Autobots are still assisting in efforts to put an end to the remaining Decepticons threat.
*Despite the end of their alliance, several Autobots (presumably the ''DOTM'' survivors and new arrivals) were given sanctuary for their aid in putting an end to the war they brought to our planet.
*Of course, both Autobots Optimus Prime and Bumblebee return, along with Ratchet, Leadfoot (via drone footage), also Brains, who was last seen in the previous film, going down with the Decepticon mothership, alongside Wheelie, after sabotaging it, preventing Bumblebee and the other Autobots (except Wheeljack/Que) from being executed by Soundwave and others. Wheelie's fate was something still unknown, until his reappearance in the following film, ''The Last Knight''.
*In the five-year gap, between ''Dark of the Moon'' and ''Age of Extinction'', Autobots Hound, Crosshairs, and Drift had arrived on Earth and due to the hostile actions of ‘Cemetery Wind’ have been forced into hiding. Somehow ending up under the command of the experienced expert of Earth, Bumblebee [[Drift(AOE)|(some are not impressed)]] .
*Sometime after the final battle of ''Dark of the Moon'', Optimus had his arm reattached, after being removed by Sentinel Prime during their final fight, presumably by Ratchet, our best offscreen medic.
*Also, Optimus uses his Energon sword (used in every film, ever since the first one) and his mega-striker shotgun (first used in the third film) for the last time. The former seen being shredded to pieces by Galvatron onscreen. Nooo. Ratchet also uses his gun for the final time, being utilized for battle and/or for intimidation throughout the first trilogy.
*In the KSI lab, among the spoils of war, are the heads of Sentinel Prime and Megatron, provided through government contracts.
*Established in the first film, Optimus Prime has held a no-harming-or-killing-humans rule (although his Autobots don't always follow that rule), the betrayal and subsequent hunting of his kind by the humans challenges Optimus' one rule.
*During Optimus Prime's fight with Grimlock, he tries to convince Grimlock and his Dinobots that they should join forces to fight against Lockdown, Galvatron's forces, and their mysterious 'Creators', as well as saving the nearby populace. Promising them 'freedom', Prime's moral compass established in the first film, albeit Grimlock must physically test Prime's strength, forcing Optimus to use force. He later holds up his end of the bargain by setting Grimlock and the other Dinbotos free after the day is saved, while thanking and commending them. Optimus doesn't task them with protecting Cade and his family, instead leaving it to his fellow Autobots already voluntarily under his command.

==Errors==
===Continuity errors===
[[File:DeceasedTransformersAOE.jpg‎|thumb|upright=1.6|Your attention, please. Will the ''real'' Optimus Prime please stand up?]]
[[File:AOECrosshairsDriftWeirdEdit.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|What just happened? No, seriously. Is there some kind of timey-wimey thing going on?]]
[[File:AOE savoy eyegouge.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|"An eye for an eye makes the whole world-OH MY GOD!!!"]]
*[[Ironhide (Movie)|Ironhide]] is seen on the cards Attinger pulls out early in the film, listed as deceased and having been last seen in Chicago. However, Ironhide was killed by Sentinel Prime in Washington, D.C., midway through ''Dark of the Moon'', and long before the final battle in Chicago.
*Scenes from the Decepticons' invasion of Chicago in ''Dark of the Moon'' are shown as archival footage presented by Attinger. While it is conceivable some lucky people with cameras recorded the initial attack and managed to survive and publish their footage, it's highly unlikely people would've been able to get close-up video footage of the NEST team taking down [[Barricade (Movie)|Barricade]] and the other Decepticons.
*A Cemetery Wind vehicle smashes into the side of Shane's car during the chase through the cornfield, but the car doesn't show any damage to that side in subsequent shots.
*Tessa and Shane's reliance on Romeo and Juliet laws is unnecessary, since the age of consent in Texas is 17.
*During the 'Autobots reunite' sequence, Drift starts out in car mode on a road with Bumblebee and Crosshairs, before suddenly appearing atop a rock formation in robot mode and transforming to helicopter mode to meet up with Optimus Prime.
*When Crosshairs and Drift are talking on board Lockdown's ship shortly after boarding it, a ''very'' bizarre edit occurs in the middle of Drift's line "Better hurry, because dark matter drives are preparing to take off". The camera angle is now slightly different than before, but it's not a switch between a long shot and a close-up or a complete change of perspective. Oddly, Drift is still seen from the almost the ''exact same angle'' as before the edit, but even though his and Crosshairs's bodies were at an almost 90 degree angle before the edit, they're now suddenly almost standing in parallel to each other, with Crosshairs' head turned towards Drift. In addition, a flame that appeared in front of Drift just before the edit is suddenly gone.
*When Shane shouts "I surrender!" and drops his "gun-sword", the hilt is facing to the right, but after a close-up showed it landing on the ground and firing a shot, the hilt is suddenly facing to the ''left'' in the subsequent long shot when it fires more shots.
*When Joshua reunites with the rest of the group in Hong Kong, Darcy tells him she'll do a diversion, and to get the Seed somewhere safe. Yet, no diversion of any kind happens.
*As Cade and Savoy grapple in the apartment, Cade jams his thumb deep into Savoy's eye socket (see right), with accompanying "squlech" sound effect, and appropriate reaction from Savoy in the form of a long howl of pain through gritted teeth and a string of drool flowing uncontrolled from his mouth. But as soon as the two separate, Savoy's eye is absolutely fine, with no indication anything is supposed to have happened to it.
*During Hound's fight with [[Two Head]], Cade is seen wearing his jacket but reverts back to his shirt following the Decepticon's defeat.
*While Lockdown is pulling up parts of the city, Shane backs the car into a building which is two stories high at most, but appears much larger on the inside.
*In vehicle mode, Stinger's engine sound is inaccurate to what his alt mode actually is (a Pagani Huayra) and sounds more like a McLaren F1.

===Technical/animation errors===
*The shot right before the close-up of the cyberformed dinosaurs has no cyberformed dinosaurs at all, despite having all the excavation vehicles in the same positions as the next scene.
* Arcee is seen on Attinger's cards misspelled as "Acree".
** Additionally, the image on the card is of [[Elita-One (Movie)|Elita-One]]; while an Arcee ''sister'', is not Arcee herself. This could potentially be explained by the movie ignoring the retcon from the comics that changed her from one character with three bodies to three characters psychically linked by a single spark.
*When Savoy says "Use the mini drones", you can clearly see the green screen in the monitors.
*As Cemetery Wind are attacking Ratchet, a helicopter fires several missiles at him. Two of the missiles miss him, but do not detonate or cause any explosion of any kind to the structures immediately behind Ratchet, and are not even seen to hit them- they simply disappear.
*When Attinger takes over the operation to scramble Cemetery Wind after Optimus, and dismisses everyone in the room, he does so by saying "Ladies and gentlemen, this room is going dark. The exit is on your left." All the people then get up and begin to exit to their ''right''.
*Scrambling Cemetery Wind seems to scramble the timeline. From the deployment of Cemetery Wind to Lucas's death, the time of day is in limbo. For example, Optimus escapes from the Yeager property at sunset, joining the pursuit that takes place in early afternoon, not to mention that Cemetery Wind arrives at the Yeagers' home town at what appears to be dawn. In some instances, repeated changes between shots correspond with changes between different times of day, as different positions of the sun result in very very obviously different lighting conditions.
*When Lockdown transforms to prepare for the attack on Optimus, one can clearly see a faux-part Lamborghini logo pop out from inside the car, while the actual logo disappears.
*In the shot of Shane's car pulling up outside of the Yeager farm after Cemetery Wind has stormed in, nobody is seen inside the vehicle.
*During the scene where Cade is pretending to be a truck driver with Optimus still in his flat-nose truck form, he has a cap and white plaid shirt on. After Optimus scans into his newer form, Cade's back to wearing his leather jacket.
*When Shane's car gets sideswiped in the cornfield, the back left window is shattered. A couple scenes later, the window is just rolled down.
*When Shane's car breaks into a building, the woman sitting right in the middle of the room is clearly waiting on the glass-breaking noise to start running.
*After Lucas' death, there is nothing really stopping Lockdown or Cemetery Wind from continuing to chase Optimus. Lockdown is much faster and could easily catch up to Optimus whilst Cemetery Wind could chase in their remaining vehicles.
*When Optimus transforms to and from his Marmon 97 alternate mode, the windows and grille that make up his chest visibly change size and shape.
*When Optimus transforms out of his flat-nosed truck mode and punches the ground, Tessa and Shane are standing next to each other, as viewed from behind Optimus. When the view immediately switches to be facing Optimus, Cade is suddenly standing between the two.
*Shane defends his relationship with Tessa by stating that the 'Romeo and Juliet laws' "statute 2705-3" protect their relationship, yet the card he shows Cade reads "Statute 22.011". This is also the number that appears in the English subtitles of the DVD, meaning that it was scripted as 22.011 and not 2705-3.
*The truck that Optimus scans, while still being from the Western Star manufacturer, is an older and different model than the one he transforms into.
*When Optimus is on his way to the reunion site, the human characters inside are sitting this way: Shane to the right, Tessa in the Middle and Cade to the left. However when Optimus gets to the reunion point Cade comes out of the truck using Shane's side door (right) instead of his (left). It is clear they (the director and his crew) were trying to get a "superhero" pose but it doesn't make sense.
*When Optimus arrived to the reunion site you can see the filming crew in the reflection of his front chrome parts.
*The statement that Drift claims to be a haiku ("Loyalty is but a flower in the winds of fear and temptation") is not actually a haiku: poems of that style generally consist of three separate statements in a 5-7-5 syllable pattern; the one mentioned in the film is a single unbroken statement that totals to the 17 syllables that a haiku technically consists of.
*Hound's dialogue when he's bickering with Drift doesn't really match up to what we see. Drift pulls his swords on Hound, but the big guy goads him on to "pull it", suggesting Drift was originally supposed to aim a firearm at him.
[[File:Uncolored Ratchet head prop.jpg‎|thumb|upright=1.67|Gray is the new green.]]
*When Joshua is in the lab showing Darcy Transformium, in two different shots, a gray, uncolored prop of Ratchet's head can be seen being worked on in the next room.
*As Cade's drone scans a KSI employee's name tag, it displays its location onscreen as around N 38°44'55", W115°28'27". These coordinates are for a [https://www.google.com/maps/place/38%C2%B044%2755.0%22N+115%C2%B028%2727.0%22W/@38.7486111,-115.4741667,3048m patch of desert in Nevada] rather than any place in Chicago.
*While first infiltrating KSI, in the showroom where Stinger is first viewed, Bumblebee is in car mode when Joshua walks in with Yueming. Bumblebee's engine audibly revs, yet Joshua doesn't notice that there's no one in the car to rev the engine.
[[File:Megatron Head at KSI.jpg|right|upright=1.4|thumb|Screw logic!]]
*Megatron's severed head is in somewhat good shape for someone who got an axe stabbed on the top of his head. Furthermore, his head is more in line with its appearance in the first movie, not ''Dark of the Moon''.
*Not to mention, after Joshua's group leaves and Bumblebee knocks Stinger down, there's no transformation noise right before Bumblebee returns to his altmode and the KSI executive walks in. Additionally, Bumblebee starts playing M.C. Hammer's "U Can't Touch This", '''when no one is in the car''' to turn the stereo on. Ostensibly it was for a comic moment, but it didn't raise anyone's suspicions that a car that wasn't typical of the ones being scanned, operating the engine and the stereo with no human inside, might be a disguised Cybertronian?
*After Bumblebee scans his new alternate mode, the camera pans over the car and Tessa and Shane are not inside. However, when he's getting his new upgraded form, you can see that they used stunt doubles for Shane and Tessa. That scene wasn't dangerous enough to require stunt doubles, was it?
*Some security guards in KSI fail to react to Crosshairs's shooting and shouting until a few seconds before the scene changes.
*When Galvatron first transforms and crashes into a truck, the way he is composed in the scene makes it look like he is simply floating above the wreckage, instead of being in the middle causing it.
*When Optimus transforms, Cade and Shane leap out of Optimus, while Tessa is trapped and rolls away. However, previous shots establish that the seating order in Optimus is Shane, Tessa, Cade. This means that Cade crawled over his daughter to escape(!), which is not quite logical or possible.
*Lockdown fires two missiles at Optimus Prime that, despite piercing his chest, don't manifest any kind of visible damage on his person, despite the previous shot showing Optimus's chest getting blown apart.
*When Lockdown is approaching Optimus after gunning him down, the driver's door of the Cadillac SRX he's resting on is shown to be open in two exterior shots, even though Tessa previously closed it after getting inside, and it's also shown closed in other (mostly interior) shots.
*When he loses his grip on the net holding Optimus and the car containing Tessa, Cade is shown falling toward the street, but he lands on the grass by the road.
*When the Autobots are on a bridge, before boarding Lockdown's ship, Crosshairs is clearly shown to be speaking but no dialogue is heard.
*Also in that same scene when Hound says "It's a bad idea but I'm all about bad ideas" his mouth movements are slightly out of synch.
*When Tessa gets taken to the trash in Lockdown's ship, a green screen can be seen at the end of the corridor.
*While locking up Optimus, Lockdown's scar is on the left side of his face. While talking to Savoy upon delivering the seed, it's on the right side of his face; however, it switches back to the left side right before he walks off after bidding Earth farewell.
*While the human characters are climbing across the anchor cables to the high-rise building, some of the Steeljaws begin to climb out after them. Cade tells his daughter not to look back and see them, but when we cut back to her, with a clear view of the cables behind her, the Steeljaws are gone.
*When Bumblebee jumps off Lockdown's ship to save the humans, he is followed by a Steeljaw. In the following shot, the Steeljaw is gone.
*While explaining Megatron's plans to the Autobots, Brains rings a bell on a train. In the next shot, the bell is not moving.
*During the motorcycle chase, the CIA cars change. At first, Joshua and Su are trailed by a Cadillac and an Audi; in the middle of the chase, the Cadillac is replaced by another Audi. By the end of the chase, the Cadillac is back.
*In Hong Kong, when Cade, Joshua, Tessa, and Shane enter the elevator to run away from the rooftop, the elevator won't move and Cade says it's overloaded. But in the next scene, we see that the maximum number of people that the elevator can carry is nine, and it's very clear that the Seed doesn't weight as much as five people.
*When Grimlock transforms to his dino mode and charges at Optimus, there are no other Dinobots, nor the ship, to be seen in the background. However, after Optimus punches Grimlock and the shot changes, Dinobots are standing almost right next to him.
*Optimus somehow has enough strength to not only maintain his ground, but propel Grimlock through the air during his charge. Considering Grimlock's strength, velocity and weight, it is highly unlikely Optimus would win.
*Immediately after he transforms into his triceratops mode, Slug is shown to have a very visible Autobot logo on his dino-mode forehead, yet he just met Optimus and the other Autobots moments before.
*One of the air conditioning units kicked off the building exterior by Savoy falls away to reveal ... a solid wall, with no connection to an apartment's interior.
*During Hound's stand in Hong Kong, the pickup truck he uses as a shield sways left to right whilst his arm remains still.
*The damage Hound receives after being shot down, most noticeably the pipe on his left shoulder, is fixed in subsequent shots.
*Crosshairs is seen driving alongside Drift and Hound through the bridge to take the Seed away from the city ... right after we just saw him staying behind to hold the line with the Dinobots.
*During the final fight, Bumblebee decides to just leave midway. Considering the distance between the factory and the dock where they met, he must have left long before Optimus flew there.
*Also during the final flight, Cade is hiding on his own behind a wall. After Lockdown fires, a second person is seen behind him. In the next shot this person has disappeared. Looking closely, the second person is wearing a suit like Attinger. Alternate take of his death, perhaps?
*After Optimus takes off, the other Autobots are absent from the shot of the main cast watching Optimus fly off.

===Geographic discontinuities===
*When Cade tries to use his card at an ATM, not only is the card issued from a Chinese bank, which wouldn't have any branches in north Texas, where the Yeagers live, the text on the ATM screen (behind the ''Access Denied'' warning) is in Chinese.
*Despite being from north Texas, Cade and Tessa have no Texas accents. Not all Texans have noticeable accents of course, but Wahlberg in particular spends the whole film speaking with his natural ''Boston'' accent.
*Despite the KSI pursuit scene taking place on a two lane highway, there are several scenes spliced in of the Transformers with supercar alt modes (like Stinger and Crosshairs) driving on what is obviously a racecourse (specifically the GM proving grounds in Milford, Michigan). This is apparent by the horizontal incline of the road in some of the shots that are also missing the markings that would normally be on a road, and a reaction shot for Stinger that shows a straight, one lane ninety degree turn.
*The entirety of the KSI pursuit scene switches between taking place between the left and right sides of the two-lane highway, despite being only supposed to take place on the right side. Furthermore, the shot showing stray missiles colliding with oncoming traffic takes place on a completely different highway, one with five lanes instead of three and a wooden fence on the side of the street as opposed to a guardrail. Moreover; the car crashing stunt for the bridge jump scene starts on the five lane highway, continues on the left side of the three lane highway, and then finishes on the ''right side'' of the three lane highway. Trouble finding shots, eh?I
*Furthermore, because this is in Chicago, a U.S. City, it makes no sense for cars to be driving on the left side of the road, instead of the right.
*All of the vehicles seen in Hong Kong are left-hand drive, rather than the right-hand drive you'd expect in a location that drives on the left.
*Some scenes supposed to take place in Hong Kong depict a very distinctively American city with traffic lights suspended by wires above the street.
*Chicago's Willis Tower can be seen in the background of Hong Kong.
*The bridge out of the city shown in the film (Tsing Ma Bridge) is at least a half-hour drive from the battlefield in Central.
*Furthermore, despite Optimus's comment, there are no bridges connecting Hong Kong Island (where all the action allegedly takes place) to the mainland. The only way to get off Hong Kong Island (other than by boat or swimming) is via one of three tunnels, none of which are used, referenced or mentioned in the film.
*Speaking of bridges, Tsing Ma Bridge (the gray version of the Golden Gate Bridge) shown in the movie is effectively a dead end unless one is going to the airport or Disneyland, because it only leads to/from Lantau Island.
*The bridge where Grimlock "digs in" is an expressway bypass. Geographically defending it is pointless as there are multiple other routes (including at least one that is faster) to bypass the bridge and tunnel yet end up at the same place on the other side.
*In one of the fight scenes there is an overhead railway (the {{w|Detroit People Mover}}). There are no overhead railways on Hong Kong Island (yet) and the {{w|MTR}} (the subway train network) trains look nothing like the train used in the scenes, as they are a completely different shape and color.
*There are no "glass houses" on Hong Kong Island.
*There are no Chinese temple ruins on Hong Kong Island. The temples there are all intact and frequently used or preserved and don't have giant metal umbrellas ''at all''.
*The area where Optimus battles and "tames" Grimlock is in the Wushan Valley in Northern China which is over 1100 km from Hong Kong, yet is depicted as being in Pok Fu Lam on the South Western side of Hong Kong Island (which is a high rise residential area). Even flying it would take well over 2 hours to get from Wushan Valley to Hong Kong.
*It's not possible to drive a car from Beijing into Hong Kong, as the number plates would be invalid, and it would take over a day to drive that distance. Chinese vehicles coming into Hong Kong have to be from the Canton area (number plates are black) and have to be registered with Hong Kong plates, which means they must display both plates at all times one above the other. (In addition, the process to obtain permission for a car to have that is also lengthy and costly.)
*The blue SUV used by Cade and his companions is not a type of vehicle that exists in Hong Kong. In addition, its steering wheel is located on the left side, even though cars in Hong Kong have their steering wheels on the right side.
*Optimus Prime's Western Star alternate mode would be illegal to drive on Hong Kong roads, since it's is oversized. The Freightliner truck used for Galvatron is the maximum size/gauge allowed on Hong Kong roads. All scenes with Optimus driving in truck mode were filmed elsewhere, the Western Star truck was never brought to Hong Kong. Even his previous Peterbilt alternate mode would be illegal in Hong Kong.
*The area depicted as the final battle scene where Optimus and Lockdown face off was digitally added on the map of Hong Kong shown in the movie. It doesn't exist at all in real life, where it's actually a breakwater/typhoon shelter full of boats on Victora Harbour. In addition, the factories in Hong Kong (which are all located on Kowloon, because Hong Kong Island is purely a residential/business/shopping district) look nothing like the buildings used in the scene.

===[[Dinobot Island, Part 1|Paleontology weeps]]===
*The cyberformed remains of a ''Tyrannosaurus'' and a ''Spinosaurus'' appear frozen together in the arctic at the beginning of the film, which is rather odd considering the two are found on different continents (North America and Africa respectively) and separated by around 35 million years of evolution. Note that a few months after the release of the movie, the morphology of ''Spinosaurus'' was completely revised, with a different spine shape and shorter legs.
[[File:ExtinctionOfTheDinosaurus.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|And another thing! How is that sauropod running!?!]]
*The opening scene of the movie shows a ''Psittaccosaurus'' (100-120 million years old), a generic hadrosaur that might be either an ''Edmontosaurus'' or a ''Shantungosaurus'' (65-70 million years old), and a brachiosaurid (100-157 million years old) all present during what is implied to be the K-Pg extinction event (64.5-65 million years old).
*The ''Psittaccosaurus'', a well known herbivorous animal, is seen actively hunting and killing live prey. In a nod to paleontological accuracy, however, it is depicted with a row of quill-like feathers along its back, as many ceratopsian dinosaurs are believed to have had.
*The Dinobots' alternate modes are orders of magnitude larger than the real dinosaurs on which they're based. In an interesting twist, using Optimus as a proxy for the average human, all the Dinobots bar Strafe have been accurately scaled up. At 850 tonnes <ref name="Grimlock stats">[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/entertainment-weekly-reveals-new-details-on-transformers-4-age-of-extinction-new-grimlock-image-179675] summarised on TFW2005.</ref> Grimlock is as large compared to Optimus as a real ''Tyrannosaurus'' would be next to a human.

==Transformers references==

* As usual, many of the new characters have roots in older portions of the mythos:
** [[Drift (AOE)|Drift]] is based on [[Drift (G1)|a Generation 1 character]] introduced in IDW's 2008 ''[[The Transformers: All Hail Megatron|All Hail Megatron]]'' series.
** Lockdown is derived from [[Lockdown (Animated)|a character in the 2008 ''Animated'' cartoon]] who had already jumped over to the G1 comics and, in toy form, to the movie universe.
** [[Hound (disambiguation)|Hound]] shares a military-green alternate mode with his [[Hound (G1)|Generation 1 counterpart]], but is otherwise unrelated. His portly physique has put many a fan in mind of similar military-green Autobot [[Bulkhead (disambiguation)|Bulkhead]], but again, the movie character's crusty, violence-hungry, trigger-happy personality owes nothing to that gentle Autobot giant.
** The name [[Crosshairs (disambiguation)|Crosshairs]] has been used by a few characters before, but this version has nothing to do with any of them.
** Galvatron being a new form for Megatron has been a thing for [[Galvatron (disambiguation)|basically forever]]. With Joyce's intentions of creating him as a counterpart to Optimus Prime, he also takes cues from [[Nemesis Prime (disambiguation)|Nemesis Prime]]; in particular the human-controlled ''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Prime]]'' [[Nemesis Prime (Prime)|character]].
** The Dinobots are the latest iteration of [[Dinobot (G1)|the powerhouse subfaction]] that first appeared in the early days of Generation 1. Their leader Grimlock is a direct analog of [[Grimlock (G1)|his Generation 1 counterpart]]; Strafe and Slug are based on Generation 1 [[Swoop (G1)|Swoop]] and [[Slag (G1)|Slag]], respectively.
* The Creators seem inspired by the alien [[Quintesson]]s from the Sunbow ''The Transformers'' cartoon, who were revealed to be the creators of the Cybertronian race in the third season of said cartoon.
* In the film's opening act, Optimus has adopted a cabover truck alternate mode akin to that of his [[Optimus Prime (G1)|G1 counterpart]]. His robot mode also draws some inspiration from his G1 design, such as the large grill on his chest.
* Ratchet and Lockdown are paired off against each other; the first incarnation of [[Lockdown (Animated)|Lockdown]] from ''Transformers: Animated'' was pitted off against that version of [[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]] in his very first appearance, presumably inspiring their scene together.
* As he hunts for Ratchet, Lockdown's head-up display shows characters in [[Cybertronian language|Ancient Autobot]], an alphabet originating in the Generation 1 episode "[[Cosmic Rust (episode)|Cosmic Rust]]". Unlike some uses of the language, it appears at random here, with no secret messages to decode.
* In the scene where Optimus scans a passing truck, the classic [[Transformation#The noise|transformation noise]] plays when the Autobot symbol emerges from his grill.
* The scene where Galvatron goes active and breaks free in KSI's Chinese facility mirrors the scene in the 2007 ''Transformers'' movie when Megatron breaks free inside [[Sector Seven]]'s facility, down to a reuse of the line "I am Megatron", only with the name changed to "Galvatron".
* The ringtone on Gill Wembley's cell phone is a remixed version of the original ''The Transformers'' cartoon's [[theme song]].

==Real-life references==
[[File:Rainbow Dash Age of Extinction.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|"I found the magic!"]]

*Among the objects KSI makes from Transformium in the film is a Rainbow Dash doll from ''[[My Little Pony]]''.

==Other editions==

==Prequel material==
*''[[Transformers (Titan Magazine)|Transformers: Age of Extinction]]'' magazine ([[Titan Books|Titan Comics]])

==Adaptations==
Unusually, no novel or comic adaptations of the film were released. The ''[[Transformers Annual 2015]]'' contained an extremely cut down prose summary of events.

==Music==
==Score==
{{main|Age of Extinction: The Score}}

==Home video releases==
{{main|Transformers: Age of Extinction (film)/home video}}

==Theatrical posters==
<center><gallery>
File:Transformers- Age of ExtinctionTeaserPoster.jpg|Something has survived...
File:Transformers- Age of ExtinctionOptimusPrimePoster.jpg|Will you follow me... for the fourth time?
File:Transformers Age of Extinction poster-IMAX.jpg|The Prime, the Grim, and the Marky.
File:Transformers Age of Extinction Cade poster.jpg|Cade, look out behind you! Ah, too late, Lockdown's ship got him.
File:Transformers Age of Extinction Shane poster.jpg|So the five minute scene about statutory was supposed to be funny?
File:Transformers Age of Extinction Tessa poster.jpg|She wants you to forget she was in ''{{w|The Last Airbender (film)|The Last Airbender}}''.
File:Transformers Age of Extinction Su poster.jpg|So the minor character gets a poster and two lengthy filler action scenes to herself?
File:Transformers Age of Extinction Lockdown poster.jpg|''Age of Extinction'', come and spend your money here!
File:Transformers Age of Extinction Rules Have Changed.jpg|It's a scene not in the movie!
File:Transformers Age of Extinction This Is Not War.jpg|This is not human extinction, it's just war.
File:Transformers Age of Extinction Stand Together1.jpg|So we face extinction if we don't stand with you? Huh, that's kinda harsh...
File:Transformers Age of Extinction Stand Together2.jpg|"Now look down. Now look at me. I'm on a dinosaur."
</gallery></center>

==Reception==

{{quote|"The few authentic inspirations to be found in the movie's hundred and sixty-five roiling minutes involve gigantic science-fiction contrivances."|[http://www.newyorker.com/arts/reviews/film/transformers_age_of_extinction_bay The New Yorker's Richard Brody on Transformers 4: Age of Extinction], Richard Brody|[http://newyorker.com newyorker.com] [[2014]]}}

''Transformers: Age of Extinction'' was critically panned, and nearly universally condemned on the American front, receiving a rating of 18% positive critical reviews on RottenTomatoes.com, one percent lower than the final score for ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]''. Common criticisms leveled against it included its relatively long run time of 2 hours and 45 minutes, the disproportionately small amount of screen time the Dinobots got in relation to their relatively large exposure in promotional materials for the film, an over-reliance on product placement, and the decision to set the final act in Hong Kong, which was perceived as a choice solely done to pander towards the Chinese audience for the film. However, the film received praise for its visual effects, action sequences, and the performances of some of the human actors, mainly Mark Wahlberg, Stanley Tucci, and Kelsey Grammer.<ref>http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/transformers_age_of_extinction/</ref> Despite any criticisms, the film was the worldwide top-grossing film for 2014, earning over a billion dollars.<ref>[http://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?view2=worldwide&yr=2014 Box Office Mojo's 2014 Worldwide Grosses]</ref>

It {{w|35th Golden Raspberry Awards|won one Golden Raspberry Award}} for Worst Director ([[Michael Bay]]), was one of four movies contributing to [[Kelsey Grammer]]'s Worst Supporting Actor win (along with ''{{w|The Expendables 3}}'', ''{{w|Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return}}'' and ''{{w|Think Like a Man Too}}''), and was unsuccessfully nominated for Worst Picture; Worst Supporting Actress ([[Nicola Peltz]] as [[Tessa Yeager]]); Worst Screen Combo ("Any two robots, actors (or robotic actors)"); Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel; and Worst Screenplay ("screenplay by [[Ehren Kruger]], based on Hasbro's Transformers action figures").

For Chinese audiences, however, it was a phenomenon and some farmers started making replica Transformers as a new job. <ref>[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/chinese-villagers-give-up-farming-719236 The Hollywood Reporter: "Chinese Villagers Give Up Farming to Build Giant Transformers From Old Car Parts", July 16 2014]</ref>

==Production staff==
''Age of Extinction'' was written by [[Ehren Kruger]], who also wrote ''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (film)|Dark of the Moon]]'' and helped write ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]''.
===Visual effects===
Like the previous films in the series, [[Industrial Light & Magic]] (with assistance from [[Atomic Fiction]] and [[Base FX]]) was employed to do the visual effects. [[Method Studios]] and [[Tippett Studios]] also contributed to the film's VFX production.

===Locations department===

==Development details==
===Cast and crew signing on===
On June 26, 2011, thirteen days before the official theatrical release of ''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (film)|Dark of the Moon]]'', actor [[Tyrese Gibson]] gave an interview to Movieweb, in which he claimed that [[Michael Bay]] would not return for a fourth ''Transformers'' installment; instead, executive producer [[Steven Spielberg]] himself was allegedly interested in directing a sequel.<ref name="tyresemovieweb">[http://movieweb.com/exclusive-steven-spielberg-may-direct-transformers-4/ Movieweb interview with Tyrese Gibson], with several names missing from the text; the full excerpt in question is quoted [http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/rumor-transformers-4-directed-by-steven-spielberg-172501/ here] on TFW2005.</ref> Ten days later, on June 26, 2011, still three days before the official theatrical release of ''Dark of the Moon'', Michael Bay posted praise for actor [[Shia LaBeouf]] on his official forums, while at the same time expressing regret for leaving the ''Transformers'' franchise.<ref name="bayshialeaving">[http://www.shootfortheedit.com/forum/showthread.php?9502-Love-Shia-as-an-Actor Michael Bay's praise for Shia LaBeouf] at the official Michael Bay forums.</ref> Another two days later, on June 28, 2011, LaBeouf confirmed that ''Dark of the Moon'' would definitely be his last ''Transformers'' film, as he didn't think there was "anywhere to take" his character of [[Sam Witwicky]].<ref name="endshia">[http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2011/06/28/transformers-dark-of-the-moon-shia-labeouf/ "'Transformers: Dark Of The Moon' Is The End For Shia LaBeouf"], MTV Movies Blog.</ref>

Eight months later, on February 13, 2012, producer [[Lorenzo di Bonaventura]] gave an interview during [[Toy Fair 2012]], in which he confirmed that a fourth film was scheduled for a release in the Summer of 2014, Michael Bay would direct it after all, and that the movie would be a "reboot". He promptly clarified that it was actually a "hybrid", an "evolution" of the franchise that would be in continuity with the previous films, citing 2012's ''{{w|The Amazing Spider-Man (2012 film)|The Amazing Spider-Man}}'' reboot of the ''[[Spider-Man]]'' film franchise as an example of what people should ''not'' expect from a fourth ''Transformers'' film. Di Bonaventura also confirmed that no casting discussions had taken place yet at that point, since there was no set story yet. However, there would be "a lot of new cast", and it was still uncertain at that point whether any of the previous cast members would return. The only characters that would "certainly" return would be [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] and [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]].<ref name="lorenzointerview">["http://www.mtv.com/videos/movies/733426/a-new-transformers-to-hit-theaters-in-summer-2014.jhtml "a new 'transformers' to hit theaters in summer 2014"], interview with Lorenzo Di Bonaventura at MTV.com.</ref> A day later, on February 14, 2012, Bay himself and [[Paramount Pictures]] officially announced that Bay had indeed signed a deal to make a fourth ''Transformers'' film. The film's release date was stated alternatively as either June 27 or June 29, 2014.<ref name="bayfourthfilm1">[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/transformers-4-release-date-revealed-174395/ "Transformers 4 Release Date Revealed"] at TFW2005.</ref><ref name="bayfourthfilm">[http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-17028248 "Transformers director Michael Bay signs for fourth film"], BBC.co.uk.</ref> That same day, Bay also confirmed that he and Spielberg were working on a "whole new re imagining{{sic}} of ''Transformers''".<ref name="reimagining">[http://www.shootfortheedit.com/forum/showthread.php?10284-Transformers-4 Michael Bay confirming that ''Transformers 4'' would be a "reimaginging"] at the official Michael Bay forums.</ref> Two days later, on February 16, 2012, actor [[Josh Duhamel]] expressed his doubts that he, Shia LaBeouf, [[Rosie Huntington-Whiteley]] or Tyrese Gibson would return for the fourth installment.<ref name="noshiarosie">[http://eonline.com/news/294791/josh-duhamel-not-coming-back-for-transformers-4-is-anyone "Josh Duhamel Not Coming Back for Transformers 4: Is Anyone?!"] at E! Online.</ref>

Four months later, on June 6, 2012, Michael Bay confirmed in an interview centered around ''[[Transformers: The Ride – 3D|Transformers: The Ride]]'' that the fourth film would feature "some redesigns of the robots and an entirely new cast", and that it would be the last ''Transformers'' film he would direct.<ref name="ride">[http://herocomplex.latimes.com/movies/transformers-the-ride-3d-even-impresses-disney-rivals/ "‘Transformers’ taking new shape with Universal ride and fourth film"], LA Times Hero Complex.</ref> A few weeks later, on June 21, 2012, Bay confirmed that the fourth film would feature "different human actors", but the film would not be strictly a "reboot", but rather take the story "in a new direction". While hinting that the story might venture into space for "a little bit", he still wanted to keep it "grounded".<ref name="starsspace">[http://herocomplex.latimes.com/movies/transformers-4-michael-bay-purges-stars-may-go-into-space/ "‘Transformers 4’: Michael Bay purges stars, may go into space"], LA Times Hero Complex.</ref>

[[File:TF4 Chinese Reality Show contestants.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|If ''Age of Extinction'' teaches us anything, it's that more movies should be cast using reality shows.]]On September 21, 2012, Michael Bay confirmed the first "cast" member for the film in the broadest sense, namely the fact that voice actor [[Peter Cullen]] would be kept on as [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]]. He also confirmed that the film would ''not'' be a reboot, but would pick up the story from where ''Dark of the Moon'' had left off in [[Chicago]].<ref name="cullen">[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/21/michael-bay-transformers-4-pain-and-gain_n_1903523.html "Michael Bay, 'Transformers 4' Director, On The Struggles Of 'Pain & Gain'"], Huffington Post interview.</ref> One and a half months later, on November 8, 2012, Bay confirmed [[Mark Wahlberg]] as the first human cast member,<ref name="wahlberg">[http://michaelbay.com/2012/11/08/michael-bay-re-teams-with-his-pain-gain-star-mark-wahlberg-for-transformers-4/ "Michael Bay Re-Teams With His 'Pain & Gain' Star Mark Wahlberg for Transformers 4"], on Michael Bay's official site.</ref> after having referred to such claims as "just a rumor" a mere month earlier.<ref name="baynowahlberg">[http://michaelbay.com/2012/10/23/transformers-4-casting-rumor/ "Transformers 4 Casting Rumor"], on Michael Bay's official site.</ref> On December 15, 2012, Wahlberg himself confirmed that filming would commence in May 2013.<ref name="wahlbergmay">[http://collider.com/ted-2-sequel-mark-wahlberg-transformers-4/218011/ "Mark Wahlberg Talks TED 2, TRANSFORMERS 4, and PAIN AND GAIN; Says TF Starts Shooting in May Followed By TED Sequel"], interview with Collider.com.</ref> Another month later, on January 8, 2013, Irish American actor [[Jack Reynor]] was confirmed as the second human cast member.<ref name="reynor">[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/jack-reynor-lands-starring-role-409850 "Jack Reynor Lands Starring Role in 'Transformers 4'"] at Hollywood Reporter.</ref> [[Nicola Peltz]] was confirmed on March 26, 2013,<ref name="welcomepeltz">[http://michaelbay.com/2013/03/26/welcome-nicola-peltz-to-transformers-4/ "Welcome Nicola Peltz to Transformers 4"], on Michael Bay's official site.</ref> followed by [[Stanley Tucci]] (confirmed to be an antagonist) on April 16, 2013.,<ref name="tucci">[http://www.comingsoon.net/news/cinemaconnews.php?id=103034 "CinemaCon: Stanley Tucci Joins Transformers 4"]</ref> [[Kelsey Grammer]] as a lead (human) villain named "Harold Attinger" on May 1, 2013,<ref name="grammerattinger">[http://www.deadline.com/2013/05/kelsey-grammer-lands-lead-human-villain-in-transformers-sequel/ "Kelsey Grammer Lands Lead (Human) Villain In ‘Transformers’ Sequel"] at Deadline.com.</ref> [[Sophia Myles]] as a scientist on May 6, 2013,<ref name="mylesscientist">[http://www.thewrap.com/movies/column-post/sophia-myles-join-mark-wahlberg-michael-bays-transformers-4-exclusive-89661 "Sophia Myles to Join Mark Wahlberg in Michael Bay's 'Transformers 4' (Exclusive)"] at TheWrap.com.</ref> Chinese actress [[Li Bingbing]] in an at that point still unspecified role on May 20, 2013,<ref name="bingbing">[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/chinas-li-bingbing-boards-transformers-525370 "China's Li Bingbing Boards 'Transformers 4'"] at Hollywood Reporter</ref> and actor-comedian [[T. J. Miller]] as a mechanic and best friend to Wahlberg's character on May 28, 2013.<ref name="miller">[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/tj-miller-joins-transformers-4-559359 "T.J. Miller Joins 'Transformers 4'"] at Hollywood Reporter.</ref> [[Titus Welliver]] wasn't officially confirmed until July 25, 2013, after he had been spotted on set in Texas.<ref name="welliver">[http://www.deadline.com/2013/07/transformers-4-adds-titus-welliver/ "‘Transformers 4′ Adds Titus Welliver"], Deadline.com.</ref> In the lead-up to the release of the movie, Welliver would stir up a minor controversy with an interview in which he stated that the film would be darker and "not a kid's movie". Following a storm of online discussion regarding this statement, he issued a new statement to the effect that ''Age of Extinction'' is in fact a kid's movie, and he meant to say it would expand the audience.<ref name="nerdist">[https://www.nerdist.com/2014/02/titus-welliver-talks-about-transformers-4-and-clark-greggs-s-h-i-e-l-d-comments/ Titus Welliver Talks About TRANSFORMERS 4 and Clark Gregg’s S.H.I.E.L.D. Comments], Nerdist.com.</ref>

A rather unusual addition to the cast were [[Byron Li]], [[Candice Zhao]], [[Austin Lin]] and [[Teresa Daley]], which won their part through participating in the ''[[Transformers 4 Chinese Actors Talent Search Reality Show]]'' on August 25, 2013.<ref name="reality">[http://beijing.china.org.cn/2013-08/28/content_29845758.htm "'Transformers 4' recruits 4 Chinese actors"], China.org.cn.</ref>

The remaining robot voice cast (barring Optimus Prime) wasn't officially revealed until May 8, 2014.<ref name="voicecast">[http://michaelbay.com/2014/05/08/john-goodman-and-ken-watanabe-join-the-autobot-voice-cast-in-michael-bays-transformers-age-of-extinction/ "John Goodman And Ken Watanabe Join The Autobot Voice Cast in Michael Bay’s ‘Transformers: Age Of Extinction’"] at the official Michael Bay website.</ref>

===Writing and production===
On March 20, 2013, the Michigan Film Office announced that the fourth film would return to [[Detroit]].<ref name="michigan">[http://www.michiganfilmoffice.org/The-Film-Office/Press-Releases/Detail.aspx?id=11620 "Transformers Returning to Michigan, Approved for Film Incentive" at the Michigan Film Office website.]</ref> Principal photography began on May 28, 2013, at {{w|Monument Valley}}.<ref name="monument">[http://michaelbay.com/2013/05/28/transformers-4-starts-filming-in-monument-valley-navajo-tribal-park/ "Transformers 4 Starts Filming in Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park"], on Michael Bay's official site.</ref> Other shooting locations were the small towns of Lockhart, Taylor, Elgin and Pflugerville in Texas.<ref name="texas">[http://www.dallasnews.com/entertainment/movies/headlines/20130426-fourth-transformers-film-to-shoot-in-texas.ece "Fourth ‘Transformers’ film to shoot in Texas"] at Dallas Morning News.</ref> Shooting in Michigan involved two historic passenger steamboats, the ''{{w|SS Columbia}}'' and her sister ship, the ''{{w|Ste. Claire (passenger steamboat)|SS Ste. Claire}}'', which were docked in {{w|River Rouge, Michigan|River Rouge}} awaiting restoration at the time being used as props.<ref name="boblo">[http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/story/2013/07/26/wdr-boblo-boats-transformers-four.html "Historic Boblo boats land role in Transformers 4"], CBC News.</ref> While shooting in Detroit, Mark Wahlberg's children visited the set and were given small parts in the movie upon their father's request.<ref name="wahlkids">[http://comicbook.com/blog/2013/07/30/mark-wahlbergs-kids-cast-in-transformers-4/ "Mark Wahlberg's Kids Cast In Transformers 4"], Comicbook.com.</ref>

[[File:AOE Michael Bay Nicola Peltz on set.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Michael Bay uses his legendary charm to get the very best performance out of his actors.]]
Due to an increased focus of Hollywood studios trying to market its movies to the Chinese audience, parts of the movie were not only set in China, but actually filmed there. One of the shooting sites was Hong Kong. While there, the movie crew encountered the risks of shooting a movie in China firsthand when director Michael Bay was assaulted on the set by two locals demanding money; according to some sources, they were store owners that were not satisfied with the compensation they received for the inconvenience of having a movie filming nearby. Bay received minor injuries, but played the incident off on his blog. Both he and an official Paramount statement suggested that the assailants were under the influence of drugs.<ref name="attack1">[http://deadline.com/2013/10/hong-kong-police-called-to-transformers-4-set-amid-alleged-extortion-attempt-report-613912/ "Extortion Attempt On ‘Transformers 4′ Set; Michael Bay Suffers Minor Injury: Report"], Deadline.com.</ref><ref name="attack2">[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/michael-bay-attacked-transformers-4-649183 "Michael Bay Attacked on 'Transformers 4' Set in Hong Kong"], Hollywood Reporter.</ref><ref name="attack3">[http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-24566287 "Transformers director Michael Bay attacked in Hong Kong"], BBC.</ref name="attack4">[http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/michael-bay-attacked-on-transformers-hong-kong-film-shoot-1.2100953 "Michael Bay attacked on Transformers Hong Kong film shoot"], CBC News.</ref><ref name="attack5">[http://michaelbay.com/2013/10/17/hong-kong-incident/ "Hong Kong Incident"] on Michael Bay's official Blog.</ref> A second extortion attempt occured several days later, this time allegedly by several triad gang members. Although one of them was later arrested, no-one was injured this time around.<ref name="extortion2">[http://www.businessinsider.com/michael-bay-transformers-4hong-kong-second-extortion-incident-2013-10?IR=T "More Trouble For 'Transformers 4' In Hong Kong As Second Extortion Attempt Reported"], Business Insider.</ref><ref name="extortion3">[http://edition.cnn.com/2013/10/25/world/asia/hong-kong-transformers-triad-extortion/ "Transformers versus the triads of Hong Kong: the sequel"], CNN.</ref> Once again, Bay played down the extortion attempts in an interview, noting that most of the locals were apologetic over what took place, and that he wanted to film more projects in Hong Kong.<ref name="eager">[http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1342084/hollywood-director-michael-bay-eager-shoot-hong-kong-again "Hollywood director Michael Bay eager to shoot in Hong Kong again"], ''South China Morning Post'']</ref>

[[File:AOEOptimusRidingGrimlock.jpg|thumb|upright=1.9|left|"Get me closer! I want to hit them with my sword!"]]Late script changes resulted in Bay and his crew returning to the Chinese city of {{w|Chongqing}} for a week reshooting a scene in January 2014.<ref name="reshoot">[http://www.ecns.cn/2014/01-23/98337.shtml "'Transformers 4' back to China for additional shots"], China News Service (Ecns.cn).</ref>

Some of [[Industrial Light & Magic|ILM]]'s post-production effects were done at a newly opened Lucasfilm facility in Singapore.<ref name="ilmsg">[http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/lifestyle/story/lucasfilm-singapore-work-new-avengers-and-transformers-movies-20140116 "Lucasfilm Singapore to work on new Avengers and Transformers movies"], The Straits Times.</ref>

{{--}}

=== Sponsors and partners ===
==== General Motors and other car manufacturers ====
[[File:AOE Optimus Prime truck.jpg|thumb|upright=1.34|When having one's midlife crisis, it's not unusual to get a souped-up alternate mode.]]
''Age of Extinction'' continues the collaboration with General Motors. Earlier in the film, Bumblebee chooses a customized 1967 Chevrolet Camaro SS as his disguise when hiding from [[Cemetery Wind]], whereas later on, he upgrades to the newest model, a 2014 Camaro concept car. (The production crew was actually accused of ripping off a one-of-a-kind custom for the 1967 version.<ref name="1967custom">[http://jalopnik.com/did-transformers-4-rip-off-this-guys-design-for-the-ne-510655228 "Did Transformers 4 Rip Off This Guy's Design For The New Bumblebee?"] at Jalopnik.com.</ref>) Furthermore, new addition [[Crosshairs (AOE)|Crosshairs]]'s alternate mode is a 2014 Chevrolet C7 Corvette Stingray, and recurring character Ratchet briefly appears at the beginning of the movie and transforms into his Hummer H2 ambulance mode (in the color scheme from ''Dark of the Moon'') before being killed at the hands of Cemetery Wind and [[Lockdown (ROTF)|Lockdown]].

''Age of Extinction'' is the first movie to feature an official partnership with a manufacturer for [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]]'s alternate mode. Earlier in the movie, he transforms into an old, rusty Marmon 97 truck cab (presumably without support from the manufacturer), but later upgrades into a brand new Western Star "5700 OP" concept truck that was designed specifically for the movie by "Twins Custom Coaches" and the team at West Coast Customs, with Western Star being a subsidiary of Daimler Trucks, who also provided a 2012 Freightliner Argosy that serves as [[Megatron (Movie)|Galvatron]]'s alternate mode.

Other manufacturers that provided vehicles to be used for characters' alternate modes were the Oshkosh Corporation with an Oshkosh Defense FMTV truck for [[Hound (Movie)|Hound]], the Volkswagen group with a 2013 Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse for [[Drift (AOE)|Drift]] and a Lamborghini Aventador for Lockdown, and independent Italian manufacturer Pagani Automobili with a Pagani Huayra for [[Stinger (AOE)|Stinger]].

=== Changes before, during and after production ===
* [[Slash (AOE)|Slash]] was originally intended to appear in the film (he even made it into some concept artwork).<ref name="burt">[http://www.seibertron.com/transformers/news/transformers-age-of-extinction-concept-art-from-wesley-burt/30723/ Age of Extiction concept art by Wesley Burt], mirrored at Seibertron.com.</ref>
* [[Glenn Morshower]] was originally set to return in this film, reprising his role of [[Morshower|General Morshower]], but didn't return due to a scheduling conflict.<ref>http://transformerslive.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/general-morshower-not-returning-to.html</ref>
* Both [[Josh Duhamel]] and [[Tyrese Gibson]] were intended to cameo reprising their roles as [[William Lennox]] and [[Robert Epps]] but were cut before filming started.<ref>http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/tyrese-gibson-in-talks-for-transformers-4-176078/</ref><ref>http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/tyrese-gibson-to-make-cameo-appearance-only-in-transformers-4-177407/</ref><ref>http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/josh-duhamel-to-make-cameo-appearance-in-transformers-4-177026/</ref><ref>http://transformerslive.blogspot.com/2013/06/josh-duhamel-not-in-transformers-4.html</ref>
* Ed Welburn, [[General Motors]]' vice president for global design, was originally set to cameo as the C.I.A. head before being recast as a KSI employee.<ref>http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/29/automobiles/ed-welburn-gets-a-part-in-transformers.html?_r=0</ref>
* A scene depicting Hound and Bumblebee dancing with Tessa (while Drift bobs his head in the background) was not present in the final cut of the film.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnxZ7Gg2yV4</ref>
* Scorn's toys lack the additional two sails he has in the film, suggesting it was a late design change.
*The Pagani Huayra that eventually ended up as [[Stinger (AOE)|Stinger]] was at one point intended as the alternate mode of a female robot with the working name "Widow Maker".<ref name="vitaly">[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-9/age-of-extinction-concept-art-by-vitaly-bulgarov-180636/ Age of Extinction concept art by Vitaly Bulgarov] at TFW2005, including "Widow Maker".</ref><ref name="jung">[http://comicbook.com/blog/2014/07/20/transformers-age-of-extinction-concept-art-shows-off-epic-scope-/ Age of Extinction concept art by Steve Jung] at Comicbook.com, including "Widow Maker".</ref>
* Wahlberg's character was named "Flynn 'Ray' Vincent" rather than "Cade Yeager" in a casting call. The same casting call also revealed that actor [[Glenn Morshower]] was supposed to reprise his role as [[Morshower|General Morshower]] from the previous two films.<ref name="txcasting">[http://www.featurefilmauditions.com/2013/05/casting-for-transformers-4-actors-and.html "Transformers 4' open casting calls for actors and extras in Austin, TX and Detroit, MI"] at Film Auditions.</ref>
* A scene where Cade says "Stick behind me" is not present in the final cut of the film.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXSkXQs890g</ref>
* Another piece of dialogue cut from the film is when Cade says "You tell me" to Attinger when he asks for Optimus Prime.
* In some concept artwork, Grimlock appears as a horn-less T-Rex.
* The original running time of the film was 2 hours and 7 minutes, which would have made it the shortest film in the franchise. The final running time was 2 hours and 30 minutes <ref>http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/BatFreak/news/?a=77992</ref><ref>http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/transformers-4-age-of-extinction-running-time-revealed-180165/</ref>
* [[Dwayne Johnson]] was originally offered the role of Cade Yeager, but due to his commitment to ''Hercules: The Thracian Wars'', the role was later taken over by his ''Pain & Gain'' co-star Mark Wahlberg.<ref>[https://twitter.com/TheRock/statuses/327892048978006016 Dwayne Johnson on Twitter]</ref>
*In some concept artwork, Drift was colored orange instead of blue. but according to the Generation 2 featurette in the Blu-ray release, this was changed because the vehicle that was going to play Drift was sold off.
*Some concept artwork shows that Optimus was intended to have his original trilogy body in the scenes where he had his new look.
*According to Ehren Kruger in the Generation 2 featurette, in the early drafts of the film, it was not originally centered on the Cade Yeager character.
*Numerous silver [[redeco]] toys were produced for Optimus Prime with the moniker of "Silver Knight", suggesting that he was originally supposed to take on this alternate appearance in the film itself, almost certainly upon drawing a sword from the Knights' armory. In the finished film, he does undergo some slight physical alteration at this point, his arms reconfiguring to resemble armor plates, but that's as far as it goes. This was also ''prrrrobably'' where he was supposed to get the rocket-boots he suddenly deploys at the film's end.
*A scene depicting Harold Attinger throwing a man out of a moving vehicle was reportedly cut from the film.<ref>http://news.tfw2005.com/2014/08/16/kelsey-grammer-explains-a-deleted-scene-from-transformers-age-of-extinction-180984</ref>

{{-}}

===Disinformation campaign===

Like ''Revenge of the Fallen'' and ''Dark of The Moon'' before it, ''Age of Extinction'' had a campaign that would mask details of the final film. However, unlike the previous films, this one was all encompassing; no novelization or comics by [[IDW Publishing]] was released, allowing for a great deal of the movie's spoilers to actually remain unknown longer than for the previous three films.

In the original Michigan Film Office press release published on March 20, 2013, several vague plot details were revealed, including the fact that Autobots and Decepticons had "[[Cemetery Wind|all but vanished from the face of the planet]]", a "[[Kinetic Solutions Incorporated|group of [...] businessman and scientists]]" were developing new technologies based on past encounters with the Transformers, and an "[[Lockdown (ROTF)|ancient, powerful Transformer menace]]" was targeting Earth.<ref name="plotunveiled">[http://www.thewrap.com/node/82001/ "‘Transformers 4’ Plot Unveiled by Michigan Film Office"] at TheWrap.com.</ref> These plot details were later claimed to be inaccurate by Paramount Pictures,<ref name="notaccurate">[http://screenrant.com/transformers-4-movie-plot-synopsis-cast/ Unofficial "'Transformers 4' Plot Synopsis Is Not Accurate"] at Screenrant.com</ref> but in all their vagueness ultimately turned out to be not too far off from the film's plot.

A lot of the newly-added characters were given "code names" during production, most of them related to the ''Rocky'' saga: "Duke" for Hound, "Adrian" for Galvatron, "Ivan" for Grimlock, "Rocky" for Slash (who was originally intended to appear in the movie, as noted above), "Southpaw" for Scorn, "Paulie" for Strafe, and "Thunderlips" for Slug. In addition, Crosshairs was code-named "Slingshot", Drift was code-named "Bruce", Lockdown was code-named "Max", and Steeljaw was code-named "Wolf" (which ''might'' have simply been a working name).<ref name="customer">[http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-news-rumors/961952-monzos-mega-hasbro-customer-service-listing-breakdown.html Hasbro customer service list]</ref>

==Notes==
*Not only do the [[Dinobot (AOE)|Dinobots]] go unnamed in the film (other than [[Scorn]] getting the nickname, "Spike"), the word Dinobot is never even said by anyone. The audio description soundtrack on the home video releases refers to them as warriors or barbarians, but notes during the final scene that they "turn into Dinobots" (of course it also refers to Galvatron transforming "into an Autobot" when he turns into a robot, so make of that what you will).
*In addition to the Shadow Raiders, Steeljaws, the ball-shaped drones, and Stupid Drones, inside Lockdown's ship there were also several hovering drones. These drones appear to be of the same type as those the United States used in ''Dark of the Moon'' (the one that got sucked into the engine of Bumblebee's commandeered Decepticon fighter). Maybe Attinger sold them to Lockdown?
*Michael Bay's website incorrectly refers to the film as "Transformers 4 The Age Of Extinction"
* The Autobots and Decepticons shown in the cards Attinger pulled early in the film includes: Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, [[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]], [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]], [[Ironhide (Movie)|Ironhide]], [[Sentinel Prime (ROTF)|Sentinel Prime]], [[Wheeljack (Movie)|Que]], [[Mirage (Movie)|Dino]], [[Shockwave (Movie)|Shockwave]], [[Arcee (Movie)|Arcee]], [[Loader]], [[Garagebot]], and the [[Driller]].
** Even though most of these Transformers are listed as deceased, Dino and Garagebot are not. Therefore, they could have been alive during the events of the film.
* This film seems to put a final nail in the coffin regarding the films' abandonment of the concept of using [[protoform]]s to travel through space; when the Autobots steal a ship from [[Lockdown (ROTF)|Lockdown]], they immediately move to leave Earth, indicating they had been stranded on Earth for the past five years without a spaceship (following the destruction of the ''[[Xantium (DOTM)|Xantium]]''). The fact that no mention is made of searching for any possible survivors of Cemetery Wind's hunt also suggests that all Autobots who did not return for this film have been killed off as well.
**Fortunately, [[Wheelie (ROTF)|Wheelie]] and [[Topspin (DOTM)|Topspin]] reapppear in [[Transformers: The Last Knight (film)|the next film]]. By taking that, Dino among the "not deceased" Transformers cards, and the fact that [[Sideswipe (Movie)|Sideswipe]] is stated to have been killed by Cemetery Wind in some tie-in material into consideration, the only Autobot from ''Dark of the Moon'' whose fate after that film is uncertain is... [[Roadbuster (DOTM)|Roadbuster]].
*The robot designs in this film are markedly different than the previous three; the robots have less alien appearances and are more heavily influenced by human forms with far less visible vehicle parts.
*Speaking of the appearance of the Autobots - they all are based on specific types of human combatants throughout history: Optimus is obviously a medieval knight, Hound heavily resembles a World War II-era commando, Crosshairs looks like a mercenary or assassin, Bumblebee's new form is highly Ninja-like, and Drift is unsurprisingly a samurai.
*Director Michael Bay makes a cameo appearance in the film as a guy sitting in the passenger seat of a truck whose trailer Optimus Prime and Bumblebee crash through after being attacked by Galvatron and Stinger.<ref name="magiceffects">[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btn2tPxjisA "Behind the Magic: The Visual Effects of 'Transformers Age of Extinction'"] on the official ILMVisualFX Youtube channel.</ref> Heck with it, much of the KSI cars are part of his personal collection!

===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''''Transformers: Lost Age''''' (トランスフォーマーロストエイジ ''Toransufōmā Rosuto Eiji'')
*''Cantonese:'' '''''Binying Gamgong: Chimmit Saigei''''' (變形金剛：殲滅世紀 "Transformers: The Century of Annihilation")
*''French:'' '''''Transformers : L'Âge de l'extinction''''' (France, "Transformers: The Age of Extinction"), '''''Transformers : L'Ère de l'extinction''''' (Canada, "Transformers: The Extinction Era")
*''German:'' '''''Transformers: Ära des Untergangs''''' ("Transformers: Era of Doom")
*''Mandarin:'' '''''Pièn-hsíng Chīn-kāng Ssù: Chuéh-chī Ch'óng-shēng''''' (Taiwan, 變型金剛4：絕跡重生), '''''Biànxíng Jīngāng Sì: Juéjī Chóngshēng''''' (China, 变形金刚4：绝迹重生, "Transformers 4: Rebirth from the Extinction")
*''Polish:'' '''''Transformers: Wiek zagłady''''' ("Transformers: Age of Extinction")
*''Portuguese:'' '''''Transformers: A Era da Extinção''''' ("Transformers: The Age of Extinction")
*''Russian:'' '''''Transformery: Epokha istrebleniya''''' (Трансформеры: Эпоха истребления "Transformers: Age of Extermination")
*''Spanish:'' '''''Transformers 4''''' (Argentina)
*''Turkish:'' '''''Transformers: Kayıp Çağ''''' ("Transformers: Lost Age")
*''Czech:'' '''''Transformers: Zánik''''' (Transformers: Extinction)

==External links==
* [http://www.transformersmovie.com/ Transformersmovie.com]
* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2109248/?ref_=nv_sr_1 ''Age of Extinction'' at IMDB.com]
* {{w|Transformers: Ag of Extinction|''Age of Extinction'' film on Wikipedia}}
* [https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/transformers_age_of_extinction/ ''Age of Extinction'' on RottenTomatoes.com]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

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[[Category:Age of Extinction| Age of Extinction (film)]]
[[Category:Real world films]]

Transformers: Age of Extinction (film)

2020-08-01T23:56:46Z

96megatron: /* Continuity Notes */

{{Nav-aoe}}
[[File:Transformers- Age of ExtinctionOptimusPrimePoster.jpg‎|thumb|upright=1.67|An adventure 65 million years in the making.]]

'''''Transformers: Age of Extinction''''' is the fourth film in the [[live-action film series]]. It was released on [[June 27]], [[2014]].

Following the [[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (film)|Battle of Chicago]], humanity has come to fear both Autobots and Decepticons alike. With the aid of a Transformer mercenary named [[Lockdown (ROTF)|Lockdown]], a CIA [[Cemetery Wind|task-force]] operated by [[Harold Attinger]] begins hunting the remaining [[Transformer]]s on [[Earth]]. Hunted by enemies that were once his allies, [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] loses faith in humanity and sends his forces into hiding. Now, five years later, struggling inventor and single-father [[Cade Yeager]] discovers a damaged Transformer, placing both himself and his [[Tessa Yeager|daughter]] on a collision course with events that threaten the extinction of humankind itself.

{{bigquote|The trouble with loyalty to a cause is that the cause will ''always'' betray you.|[[Lockdown (ROTF)|Lockdown]]|''Transformers: Age of Extinction''}}

==Synopsis==

[[File:The Creators cyberforming Earth AOE.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.67|"God creates dinosaurs. God destroys dinosaurs. God creates man. Man destroys God. Man creates dinosaurs."]]
65 million years ago, on Cretaceous [[Earth]], a ''Psittacosaurus'' is out hunting for food. The small dinosaur finds a fish and starts to feed, but stops as hundreds of alien ships enter Earth's atmosphere, piloted by the mysterious [[Creator (AOE)|"Creators"]]. The alien ships launch dozens of strange [[Seed]]s across the planet. As they detonate, they convert the landscape and the herds of panicking dinosaurs into a metallic substance, ending the Age of Dinosaurs. Millions of years later, while digging in the [[Arctic]], a team of geologists uncover a mysterious pair of metallized dinosaur skeletons - a discovery that attracts the attention of [[Darcy Tirrel]]...

Five years after the invasion of [[Chicago]], tensions between humans and Cybertronians have risen dramatically. Although the Autobots are officially granted asylum on Earth, public opinion has turned against all Transformers. The government of the United States has terminated all human-Autobot joint programs and instated [[Cemetery Wind]], an elite [[CIA]] unit intended to flush out the handful of [[Decepticon]]s left on Earth. What the President doesn't know is that [[Harold Attinger]], the leader of the operation, is slaughtering all Transformers, regardless of faction. On one such mission, the team pinpoints [[Ratchet (Movie)|Ratchet]] hiding within an abandoned boat. He immediately tries to flee, but is crippled and brought down by their weapons. The team leader, [[James Savoy]], mockingly asks why Ratchet ran if he's not their enemy, and Ratchet replays a transmission he received from [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]], ordering all Autobots to hide from humans. However, Savoy dismisses his pleas as his sister was killed in Chicago. A Transformer bounty hunter, [[Lockdown (ROTF)|Lockdown]], who has actually been helping Cemetery Wind hunt the Autobots, emerges from the nearby swamp and attacks Ratchet, further damaging him. Walking past his human allies, Lockdown demands to know [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]]'s whereabouts. When Ratchet refuses, Lockdown brutally kills him by ripping out his spark.
[[File:AOE Ratchet dying.jpg|thumb|upright=1.67|"Condors. Condors are on the verge of extinction..."]]

In Texas, struggling inventor [[Cade Yeager]] and his friend/employee [[Lucas Flannery]] meet at an old theater, looking for salvage. He finds an old truck, and upon inspection it seems to be full of artillery shells. He buys the truck along with the other theater equipment and puts it in his garage. [[Tessa Yeager|Tessa]], Cade's daughter, observes this while video-chatting with her boyfriend and criticizes her dad for buying the heap of junk. While attempting to salvage the truck's engine to sell, Cade realizes it's actually a badly-damaged Transformer. After calling Lucas and Tessa, he connects jumper cables to its engine, only for it to begin replaying the distress call Ratchet had received earlier. Lucas and Tessa advocate calling the government, claiming that there is a huge reward for Transformers. Cade convinces them not to call the authorities until he can spend more time working on the truck, as he may be able to stumble on a technological breakthrough if he can figure out how the Transformers work. When Cade removes a live missile from the truck's "power core," it transforms into a heavily injured Optimus Prime, who roars at them to stay back while he swings his weapon around the barn. Cade, Lucas, and Tessa ask why Optimus is so badly damaged, to which he replies that the Autobots are being hunted and he must help them. Cade offers to repair him, and sends Lucas to buy the parts that will enable him to fix Optimus. Cade and Optimus begin to bond as the repairs begin.
[[File:AOE-injuredoptimus.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.67|"Should we chance moving him?"]]

In the Arctic, Attinger arrives via helicopter at [[Knight Ship|Lockdown's ship]] and demands to know why Optimus Prime escaped him in [[Mexico]]. Lockdown derisively tells Attinger that Optimus Prime would not have escaped were it not for Cemetery Wind's interference, stressing that he does not care about Attinger or his goals and wishes only to capture Optimus Prime.

Shortly after returning to [[Washington, D.C.]], Attinger receives a tip that Optimus Prime has been located in Texas and sends Savoy and Cemetery Wind to apprehend him. The agents swarm the barn, but there is no trace of Prime inside. When Savoy threatens Tessa to force Cade to tell him of Prime's whereabouts, the Autobot leader explodes out of the barn's basement in which he was hiding. He escapes after a brief skirmish that destroys the Yeager residence, with both Cemetery Wind and Lockdown in pursuit. As Cade catches one of Cemetery Wind's mini drones, a white rally car zooms over the adjacent fields and picks up the Yeagers and Lucas. The driver turns out to be [[Shane Dyson|Shane]], a rally car racer who is also Tessa's boyfriend. A group of Cemetery Wind vehicles begins chasing them.
[[File:Optimus shooting humans AOE.jpg|thumb|upright=1.67|"You think they'll have that on the tour?"]]

Both the rally car and Optimus Prime are chased into an abandoned factory, where Optimus Prime fights off Lockdown. Shane puts his driving skills to good use and pulls a series of tight maneuvers that result in the Cemetery Wind cars crashing, destroys his car in the process. Optimus Prime, who has caught Lockdown in a crane cable, transforms and tells the humans to pile into him and escape. Lockdown throws a grenade at the humans as they run towards Optimus Prime; though Shane and the Yeagers escape, Lucas is caught in the blast and killed.

Arriving at an abandoned gas station, Optimus orders the humans out and drives off to ensure that they have not been followed. Cade confronts Tessa and Shane about their relationship but Tessa gets angry at Cade for putting them all in danger. The next day, Optimus and the humans set off towards Monument Valley. Prime [[trans-scan|scans]] a passing truck, sheds his layer of rust and takes on a new form with his old paint scheme. They arrive in Monument Valley where they meet the other surviving Autobots in the form of [[Crosshairs (AOE)|Crosshairs]], [[Hound (Movie)|Hound]], [[Drift (AOE)|Drift]], and their de facto leader [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]]. Crosshairs and Hound start threatening the humans for having their species betray them but Optimus convinces them that they have risked their lives to save his. The Humans notice that there are clear tensions between the Autobots. Cade reveals footage of the attack on Ratchet and [[Leadfoot (DOTM)|Leadfoot's]] demise using the stolen aerial drone and Prime declares that he will kill the one responsible for hunting down the Autobots.

[[File:Autobots unite monument valley AOE.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.67|"Dr. Grant, my dear Dr. Sattler... Welcome to [[Jurassic Park]]." ]]

Inspection of the drone leads them to a company named [[Kinetic Solutions Incorporated|KSI]], located in a rebuilt Chicago. It is run by [[Joshua Joyce]], who is working with [[Su Yueming]] and Attinger to create artificial Transformers to eventually be used in the military. Using the remains of [[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]], [[Sentinel Prime (ROTF)|Sentinel Prime]], [[Starscream (Movie)|the]] [[Soundwave (ROTF)|countless]] [[Shockwave (Movie)|Decepticons]] from the Chicago battle and the hunted Autobots, they have synthesized the metal that the Transformers are made of, calling it [[Living metal#Live-action film series|Transformium]]. When given commands through a computer, Transformium can be changed into various shapes or objects. Although a drone called [[Stinger (AOE)|Stinger]] (designed after Bumblebee) is active, Joshua's major project is a bigger, stronger drone called [[Megatron (Movie)|Galvatron]]. However, his attempts have not been successful; the drone keeps resembling Megatron instead of the friendlier image of Optimus Prime. Bumblebee builds Cade and Shane faux-ID badges which the duo use to infiltrate KSI. Cade goes further in and projects imagery of Ratchet's severed head being melted down, which sends Prime into a rage.

[[File:Joshua Joyce Transformium Experiment AOE.jpg|thumb|upright=1.67|"God help us, we're in the hands of engineers."]]

However, Cade is caught when his ID badge is found to have been scanned twice (by him and its original owner). He is taken to the upper floors and confronted by Attinger, who claims that what he has witnessed is in the name of world peace. He also asks him about the whereabouts of Optimus Prime but Cade maintains his silence.

Furious over how the humans have mutilated their comrades, Optimus orders an attack on KSI. Bumblebee, carried by Drift in copter mode, rescues Cade. The others trash the lab, free the injured and enslaved [[Brains]], and confront Joshua, only for him to openly declare that what is being done is being done to prevent more Transformer-caused damage and that the humans "don't need" the Autobots. Disheartened, Prime orders a retreat.

As the Autobots exit the factory and leave, Attinger catches up with Joshua and claims that the Autobots are terrorists for attacking the facility. He coerces Joyce to use the two functional drones to take down the Autobots. Galvatron and Stinger activate and pursue their quarry across a highway, with Galvatron doing more damage than his KSI handlers intend. Bumblebee fires upon Galvatron but is surprised to see him simply disintegrate and reintegrate again. Galvatron attacks Prime. As they battle, Optimus declares that the artificial creation has no soul, to which it retorts "That is why I have no FEAR!"

[[File:AOEGalvatron.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.67|"Kids! You want to have one of those?"]]

As Tessa scrambles for cover in a nearby vehicle, Prime is suddenly shot from the back and falls; Lockdown has arrived, along with his ship! Lockdown gloats to his prisoner, claiming that Optimus was built, not born, and now the Creators want him returned in one piece. The bounty hunter orders a net dropped over Optimus and hoists both the Autobot leader and Tessa's hiding place into his ship. Cade desperately clings to the net, but his strength gives out and he falls to the fields below. As the spaceship departs, Cade and Shane vow to get Tessa back.

Lockdown throws Prime in a cage and orders his lackeys to dispose of Tessa. Prime takes note of several other aliens in similar cages, including [[Dinobot (AOE)|other Cybertronian warriors]]. He also discovers the original purpose of the mercenary ship: it was originally used by a group of legendary Knights (presumably including Prime himself) but now acts as Lockdown's flying prison. Lockdown's ship hovers over Chicago, triggering panic in the streets, but Attinger manages to talk down the authorities and send Savoy to rendezvous with Lockdown. As payment for Prime's capture, Lockdown gives him a Seed.

Cade, Shane, and the other Autobots get aboard the ship as it flies low over a bridge. While being pursued by Lockdown's henchmen, the two humans find a strange Knight armory, from which Cade takes a sword that opens up to form a gun. While Shane and Cade rescue Tessa, Crosshairs deploys the ship's mooring cables, which fire into the Willis Tower and preventing the ship from breaking atmosphere. The humans begin to clamber down the cables to safety, but they are pursued by a pack of [[Steeljaw (AOE)|Steeljaw]]s. Bumblebee manages to save the trio. The other Autobots locate Optimus, who reveals that the section of the ship they are on can separate from the main body. Crosshairs uses a gunship to pick up Bumblebee and the humans, then leads them on a dogfight through Chicago's streets, destroying some of Lockdown's [[Shadow Raider|mercenaries]].

[[File:Prime gets shotAOE.jpg|thumb|upright=1.67|"It could have been worse, John. A lot worse."]]

Back at KSI, it is decided that all equipment is to be moved to the Beijing facility to continue operations. Joshua is also none too pleased about the previous field test of Galvatron; not only was it a loss on several fronts, but the drone also ''spoke'', which was something it was ''not'' programmed to do!

The Autobots land their new ship at an abandoned train yard. Optimus claims that he sensed Megatron's presence during his fight with Galvatron. Brains explains Galvatron's true nature: while he decoded dead Transformer brains, he learned that Megatron's mind had survived and planned to transfer itself to Galvatron's body, explaining Galvatron's sinister appearance. The tiny bot further mentions how Galvatron used his knowledge to build Stinger and the other drones, with plans to make them into his personal army. As Tessa tells the group about the Seed she saw, Optimus and Hound explain that the Creators used Seeds to convert organic material into metal, then harvested the resulting Transformium for their own purposes. Cade makes a call to Joyce and relays the newfound data about Galvatron. Knowing that Joyce is also an inventor with a heart, he pleads with Joyce to shut down Galvatron before things escalate. Although Joyce puts up an unconvinced façade, he demands increased security around Galvatron after hanging up.

As police cars surround the train yard, the Autobots board their shuttle again and take to the air. Optimus says that though the Autobots will travel to Hong Kong and get the Seed back, they will leave Earth afterwards; they are done protecting humanity. Cade disagrees but Prime is non-responsive. They later debate the matter, with Cade attempting to reignite Prime's faith in humanity.

In deep space, Lockdown finally discovers the absence of the smaller ship. He grumbles about Optimus Prime taking his trophy case and how the Prime will feel his wrath while he reverses course. Joyce meets with Attinger and Savoy and receives the Seed. Joyce intends to detonate it in a region of the [[Gobi Desert]], which will generate enough Transformium to last a century. Attinger is eager to expedite production but grows incensed when Joshua disagrees and says that they should go slower, quite obviously moved by Cade's call. Meanwhile, Galvatron activates ''himself'' and starts to infect the legion of over fifty other KSI Transformers. When the alarm rings regarding Galvatron's escape, Joyce has Attinger and Savoy evacuated from the building and gets in a car with Su, an associate named Darcy, and the Seed. They decide to try to hide the Seed in [[Hong Kong]].

Being hunted by Attinger and Savoy, Joyce seeks refuge on a rooftop when the Autobot-piloted ship arrives and attempts to pick him and the Seed up. However, Galvatron and his drones ramy arrive and shoot down the airborne vessel, causing Bumblebee, Hound, and the Yeagers to spill out while the others (Prime, Crosshairs, Drift, and the captured Knights) to careen away into the Wulong Valley. Savoy finds the Yeagers and Joyce on the rooftop and open fires on them but Cade leads him away from the others. The two jump across rooftops, eventually crashing into a house and getting into a fist fight which ends with Savoy falling from a window to his death.

Hound and Bumblebee attempt to escort the humans and the Seed out of the city, but are cut short when Joshua points out that the KSI-built Transformers were specifically built to destroy any Autobots or Decepticons left on Earth. This prompts Prime to enter the crashed ship and activate the armory as well as release the other captives within the ship. As Hound and Bumblebee hold the line and protect the humans, Optimus tries to convince the Legendary Warriors to fight alongside them. Their [[Grimlock (AOE)|apparent leader]] violently declines at first, fighting the Prime in both his massive robot mode and his Tyrannosaurus mode. Optimus quickly defeats him, saying that he and the other warriors will protect his family or die, then mounts the metal dinosaur. The Autobots mount their Dinobots and charge over the mountains into Hong Kong.

[[File:Dinobots ready for battle AOE.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.67|"''T. rex'' doesn't want to be fed. He wants to ''hunt''."]]

Meanwhile, as Hound and Bumblebee are starting to be overwhelmed by Galvatron's drone forces, Optimus and his fellow Autobots storm into the city, slamming, crushing, stomping, and chomping all nearby enemies. Galvatron retreats as the Autobots and Dinobots decimate his forces. With this battle over, Optimus confronts Joshua for his actions and gives the order to defend the humans and escort them, and the Seed, away from the city. On the way, a homing beacon within the Seed activates, allowing Lockdown to track the Autobots down. He activates a massive magnet, wreaking havoc on Hong Kong. Everything metal from kitchenware to massive ships are picked up by the magnet, including the Autobots and Dinobots. After narrowly avoiding the magnet, the Yeagers are momentarily separated from the Autobots. Optimus shoots at the magnet, destroying it and releasing the Transformers from its influence. The ship retreats to a nearby factory, with Optimus hot on its trail. Cade tells his daughter to stay with Shane and the Autobots, as he wishes to fight alongside Optimus against Lockdown. As Optimus Prime and Lockdown battle one-on-one, Attinger corners Yeager with a pistol, accusing him of choosing aliens over his own race, but he is quickly shot and killed by Optimus.

Because of Optimus's choice to save Cade before defending himself, Lockdown gains the upper hand, impaling Optimus through the chest with his own sword and pinning him to a concrete pillar. Meanwhile, Tessa convinces Bumblebee to turn around and the three join in fighting Lockdown, allowing Shane to use a tow truck to unpin Prime. Just as Lockdown is about to kill Cade, Optimus jumps up and slices the bounty hunter in half. Activating one of Lockdown's grenades, Prime tells the humans to hold on and uses rocket boosters to escape while the grenade destroys the last of the KSI drones. Galvatron has survived and retreated to the outskirts of the city; watching Prime blast off, he tells Optimus to beware, for he is reborn...

[[File:AOE-DefendThisFamily.jpg|thumb|upright=1.67|"I don't know. I guess... I guess we'll just have to evolve too."]]

The Autobots, Dinobots, and their human allies all regroup on the waterfront. Cade and Tessa happily reconcile and Cade finally accepts Shane. Joshua nobly says he will help them with their destroyed home. Prime declares the Dinobots are now free as they depart for parts unknown. With the bounty on his head placing the entire Earth in danger, Prime blasts off into space with the Seed to confront the Creators and discover the mystery behind his own origins, but not before ordering the Autobots to protect the Yeager family. As he leaves Earth's atmosphere, Optimus Prime sends a message to his Creators to leave planet Earth alone, because he's coming for them.

{{--}}

==Quotes==
"Lockdown...?"<br>
"Autobots, Decepticons, like little children, always fighting; making a mess out of the universe, then ''I've'' got to clean it up! There is one way you survive. Tell me where he's hiding. Where is Optimus Prime?"<br>
"Never."<br>
''(Lockdown rips out Ratchet's spark)''<br>
"Never is here."<br>
:—'''Ratchet''''s final moments before '''Lockdown''' kills him.

"In this planet we have a saying: ''The enemy of my enemy is my friend''." <br/>
"I also have a saying: '''''I don't care'''''."
:—'''Harold Attinger''' discusses with '''Lockdown'''.

"Every galaxy I've traveled, all you species are the same. You all think you're the center of the universe. You have no idea..."
:—'''Lockdown''' never truly appreciated one of his clients.

"Human beings. Bunch of backstabbing weasels!" <br>
"Hound, find your inner compass. ''Loyalty is but a flower in the winds of fear and temptation.''" <br>
"What the hell are you saying?!?" <br>
"It's a haiku."<br>
"Cut the crap before I drop a grenade down your throat!"<br>
"Try it, you'll be dead!"<br>
"Oh, please pull it. Please do it."
:—'''Hound''' doesn't appreciate '''Drift's''' haikus.

"With your fate unknown, Bumblebee has held command, despite his complete and total lack of anything resembling warrior discipline. He's like a child."<br>
"This child is about to ''kick your ass!''"
:—'''Drift''' and '''Bumblebee'''

"Autobots, I have sworn never to kill humans..."<br>
"Big mistake."<br>
"...but when I find out who's behind this...he's going to ''die''."<br>
"Hoo-ah!"
:—'''Prime's''' rage is fueled by '''Hound'''.

"Destroy the lab! Destroy it all!" <br>
''(The Autobots lay waste to the KSI research facility)'' <br>
"Hey, you! Stop! That's company property!" <br>
"They're not ''your'' property! ''They were my friends.''" <br>
:—'''Optimus Prime''' duly informs '''Joshua Joyce''' that Transformers aren't just machines.

"You have no soul!"<br>
"That is why I have no ''fear''!"
:—'''Optimus Prime'''' is shocked to find '''Galvatron''' isn't as lifeless as he thought.

"We're behind enemy lines now. Lockdown's ship has booby traps! Eyes open."<br>
"Beware of his bone-grinders, brain-blinders, flesh-stealers, chromosomal-inverters, catatonic slugs, black hole trapdoors and of course, radiation."

:—'''Hound''' and '''Crosshairs''' warn the humans of the perils held within Lockdown's ship.

"I was expecting a [[Grimlock (G1)/toys#Alternators.2FBinaltech|giant car!]]"
:—'''Drift''' witnessing Grimlock transform into a dinosaur.

"Autobots, we're going to prove who we are, and ''why we're here''!"
:—'''Optimus Prime''' rallies his troops with his characteristic passion and charisma.

"Ugh, you just wanna die for the guy. ''That's'' leadership. Or brainwashing, or something."<br>
"No, that's Optimus Prime."
:—'''Crosshairs''' and '''Drift''', remarking on their [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|leader]]/[[Dinobot (AOE)|Giant Robot Dinosaur]] tamer.

"I'm like a fat ballerina who takes scalps and slits throats!"
:—'''Hound''' takes another five levels in badass and ballerina class.

"How do you say 'Get the f&%# out of the way' in Chinese?"
:—'''Joshua''' has some issues with the language barrier.

"I hate cheap knockoffs."
:—'''Bumblebee''' looking for [[Jazz (Movie)#Human_Alliance|Human Alliance Jazz]] on [[eBay|eBay]].

"We shall meet again, Prime, for I am reborn."
:—'''Galvatron''' retreats to fight another day.

"There are mysteries to the universe we were never meant to solve, but who we are and why we are here are not among them. Those answers we carry inside. I am Optimus Prime, and this message is to my Creators. Leave planet Earth alone. 'Cause I'm coming...for you."
:—'''Optimus Prime'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s closing narration.

==Main cast==
{{featuredcharacters|
h1=[[Autobot]]s|c1=
*[[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] ([[Peter Cullen]])
*[[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]]
*[[Hound (Movie)|Hound]] ([[John Goodman]])
*[[Drift (AOE)|Drift]] ([[Ken Watanabe]])
*[[Ratchet (Movie)|Ratchet]] ([[Robert Foxworth]])
*[[Crosshairs (AOE)|Crosshairs]] ([[John DiMaggio]])
*[[Leadfoot (DOTM)|Leadfoot]] (''Robert Foxworth'', video footage)
*[[Brains]] ([[Reno Wilson]])
*[[Sentinel Prime (ROTF)|Sentinel Prime]]'s head
'''[[Dinobot (AOE)|Dinobots]]'''
*[[Grimlock (AOE)|Grimlock]]
*[[Scorn]]
*[[Slug (AOE)|Slug]]
*[[Strafe (AOE)|Strafe]]

|h2=[[Decepticon]]s|c2=
*[[Megatron (Movie)|Galvatron]] ([[Frank Welker]])
*[[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]]'s head
*[[Stinger (AOE)|Stinger]]
*[[Junkheap (AOE)|Junkheap]]s
*[[KSI Sentry|KSI Sentries]]
*[[KSI Boss]]es
*"[[Two Head]]s"
*[[McLaren Decepticon]]
*[[Aston Martin Decepticon]]
*[[Insecticon (Movie)|Insecticons]]
*[[Barricade (Movie)|Barricade]] (reused video footage)
*[[Protoform]]s (reused video footage)

|h3=[[Human]]s|c3=
*[[Cade Yeager]] ([[Mark Wahlberg]])
*[[Tessa Yeager]] ([[Nicola Peltz]])
*[[Shane Dyson]] ([[Jack Reynor]])
*[[Joshua Joyce]] ([[Stanley Tucci]])
*[[Harold Attinger]] ([[Kelsey Grammer]])
*[[James Savoy]] ([[Titus Welliver]])
*[[Lucas Flannery]] ([[T. J. Miller]])
*[[Darcy Tirrel]] ([[Sophia Myles]])
*[[Su Yueming]] ([[Li Bingbing]])
*[[Gill Wembley]] ([[James Bachman]])
*[[Chief of Staff]] ([[Thomas Lennon]])

|h4=Others|c4=
*[[Creator (AOE)|Creators]]
'''Lockdown's crew'''
*[[Lockdown (ROTF)|Lockdown]] ([[Mark Ryan]])
*[[Shadow Raider]]s
*[[Steeljaw (AOE)|Steeljaws]]
*[[Stupid Drone]]s
'''[[Kinetic Solutions Incorporated|KSI]] prototypes'''
*[[Oreo Transformer]] (uncredited)
|nonumbering=true
}}

==Continuity Notes==
*This film reveals the existence of ‘The Creators’, a mysterious race of aliens responsible for the extinction of the dinosaurs and creating our titular transforming robotic aliens, or at least their elemental metal. Originally it was believed the Allspark was the sole progenitor of the race of ‘Transformers’. How 'the Allspark' and ‘The Creators’ are connected remains to be told.
*Sometime after the 'Battle for Chicago' in the last film, the U.S. has provided the company, Kinetic Solutions Incorporated, with the collected Decepticons’ remains and their abandoned technology for research. However, during the massive clean up some of the technology was stolen by quite a hefty amount of people, not with the U.S. government. Even ending up in the hands of those both within and outside of the United States, the Russians have even started a bidding war.
*During the events of ''Dark of the Moon'', under duress, the UN voted for the Autobot-Government Cooperation Act to be expunged (first initiated between the events of the first and second films). Effectively, putting an end to the alliance and dispansion of NEST. As of the preceding events of this film, it has not been reinstated.
*With the disbanding of NEST, a new paramilitary unit, called Cemetery Wind was formed, composed of just humans, such as CIA operatives, some who’ve lost families in the Battle of Chicago, and is headed by Harold Attinger, tasked with dealing with the remaining Decepticons forces. Although some of Earth’s government officials are under the assumption that the Autobots are still assisting in efforts to put an end to the remaining Decepticons threat.
*Despite the end of their alliance, several Autobots (presumably the ''DOTM'' survivors and new arrivals) were given sanctuary for their aid in putting an end to the war they brought to our planet.
*Of course, both Autobots Optimus Prime and Bumblebee return, along with Ratchet, Leadfoot (via drone footage), also Brains, who was last seen in the previous film, going down with the Decepticon mothership, alongside Wheelie, after sabotaging it, preventing Bumblebee and the other Autobots (except Wheeljack/Que) from being executed by Soundwave and others. Wheelie's fate was something still unknown, until his reappearance in the following film, ''The Last Knight''.
*In the five-year gap, between ''Dark of the Moon'' and ''Age of Extinction'', Autobots Hound, Crosshairs, and Drift had arrived on Earth and due to the hostile actions of ‘Cemetery Wind’ have been forced into hiding. Somehow ending up under the command of the experienced expert of Earth, Bumblebee [[Drift(AOE)|(some are not impressed)]].
*Sometime after the final battle of ''Dark of the Moon'', Optimus had his arm reattached, after being removed by Sentinel Prime during their final fight, presumably by Ratchet, our best offscreen medic.
*Also, Optimus uses his Energon sword (used in every film, ever since the first one) and his mega-striker shotgun (first used in the third film) for the last time. The former seen being shredded to pieces by Galvatron onscreen. Nooo. Ratchet also uses his gun for the final time, being utilized for battle and/or for intimidation throughout the first trilogy.
*In the KSI lab, among the spoils of war, are the heads of Sentinel Prime and Megatron, provided through government contracts.
*Established in the first film, Optimus Prime has held a no-harming-or-killing-humans rule (although his Autobots don't always follow that rule), the betrayal and subsequent hunting of his kind by the humans challenges Optimus' one rule.
*During Optimus Prime's fight with Grimlock, he tries to convince Grimlock and his Dinobots that they should join forces to fight against Lockdown, Galvatron's forces, and their mysterious 'Creators', as well as saving the nearby populace. Promising them 'freedom', Prime's moral compass established in the first film, albeit Grimlock must physically test Prime's strength, forcing Optimus to use force. He later holds up his end of the bargain by setting Grimlock and the other Dinbotos free after the day is saved, while thanking and commending them. Optimus doesn't task them with protecting Cade and his family, instead leaving it to his fellow Autobots already voluntarily under his command.

==Errors==
===Continuity errors===
[[File:DeceasedTransformersAOE.jpg‎|thumb|upright=1.6|Your attention, please. Will the ''real'' Optimus Prime please stand up?]]
[[File:AOECrosshairsDriftWeirdEdit.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|What just happened? No, seriously. Is there some kind of timey-wimey thing going on?]]
[[File:AOE savoy eyegouge.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|"An eye for an eye makes the whole world-OH MY GOD!!!"]]
*[[Ironhide (Movie)|Ironhide]] is seen on the cards Attinger pulls out early in the film, listed as deceased and having been last seen in Chicago. However, Ironhide was killed by Sentinel Prime in Washington, D.C., midway through ''Dark of the Moon'', and long before the final battle in Chicago.
*Scenes from the Decepticons' invasion of Chicago in ''Dark of the Moon'' are shown as archival footage presented by Attinger. While it is conceivable some lucky people with cameras recorded the initial attack and managed to survive and publish their footage, it's highly unlikely people would've been able to get close-up video footage of the NEST team taking down [[Barricade (Movie)|Barricade]] and the other Decepticons.
*A Cemetery Wind vehicle smashes into the side of Shane's car during the chase through the cornfield, but the car doesn't show any damage to that side in subsequent shots.
*Tessa and Shane's reliance on Romeo and Juliet laws is unnecessary, since the age of consent in Texas is 17.
*During the 'Autobots reunite' sequence, Drift starts out in car mode on a road with Bumblebee and Crosshairs, before suddenly appearing atop a rock formation in robot mode and transforming to helicopter mode to meet up with Optimus Prime.
*When Crosshairs and Drift are talking on board Lockdown's ship shortly after boarding it, a ''very'' bizarre edit occurs in the middle of Drift's line "Better hurry, because dark matter drives are preparing to take off". The camera angle is now slightly different than before, but it's not a switch between a long shot and a close-up or a complete change of perspective. Oddly, Drift is still seen from the almost the ''exact same angle'' as before the edit, but even though his and Crosshairs's bodies were at an almost 90 degree angle before the edit, they're now suddenly almost standing in parallel to each other, with Crosshairs' head turned towards Drift. In addition, a flame that appeared in front of Drift just before the edit is suddenly gone.
*When Shane shouts "I surrender!" and drops his "gun-sword", the hilt is facing to the right, but after a close-up showed it landing on the ground and firing a shot, the hilt is suddenly facing to the ''left'' in the subsequent long shot when it fires more shots.
*When Joshua reunites with the rest of the group in Hong Kong, Darcy tells him she'll do a diversion, and to get the Seed somewhere safe. Yet, no diversion of any kind happens.
*As Cade and Savoy grapple in the apartment, Cade jams his thumb deep into Savoy's eye socket (see right), with accompanying "squlech" sound effect, and appropriate reaction from Savoy in the form of a long howl of pain through gritted teeth and a string of drool flowing uncontrolled from his mouth. But as soon as the two separate, Savoy's eye is absolutely fine, with no indication anything is supposed to have happened to it.
*During Hound's fight with [[Two Head]], Cade is seen wearing his jacket but reverts back to his shirt following the Decepticon's defeat.
*While Lockdown is pulling up parts of the city, Shane backs the car into a building which is two stories high at most, but appears much larger on the inside.
*In vehicle mode, Stinger's engine sound is inaccurate to what his alt mode actually is (a Pagani Huayra) and sounds more like a McLaren F1.

===Technical/animation errors===
*The shot right before the close-up of the cyberformed dinosaurs has no cyberformed dinosaurs at all, despite having all the excavation vehicles in the same positions as the next scene.
* Arcee is seen on Attinger's cards misspelled as "Acree".
** Additionally, the image on the card is of [[Elita-One (Movie)|Elita-One]]; while an Arcee ''sister'', is not Arcee herself. This could potentially be explained by the movie ignoring the retcon from the comics that changed her from one character with three bodies to three characters psychically linked by a single spark.
*When Savoy says "Use the mini drones", you can clearly see the green screen in the monitors.
*As Cemetery Wind are attacking Ratchet, a helicopter fires several missiles at him. Two of the missiles miss him, but do not detonate or cause any explosion of any kind to the structures immediately behind Ratchet, and are not even seen to hit them- they simply disappear.
*When Attinger takes over the operation to scramble Cemetery Wind after Optimus, and dismisses everyone in the room, he does so by saying "Ladies and gentlemen, this room is going dark. The exit is on your left." All the people then get up and begin to exit to their ''right''.
*Scrambling Cemetery Wind seems to scramble the timeline. From the deployment of Cemetery Wind to Lucas's death, the time of day is in limbo. For example, Optimus escapes from the Yeager property at sunset, joining the pursuit that takes place in early afternoon, not to mention that Cemetery Wind arrives at the Yeagers' home town at what appears to be dawn. In some instances, repeated changes between shots correspond with changes between different times of day, as different positions of the sun result in very very obviously different lighting conditions.
*When Lockdown transforms to prepare for the attack on Optimus, one can clearly see a faux-part Lamborghini logo pop out from inside the car, while the actual logo disappears.
*In the shot of Shane's car pulling up outside of the Yeager farm after Cemetery Wind has stormed in, nobody is seen inside the vehicle.
*During the scene where Cade is pretending to be a truck driver with Optimus still in his flat-nose truck form, he has a cap and white plaid shirt on. After Optimus scans into his newer form, Cade's back to wearing his leather jacket.
*When Shane's car gets sideswiped in the cornfield, the back left window is shattered. A couple scenes later, the window is just rolled down.
*When Shane's car breaks into a building, the woman sitting right in the middle of the room is clearly waiting on the glass-breaking noise to start running.
*After Lucas' death, there is nothing really stopping Lockdown or Cemetery Wind from continuing to chase Optimus. Lockdown is much faster and could easily catch up to Optimus whilst Cemetery Wind could chase in their remaining vehicles.
*When Optimus transforms to and from his Marmon 97 alternate mode, the windows and grille that make up his chest visibly change size and shape.
*When Optimus transforms out of his flat-nosed truck mode and punches the ground, Tessa and Shane are standing next to each other, as viewed from behind Optimus. When the view immediately switches to be facing Optimus, Cade is suddenly standing between the two.
*Shane defends his relationship with Tessa by stating that the 'Romeo and Juliet laws' "statute 2705-3" protect their relationship, yet the card he shows Cade reads "Statute 22.011". This is also the number that appears in the English subtitles of the DVD, meaning that it was scripted as 22.011 and not 2705-3.
*The truck that Optimus scans, while still being from the Western Star manufacturer, is an older and different model than the one he transforms into.
*When Optimus is on his way to the reunion site, the human characters inside are sitting this way: Shane to the right, Tessa in the Middle and Cade to the left. However when Optimus gets to the reunion point Cade comes out of the truck using Shane's side door (right) instead of his (left). It is clear they (the director and his crew) were trying to get a "superhero" pose but it doesn't make sense.
*When Optimus arrived to the reunion site you can see the filming crew in the reflection of his front chrome parts.
*The statement that Drift claims to be a haiku ("Loyalty is but a flower in the winds of fear and temptation") is not actually a haiku: poems of that style generally consist of three separate statements in a 5-7-5 syllable pattern; the one mentioned in the film is a single unbroken statement that totals to the 17 syllables that a haiku technically consists of.
*Hound's dialogue when he's bickering with Drift doesn't really match up to what we see. Drift pulls his swords on Hound, but the big guy goads him on to "pull it", suggesting Drift was originally supposed to aim a firearm at him.
[[File:Uncolored Ratchet head prop.jpg‎|thumb|upright=1.67|Gray is the new green.]]
*When Joshua is in the lab showing Darcy Transformium, in two different shots, a gray, uncolored prop of Ratchet's head can be seen being worked on in the next room.
*As Cade's drone scans a KSI employee's name tag, it displays its location onscreen as around N 38°44'55", W115°28'27". These coordinates are for a [https://www.google.com/maps/place/38%C2%B044%2755.0%22N+115%C2%B028%2727.0%22W/@38.7486111,-115.4741667,3048m patch of desert in Nevada] rather than any place in Chicago.
*While first infiltrating KSI, in the showroom where Stinger is first viewed, Bumblebee is in car mode when Joshua walks in with Yueming. Bumblebee's engine audibly revs, yet Joshua doesn't notice that there's no one in the car to rev the engine.
[[File:Megatron Head at KSI.jpg|right|upright=1.4|thumb|Screw logic!]]
*Megatron's severed head is in somewhat good shape for someone who got an axe stabbed on the top of his head. Furthermore, his head is more in line with its appearance in the first movie, not ''Dark of the Moon''.
*Not to mention, after Joshua's group leaves and Bumblebee knocks Stinger down, there's no transformation noise right before Bumblebee returns to his altmode and the KSI executive walks in. Additionally, Bumblebee starts playing M.C. Hammer's "U Can't Touch This", '''when no one is in the car''' to turn the stereo on. Ostensibly it was for a comic moment, but it didn't raise anyone's suspicions that a car that wasn't typical of the ones being scanned, operating the engine and the stereo with no human inside, might be a disguised Cybertronian?
*After Bumblebee scans his new alternate mode, the camera pans over the car and Tessa and Shane are not inside. However, when he's getting his new upgraded form, you can see that they used stunt doubles for Shane and Tessa. That scene wasn't dangerous enough to require stunt doubles, was it?
*Some security guards in KSI fail to react to Crosshairs's shooting and shouting until a few seconds before the scene changes.
*When Galvatron first transforms and crashes into a truck, the way he is composed in the scene makes it look like he is simply floating above the wreckage, instead of being in the middle causing it.
*When Optimus transforms, Cade and Shane leap out of Optimus, while Tessa is trapped and rolls away. However, previous shots establish that the seating order in Optimus is Shane, Tessa, Cade. This means that Cade crawled over his daughter to escape(!), which is not quite logical or possible.
*Lockdown fires two missiles at Optimus Prime that, despite piercing his chest, don't manifest any kind of visible damage on his person, despite the previous shot showing Optimus's chest getting blown apart.
*When Lockdown is approaching Optimus after gunning him down, the driver's door of the Cadillac SRX he's resting on is shown to be open in two exterior shots, even though Tessa previously closed it after getting inside, and it's also shown closed in other (mostly interior) shots.
*When he loses his grip on the net holding Optimus and the car containing Tessa, Cade is shown falling toward the street, but he lands on the grass by the road.
*When the Autobots are on a bridge, before boarding Lockdown's ship, Crosshairs is clearly shown to be speaking but no dialogue is heard.
*Also in that same scene when Hound says "It's a bad idea but I'm all about bad ideas" his mouth movements are slightly out of synch.
*When Tessa gets taken to the trash in Lockdown's ship, a green screen can be seen at the end of the corridor.
*While locking up Optimus, Lockdown's scar is on the left side of his face. While talking to Savoy upon delivering the seed, it's on the right side of his face; however, it switches back to the left side right before he walks off after bidding Earth farewell.
*While the human characters are climbing across the anchor cables to the high-rise building, some of the Steeljaws begin to climb out after them. Cade tells his daughter not to look back and see them, but when we cut back to her, with a clear view of the cables behind her, the Steeljaws are gone.
*When Bumblebee jumps off Lockdown's ship to save the humans, he is followed by a Steeljaw. In the following shot, the Steeljaw is gone.
*While explaining Megatron's plans to the Autobots, Brains rings a bell on a train. In the next shot, the bell is not moving.
*During the motorcycle chase, the CIA cars change. At first, Joshua and Su are trailed by a Cadillac and an Audi; in the middle of the chase, the Cadillac is replaced by another Audi. By the end of the chase, the Cadillac is back.
*In Hong Kong, when Cade, Joshua, Tessa, and Shane enter the elevator to run away from the rooftop, the elevator won't move and Cade says it's overloaded. But in the next scene, we see that the maximum number of people that the elevator can carry is nine, and it's very clear that the Seed doesn't weight as much as five people.
*When Grimlock transforms to his dino mode and charges at Optimus, there are no other Dinobots, nor the ship, to be seen in the background. However, after Optimus punches Grimlock and the shot changes, Dinobots are standing almost right next to him.
*Optimus somehow has enough strength to not only maintain his ground, but propel Grimlock through the air during his charge. Considering Grimlock's strength, velocity and weight, it is highly unlikely Optimus would win.
*Immediately after he transforms into his triceratops mode, Slug is shown to have a very visible Autobot logo on his dino-mode forehead, yet he just met Optimus and the other Autobots moments before.
*One of the air conditioning units kicked off the building exterior by Savoy falls away to reveal ... a solid wall, with no connection to an apartment's interior.
*During Hound's stand in Hong Kong, the pickup truck he uses as a shield sways left to right whilst his arm remains still.
*The damage Hound receives after being shot down, most noticeably the pipe on his left shoulder, is fixed in subsequent shots.
*Crosshairs is seen driving alongside Drift and Hound through the bridge to take the Seed away from the city ... right after we just saw him staying behind to hold the line with the Dinobots.
*During the final fight, Bumblebee decides to just leave midway. Considering the distance between the factory and the dock where they met, he must have left long before Optimus flew there.
*Also during the final flight, Cade is hiding on his own behind a wall. After Lockdown fires, a second person is seen behind him. In the next shot this person has disappeared. Looking closely, the second person is wearing a suit like Attinger. Alternate take of his death, perhaps?
*After Optimus takes off, the other Autobots are absent from the shot of the main cast watching Optimus fly off.

===Geographic discontinuities===
*When Cade tries to use his card at an ATM, not only is the card issued from a Chinese bank, which wouldn't have any branches in north Texas, where the Yeagers live, the text on the ATM screen (behind the ''Access Denied'' warning) is in Chinese.
*Despite being from north Texas, Cade and Tessa have no Texas accents. Not all Texans have noticeable accents of course, but Wahlberg in particular spends the whole film speaking with his natural ''Boston'' accent.
*Despite the KSI pursuit scene taking place on a two lane highway, there are several scenes spliced in of the Transformers with supercar alt modes (like Stinger and Crosshairs) driving on what is obviously a racecourse (specifically the GM proving grounds in Milford, Michigan). This is apparent by the horizontal incline of the road in some of the shots that are also missing the markings that would normally be on a road, and a reaction shot for Stinger that shows a straight, one lane ninety degree turn.
*The entirety of the KSI pursuit scene switches between taking place between the left and right sides of the two-lane highway, despite being only supposed to take place on the right side. Furthermore, the shot showing stray missiles colliding with oncoming traffic takes place on a completely different highway, one with five lanes instead of three and a wooden fence on the side of the street as opposed to a guardrail. Moreover; the car crashing stunt for the bridge jump scene starts on the five lane highway, continues on the left side of the three lane highway, and then finishes on the ''right side'' of the three lane highway. Trouble finding shots, eh?I
*Furthermore, because this is in Chicago, a U.S. City, it makes no sense for cars to be driving on the left side of the road, instead of the right.
*All of the vehicles seen in Hong Kong are left-hand drive, rather than the right-hand drive you'd expect in a location that drives on the left.
*Some scenes supposed to take place in Hong Kong depict a very distinctively American city with traffic lights suspended by wires above the street.
*Chicago's Willis Tower can be seen in the background of Hong Kong.
*The bridge out of the city shown in the film (Tsing Ma Bridge) is at least a half-hour drive from the battlefield in Central.
*Furthermore, despite Optimus's comment, there are no bridges connecting Hong Kong Island (where all the action allegedly takes place) to the mainland. The only way to get off Hong Kong Island (other than by boat or swimming) is via one of three tunnels, none of which are used, referenced or mentioned in the film.
*Speaking of bridges, Tsing Ma Bridge (the gray version of the Golden Gate Bridge) shown in the movie is effectively a dead end unless one is going to the airport or Disneyland, because it only leads to/from Lantau Island.
*The bridge where Grimlock "digs in" is an expressway bypass. Geographically defending it is pointless as there are multiple other routes (including at least one that is faster) to bypass the bridge and tunnel yet end up at the same place on the other side.
*In one of the fight scenes there is an overhead railway (the {{w|Detroit People Mover}}). There are no overhead railways on Hong Kong Island (yet) and the {{w|MTR}} (the subway train network) trains look nothing like the train used in the scenes, as they are a completely different shape and color.
*There are no "glass houses" on Hong Kong Island.
*There are no Chinese temple ruins on Hong Kong Island. The temples there are all intact and frequently used or preserved and don't have giant metal umbrellas ''at all''.
*The area where Optimus battles and "tames" Grimlock is in the Wushan Valley in Northern China which is over 1100 km from Hong Kong, yet is depicted as being in Pok Fu Lam on the South Western side of Hong Kong Island (which is a high rise residential area). Even flying it would take well over 2 hours to get from Wushan Valley to Hong Kong.
*It's not possible to drive a car from Beijing into Hong Kong, as the number plates would be invalid, and it would take over a day to drive that distance. Chinese vehicles coming into Hong Kong have to be from the Canton area (number plates are black) and have to be registered with Hong Kong plates, which means they must display both plates at all times one above the other. (In addition, the process to obtain permission for a car to have that is also lengthy and costly.)
*The blue SUV used by Cade and his companions is not a type of vehicle that exists in Hong Kong. In addition, its steering wheel is located on the left side, even though cars in Hong Kong have their steering wheels on the right side.
*Optimus Prime's Western Star alternate mode would be illegal to drive on Hong Kong roads, since it's is oversized. The Freightliner truck used for Galvatron is the maximum size/gauge allowed on Hong Kong roads. All scenes with Optimus driving in truck mode were filmed elsewhere, the Western Star truck was never brought to Hong Kong. Even his previous Peterbilt alternate mode would be illegal in Hong Kong.
*The area depicted as the final battle scene where Optimus and Lockdown face off was digitally added on the map of Hong Kong shown in the movie. It doesn't exist at all in real life, where it's actually a breakwater/typhoon shelter full of boats on Victora Harbour. In addition, the factories in Hong Kong (which are all located on Kowloon, because Hong Kong Island is purely a residential/business/shopping district) look nothing like the buildings used in the scene.

===[[Dinobot Island, Part 1|Paleontology weeps]]===
*The cyberformed remains of a ''Tyrannosaurus'' and a ''Spinosaurus'' appear frozen together in the arctic at the beginning of the film, which is rather odd considering the two are found on different continents (North America and Africa respectively) and separated by around 35 million years of evolution. Note that a few months after the release of the movie, the morphology of ''Spinosaurus'' was completely revised, with a different spine shape and shorter legs.
[[File:ExtinctionOfTheDinosaurus.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|And another thing! How is that sauropod running!?!]]
*The opening scene of the movie shows a ''Psittaccosaurus'' (100-120 million years old), a generic hadrosaur that might be either an ''Edmontosaurus'' or a ''Shantungosaurus'' (65-70 million years old), and a brachiosaurid (100-157 million years old) all present during what is implied to be the K-Pg extinction event (64.5-65 million years old).
*The ''Psittaccosaurus'', a well known herbivorous animal, is seen actively hunting and killing live prey. In a nod to paleontological accuracy, however, it is depicted with a row of quill-like feathers along its back, as many ceratopsian dinosaurs are believed to have had.
*The Dinobots' alternate modes are orders of magnitude larger than the real dinosaurs on which they're based. In an interesting twist, using Optimus as a proxy for the average human, all the Dinobots bar Strafe have been accurately scaled up. At 850 tonnes <ref name="Grimlock stats">[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/entertainment-weekly-reveals-new-details-on-transformers-4-age-of-extinction-new-grimlock-image-179675] summarised on TFW2005.</ref> Grimlock is as large compared to Optimus as a real ''Tyrannosaurus'' would be next to a human.

==Transformers references==

* As usual, many of the new characters have roots in older portions of the mythos:
** [[Drift (AOE)|Drift]] is based on [[Drift (G1)|a Generation 1 character]] introduced in IDW's 2008 ''[[The Transformers: All Hail Megatron|All Hail Megatron]]'' series.
** Lockdown is derived from [[Lockdown (Animated)|a character in the 2008 ''Animated'' cartoon]] who had already jumped over to the G1 comics and, in toy form, to the movie universe.
** [[Hound (disambiguation)|Hound]] shares a military-green alternate mode with his [[Hound (G1)|Generation 1 counterpart]], but is otherwise unrelated. His portly physique has put many a fan in mind of similar military-green Autobot [[Bulkhead (disambiguation)|Bulkhead]], but again, the movie character's crusty, violence-hungry, trigger-happy personality owes nothing to that gentle Autobot giant.
** The name [[Crosshairs (disambiguation)|Crosshairs]] has been used by a few characters before, but this version has nothing to do with any of them.
** Galvatron being a new form for Megatron has been a thing for [[Galvatron (disambiguation)|basically forever]]. With Joyce's intentions of creating him as a counterpart to Optimus Prime, he also takes cues from [[Nemesis Prime (disambiguation)|Nemesis Prime]]; in particular the human-controlled ''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Prime]]'' [[Nemesis Prime (Prime)|character]].
** The Dinobots are the latest iteration of [[Dinobot (G1)|the powerhouse subfaction]] that first appeared in the early days of Generation 1. Their leader Grimlock is a direct analog of [[Grimlock (G1)|his Generation 1 counterpart]]; Strafe and Slug are based on Generation 1 [[Swoop (G1)|Swoop]] and [[Slag (G1)|Slag]], respectively.
* The Creators seem inspired by the alien [[Quintesson]]s from the Sunbow ''The Transformers'' cartoon, who were revealed to be the creators of the Cybertronian race in the third season of said cartoon.
* In the film's opening act, Optimus has adopted a cabover truck alternate mode akin to that of his [[Optimus Prime (G1)|G1 counterpart]]. His robot mode also draws some inspiration from his G1 design, such as the large grill on his chest.
* Ratchet and Lockdown are paired off against each other; the first incarnation of [[Lockdown (Animated)|Lockdown]] from ''Transformers: Animated'' was pitted off against that version of [[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]] in his very first appearance, presumably inspiring their scene together.
* As he hunts for Ratchet, Lockdown's head-up display shows characters in [[Cybertronian language|Ancient Autobot]], an alphabet originating in the Generation 1 episode "[[Cosmic Rust (episode)|Cosmic Rust]]". Unlike some uses of the language, it appears at random here, with no secret messages to decode.
* In the scene where Optimus scans a passing truck, the classic [[Transformation#The noise|transformation noise]] plays when the Autobot symbol emerges from his grill.
* The scene where Galvatron goes active and breaks free in KSI's Chinese facility mirrors the scene in the 2007 ''Transformers'' movie when Megatron breaks free inside [[Sector Seven]]'s facility, down to a reuse of the line "I am Megatron", only with the name changed to "Galvatron".
* The ringtone on Gill Wembley's cell phone is a remixed version of the original ''The Transformers'' cartoon's [[theme song]].

==Real-life references==
[[File:Rainbow Dash Age of Extinction.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|"I found the magic!"]]

*Among the objects KSI makes from Transformium in the film is a Rainbow Dash doll from ''[[My Little Pony]]''.

==Other editions==

==Prequel material==
*''[[Transformers (Titan Magazine)|Transformers: Age of Extinction]]'' magazine ([[Titan Books|Titan Comics]])

==Adaptations==
Unusually, no novel or comic adaptations of the film were released. The ''[[Transformers Annual 2015]]'' contained an extremely cut down prose summary of events.

==Music==
==Score==
{{main|Age of Extinction: The Score}}

==Home video releases==
{{main|Transformers: Age of Extinction (film)/home video}}

==Theatrical posters==
<center><gallery>
File:Transformers- Age of ExtinctionTeaserPoster.jpg|Something has survived...
File:Transformers- Age of ExtinctionOptimusPrimePoster.jpg|Will you follow me... for the fourth time?
File:Transformers Age of Extinction poster-IMAX.jpg|The Prime, the Grim, and the Marky.
File:Transformers Age of Extinction Cade poster.jpg|Cade, look out behind you! Ah, too late, Lockdown's ship got him.
File:Transformers Age of Extinction Shane poster.jpg|So the five minute scene about statutory was supposed to be funny?
File:Transformers Age of Extinction Tessa poster.jpg|She wants you to forget she was in ''{{w|The Last Airbender (film)|The Last Airbender}}''.
File:Transformers Age of Extinction Su poster.jpg|So the minor character gets a poster and two lengthy filler action scenes to herself?
File:Transformers Age of Extinction Lockdown poster.jpg|''Age of Extinction'', come and spend your money here!
File:Transformers Age of Extinction Rules Have Changed.jpg|It's a scene not in the movie!
File:Transformers Age of Extinction This Is Not War.jpg|This is not human extinction, it's just war.
File:Transformers Age of Extinction Stand Together1.jpg|So we face extinction if we don't stand with you? Huh, that's kinda harsh...
File:Transformers Age of Extinction Stand Together2.jpg|"Now look down. Now look at me. I'm on a dinosaur."
</gallery></center>

==Reception==

{{quote|"The few authentic inspirations to be found in the movie's hundred and sixty-five roiling minutes involve gigantic science-fiction contrivances."|[http://www.newyorker.com/arts/reviews/film/transformers_age_of_extinction_bay The New Yorker's Richard Brody on Transformers 4: Age of Extinction], Richard Brody|[http://newyorker.com newyorker.com] [[2014]]}}

''Transformers: Age of Extinction'' was critically panned, and nearly universally condemned on the American front, receiving a rating of 18% positive critical reviews on RottenTomatoes.com, one percent lower than the final score for ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]''. Common criticisms leveled against it included its relatively long run time of 2 hours and 45 minutes, the disproportionately small amount of screen time the Dinobots got in relation to their relatively large exposure in promotional materials for the film, an over-reliance on product placement, and the decision to set the final act in Hong Kong, which was perceived as a choice solely done to pander towards the Chinese audience for the film. However, the film received praise for its visual effects, action sequences, and the performances of some of the human actors, mainly Mark Wahlberg, Stanley Tucci, and Kelsey Grammer.<ref>http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/transformers_age_of_extinction/</ref> Despite any criticisms, the film was the worldwide top-grossing film for 2014, earning over a billion dollars.<ref>[http://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?view2=worldwide&yr=2014 Box Office Mojo's 2014 Worldwide Grosses]</ref>

It {{w|35th Golden Raspberry Awards|won one Golden Raspberry Award}} for Worst Director ([[Michael Bay]]), was one of four movies contributing to [[Kelsey Grammer]]'s Worst Supporting Actor win (along with ''{{w|The Expendables 3}}'', ''{{w|Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return}}'' and ''{{w|Think Like a Man Too}}''), and was unsuccessfully nominated for Worst Picture; Worst Supporting Actress ([[Nicola Peltz]] as [[Tessa Yeager]]); Worst Screen Combo ("Any two robots, actors (or robotic actors)"); Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel; and Worst Screenplay ("screenplay by [[Ehren Kruger]], based on Hasbro's Transformers action figures").

For Chinese audiences, however, it was a phenomenon and some farmers started making replica Transformers as a new job. <ref>[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/chinese-villagers-give-up-farming-719236 The Hollywood Reporter: "Chinese Villagers Give Up Farming to Build Giant Transformers From Old Car Parts", July 16 2014]</ref>

==Production staff==
''Age of Extinction'' was written by [[Ehren Kruger]], who also wrote ''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (film)|Dark of the Moon]]'' and helped write ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]''.
===Visual effects===
Like the previous films in the series, [[Industrial Light & Magic]] (with assistance from [[Atomic Fiction]] and [[Base FX]]) was employed to do the visual effects. [[Method Studios]] and [[Tippett Studios]] also contributed to the film's VFX production.

===Locations department===

==Development details==
===Cast and crew signing on===
On June 26, 2011, thirteen days before the official theatrical release of ''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (film)|Dark of the Moon]]'', actor [[Tyrese Gibson]] gave an interview to Movieweb, in which he claimed that [[Michael Bay]] would not return for a fourth ''Transformers'' installment; instead, executive producer [[Steven Spielberg]] himself was allegedly interested in directing a sequel.<ref name="tyresemovieweb">[http://movieweb.com/exclusive-steven-spielberg-may-direct-transformers-4/ Movieweb interview with Tyrese Gibson], with several names missing from the text; the full excerpt in question is quoted [http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/rumor-transformers-4-directed-by-steven-spielberg-172501/ here] on TFW2005.</ref> Ten days later, on June 26, 2011, still three days before the official theatrical release of ''Dark of the Moon'', Michael Bay posted praise for actor [[Shia LaBeouf]] on his official forums, while at the same time expressing regret for leaving the ''Transformers'' franchise.<ref name="bayshialeaving">[http://www.shootfortheedit.com/forum/showthread.php?9502-Love-Shia-as-an-Actor Michael Bay's praise for Shia LaBeouf] at the official Michael Bay forums.</ref> Another two days later, on June 28, 2011, LaBeouf confirmed that ''Dark of the Moon'' would definitely be his last ''Transformers'' film, as he didn't think there was "anywhere to take" his character of [[Sam Witwicky]].<ref name="endshia">[http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2011/06/28/transformers-dark-of-the-moon-shia-labeouf/ "'Transformers: Dark Of The Moon' Is The End For Shia LaBeouf"], MTV Movies Blog.</ref>

Eight months later, on February 13, 2012, producer [[Lorenzo di Bonaventura]] gave an interview during [[Toy Fair 2012]], in which he confirmed that a fourth film was scheduled for a release in the Summer of 2014, Michael Bay would direct it after all, and that the movie would be a "reboot". He promptly clarified that it was actually a "hybrid", an "evolution" of the franchise that would be in continuity with the previous films, citing 2012's ''{{w|The Amazing Spider-Man (2012 film)|The Amazing Spider-Man}}'' reboot of the ''[[Spider-Man]]'' film franchise as an example of what people should ''not'' expect from a fourth ''Transformers'' film. Di Bonaventura also confirmed that no casting discussions had taken place yet at that point, since there was no set story yet. However, there would be "a lot of new cast", and it was still uncertain at that point whether any of the previous cast members would return. The only characters that would "certainly" return would be [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] and [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]].<ref name="lorenzointerview">["http://www.mtv.com/videos/movies/733426/a-new-transformers-to-hit-theaters-in-summer-2014.jhtml "a new 'transformers' to hit theaters in summer 2014"], interview with Lorenzo Di Bonaventura at MTV.com.</ref> A day later, on February 14, 2012, Bay himself and [[Paramount Pictures]] officially announced that Bay had indeed signed a deal to make a fourth ''Transformers'' film. The film's release date was stated alternatively as either June 27 or June 29, 2014.<ref name="bayfourthfilm1">[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/transformers-4-release-date-revealed-174395/ "Transformers 4 Release Date Revealed"] at TFW2005.</ref><ref name="bayfourthfilm">[http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-17028248 "Transformers director Michael Bay signs for fourth film"], BBC.co.uk.</ref> That same day, Bay also confirmed that he and Spielberg were working on a "whole new re imagining{{sic}} of ''Transformers''".<ref name="reimagining">[http://www.shootfortheedit.com/forum/showthread.php?10284-Transformers-4 Michael Bay confirming that ''Transformers 4'' would be a "reimaginging"] at the official Michael Bay forums.</ref> Two days later, on February 16, 2012, actor [[Josh Duhamel]] expressed his doubts that he, Shia LaBeouf, [[Rosie Huntington-Whiteley]] or Tyrese Gibson would return for the fourth installment.<ref name="noshiarosie">[http://eonline.com/news/294791/josh-duhamel-not-coming-back-for-transformers-4-is-anyone "Josh Duhamel Not Coming Back for Transformers 4: Is Anyone?!"] at E! Online.</ref>

Four months later, on June 6, 2012, Michael Bay confirmed in an interview centered around ''[[Transformers: The Ride – 3D|Transformers: The Ride]]'' that the fourth film would feature "some redesigns of the robots and an entirely new cast", and that it would be the last ''Transformers'' film he would direct.<ref name="ride">[http://herocomplex.latimes.com/movies/transformers-the-ride-3d-even-impresses-disney-rivals/ "‘Transformers’ taking new shape with Universal ride and fourth film"], LA Times Hero Complex.</ref> A few weeks later, on June 21, 2012, Bay confirmed that the fourth film would feature "different human actors", but the film would not be strictly a "reboot", but rather take the story "in a new direction". While hinting that the story might venture into space for "a little bit", he still wanted to keep it "grounded".<ref name="starsspace">[http://herocomplex.latimes.com/movies/transformers-4-michael-bay-purges-stars-may-go-into-space/ "‘Transformers 4’: Michael Bay purges stars, may go into space"], LA Times Hero Complex.</ref>

[[File:TF4 Chinese Reality Show contestants.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|If ''Age of Extinction'' teaches us anything, it's that more movies should be cast using reality shows.]]On September 21, 2012, Michael Bay confirmed the first "cast" member for the film in the broadest sense, namely the fact that voice actor [[Peter Cullen]] would be kept on as [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]]. He also confirmed that the film would ''not'' be a reboot, but would pick up the story from where ''Dark of the Moon'' had left off in [[Chicago]].<ref name="cullen">[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/21/michael-bay-transformers-4-pain-and-gain_n_1903523.html "Michael Bay, 'Transformers 4' Director, On The Struggles Of 'Pain & Gain'"], Huffington Post interview.</ref> One and a half months later, on November 8, 2012, Bay confirmed [[Mark Wahlberg]] as the first human cast member,<ref name="wahlberg">[http://michaelbay.com/2012/11/08/michael-bay-re-teams-with-his-pain-gain-star-mark-wahlberg-for-transformers-4/ "Michael Bay Re-Teams With His 'Pain & Gain' Star Mark Wahlberg for Transformers 4"], on Michael Bay's official site.</ref> after having referred to such claims as "just a rumor" a mere month earlier.<ref name="baynowahlberg">[http://michaelbay.com/2012/10/23/transformers-4-casting-rumor/ "Transformers 4 Casting Rumor"], on Michael Bay's official site.</ref> On December 15, 2012, Wahlberg himself confirmed that filming would commence in May 2013.<ref name="wahlbergmay">[http://collider.com/ted-2-sequel-mark-wahlberg-transformers-4/218011/ "Mark Wahlberg Talks TED 2, TRANSFORMERS 4, and PAIN AND GAIN; Says TF Starts Shooting in May Followed By TED Sequel"], interview with Collider.com.</ref> Another month later, on January 8, 2013, Irish American actor [[Jack Reynor]] was confirmed as the second human cast member.<ref name="reynor">[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/jack-reynor-lands-starring-role-409850 "Jack Reynor Lands Starring Role in 'Transformers 4'"] at Hollywood Reporter.</ref> [[Nicola Peltz]] was confirmed on March 26, 2013,<ref name="welcomepeltz">[http://michaelbay.com/2013/03/26/welcome-nicola-peltz-to-transformers-4/ "Welcome Nicola Peltz to Transformers 4"], on Michael Bay's official site.</ref> followed by [[Stanley Tucci]] (confirmed to be an antagonist) on April 16, 2013.,<ref name="tucci">[http://www.comingsoon.net/news/cinemaconnews.php?id=103034 "CinemaCon: Stanley Tucci Joins Transformers 4"]</ref> [[Kelsey Grammer]] as a lead (human) villain named "Harold Attinger" on May 1, 2013,<ref name="grammerattinger">[http://www.deadline.com/2013/05/kelsey-grammer-lands-lead-human-villain-in-transformers-sequel/ "Kelsey Grammer Lands Lead (Human) Villain In ‘Transformers’ Sequel"] at Deadline.com.</ref> [[Sophia Myles]] as a scientist on May 6, 2013,<ref name="mylesscientist">[http://www.thewrap.com/movies/column-post/sophia-myles-join-mark-wahlberg-michael-bays-transformers-4-exclusive-89661 "Sophia Myles to Join Mark Wahlberg in Michael Bay's 'Transformers 4' (Exclusive)"] at TheWrap.com.</ref> Chinese actress [[Li Bingbing]] in an at that point still unspecified role on May 20, 2013,<ref name="bingbing">[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/chinas-li-bingbing-boards-transformers-525370 "China's Li Bingbing Boards 'Transformers 4'"] at Hollywood Reporter</ref> and actor-comedian [[T. J. Miller]] as a mechanic and best friend to Wahlberg's character on May 28, 2013.<ref name="miller">[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/tj-miller-joins-transformers-4-559359 "T.J. Miller Joins 'Transformers 4'"] at Hollywood Reporter.</ref> [[Titus Welliver]] wasn't officially confirmed until July 25, 2013, after he had been spotted on set in Texas.<ref name="welliver">[http://www.deadline.com/2013/07/transformers-4-adds-titus-welliver/ "‘Transformers 4′ Adds Titus Welliver"], Deadline.com.</ref> In the lead-up to the release of the movie, Welliver would stir up a minor controversy with an interview in which he stated that the film would be darker and "not a kid's movie". Following a storm of online discussion regarding this statement, he issued a new statement to the effect that ''Age of Extinction'' is in fact a kid's movie, and he meant to say it would expand the audience.<ref name="nerdist">[https://www.nerdist.com/2014/02/titus-welliver-talks-about-transformers-4-and-clark-greggs-s-h-i-e-l-d-comments/ Titus Welliver Talks About TRANSFORMERS 4 and Clark Gregg’s S.H.I.E.L.D. Comments], Nerdist.com.</ref>

A rather unusual addition to the cast were [[Byron Li]], [[Candice Zhao]], [[Austin Lin]] and [[Teresa Daley]], which won their part through participating in the ''[[Transformers 4 Chinese Actors Talent Search Reality Show]]'' on August 25, 2013.<ref name="reality">[http://beijing.china.org.cn/2013-08/28/content_29845758.htm "'Transformers 4' recruits 4 Chinese actors"], China.org.cn.</ref>

The remaining robot voice cast (barring Optimus Prime) wasn't officially revealed until May 8, 2014.<ref name="voicecast">[http://michaelbay.com/2014/05/08/john-goodman-and-ken-watanabe-join-the-autobot-voice-cast-in-michael-bays-transformers-age-of-extinction/ "John Goodman And Ken Watanabe Join The Autobot Voice Cast in Michael Bay’s ‘Transformers: Age Of Extinction’"] at the official Michael Bay website.</ref>

===Writing and production===
On March 20, 2013, the Michigan Film Office announced that the fourth film would return to [[Detroit]].<ref name="michigan">[http://www.michiganfilmoffice.org/The-Film-Office/Press-Releases/Detail.aspx?id=11620 "Transformers Returning to Michigan, Approved for Film Incentive" at the Michigan Film Office website.]</ref> Principal photography began on May 28, 2013, at {{w|Monument Valley}}.<ref name="monument">[http://michaelbay.com/2013/05/28/transformers-4-starts-filming-in-monument-valley-navajo-tribal-park/ "Transformers 4 Starts Filming in Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park"], on Michael Bay's official site.</ref> Other shooting locations were the small towns of Lockhart, Taylor, Elgin and Pflugerville in Texas.<ref name="texas">[http://www.dallasnews.com/entertainment/movies/headlines/20130426-fourth-transformers-film-to-shoot-in-texas.ece "Fourth ‘Transformers’ film to shoot in Texas"] at Dallas Morning News.</ref> Shooting in Michigan involved two historic passenger steamboats, the ''{{w|SS Columbia}}'' and her sister ship, the ''{{w|Ste. Claire (passenger steamboat)|SS Ste. Claire}}'', which were docked in {{w|River Rouge, Michigan|River Rouge}} awaiting restoration at the time being used as props.<ref name="boblo">[http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/story/2013/07/26/wdr-boblo-boats-transformers-four.html "Historic Boblo boats land role in Transformers 4"], CBC News.</ref> While shooting in Detroit, Mark Wahlberg's children visited the set and were given small parts in the movie upon their father's request.<ref name="wahlkids">[http://comicbook.com/blog/2013/07/30/mark-wahlbergs-kids-cast-in-transformers-4/ "Mark Wahlberg's Kids Cast In Transformers 4"], Comicbook.com.</ref>

[[File:AOE Michael Bay Nicola Peltz on set.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Michael Bay uses his legendary charm to get the very best performance out of his actors.]]
Due to an increased focus of Hollywood studios trying to market its movies to the Chinese audience, parts of the movie were not only set in China, but actually filmed there. One of the shooting sites was Hong Kong. While there, the movie crew encountered the risks of shooting a movie in China firsthand when director Michael Bay was assaulted on the set by two locals demanding money; according to some sources, they were store owners that were not satisfied with the compensation they received for the inconvenience of having a movie filming nearby. Bay received minor injuries, but played the incident off on his blog. Both he and an official Paramount statement suggested that the assailants were under the influence of drugs.<ref name="attack1">[http://deadline.com/2013/10/hong-kong-police-called-to-transformers-4-set-amid-alleged-extortion-attempt-report-613912/ "Extortion Attempt On ‘Transformers 4′ Set; Michael Bay Suffers Minor Injury: Report"], Deadline.com.</ref><ref name="attack2">[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/michael-bay-attacked-transformers-4-649183 "Michael Bay Attacked on 'Transformers 4' Set in Hong Kong"], Hollywood Reporter.</ref><ref name="attack3">[http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-24566287 "Transformers director Michael Bay attacked in Hong Kong"], BBC.</ref name="attack4">[http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/michael-bay-attacked-on-transformers-hong-kong-film-shoot-1.2100953 "Michael Bay attacked on Transformers Hong Kong film shoot"], CBC News.</ref><ref name="attack5">[http://michaelbay.com/2013/10/17/hong-kong-incident/ "Hong Kong Incident"] on Michael Bay's official Blog.</ref> A second extortion attempt occured several days later, this time allegedly by several triad gang members. Although one of them was later arrested, no-one was injured this time around.<ref name="extortion2">[http://www.businessinsider.com/michael-bay-transformers-4hong-kong-second-extortion-incident-2013-10?IR=T "More Trouble For 'Transformers 4' In Hong Kong As Second Extortion Attempt Reported"], Business Insider.</ref><ref name="extortion3">[http://edition.cnn.com/2013/10/25/world/asia/hong-kong-transformers-triad-extortion/ "Transformers versus the triads of Hong Kong: the sequel"], CNN.</ref> Once again, Bay played down the extortion attempts in an interview, noting that most of the locals were apologetic over what took place, and that he wanted to film more projects in Hong Kong.<ref name="eager">[http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1342084/hollywood-director-michael-bay-eager-shoot-hong-kong-again "Hollywood director Michael Bay eager to shoot in Hong Kong again"], ''South China Morning Post'']</ref>

[[File:AOEOptimusRidingGrimlock.jpg|thumb|upright=1.9|left|"Get me closer! I want to hit them with my sword!"]]Late script changes resulted in Bay and his crew returning to the Chinese city of {{w|Chongqing}} for a week reshooting a scene in January 2014.<ref name="reshoot">[http://www.ecns.cn/2014/01-23/98337.shtml "'Transformers 4' back to China for additional shots"], China News Service (Ecns.cn).</ref>

Some of [[Industrial Light & Magic|ILM]]'s post-production effects were done at a newly opened Lucasfilm facility in Singapore.<ref name="ilmsg">[http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/lifestyle/story/lucasfilm-singapore-work-new-avengers-and-transformers-movies-20140116 "Lucasfilm Singapore to work on new Avengers and Transformers movies"], The Straits Times.</ref>

{{--}}

=== Sponsors and partners ===
==== General Motors and other car manufacturers ====
[[File:AOE Optimus Prime truck.jpg|thumb|upright=1.34|When having one's midlife crisis, it's not unusual to get a souped-up alternate mode.]]
''Age of Extinction'' continues the collaboration with General Motors. Earlier in the film, Bumblebee chooses a customized 1967 Chevrolet Camaro SS as his disguise when hiding from [[Cemetery Wind]], whereas later on, he upgrades to the newest model, a 2014 Camaro concept car. (The production crew was actually accused of ripping off a one-of-a-kind custom for the 1967 version.<ref name="1967custom">[http://jalopnik.com/did-transformers-4-rip-off-this-guys-design-for-the-ne-510655228 "Did Transformers 4 Rip Off This Guy's Design For The New Bumblebee?"] at Jalopnik.com.</ref>) Furthermore, new addition [[Crosshairs (AOE)|Crosshairs]]'s alternate mode is a 2014 Chevrolet C7 Corvette Stingray, and recurring character Ratchet briefly appears at the beginning of the movie and transforms into his Hummer H2 ambulance mode (in the color scheme from ''Dark of the Moon'') before being killed at the hands of Cemetery Wind and [[Lockdown (ROTF)|Lockdown]].

''Age of Extinction'' is the first movie to feature an official partnership with a manufacturer for [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]]'s alternate mode. Earlier in the movie, he transforms into an old, rusty Marmon 97 truck cab (presumably without support from the manufacturer), but later upgrades into a brand new Western Star "5700 OP" concept truck that was designed specifically for the movie by "Twins Custom Coaches" and the team at West Coast Customs, with Western Star being a subsidiary of Daimler Trucks, who also provided a 2012 Freightliner Argosy that serves as [[Megatron (Movie)|Galvatron]]'s alternate mode.

Other manufacturers that provided vehicles to be used for characters' alternate modes were the Oshkosh Corporation with an Oshkosh Defense FMTV truck for [[Hound (Movie)|Hound]], the Volkswagen group with a 2013 Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse for [[Drift (AOE)|Drift]] and a Lamborghini Aventador for Lockdown, and independent Italian manufacturer Pagani Automobili with a Pagani Huayra for [[Stinger (AOE)|Stinger]].

=== Changes before, during and after production ===
* [[Slash (AOE)|Slash]] was originally intended to appear in the film (he even made it into some concept artwork).<ref name="burt">[http://www.seibertron.com/transformers/news/transformers-age-of-extinction-concept-art-from-wesley-burt/30723/ Age of Extiction concept art by Wesley Burt], mirrored at Seibertron.com.</ref>
* [[Glenn Morshower]] was originally set to return in this film, reprising his role of [[Morshower|General Morshower]], but didn't return due to a scheduling conflict.<ref>http://transformerslive.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/general-morshower-not-returning-to.html</ref>
* Both [[Josh Duhamel]] and [[Tyrese Gibson]] were intended to cameo reprising their roles as [[William Lennox]] and [[Robert Epps]] but were cut before filming started.<ref>http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/tyrese-gibson-in-talks-for-transformers-4-176078/</ref><ref>http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/tyrese-gibson-to-make-cameo-appearance-only-in-transformers-4-177407/</ref><ref>http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/josh-duhamel-to-make-cameo-appearance-in-transformers-4-177026/</ref><ref>http://transformerslive.blogspot.com/2013/06/josh-duhamel-not-in-transformers-4.html</ref>
* Ed Welburn, [[General Motors]]' vice president for global design, was originally set to cameo as the C.I.A. head before being recast as a KSI employee.<ref>http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/29/automobiles/ed-welburn-gets-a-part-in-transformers.html?_r=0</ref>
* A scene depicting Hound and Bumblebee dancing with Tessa (while Drift bobs his head in the background) was not present in the final cut of the film.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnxZ7Gg2yV4</ref>
* Scorn's toys lack the additional two sails he has in the film, suggesting it was a late design change.
*The Pagani Huayra that eventually ended up as [[Stinger (AOE)|Stinger]] was at one point intended as the alternate mode of a female robot with the working name "Widow Maker".<ref name="vitaly">[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-9/age-of-extinction-concept-art-by-vitaly-bulgarov-180636/ Age of Extinction concept art by Vitaly Bulgarov] at TFW2005, including "Widow Maker".</ref><ref name="jung">[http://comicbook.com/blog/2014/07/20/transformers-age-of-extinction-concept-art-shows-off-epic-scope-/ Age of Extinction concept art by Steve Jung] at Comicbook.com, including "Widow Maker".</ref>
* Wahlberg's character was named "Flynn 'Ray' Vincent" rather than "Cade Yeager" in a casting call. The same casting call also revealed that actor [[Glenn Morshower]] was supposed to reprise his role as [[Morshower|General Morshower]] from the previous two films.<ref name="txcasting">[http://www.featurefilmauditions.com/2013/05/casting-for-transformers-4-actors-and.html "Transformers 4' open casting calls for actors and extras in Austin, TX and Detroit, MI"] at Film Auditions.</ref>
* A scene where Cade says "Stick behind me" is not present in the final cut of the film.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXSkXQs890g</ref>
* Another piece of dialogue cut from the film is when Cade says "You tell me" to Attinger when he asks for Optimus Prime.
* In some concept artwork, Grimlock appears as a horn-less T-Rex.
* The original running time of the film was 2 hours and 7 minutes, which would have made it the shortest film in the franchise. The final running time was 2 hours and 30 minutes <ref>http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/BatFreak/news/?a=77992</ref><ref>http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/transformers-4-age-of-extinction-running-time-revealed-180165/</ref>
* [[Dwayne Johnson]] was originally offered the role of Cade Yeager, but due to his commitment to ''Hercules: The Thracian Wars'', the role was later taken over by his ''Pain & Gain'' co-star Mark Wahlberg.<ref>[https://twitter.com/TheRock/statuses/327892048978006016 Dwayne Johnson on Twitter]</ref>
*In some concept artwork, Drift was colored orange instead of blue. but according to the Generation 2 featurette in the Blu-ray release, this was changed because the vehicle that was going to play Drift was sold off.
*Some concept artwork shows that Optimus was intended to have his original trilogy body in the scenes where he had his new look.
*According to Ehren Kruger in the Generation 2 featurette, in the early drafts of the film, it was not originally centered on the Cade Yeager character.
*Numerous silver [[redeco]] toys were produced for Optimus Prime with the moniker of "Silver Knight", suggesting that he was originally supposed to take on this alternate appearance in the film itself, almost certainly upon drawing a sword from the Knights' armory. In the finished film, he does undergo some slight physical alteration at this point, his arms reconfiguring to resemble armor plates, but that's as far as it goes. This was also ''prrrrobably'' where he was supposed to get the rocket-boots he suddenly deploys at the film's end.
*A scene depicting Harold Attinger throwing a man out of a moving vehicle was reportedly cut from the film.<ref>http://news.tfw2005.com/2014/08/16/kelsey-grammer-explains-a-deleted-scene-from-transformers-age-of-extinction-180984</ref>

{{-}}

===Disinformation campaign===

Like ''Revenge of the Fallen'' and ''Dark of The Moon'' before it, ''Age of Extinction'' had a campaign that would mask details of the final film. However, unlike the previous films, this one was all encompassing; no novelization or comics by [[IDW Publishing]] was released, allowing for a great deal of the movie's spoilers to actually remain unknown longer than for the previous three films.

In the original Michigan Film Office press release published on March 20, 2013, several vague plot details were revealed, including the fact that Autobots and Decepticons had "[[Cemetery Wind|all but vanished from the face of the planet]]", a "[[Kinetic Solutions Incorporated|group of [...] businessman and scientists]]" were developing new technologies based on past encounters with the Transformers, and an "[[Lockdown (ROTF)|ancient, powerful Transformer menace]]" was targeting Earth.<ref name="plotunveiled">[http://www.thewrap.com/node/82001/ "‘Transformers 4’ Plot Unveiled by Michigan Film Office"] at TheWrap.com.</ref> These plot details were later claimed to be inaccurate by Paramount Pictures,<ref name="notaccurate">[http://screenrant.com/transformers-4-movie-plot-synopsis-cast/ Unofficial "'Transformers 4' Plot Synopsis Is Not Accurate"] at Screenrant.com</ref> but in all their vagueness ultimately turned out to be not too far off from the film's plot.

A lot of the newly-added characters were given "code names" during production, most of them related to the ''Rocky'' saga: "Duke" for Hound, "Adrian" for Galvatron, "Ivan" for Grimlock, "Rocky" for Slash (who was originally intended to appear in the movie, as noted above), "Southpaw" for Scorn, "Paulie" for Strafe, and "Thunderlips" for Slug. In addition, Crosshairs was code-named "Slingshot", Drift was code-named "Bruce", Lockdown was code-named "Max", and Steeljaw was code-named "Wolf" (which ''might'' have simply been a working name).<ref name="customer">[http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-news-rumors/961952-monzos-mega-hasbro-customer-service-listing-breakdown.html Hasbro customer service list]</ref>

==Notes==
*Not only do the [[Dinobot (AOE)|Dinobots]] go unnamed in the film (other than [[Scorn]] getting the nickname, "Spike"), the word Dinobot is never even said by anyone. The audio description soundtrack on the home video releases refers to them as warriors or barbarians, but notes during the final scene that they "turn into Dinobots" (of course it also refers to Galvatron transforming "into an Autobot" when he turns into a robot, so make of that what you will).
*In addition to the Shadow Raiders, Steeljaws, the ball-shaped drones, and Stupid Drones, inside Lockdown's ship there were also several hovering drones. These drones appear to be of the same type as those the United States used in ''Dark of the Moon'' (the one that got sucked into the engine of Bumblebee's commandeered Decepticon fighter). Maybe Attinger sold them to Lockdown?
*Michael Bay's website incorrectly refers to the film as "Transformers 4 The Age Of Extinction"
* The Autobots and Decepticons shown in the cards Attinger pulled early in the film includes: Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, [[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]], [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]], [[Ironhide (Movie)|Ironhide]], [[Sentinel Prime (ROTF)|Sentinel Prime]], [[Wheeljack (Movie)|Que]], [[Mirage (Movie)|Dino]], [[Shockwave (Movie)|Shockwave]], [[Arcee (Movie)|Arcee]], [[Loader]], [[Garagebot]], and the [[Driller]].
** Even though most of these Transformers are listed as deceased, Dino and Garagebot are not. Therefore, they could have been alive during the events of the film.
* This film seems to put a final nail in the coffin regarding the films' abandonment of the concept of using [[protoform]]s to travel through space; when the Autobots steal a ship from [[Lockdown (ROTF)|Lockdown]], they immediately move to leave Earth, indicating they had been stranded on Earth for the past five years without a spaceship (following the destruction of the ''[[Xantium (DOTM)|Xantium]]''). The fact that no mention is made of searching for any possible survivors of Cemetery Wind's hunt also suggests that all Autobots who did not return for this film have been killed off as well.
**Fortunately, [[Wheelie (ROTF)|Wheelie]] and [[Topspin (DOTM)|Topspin]] reapppear in [[Transformers: The Last Knight (film)|the next film]]. By taking that, Dino among the "not deceased" Transformers cards, and the fact that [[Sideswipe (Movie)|Sideswipe]] is stated to have been killed by Cemetery Wind in some tie-in material into consideration, the only Autobot from ''Dark of the Moon'' whose fate after that film is uncertain is... [[Roadbuster (DOTM)|Roadbuster]].
*The robot designs in this film are markedly different than the previous three; the robots have less alien appearances and are more heavily influenced by human forms with far less visible vehicle parts.
*Speaking of the appearance of the Autobots - they all are based on specific types of human combatants throughout history: Optimus is obviously a medieval knight, Hound heavily resembles a World War II-era commando, Crosshairs looks like a mercenary or assassin, Bumblebee's new form is highly Ninja-like, and Drift is unsurprisingly a samurai.
*Director Michael Bay makes a cameo appearance in the film as a guy sitting in the passenger seat of a truck whose trailer Optimus Prime and Bumblebee crash through after being attacked by Galvatron and Stinger.<ref name="magiceffects">[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btn2tPxjisA "Behind the Magic: The Visual Effects of 'Transformers Age of Extinction'"] on the official ILMVisualFX Youtube channel.</ref> Heck with it, much of the KSI cars are part of his personal collection!

===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''''Transformers: Lost Age''''' (トランスフォーマーロストエイジ ''Toransufōmā Rosuto Eiji'')
*''Cantonese:'' '''''Binying Gamgong: Chimmit Saigei''''' (變形金剛：殲滅世紀 "Transformers: The Century of Annihilation")
*''French:'' '''''Transformers : L'Âge de l'extinction''''' (France, "Transformers: The Age of Extinction"), '''''Transformers : L'Ère de l'extinction''''' (Canada, "Transformers: The Extinction Era")
*''German:'' '''''Transformers: Ära des Untergangs''''' ("Transformers: Era of Doom")
*''Mandarin:'' '''''Pièn-hsíng Chīn-kāng Ssù: Chuéh-chī Ch'óng-shēng''''' (Taiwan, 變型金剛4：絕跡重生), '''''Biànxíng Jīngāng Sì: Juéjī Chóngshēng''''' (China, 变形金刚4：绝迹重生, "Transformers 4: Rebirth from the Extinction")
*''Polish:'' '''''Transformers: Wiek zagłady''''' ("Transformers: Age of Extinction")
*''Portuguese:'' '''''Transformers: A Era da Extinção''''' ("Transformers: The Age of Extinction")
*''Russian:'' '''''Transformery: Epokha istrebleniya''''' (Трансформеры: Эпоха истребления "Transformers: Age of Extermination")
*''Spanish:'' '''''Transformers 4''''' (Argentina)
*''Turkish:'' '''''Transformers: Kayıp Çağ''''' ("Transformers: Lost Age")
*''Czech:'' '''''Transformers: Zánik''''' (Transformers: Extinction)

==External links==
* [http://www.transformersmovie.com/ Transformersmovie.com]
* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2109248/?ref_=nv_sr_1 ''Age of Extinction'' at IMDB.com]
* {{w|Transformers: Ag of Extinction|''Age of Extinction'' film on Wikipedia}}
* [https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/transformers_age_of_extinction/ ''Age of Extinction'' on RottenTomatoes.com]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

{{stub}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Age of Extinction (film)}}

[[Category:Age of Extinction| Age of Extinction (film)]]
[[Category:Real world films]]

Siege episode 4

2020-08-01T23:21:33Z

96megatron: /* Transformers references */

{{episode|
|otherseries=''[[Transformers: War for Cybertron Trilogy (cartoon)|Transformers: War for Cybertron Trilogy: Siege]]''
|image=WarForCybertronSiege Ep4.jpg
|caption=
|prev=Siege episode 3
|next=Siege episode 5
|title=Episode 4
|airdate=[[July 30]], [[2020]] (Netflix)
|production company=[[Allspark Animation]], [[Rooster Teeth]]
|written by=[[Brandon Easton]] and [[Gavin Hignight]]
|director=[[Takashi Kamei]]
|animation studio=[[Polygon Pictures]]
}}

'''Optimus looks for aid in unlikely places, while Bumblebee's destiny takes an unexpected turn.'''

==Synopsis==
{{episodestub}}

==Featured characters==
Characters in ''italic text'' appear only in flashbacks.
{{episodestub}}

==Quotes==

==Notes==
===Transformers references===
* Jetfire's line on meeting the Autobots ("My name is Jetfire, I'm not here to fight") was previously used by his [[Jetfire (WFC)|Aligned counterpart]].
* Bumblebee mentions a former seeker named Dreadwing. Whether this refers to the [[Dreadwing (G1)|combined Powermaster jet]], the alternate name for [[Dreadwind (G1)|one]] of those said Powermasters, or the ''Generation 2'' [[Dreadwing (G2)|stealth bomber]] is unknown. Although him being a seeker would be reminiscent of the [[Dreadwing (Prime)|one]] from ''Prime'' who was [[Dreadwing (Prime)|captain of the seekers]].

===Animation and technical errors===

===Trivia===
* Moonracer's model is reskinned from Chromia.

===Foreign localization===

==External Links==
*[https://www.netflix.com/watch/81056816 Episode 4 on Netflix]

[[Category:War for Cybertron: Siege‎]]
[[Category:War for Cybertron Trilogy episodes]]

Siege episode 4

2020-08-01T23:17:45Z

96megatron: /* Transformers references */

{{episode|
|otherseries=''[[Transformers: War for Cybertron Trilogy (cartoon)|Transformers: War for Cybertron Trilogy: Siege]]''
|image=WarForCybertronSiege Ep4.jpg
|caption=
|prev=Siege episode 3
|next=Siege episode 5
|title=Episode 4
|airdate=[[July 30]], [[2020]] (Netflix)
|production company=[[Allspark Animation]], [[Rooster Teeth]]
|written by=[[Brandon Easton]] and [[Gavin Hignight]]
|director=[[Takashi Kamei]]
|animation studio=[[Polygon Pictures]]
}}

'''Optimus looks for aid in unlikely places, while Bumblebee's destiny takes an unexpected turn.'''

==Synopsis==
{{episodestub}}

==Featured characters==
Characters in ''italic text'' appear only in flashbacks.
{{episodestub}}

==Quotes==

==Notes==
===Transformers references===
* Jetfire's line on meeting the Autobots ("My name is Jetfire, I'm not here to fight") was previously used by his [[Jetfire (WFC)|Aligned counterpart]].
* Bumblebee mentions a former seeker named Dreadwing. Whether this refers to the [[Dreadwing (G1)|combined Powermaster jet]], the alternate name for [[Dreadwind (G1)|one]] of those said Powermasters, or the ''Generation 2'' [[Dreadwing (G2)|stealth bomber]] is unknown. Although him being a seeker would be reminiscent of the ''Prime'' [[Dreadwing (Prime)|captain of the seekers]].

===Animation and technical errors===

===Trivia===
* Moonracer's model is reskinned from Chromia.

===Foreign localization===

==External Links==
*[https://www.netflix.com/watch/81056816 Episode 4 on Netflix]

[[Category:War for Cybertron: Siege‎]]
[[Category:War for Cybertron Trilogy episodes]]

Siege episode 4

2020-08-01T23:17:26Z

96megatron: /* Transformers references */

{{episode|
|otherseries=''[[Transformers: War for Cybertron Trilogy (cartoon)|Transformers: War for Cybertron Trilogy: Siege]]''
|image=WarForCybertronSiege Ep4.jpg
|caption=
|prev=Siege episode 3
|next=Siege episode 5
|title=Episode 4
|airdate=[[July 30]], [[2020]] (Netflix)
|production company=[[Allspark Animation]], [[Rooster Teeth]]
|written by=[[Brandon Easton]] and [[Gavin Hignight]]
|director=[[Takashi Kamei]]
|animation studio=[[Polygon Pictures]]
}}

'''Optimus looks for aid in unlikely places, while Bumblebee's destiny takes an unexpected turn.'''

==Synopsis==
{{episodestub}}

==Featured characters==
Characters in ''italic text'' appear only in flashbacks.
{{episodestub}}

==Quotes==

==Notes==
===Transformers references===
* Jetfire's line on meeting the Autobots ("My name is Jetfire, I'm not here to fight") was previously used by his [[Jetfire (WFC)|Aligned counterpart]].
* Bumblebee mentions a former seeker named Dreadwing. Whether this refers to the [[Dreadwing (G1)|combined Powermaster jet]], the alternate name for [[Dreadwind (G1)|one]] of those said Powermasters, or the ''Generation 2'' [[Dreadwing (G2)|stealth bomber]] is unknown. Although him being a seeker would be reminiscent of the ''Prime''[[Dreadwing (Prime)|captain of the seekers]].

===Animation and technical errors===

===Trivia===
* Moonracer's model is reskinned from Chromia.

===Foreign localization===

==External Links==
*[https://www.netflix.com/watch/81056816 Episode 4 on Netflix]

[[Category:War for Cybertron: Siege‎]]
[[Category:War for Cybertron Trilogy episodes]]

Siege episode 2

2020-08-01T21:50:48Z

96megatron: /* Transformers references */

{{episode|
|otherseries=''[[Transformers: War for Cybertron Trilogy (cartoon)|Transformers: War for Cybertron Trilogy: Siege]]''
|image=WarForCybertronSiege Ep2.jpg
|caption=
|prev=Siege episode 1
|next=Siege episode 3
|title=Episode 2
|airdate=[[July 30]], [[2020]] (Netflix)
|production company=[[Allspark Animation]], [[Rooster Teeth]]
|written by=[[F.J. DeSanto]] and [[Gavin Hignight]]
|director=[[Takashi Kamei]]
|animation studio=[[Polygon Pictures]]
}}

'''Ultra Magnus attempts to warn the Autobots of Megatron's ultimate plan, one which could end the war once and for all.'''

==Synopsis==
Surrounded by his retinue, [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] speaks directly his army, commanding them to hunt domn the [[Autobot|Autobots]] and leave them nowhere to hide. [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] reports they have a visitor in the form of a lone, cloaked figure. The visitor easily swats aside an intervening [[Seeker (body-type)|Seeker]], but Megatron orders the [[Decepticon|Decepticons]] to attack only on his signal. While [[Jetfire (G1)|Jetfire]] and [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] jockey for position in handling the potential threat, the visitor makes his peaceable intent with Megatron clear by being unarmed and remaining still. To Megatron's chagrin, [[Barricade (G1)|Barricade]] fires a warning shot that narrowly misses the unflinching visitor's head. The visitor comes in peace, but is no coward.

The visitor with the huge shoulders then reveals himself to be [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]], who willingly surrenders in good faith. Magnus attempts to negotiate a peace summit between him, Megatron, and [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus]], and he calls on Megatron to recall their shared past to end hostilities. Megatron is undeterred, even upon recalling the battle of [[Tarn-Hauser Game]]. He will not trust Magnus's intentions unless he uses his authority as Autobot military commander to order his men to stand down. When Magnus makes it clear that he will not surrender on the Autobots' behalf, he is imprisoned.

News of Magnus' surrender reaches [[Ark (G1)|Autobot headquarters]], where it soon causes tension within the ranks. Many are concerned about Magnus's loyalty or what will happen if the Decepticons can extract critical information from him, but Prime is steadfast in his belief that Magnus surrendered to end the war and would not compromise the Autobots. After establishing a tenuous calm, Optimus appoints a reluctant [[Elita One (G1)|Elita-1]] to Magnus's old post.

Meanwhile, [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] reveals that his studies have uncovered evidence that the legendary [[AllSpark|Allspark]] really exists. He asks Megatron to give the order to search for it, promising that it can be used to enslave the opposition by reprogramming them. Megatron is unwilling to commit to the plan, but will retain it as a drastic option. Magnus overhears these developments in captivity, and transmits a warning to the Autobots over his private frequency..

Inside the Ark, the Autobots prove skeptical of both the Allspark and Magnus, but Prime once again insists that Magnus can be trusted. [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] suggests that the Ark's sensors can be used to try to locate the Allspark, but warns that it may drain their [[energon]] reserves. Nevertheless, Prime approves the search.

Unfortunately for Magnus, [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] has also detected his transmission and reveals the duplicity to Megatron. He quickly turns his displeasure into a plan to trap the Autobots.

Elita and Optimus share the briefest of respites, barely having time to reflect on the current situation and their personal history. They are interrupted by a second transmission from Magnus, who reports that Megatron has already found the Allspark and relays its coordinates. Optimus orders all available teams to prep for the search, not realizing the message to be a forgery fabricated by Soundwave as bait.

Lured to [[Iacon (polity)|Iacon]], the Autobots spread out, unaware that Decepticons lurk all around them. [[Cog (G1)|Cog]] and [[Chromia (G1)|Chromia]] detect what they think is the Allspark, but only find a cube of concentrated energon. Optimus realizes that they have been set up, but it is too late and [[Impactor (G1)|Impactor]] fires a blast straight through Cog. The fight only ends when a downed [[Seeker (body-type)|Seeker]] careens into a building, bringing it down upon most of the Decepticons. The Autobots retreat, taking Cog to the repair bay in critical condition. Optimus remains adamant in the face of dwindling morale and orders that energon be reallocated from cloaking the Ark to searching for the Allspark.

In the aftermath of the battle, Barricade assumes command of the Decepticon unit after Impactor's arm is discovered, and he is presumed dead. Megatron holds Barricade responsible for both the loss of a valued soldier as well as the loss of energon. Shockwave infers that the Autobots cannot have the energon either, as it disappeared before they retreated.

Elsewhere, [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] holds the missing energon, inspecting his prize.

His ambush foiled, Megatron returns to Magnus's cell to demand the location of Autobot headquarters. Once more, Magnus begs his former brother-in-arms to end the war peacefully and honorably, but only victory interests Megatron, and he authorizes Shockwave to implement his plan of reformatting the Autobots.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] (10)
* [[Chromia (G1)|Chromia]] (11)
* [[Hound (G1)|Hound]] (12)
* [[Cog (G1)|Cog]] (13)
* [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] (14)
* [[Sideswipe_(G1)|Sideswipe]] (15)
* [[Elita One (G1)|Elita-1]] (16)
* [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]] (17)
* [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] (18)
* [[Comms Officer]] (19)
* [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]] (20)

|c2=
* [[Jetfire (G1)|Jetfire]] (1)
* [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] (2)
* [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] (3)
* [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] (4)
* [[Barricade (G1)|Barricade]] (5)
* [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] (6)
* [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] (7)
* [[Reflector (G1)|Refraktor]] (8)
* [[Hotlink (G1)|Hotlink]] (9)
* [[Impactor (G1)|Impactor]] (21)
* [[Flywheels|Skytread]] (22)
* [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] (23)
* [[Spinister (G1)|Spinister]] (24)

|h3=Others|c3=
* [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] (25)
}}

==Quotes==
"This was not the life I imagined for us."<br>
"But it's a life worth fighting for."<br>
:—'''Elita-1''' and '''Optimus Prime'''

==Notes==
===Transformers references===
*Megatron's bait, a cache of concentrated Energon, is stored in a metal cube, likely in a nod to its [[Energon cube|traditional storage method]].
*Hound throws a grenade that is similar in design to the ones used by members of the Autobots in the ''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]]'' and ''[[Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2015 cartoon)|Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2015)]]'' cartoon series.

===Animation and technical errors===
*When the red Cog reskin combines with Sideswipe, his torso section disappears.
*Spinister pronounces his name as "Spinster".

===Real-world references===
* The "[[Tarn-Hauser Gate]]" that Ultra Magnus mentions in this episode is assuredly a reference to the "Tannhauser Gate", mentioned in Roy Batty's {{w|Tears in rain monologue|famous death monologue}} from the film ''{{w|Blade Runner}}''.
* Shockwave's plan for the Allspark will "de-rez" the Autobots, a euphemism for death used in the {{w|Tron}} films. Shockwave's original voice was based on the character Sark from that film.

===Trivia===
*Though Ultra Magnus being able to overhear Shockwave's plan from his cell can be excused as a convenient possibility, the Decepticons seem baffled that Magnus is able to contact his comrades from his cell. Unfortunately, this is never followed up in this episode. Does Magnus have a trick up his sleeve or did the writers just forget? You'd better binge the next episode to find out!

===Foreign localization===

==External Links==
*[https://www.netflix.com/watch/81056814 Episode 2 on Netflix]

[[Category:War for Cybertron: Siege‎]]
[[Category:War for Cybertron Trilogy episodes]]

Siege episode 2

2020-08-01T21:48:18Z

96megatron: /* Transformers references */

{{episode|
|otherseries=''[[Transformers: War for Cybertron Trilogy (cartoon)|Transformers: War for Cybertron Trilogy: Siege]]''
|image=WarForCybertronSiege Ep2.jpg
|caption=
|prev=Siege episode 1
|next=Siege episode 3
|title=Episode 2
|airdate=[[July 30]], [[2020]] (Netflix)
|production company=[[Allspark Animation]], [[Rooster Teeth]]
|written by=[[F.J. DeSanto]] and [[Gavin Hignight]]
|director=[[Takashi Kamei]]
|animation studio=[[Polygon Pictures]]
}}

'''Ultra Magnus attempts to warn the Autobots of Megatron's ultimate plan, one which could end the war once and for all.'''

==Synopsis==
Surrounded by his retinue, [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] speaks directly his army, commanding them to hunt domn the [[Autobot|Autobots]] and leave them nowhere to hide. [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] reports they have a visitor in the form of a lone, cloaked figure. The visitor easily swats aside an intervening [[Seeker (body-type)|Seeker]], but Megatron orders the [[Decepticon|Decepticons]] to attack only on his signal. While [[Jetfire (G1)|Jetfire]] and [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] jockey for position in handling the potential threat, the visitor makes his peaceable intent with Megatron clear by being unarmed and remaining still. To Megatron's chagrin, [[Barricade (G1)|Barricade]] fires a warning shot that narrowly misses the unflinching visitor's head. The visitor comes in peace, but is no coward.

The visitor with the huge shoulders then reveals himself to be [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]], who willingly surrenders in good faith. Magnus attempts to negotiate a peace summit between him, Megatron, and [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus]], and he calls on Megatron to recall their shared past to end hostilities. Megatron is undeterred, even upon recalling the battle of [[Tarn-Hauser Game]]. He will not trust Magnus's intentions unless he uses his authority as Autobot military commander to order his men to stand down. When Magnus makes it clear that he will not surrender on the Autobots' behalf, he is imprisoned.

News of Magnus' surrender reaches [[Ark (G1)|Autobot headquarters]], where it soon causes tension within the ranks. Many are concerned about Magnus's loyalty or what will happen if the Decepticons can extract critical information from him, but Prime is steadfast in his belief that Magnus surrendered to end the war and would not compromise the Autobots. After establishing a tenuous calm, Optimus appoints a reluctant [[Elita One (G1)|Elita-1]] to Magnus's old post.

Meanwhile, [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] reveals that his studies have uncovered evidence that the legendary [[AllSpark|Allspark]] really exists. He asks Megatron to give the order to search for it, promising that it can be used to enslave the opposition by reprogramming them. Megatron is unwilling to commit to the plan, but will retain it as a drastic option. Magnus overhears these developments in captivity, and transmits a warning to the Autobots over his private frequency..

Inside the Ark, the Autobots prove skeptical of both the Allspark and Magnus, but Prime once again insists that Magnus can be trusted. [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] suggests that the Ark's sensors can be used to try to locate the Allspark, but warns that it may drain their [[energon]] reserves. Nevertheless, Prime approves the search.

Unfortunately for Magnus, [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] has also detected his transmission and reveals the duplicity to Megatron. He quickly turns his displeasure into a plan to trap the Autobots.

Elita and Optimus share the briefest of respites, barely having time to reflect on the current situation and their personal history. They are interrupted by a second transmission from Magnus, who reports that Megatron has already found the Allspark and relays its coordinates. Optimus orders all available teams to prep for the search, not realizing the message to be a forgery fabricated by Soundwave as bait.

Lured to [[Iacon (polity)|Iacon]], the Autobots spread out, unaware that Decepticons lurk all around them. [[Cog (G1)|Cog]] and [[Chromia (G1)|Chromia]] detect what they think is the Allspark, but only find a cube of concentrated energon. Optimus realizes that they have been set up, but it is too late and [[Impactor (G1)|Impactor]] fires a blast straight through Cog. The fight only ends when a downed [[Seeker (body-type)|Seeker]] careens into a building, bringing it down upon most of the Decepticons. The Autobots retreat, taking Cog to the repair bay in critical condition. Optimus remains adamant in the face of dwindling morale and orders that energon be reallocated from cloaking the Ark to searching for the Allspark.

In the aftermath of the battle, Barricade assumes command of the Decepticon unit after Impactor's arm is discovered, and he is presumed dead. Megatron holds Barricade responsible for both the loss of a valued soldier as well as the loss of energon. Shockwave infers that the Autobots cannot have the energon either, as it disappeared before they retreated.

Elsewhere, [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] holds the missing energon, inspecting his prize.

His ambush foiled, Megatron returns to Magnus's cell to demand the location of Autobot headquarters. Once more, Magnus begs his former brother-in-arms to end the war peacefully and honorably, but only victory interests Megatron, and he authorizes Shockwave to implement his plan of reformatting the Autobots.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] (10)
* [[Chromia (G1)|Chromia]] (11)
* [[Hound (G1)|Hound]] (12)
* [[Cog (G1)|Cog]] (13)
* [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] (14)
* [[Sideswipe_(G1)|Sideswipe]] (15)
* [[Elita One (G1)|Elita-1]] (16)
* [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]] (17)
* [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] (18)
* [[Comms Officer]] (19)
* [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]] (20)

|c2=
* [[Jetfire (G1)|Jetfire]] (1)
* [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] (2)
* [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] (3)
* [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] (4)
* [[Barricade (G1)|Barricade]] (5)
* [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] (6)
* [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] (7)
* [[Reflector (G1)|Refraktor]] (8)
* [[Hotlink (G1)|Hotlink]] (9)
* [[Impactor (G1)|Impactor]] (21)
* [[Flywheels|Skytread]] (22)
* [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] (23)
* [[Spinister (G1)|Spinister]] (24)

|h3=Others|c3=
* [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] (25)
}}

==Quotes==
"This was not the life I imagined for us."<br>
"But it's a life worth fighting for."<br>
:—'''Elita-1''' and '''Optimus Prime'''

==Notes==
===Transformers references===
*Megatron's bait, a cache of concentrated Energon, is stored in a metal cube, likely in a nod to its [[Energon cube|traditional storage method]].
*Hound throws a grenade that is similar in design to the ones used by members of the Autobots in the ''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]]'' and ''[Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2015 cartoon)|Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2015)]]'' cartoon series.

===Animation and technical errors===
*When the red Cog reskin combines with Sideswipe, his torso section disappears.
*Spinister pronounces his name as "Spinster".

===Real-world references===
* The "[[Tarn-Hauser Gate]]" that Ultra Magnus mentions in this episode is assuredly a reference to the "Tannhauser Gate", mentioned in Roy Batty's {{w|Tears in rain monologue|famous death monologue}} from the film ''{{w|Blade Runner}}''.
* Shockwave's plan for the Allspark will "de-rez" the Autobots, a euphemism for death used in the {{w|Tron}} films. Shockwave's original voice was based on the character Sark from that film.

===Trivia===
*Though Ultra Magnus being able to overhear Shockwave's plan from his cell can be excused as a convenient possibility, the Decepticons seem baffled that Magnus is able to contact his comrades from his cell. Unfortunately, this is never followed up in this episode. Does Magnus have a trick up his sleeve or did the writers just forget? You'd better binge the next episode to find out!

===Foreign localization===

==External Links==
*[https://www.netflix.com/watch/81056814 Episode 2 on Netflix]

[[Category:War for Cybertron: Siege‎]]
[[Category:War for Cybertron Trilogy episodes]]

Frat guys

2020-07-12T19:00:09Z

96megatron: /* Revenge of the Fallen film */

{{noname-designation}}
:''The frat guys are two [[human]]s from the [[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (franchise)|Revenge of the Fallen]] portion of the [[live-action film series|live-action film]] [[continuity family]].''
[[Image:ROTF-tightestshirt.jpg|thumb|right|300px|[[Transformers: Super-God Masterforce (cartoon)|Broforce! Bro on!]]]]
These two '''frat guys''' are members of [[Delta Fraternity]].

==Fiction==

===''Revenge of the Fallen'' film===
:''Actors'': [[Aaron Hill]] and [[Jareb Dauplaise]]

On the day when new freshmen were moving into their campus, the frat guys were out playing a game of Frisbee, when out of nowhere an old lady tackled one of their boys. Later, [[Bumblebee (Movie)|a yellow Camaro]] appeared outside the Fraternity house, one of the frat guys demanded to know who had parked their car in the bushes. When [[Sam Witwicky|some freshman]] tried to say that it was his friend, who had left to find a tighter shirt, the two frat guys responded that they had the [[tightest shirt]], as they had checked. He followed this with a threat to put his foot in the freshman's butt, and he had the audacity to ask what size he wore. The stupid freshman then left in his car with [[Alice (ROTF)|some out of his league girl]]. {{storylink|Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen}}

==Notes==
* At the end of the film, Hill and Dauplaise are credited as "Frat guys."

[[Category:Live-action-only characters]]
[[Category:Revenge of the Fallen humans]]

Frat guys

2020-07-12T18:59:17Z

96megatron: /* Revenge of the Fallen film */

{{noname-designation}}
:''The frat guys are two [[human]]s from the [[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (franchise)|Revenge of the Fallen]] portion of the [[live-action film series|live-action film]] [[continuity family]].''
[[Image:ROTF-tightestshirt.jpg|thumb|right|300px|[[Transformers: Super-God Masterforce (cartoon)|Broforce! Bro on!]]]]
These two '''frat guys''' are members of [[Delta Fraternity]].

==Fiction==

===''Revenge of the Fallen'' film===
:''Actors'': [[Aaron Hill]] and [[Jareb Dauplaise]]

When new freshmen were moving on campus, the frat guys were playing a game of Frisbee, when out of nowhere an old lady tackled one of their boys. Later, [[Bumblebee (Movie)|a yellow Camaro]] appeared outside the Fraternity house, one of the frat guys demanded to know who had parked their car in the bushes. When [[Sam Witwicky|some freshman]] tried to say that it was his friend, who had left to find a tighter shirt, the two frat guys responded that they had the [[tightest shirt]], as they had checked. He followed this with a threat to put his foot in the freshman's butt, and he had the audacity to ask what size he wore. The stupid freshman then left in his car with [[Alice (ROTF)|some out of his league girl]]. {{storylink|Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen}}

==Notes==
* At the end of the film, Hill and Dauplaise are credited as "Frat guys."

[[Category:Live-action-only characters]]
[[Category:Revenge of the Fallen humans]]

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (film)

2020-05-04T11:52:52Z

96megatron: /* Confirmed information */

'''"Transformers 7"''' is the planned seventh film in the [[live-action film series]]. Originally expected to be released on [[June 28]], [[2019]],<ref name="toyfairreveal">[http://news.tfw2005.com/2016/02/12/transformers-5-transformers-6-bumblebee-spin-off-movie-revealed-309503 Transformers 5, Transformers 6 And Bumblebee Spin-Off Movie Revealed] ToyFair news at TFW2005</ref> the film has been delayed indefinitely.

==Confirmed information==
*March 27, 2015 — [[Paramount Pictures]] negotiates with [[Akiva Goldsman]], hiring him to create a "writer's room" with the intention of building a cinematic universe.<ref name="goldsman">[http://deadline.com/2015/03/transformers-akiva-goldsman-paramount-sequels-spinoffs-1201400027/ Paramount Enlisting Akiva Goldsman To Ramp Up 'Transformers' Output] on deadline.com</ref> Goldsman goes on to hire a number of writers over the next few months: [[Steven DeKnight]] (''Daredevil''),<ref>[http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/transformers-cinematic-universe/35696/transformers-cinematic-details-more-writers-over-10-films Transformers cinematic details]</ref> [[Robert Kirkman]] (''The Walking Dead''),<ref name="deadlinewritersroom">[http://deadline.com/2015/05/transformers-writers-robert-kirkman-zak-penn-art-marcum-matt-holloway-jeff-pinkner-1201430601/ 'Transformers' Spinoff & Sequel Scribes Set] on Deadline.com</ref> [[Art Marcum]] and [[Matt Holloway]] (''Iron Man''),<ref name="deadlinewritersroom" /> [[Christina Hodson]] (''Shut In'', ''The Fugitive''),<ref name="hodsonbeer">[http://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/446175-christina-hodson-and-lindsey-beer-join-transformers-writing-team Christina Hodson and Lindsey Beer Join the Transformers Writing Team]</ref> [[Lindsey Beer]] (''Dig''),<ref name="hodsonbeer" /> [[Zak Penn]] (''Pacific Rim 2''),<ref name="deadlinewritersroom" /> [[Jeff Pinkner]] (''The Amazing Spider-Man 2'', ''Lost''),<ref name="deadlinewritersroom" /> [[Andrew Barrer]] and [[Gabriel Ferrari]] (''Ant-Man''),<ref name="barrerferrari">[http://deadline.com/2015/05/transformers-ant-man-andrew-barrer-gabriel-ferrari-cybertron-1201433402/ 'Ant-Man' Scribes Andrew Barrer & Gabriel Ferrari Join 'Transformers' Writers Room] on Deadline</ref> [[Ken Nolan]] (''Black Hawk Down''), and [[Geneva Robertson-Dworet]].<ref name="nolandworet">[http://www.slashfilm.com/transformers-writers-room/ Akiva Goldsman Teases 'Transformers' Franchise Plans]</ref> Involved in the pitching process are [[Steven Spielberg]], [[Michael Bay]], [[Brian Goldner]], [[Lorenzo di Bonaventura]], [[Mark Vahradian]], and [[Don Murphy]].<ref name="deadlinereveal">[http://deadline.com/2015/09/transformers-writers-room-akiva-goldsman-transformers-5-1201531918/ 'Transformers' Writers Room Wraps] on Deadline</ref>
*October 3, 2015 — During his keynote speech at the MIP Junior Conference, [[Allspark (company)|Allspark]]'s [[Stephen J. Davis]] notes that the writing team has come up with film concepts for Transformers 5, 6, 7, and 8.<ref name="stephendaviskeynote">[https://youtu.be/F_P2fw_DlS4?t=812 Stephen Davis's keynote speech] at MIPJunior.</ref>
*February 12, 2016 — At ToyFair, Hasbro reveals the projected release date of Transformers 7, along with the dates for the two preceding films.<ref name="toyfairreveal" />
*September 23, 2017 — At Licensing Europe 2017, Hasbro announces Transformers 7 will have an "entirely new, exciting storyline".<ref>[http://news.tfw2005.com/2017/09/23/2019-transformers-movie-feature-entirely-new-storyline-349463]</ref>
*February 16, 2018 — Hasbro clarified at [[Toy Fair 2018]] that the film will be a reset of the franchise and has been delayed indefinitely until a new creative team is in place.<ref>[http://news.tfw2005.com/2018/02/16/transformers-cinematic-universe-current-movie-series-rebooted-358641]</ref>
*May 24, 2018 — Paramount drops the film from their release schedule.<ref>[http://collider.com/transformers-7-cancelled/amp/ Paramount Officially Pulls the Next 'Transformers' Sequel from Their Release Date Schedule] on Collider</ref>
*March 15, 2019 — di Bonaventura states a sequel to ''[[Bumblebee (film)|Bumblebee]]'' is in development.<ref>[https://www.seibertron.com/transformers/news/two-sequels-in-transformers-live-action-franchise-confirmed-in-development/43083/] on Seibertron</ref>
*March 18, 2019 — di Bonaventura claims that the next main ''Transformers'' film will be a reboot closely tied to the ''Bumblebee'' sequel, rather than a direct sequel to ''[[Transformers: The Last Knight (film)|The Last Knight]]''. Either way, Paramount will pick the best script for ''Transformers 7'' and release that first.<ref>[https://www.gamespot.com/articles/bumblebee-producer-says-next-transformers-movie-wi/1100-6465652/]</ref>
*January 27, 2020 — Variety reports two ''Transformers'' films are being penned, to be produced simultaneously: one written by James Vanderbilt, another to be written by Joby Harold.<ref>[https://variety.com/2020/film/news/transformers-franchise-revamp-bumblebee-james-vanderbilt-joby-harold-1203482496/]</ref> Deadline reports that Vanderbilt's script is for a spin-off film based on ''[[Beast Wars: Transformers (franchise)|Beast Wars]]'', while Harold's script continues the story from the ''Bumblebee'' film.<ref>[https://deadline.com/2020/01/transformers-movies-paramount-1202843234/]</ref> Which of these two scripts will be "''Transformers 7''" remains to be seen.
*May 2, 2020 — [[Hasbro]] CEO [[Brian Goldner]] confirms that a new Transformers live-action movie is slated to release on June 24th, [[2022]]. However, only one between "''Bumblebee 2''" and "''Beast Wars''" will make it to production first.

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Real world films]]

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (film)

2020-05-04T11:37:32Z

96megatron: /* Confirmed information */

'''"Transformers 7"''' is the planned seventh film in the [[live-action film series]]. Originally expected to be released on [[June 28]], [[2019]],<ref name="toyfairreveal">[http://news.tfw2005.com/2016/02/12/transformers-5-transformers-6-bumblebee-spin-off-movie-revealed-309503 Transformers 5, Transformers 6 And Bumblebee Spin-Off Movie Revealed] ToyFair news at TFW2005</ref> the film has been delayed indefinitely.

==Confirmed information==
*March 27, 2015 — [[Paramount Pictures]] negotiates with [[Akiva Goldsman]], hiring him to create a "writer's room" with the intention of building a cinematic universe.<ref name="goldsman">[http://deadline.com/2015/03/transformers-akiva-goldsman-paramount-sequels-spinoffs-1201400027/ Paramount Enlisting Akiva Goldsman To Ramp Up 'Transformers' Output] on deadline.com</ref> Goldsman goes on to hire a number of writers over the next few months: [[Steven DeKnight]] (''Daredevil''),<ref>[http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/transformers-cinematic-universe/35696/transformers-cinematic-details-more-writers-over-10-films Transformers cinematic details]</ref> [[Robert Kirkman]] (''The Walking Dead''),<ref name="deadlinewritersroom">[http://deadline.com/2015/05/transformers-writers-robert-kirkman-zak-penn-art-marcum-matt-holloway-jeff-pinkner-1201430601/ 'Transformers' Spinoff & Sequel Scribes Set] on Deadline.com</ref> [[Art Marcum]] and [[Matt Holloway]] (''Iron Man''),<ref name="deadlinewritersroom" /> [[Christina Hodson]] (''Shut In'', ''The Fugitive''),<ref name="hodsonbeer">[http://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/446175-christina-hodson-and-lindsey-beer-join-transformers-writing-team Christina Hodson and Lindsey Beer Join the Transformers Writing Team]</ref> [[Lindsey Beer]] (''Dig''),<ref name="hodsonbeer" /> [[Zak Penn]] (''Pacific Rim 2''),<ref name="deadlinewritersroom" /> [[Jeff Pinkner]] (''The Amazing Spider-Man 2'', ''Lost''),<ref name="deadlinewritersroom" /> [[Andrew Barrer]] and [[Gabriel Ferrari]] (''Ant-Man''),<ref name="barrerferrari">[http://deadline.com/2015/05/transformers-ant-man-andrew-barrer-gabriel-ferrari-cybertron-1201433402/ 'Ant-Man' Scribes Andrew Barrer & Gabriel Ferrari Join 'Transformers' Writers Room] on Deadline</ref> [[Ken Nolan]] (''Black Hawk Down''), and [[Geneva Robertson-Dworet]].<ref name="nolandworet">[http://www.slashfilm.com/transformers-writers-room/ Akiva Goldsman Teases 'Transformers' Franchise Plans]</ref> Involved in the pitching process are [[Steven Spielberg]], [[Michael Bay]], [[Brian Goldner]], [[Lorenzo di Bonaventura]], [[Mark Vahradian]], and [[Don Murphy]].<ref name="deadlinereveal">[http://deadline.com/2015/09/transformers-writers-room-akiva-goldsman-transformers-5-1201531918/ 'Transformers' Writers Room Wraps] on Deadline</ref>
*October 3, 2015 — During his keynote speech at the MIP Junior Conference, [[Allspark (company)|Allspark]]'s [[Stephen J. Davis]] notes that the writing team has come up with film concepts for Transformers 5, 6, 7, and 8.<ref name="stephendaviskeynote">[https://youtu.be/F_P2fw_DlS4?t=812 Stephen Davis's keynote speech] at MIPJunior.</ref>
*February 12, 2016 — At ToyFair, Hasbro reveals the projected release date of Transformers 7, along with the dates for the two preceding films.<ref name="toyfairreveal" />
*September 23, 2017 — At Licensing Europe 2017, Hasbro announces Transformers 7 will have an "entirely new, exciting storyline".<ref>[http://news.tfw2005.com/2017/09/23/2019-transformers-movie-feature-entirely-new-storyline-349463]</ref>
*February 16, 2018 — Hasbro clarified at [[Toy Fair 2018]] that the film will be a reset of the franchise and has been delayed indefinitely until a new creative team is in place.<ref>[http://news.tfw2005.com/2018/02/16/transformers-cinematic-universe-current-movie-series-rebooted-358641]</ref>
*May 24, 2018 — Paramount drops the film from their release schedule.<ref>[http://collider.com/transformers-7-cancelled/amp/ Paramount Officially Pulls the Next 'Transformers' Sequel from Their Release Date Schedule] on Collider</ref>
*March 15, 2019 — di Bonaventura states a sequel to ''[[Bumblebee (film)|Bumblebee]]'' is in development.<ref>[https://www.seibertron.com/transformers/news/two-sequels-in-transformers-live-action-franchise-confirmed-in-development/43083/] on Seibertron</ref>
*March 18, 2019 — di Bonaventura claims that the next main ''Transformers'' film will be a reboot closely tied to the ''Bumblebee'' sequel, rather than a direct sequel to ''[[Transformers: The Last Knight (film)|The Last Knight]]''. Either way, Paramount will pick the best script for ''Transformers 7'' and release that first.<ref>[https://www.gamespot.com/articles/bumblebee-producer-says-next-transformers-movie-wi/1100-6465652/]</ref>
*January 27, 2020 — Variety reports two ''Transformers'' films are being penned, to be produced simultaneously: one written by James Vanderbilt, another to be written by Joby Harold.<ref>[https://variety.com/2020/film/news/transformers-franchise-revamp-bumblebee-james-vanderbilt-joby-harold-1203482496/]</ref> Deadline reports that Vanderbilt's script is for a spin-off film based on ''[[Beast Wars: Transformers (franchise)|Beast Wars]]'', while Harold's script continues the story from the ''Bumblebee'' film.<ref>[https://deadline.com/2020/01/transformers-movies-paramount-1202843234/]</ref> Which of these two scripts will be "''Transformers 7''" remains to be seen.
*May 2, 2020 — [[Hasbro]] CEO [[Brian Goldner]] confirms that a new Transformers live-action movie is slated to release on June 24th, [[2022]]. However only one between "''Bumblebee 2''" and "''Beast Wars''" will make it to production first.

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Real world films]]

Transformers: Dark of the Moon (film)

2020-04-17T23:39:17Z

96megatron: /* Continuity Notes */

{{Nav-dotm}}
[[File:DOTM-OPportraitposter.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|"Of [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|my friend]], I can only say this: of all the souls I have encountered, he was the most... human."]]
'''''Transformers: Dark of the Moon''''' is the third film in the [[live-action film series]]. It was released in 3D and IMAX at 9PM on [[June 28]], [[2011]]<ref name="open3D">[http://michaelbay.com/2011/06/18/see-dark-of-the-moon-one-day-earlier-on-imax-3d/ See Dark Of The Moon One Day Earlier on IMAX 3D | MichaelBay]</ref> and in wide release on [[June 29]], [[2011]]<ref name="open">[http://www.deadline.com/2011/05/paramount-moving-up-transformers-3/ Paramount Moving Up ‘T’formers 3′ Release – Deadline.com]</ref> in the United States, and between [[June 29]] and July 1 for other markets.

The film is set three years after the events of ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]''. The Autobots continue to work for NEST, but no longer in secret, and for the goal of keeping peace between humans by taking out volatile overseas political targets. But after discovering a strange artifact during a mission in Chernobyl, it becomes apparent to Optimus Prime that the United States government has been less than forthright with them.

And SCENE!

{{bigquote|Aw, shit, I seen this one. It's the one where [[Spock]] goes nuts.|Wheelie|''Transformers: Dark of the Moon''}}

==Synopsis==
[[File:Dotm-Arkreflection.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.4|"Wha... this is the finest engine room in the whole Starfleet!"]]

In the distant past, during the latter days of the [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertronian]] civil war, [[Sentinel Prime (ROTF)|Sentinel Prime]] attempted to leave the planet with groundbreaking technology on board the ''[[Ark (DOTM)|Ark]]''. However, his ship was shot down by the Decepticons and, after being sent hurling through space for a while, eventually crashed on the [[Earth]]'s [[Moon (moon)|moon]] in 1961. The crash is noticed by the humans on Earth, leading to the {{w|Space Race}} under President [[John F. Kennedy]]. Landing on the Moon as part of the [[Apollo 11]] mission in 1969, astronauts [[Neil Armstrong]] and [[Buzz Aldrin]] use several minutes of [[radio]] silence to investigate the spaceship and discover that Mankind is not alone in space.

[[File:DOTM - ShockwaveDriller.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|"When I swing around, I mean to deprive you of your life."]]
In the present day, the Autobots are still part of [[NEST]], cooperating with the [[United States military|US Armed Forces]]. They have also begun to help humanity in its local conflicts, as [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]], [[Sideswipe (Movie)|Sideswipe]], [[Wheeljack (Movie)|Que]], and [[Mirage (Movie)|Dino]] destroy an illegal [[Iran]]ian nuclear facility. On a mission to the [[Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant]], a NEST team led by [[William Lennox|Lt. Col. Lennox]], [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] and [[Ratchet (Movie)|Ratchet]] discovers an unknown alien fuel cell which had led to the {{w|Chernobyl disaster}}. While trying to secure the cell, they are attacked by the Decepticon [[Shockwave (Movie)|Shockwave]] and his "pet", the [[Driller]], who are eventually forced to retreat by Optimus Prime. Meanwhile, [[Laserbeak (DOTM)|Laserbeak]] kills [[Alexi Voskhod]], who had called NEST to Chernobyl and was secretly working for him. After securing the fuel cell and identifying it as part of the ''Ark'', Optimus Prime is angry at the humans for not following through with their agreement of sharing all known information relating to Cybertron and its inhabitants. Despite this, he eventually informs his allies and [[Charlotte Mearing]], the {{w|Director of National Intelligence}}, about the space bridge technology the ''Ark'' contains. Together with [[Ratchet (Movie)|Ratchet]], Optimus travels to the Moon, where they find Sentinel Prime inside the ship. Retrieving him along with four pillars of the space bridge and the accompanying control pillar, they return to Earth, where Optimus uses the [[Matrix of Leadership]] to reactivate Sentinel Prime. In [[Africa]], Decepticon leader [[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]] (still recovering from wounds [[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|suffered]] in [[Egypt]]) meets with his lieutenants [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]] and [[Soundwave (ROTF)|Soundwave]]. Upon learning that the Autobots have recovered Sentinel and the pillars, Megatron orders Soundwave and Laserbeak to terminate their "loose ends".

Meanwhile, [[Sam Witwicky]], the Autobots' human friend, is suffering from everyday problems. Even though President [[Barack Obama]] has awarded him a medal for saving the Earth twice, Sam has trouble finding a job. Together with his new girlfriend [[Carly Spencer]], whom he had met in the [[White House]] (after his former girlfriend [[Mikaela Banes|Mikaela]] had left him), he also gives the stranded Autobots [[Wheelie (ROTF)|Wheelie]] and [[Brains]] a home. After a long search, he finally finds a position as a mail carrier at a telecommunication company named [[Accuretta Systems]]. From his colleague, [[Jerry Wang]], he learns about a conspiracy by humans who collaborate with the Decepticons. Before Jerry can tell Sam more, however, he is killed by Laserbeak.

[[File:DOTM-Sentinelendofyourworld.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.66|"There's a man out there I haven't seen in fifteen years who's trying to kill me."]]

Locked out of participating in the investigation by Mearing, Sam turns to [[Seymour Simmons]] for help. Simmons, who has become a millionaire as a writer, and his aide, [[Dutch (DOTM)|Dutch]], help Sam find out that the Soviets have taken photos of Decepticons removing hundreds of space bridge pillars out of the ''Ark'' even before Apollo 11 had landed on the Moon. Sam and Simmons conclude that the Decepticons had left Sentinel Prime behind on purpose, knowing that only he would be able to activate the space bridge, and only Optimus Prime could reactivate him. Sam is able to warn the Autobots in time so they can protect Sentinel from a Decepticon attack and escort him back to the NEST headquarters. Upon arriving there, however, Sentinel Prime betrays them, revealing that he made a deal with Megatron to ensure Cybertron's survival. After killing [[Ironhide (Movie)|Ironhide]] and most of the NEST soldiers, Sentinel claims the remaining pillars and escapes. The other Autobots track him down to [[Washington, D.C.]], but before Optimus can stop him, Sentinel activates a space bridge to the Moon. The portal allows dozens of Decepticon troops which had remained hidden under the Moon's surface to reach Earth, forcing the Autobots to retreat.

[[File:DOTM-Moonspacebridge.jpg|thumb|upright=1.55|"We are one big, happy fleet! Ah, [[James Kirk|Kirk]], my old friend, do you know the [[Klingon]] proverb that tells us revenge is a dish that is best served cold? It is ''very'' cold in space."]]

In the meantime, Sam is worried about Carly and searches for her. He finds her with her employer, [[Dylan Gould]], who reveals to Sam that he not only arranged for Sam to get a job with Acuretta, but is also a collaborator with the Decepticons. At their request, his father had used his influence to ensure that [[NASA]] would not conduct any more missions to the Moon. When Sam and Carly attempt to flee, they discover Carly's car is a disguise for Soundwave, who takes her captive. Dylan instructs Sam to ask Optimus Prime about the Autobots' strategy, otherwise Carly will die. To ensure that Sam will not try to warn the Autobots, he attaches a Decepticon disguised as a watch on Sam's wrist, and it taps into his nervous system.

Meanwhile, Sentinel Prime has given Mankind an ultimatum to exile the Autobots from Earth, since he is only trying to save Cybertron, or so he claims. The US government promptly passes a bill to this effect. Before the Autobots leave Earth aboard their spaceship, the ''[[Xantium (DOTM)|Xantium]]'', Sam asks Optimus about his plan. Optimus replies that there is no plan, and Mankind is on its own now. With all Autobots on board, the ''Xantium'' takes off, but is promptly intercepted by Starscream, who had waited in Earth's orbit. With the ''Xantium'' destroyed, the Decepticons believe the Autobots to be dead and let Sam go.

[[File:DarkoftheMoon-Chicago.jpg|thumb|upright=1.55|left|"Let them eat static. "]]
With the Autobots out of the way, the Decepticons conquer [[Chicago]], kill most of its population and set up the control pillar for the space bridge inside the city, placing the other pillars around the world. Dylan informs Carly that the Decepticons do not intend to return to Cybertron; instead, they want to transport Cybertron into Earth's orbit, because Earth not only has the necessary resources, but also six billion slaves to rebuild the Transformers' home planet.

Sam decides to go to Chicago, where Dylan has taken Carly. Former NEST soldier [[Robert Epps]], who now works for NASA, accompanies him, together with other former NEST members. Upon arrival in Chicago, they are promptly attacked by the Decepticons, but are rescued by Optimus Prime and the other Autobots. Having never intended to leave Earth, they had hidden themselves inside a modified rocket booster that was jettisoned before Starscream destroyed the ''Xantium''.

[[File:DOTM Driller vs Prime.jpg|thumb|upright=1.55|"From Hell's heart, I stab at thee!"]]

The Autobots and the humans soldiers make their way to the skyscraper where Dylan is located in order to destroy the space bridge's control pillar. Sam and Bumblebee rescue Carly, killing Laserbeak in the process, during which they find a damaged UAV and alert the military to the Decepticons plans. Due to another attack by a team of Decepticons led by Shockwave, the team is separated once more. While the Autobots battle the Decepticons, Epps and his team try to destroy the pillar from another skyscraper. However, they are attacked by Shockwave and the Driller, who brings the skyscraper crashing down. Optimus Prime comes to their aid and destroys the Driller, but is shot by Shockwave and becomes trapped in crane cables.

In the meantime, Lennox and the rest of NEST have managed to make their way into the city using [[wingsuit]]s, and with Lennox's help, Sam destroys Starscream using weapons provided to him by the Autobot scientist Que. Meanwhile, the Decepticons have captured several Autobots, but Dylan convinces them not to keep prisoners and kill them all. [[Barricade (Movie)|Barricade]] executes Que, and Soundwave moves to kill Bumblebee next, but the Autobots Wheelie and Brains have managed to make one of the Decepticons' ships crash, thereby distracting Soundwave long enough for Bumblebee and the other Autobots to get free. Bumblebee overpowers and kills Soundwave. NEST soldiers and US Marines snipe the Decepticons. Autobots and Tanks roll in and ambush the Decepticons. Optimus Prime returns and massacres a large group of Decepticons. He then kills Shockwave and uses the Decepticon's arm cannon to topple over the space bridge's control pillar, deactivating the bridge.

[[File:DOTMCybertrontransit.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.55|"Earth was created in six days. Now, watch out! Here comes Genesis! We'll do it for you in six minutes!"]]

Optimus Prime then confronts Sentinel Prime and the two engage in a ferocious battle of Student vs Master. Carly stumbles across Megatron outside the main battle zone. Having previously witnessed a violent argument between Sentinel Prime and Megatron, she appeals to his pride and makes him realize that he will never be able to rule over Cybertron as long as Sentinel is alive. Meanwhile, after a long fight, Sentinel gains the upper hand over Optimus and severs his right arm. However, before he can execute his former pupil, an infuriated Megatron attacks Sentinel and severely damages him, declaring that Earth is his planet to rule. Megatron realized how far he had fallen in power within the past few years, and has decided to once again take his rightful place at the top of the command chain. Meanwhile, Dylan manages to reactivate the toppled pillar, but is attacked by Sam, who hurls him against the pillar, killing him. Subsequently, Bumblebee destroys the pillar for good, thus destroying the space bridge and, presumably, Cybertron with it. Seeing this, Megatron half-heartedly offers Optimus Prime a truce on the condition that he will remain in charge of the Decepticons, mockingly saying that they would be nothing without each other. Realizing that the offer is less than sincere, Optimus refuses and attacks Megatron, decapitating him with an axe. The weakened Sentinel Prime tries to excuse his actions, but Optimus, claiming Sentinel "betrayed himself," executes the treacherous Prime with Megatron's shotgun.

[[File:DOTM Autobots NEST victorious.jpg|thumb|upright=1.55|"Live long... and prosper..."]]

With the battle over, Sam and Carly are reunited, and Simmons takes an opportunity to kiss Mearing, who he still has feelings for, and she has him arrested. With their home planet now forever beyond reach, and the forces of the Decepticons destroyed, the remaining Autobots finally accept Earth as their new home, as Optimus Prime states that the Autobots will always be here, to protect the Earth and all who live on it.

==Quotes==

'''Mission Control''': We are not alone after all, are we? <br>
'''Buzz Aldrin''': No, sir. We are not alone. <br>
:—Buzz Aldrin makes history, and raises the hackles of conspiracy theorists.

'''Dino''': "He's in a bad mood. He's not talking to anybody today." <br>
'''Mearing''': "What is this, the silent treatment?" <br>
'''Ironhide''': "We've seen that and this is ''not'' that." <br>
'''Que''': "Definitely not." <br>
'''Ironhide''': "This is ''worse''. Prime! Make something of yourself! (Ironhide taps Optimus's roof) He's pissed."
:—Ironhide discusses Optimus Prime's foul mood.

"Who wants some chicken dinner now, bitch? Huh? 'Cause somebody messed with the wrong Wang today!" <br>
:—'''Jerry Wang''', being crazy. But also awesome.

"The thing about Russians is, they never like to talk. Gonna take a little of the 'international language.'" <Doorman opens sliding hatch> "''Do svidaniya''." <br>
"That means 'goodbye!'" <closes hatch>
:—'''Simmons''' tries to reason with a '''Russian''', to no avail.

"It's a Cyrillic alphabet; it's like all the buttons you never push on a calculator!"
:—'''Dutch''' tries to translate Russian, also to no avail.

"Woah! Little Mexican standoff we got here!"
:-'''Sideswipe''', talking to Ironhide and the Dreads.

"Class dismissed."
:—'''Ironhide''', after dispatching the Dreads.

"What you must realize, my Autobot brothers, is that we were never going to win the war. For the sake of our planet's survival, a deal had to be made...with ''Megatron''."
:—'''Sentinel Prime''' reveals his treachery.

[[File:DOTM-MegatronLincoln.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|"I'll give him this: [[Atlantis, Arise!|he's]] [[Transformers The Game (console)|consistent]]!"]]
"Here we are. Fight us ''now''."
:—'''Megatron''', pulling the evil overlord cliché on us while sitting atop the [[Abraham Lincoln|Lincoln Memorial]]

"If you go in this building, that's if she's even still alive, there's no way you're going to reach her!"<br>
"What do you suggest I do?!"<br>
"...it's over. I'm sorry, but it's over."<br>
:—'''Robert Epps''' tells '''Sam Witwicky''' that they've run out of plans.

"We will kill them all."
:—'''Optimus Prime''' offers an alternative plan.

"They got my trailer. I ''need'' that flight tech!"<br>
:—'''Optimus Prime''', valiantly [[To sell toys|selling toys]].

"I bring you Cybertron, your home! and still you choose humanity."<br>
"You are the one who taught me [[Bio|freedom is everyone's right]]."<br>
:—'''Sentinel''' VS '''Optimus Prime'''.

"Your Decepticons are finally conquering this planet, and yet their leader won't be you."<br>
"IT WILL BE ME! It will ''always'' be me!<br>
"In any minute now, you'll be nothing but Sentinel's bitch."
:—'''Carly Spencer''' tells '''Megatron''' that if he's going to be the Starscream, he should ''act'' like it.

"Optimus. All I ever wanted...was the survival of our race. You must see why I had to betray you..."<br>
"You didn't betray me. You betrayed yourself..."<br>
:—'''Optimus Prime''''s final exchange with '''Sentinel Prime''' before effectively ''double-tapping'' him.

"Who would you be without me, Prime?"<br>
"Time to find out."<br>
:—'''Megatron''' and '''Optimus Prime''' exchange pre-fight banter one last time.

"In any war, there are calms between storms. There will be days when we lose faith. Days when our allies turn against us... but the day will never come that we forsake this planet and its people."
:—'''Optimus Prime'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s closing narration, [[Transformers: Age of Extinction (film)|which predicts what will]] [[Transformers: The Last Knight (film)|happen to them years later.]]

==Main cast==

{{featuredcharacters|
h1=[[Autobot]]s|c1=
*[[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] ([[Peter Cullen]])
*[[Sentinel Prime (ROTF)|Sentinel Prime]] ([[Leonard Nimoy]])
*[[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]]
*[[Ironhide (Movie)|Ironhide]] ([[Jess Harnell]])
*[[Ratchet (Movie)|Ratchet]] ([[Robert Foxworth]])
*[[Sideswipe (Movie)|Sideswipe]] ([[James Remar]])
*[[Mirage (Movie)|Dino]]<ref name="credits">Mirage and Wheeljack, known by those names in the toyline and essentially all supporting media, are respectively named "Dino" and "Que" in the film. While Dino is simply credited as such, Que is listed in the credits as "Que/Wheeljack".</ref> ([[Francesco Quinn]])
*[[Wheeljack (Movie)|Que/Wheeljack]]<ref name="credits"/> ([[George Coe]])
*The [[Wrecker]]s
**[[Roadbuster (DOTM)|Roadbuster]]<ref>Roadbuster is listed as "Roadbuster/Amp" in the credits, a reference to his car mode's sponsor. His name is not used in the film, but he is called "Roadbuster" in the toyline and supporting media.</ref> ([[Ron Bottitta]])
**[[Topspin (DOTM)|Topspin]]
**[[Leadfoot (DOTM)|Leadfoot]]<ref>Leadfoot is listed in the film's end credits as "Leadfoot/Target", a reference to his car mode's sponsor. His name is not spoken in the film, but he is called "Leadfoot" in the toyline and the supporting media.</ref> ([[John DiMaggio]])
*[[Wheelie (ROTF)|Wheelie]] ([[Tom Kenny]])
*[[Brains]] ([[Reno Wilson]])
*[[Skids (ROTF)|Skids]]<ref name=skidsandmudflap>Skids and Mudflap only appear during the convoy scene at the beginning of the film</ref> (cameo)
*[[Mudflap (ROTF)|Mudflap]]<ref name=skidsandmudflap/> (cameo)

|h2=[[Decepticon]]s|c2=
*[[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]] ([[Hugo Weaving]])
*[[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]] ([[Charlie Adler]])
*[[Shockwave (Movie)|Shockwave]] ([[Frank Welker]])
**[[Driller]]
*[[Soundwave (ROTF)|Soundwave]] ([[Frank Welker]])
**[[Laserbeak (DOTM)|Laserbeak]] ([[Keith Szarabajka]])
*[[Barricade (Movie)|Barricade]] (''Frank Welker'')
*[[Loader]]
*[[Devcon (DOTM)|Devcon]]
*[[Igor]] ([[Greg Berg]])
* [[Dread (DOTM)|The Dreads]]
**[[Crankcase (DOTM)|Crankcase]]
**[[Hatchet (DOTM)|Hatchet]]
**[[Crowbar]]
*[[Hatchling]]s
*[[Scrapper (ROTF)|Scrapper]] type Decepticon
*[[Long Haul (ROTF)|Long Haul]] type Decepticon
*[[Audi R8 Decepticon]]
*Two [[M1 Abrams Decepticon]]s
*[[Garagebot]]
*[[Lensmeter Decepticon]]s
*[[Protoform]]s
*[[Watch-bot]]<ref>Repeatedly referred to as the "Watch-bot" (proper noun) in the ''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon: The Junior Novel]]''</ref>
*[[Pickup Decepticon]]
*[[Police car Decepticon]]

|h3=[[Human]]s|c3=
*[[Sam Witwicky]] ([[Shia LaBeouf]])
*[[Carly Spencer]] ([[Rosie Huntington-Whiteley]])
*[[William Lennox]] ([[Josh Duhamel]])
*[[Robert Epps]] ([[Tyrese Gibson]])
*[[Seymour Simmons]] ([[John Turturro]])
*[[Charlotte Mearing]] ([[Frances McDormand]])
*[[Dylan Gould]] ([[Patrick Dempsey]])
*[[Bruce Brazos]] ([[John Malkovich]])
*[[Hardcore Eddie]] ([[Lester Speight]])
*[[Morshower]] ([[Glenn Morshower]])
*[[Dutch (DOTM)|Dutch]] ([[Alan Tudyk]])
*[[Ron Witwicky]] ([[Kevin Dunn]])
*[[Judy Witwicky]] ([[Julie White]])
*[[Jerry Wang]] ([[Ken Jeong]])
*[[Neil Armstrong]] ([[Don Jeanes]])
*[[Buzz Aldrin]] ([[Cory Tucker]]/himself)
*[[Walter Cronkite]]
*[[Bill O'Reilly]] (himself)
*[[Alexi Voskhod]] ([[Ravil Isyanov]])
}}

==Continuity Notes==
*Sam has since graduated from college, being three months out of school is currently looking for a job.
*Since the events of ''Revenge of the Fallen'', Sam and Mikaela had broke up (despite having to spend an entire film of Sam needing to say the L-word). Prior to the events of this film, he started a relationship with Carly Spencer.
*In the years since the Autobots arrival in 2007, Earth has boosted up security, Energon detectors guard Earth’s cities, while long-range defense systems watch the skies.
*Prior to the events of ''Dark of the Moon'', Autobots Que/Wheeljack and Dino have joined N.E.S.T.
*Decepticon Enforcer Shockwave, and his massive, devasting pet, The Driller, arrived on Earth sometime before the events of this film.
*Bumblebee, who was living in the Witwicky's garage at the start of the second film, is now an active member of NEST. In ''ROTF'', Sam had suggested for Bumblebee to join up with the other Autobots, instead of being cooped up in his family's garage. Sam wanted a robot civil war-free college experience and it seems he got it.
*NEST’s barracks for the Autobots have moved from a hanger on the island of Diego Garcia to a building, with Health and Human Services used as a cover, and are operating from Washington D.C.
*Sometime after the events of Operation: Firestorm, Sergeant Epps retired from combat duty, and now is tasked with maintaining both the Autobot ship named the Xantium and relationships between the human engineers and the bloodthirsty Wreckers.
*The Wreckers, according to Charlotte Mearing arrived on Earth, aboard the Xantium, and brought the second wave of Autobots. That would mean they arrived with Sideswipe and co., in the second film, if we're to assume the second wave of Autobots are the ''ROTF'' bots, while the first wave was Optimus and 07' bots. If they were on Earth during the events of the second film, the reason for the Wreckers not participating in Operation Firestorm, might be because Mearing mentioned them not being allowed off the base much, due to their behavior.
*The only returning Autobots, that made their debut in ''Revenge of the Fallen'' to return are Sideswipe and Wheelie (Also The Twins, but only in a few minor cameos, having been cut from a majority of the film). Wheelie, now joined by his companion, Brains, are both currently living with Sam and Carly.
*Returning Decepticons are Megatron and Starscream, who both managed to survive the final battle of ''Revenge of the Fallen'', although the former received serious injuries. Soundwave, made his live-action debut in the last film, now joined by Laserbeak, is revealed to have been active on Earth since at least the 1970s and was tasked with hiding Megatron’s secret plan, hidden on the dark side of the moon. Barricade makes a surprising return during the final battle in Chicago, last seen driving alongside Bonecrusher on the highway, before the latter engaged the Autobot Leader in the first film, while not being an active participant during the events of the second film.
*Following his injuries sustained during the final fight of ''Revenge of the Fallen'', Megatron had acquired a new arm, nearly repaired his damaged face, he has even adopted an earth mode, and is hiding and plotting in Namibia, Africa.
*Seymour Simmons, now a billionaire, makes his return, having made his fortune by sharing to the world the ins-and-outs of the robot civil war. He is also a proud supporter of the Autobot movement, even defending them on public television, and is quick to answer the call from the alien bad news magnet. He also has a bodyguard named Dutch, who is more than meets the eye.
*Optimus Prime's main moral compass that "freedom is the right of all sentient beings", is revealed to have been taught to him by his predecessor and mentor, Sentinel Prime. This had been one of the motivations behind Optimus protecting humans from 'Decepticon' tyranny throughout the films (and various parts of the franchise).
*This also reveals that in this continuity, Optimus wasn't always the leader of the Autobots, with Sentinel Prime (like in other continuities) being the leader of the Autobots before him.
*Megatron and Sentinel Prime were meant to rendezvous on Earth together to enact Project Pillar, before fate waylaid them both. Megatron was frozen in ice, in his pursuit of the Allspark, after crash landing in the arctic, later ending up in the vault of Sector Seven, before the events of the first film. While Sentinel Prime's ship was accidentally shot down by a random Decepticon soldier piloting an Orbital Assault Carrier, in pursuit of The Ark's as it was making its escape from Cybertron, as seen in this film's prologue. Seemingly unaware of the secret truce between their leader, Megatron, with Sentinel Prime, the enemy leader.
*Sentinel Prime was first mentioned in the previous film, by Sam Witwicky during one of his many Allspark induced exposition dump. The Fallen not being able to sense Sentinel Prime was probably due to the latter being in stasis lock.
*Megatron's deal with Sentinel Prime makes one question his relationship with The Fallen, as The Fallen himself stated "only a Prime can defeat me", wonder how he would have felt if he knew Megatron had another Prime locked away somewhere, in secret.
*In the last film, if Earth's government ultimately decided that it would be in humanity's best interest to further deny the Autobots' further asylum on our planet, Optimus said that if they'd reach such a decision, that they would honor their request and leave peacefully. Although the Autobots weren't fully transparent on their end as they didn't fully trust the Decepticons. Even though Galloway assumed the Decepticons' reasons for continuing to invade Earth was because the Autobots were here. And apparently, prior to the events of this film, a poll was taken that showed half the world shared the same sentiment. However, revealed after the Autobots left, they weren't the Decepticons' intended target. As once they left, Carly managed to correctly deduce that the Decepticons were after our resources, one unique to our own planet, us.

==Errors==
===Astronomical and historical errors===
* The Moon does not rotate with respect to Earth, and Mare Tranquillitatis is near the middle of the near side. Therefore, Tranquility Base could never be described as being on the far side, and Earth is never as close to the horizon as shown in the movie.
* The Apollo 11 Command/Service Module is seen flying to the Moon without the Lunar Module. The Lunar Module is attached when the vehicle is orbiting the Moon, however.
* When the modern day site of the Apollo 11 landing is seen, the ascent module (the cabin Buzz and Neil flew back to orbit in) is still there.
* In real life, Apollo 11 did not land on the far side of the Moon. Tranquility Base is on the near side of the Moon.
* One of the directors of NASA says that all six Apollo missions recovered parts of the Ark but this not possible as the six missions all had different landing sites which were all a significant distance apart.
* Cybertron is apparently several times the size of Earth, yet the characters talk of bringing it "into Earth's atmosphere".
* The Space Bridge starts to bring Cybertron amazingly close to Earth - less than one Earth-diameter away. Assuming Cybertron's mass is proportional to its size, Cybertron's gravitational field would [[The Ultimate Doom|tear the Earth apart]] at that distance.

===Geographic discontinuities===
* The [[Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant]] is shown to be located ''inside'' of, or at least right next to the abandoned city of {{w|Pripyat}}, and the human characters access it through nearby buildings. In reality, the power plant is situated on the outskirts of the city. Even worse, [[Alexi Voskhod]] ''explicitly'' says that the entrance leads through a ''school''. Who builds a ''school'' right next to a ''nuclear power plant''?
* Furthermore, Pripyat's infamous Ferris wheel as shown in the movie is not only the wrong model (the real one's passenger cabins have canopies), but the real one is also located in an open field far away from any buildings.<ref name="ferris">[http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pripyat_-_Ferris_wheel.jpg Photo of the Pripyat Ferris wheel] showing the closest nearby buildings.</ref> But hey, at least it's the right color!
* Also, why exactly is the Sputnik mission case inside the Chernobyl reactor building? Did the Soviets never bother to discard the packaging of their toy after starting to play with it?
* When Megatron transforms for the first time, he's in a grassy savannah. In the next shot, he's standing in the middle of a desert... and in the establishing shot of the Decepticon camp, it's back in the savannah.
* {{w|Mount Kilimanjaro}} is seen in the background of many of the scenes in Namibia; in reality, the mountain is located in Tanzania, more than three thousand kilometers away.
[[File:DOTM-Wreckers-Prime-Cables.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|Chicago's own [[knockoff]] of a prominent Chinese building.]]
* In a [[Atlantis, Arise!|fairly common cinematic contrivance]], the film depicts multiple skyscrapers in the background of many scenes set in Washington, D.C., while the real-life city has no skyscrapers.
* Also, Washington, D.C. almost entirely lacks old industrial buildings that could be converted into lofts, and likewise doesn't have the kind of densely urban streets that Sam is shown to live on.
* NEST Headquarters, supposedly in Washington, is actually Chicago's abandoned Main Post Office.
* Likewise, Dylan's auto collection museum, also set in (land-locked) Washington, is actually the Milwaukee Art Museum. [[Lake Michigan]] is even visible through the windows!
* When Optimus Prime (using his jetpack) gets himself caught in wires below an under-construction building, that building bears a striking resemblance to the {{w|China Central Television Headquarters}} in [[Beijing]], [[China]]... a far shot from [[Chicago]]. Since construction for the CCTV building was finished in 2008, long before ''Dark of the Moon'' was even ''conceived'', this appears to be an intentional instance of a "cool building" being inserted just for the sake of it.

===Continuity errors===
* Like in ''Revenge of the Fallen'', Ironhide sports his [[license plate]] from the [[Transformers (film)|first movie]], "4PCI382", on his robot mode chest, but doesn't have a license plate in vehicle mode. (According to set photos, his license plate in vehicle mode is mostly black, with a NEST logo on it.)
* Speaking of inconsistencies between robot and vehicle mode: Bumblebee's updated Chevrolet Camaro alternate mode no longer has pinstripes bordering his black racing stripes, but the CG robot model still has the pinstripes.
[[Image:DOTM-SoundwaveMercedesStar.jpg|thumb|upright=1.9|right|Is this the reverse of hidden faction insignias in vehicle mode?]]
*Soundwave has [[kibble]] from his [[Mercedes-Benz|Mercedes]] alternate mode while he is in Africa, but his chest has only a blank grille. The Mercedes star is only added to his chest from the scene where he reveals himself to be Carly's car onward.
* After Megatron pulls out his shotgun for the first time, he holsters it on the right side of his back. In the next scene it is on his left side.
* In the highway battle scene with the [[Dread (DOTM)|Dreads]], Crowbar smashes into some traffic signs and knocks them over. In the next shot when the other two Dreads use them as ramps, the angle at which the signs fell has changed. After Hatchet and Crankcase transform, the signs revert into their original position.
* Also in the highway battle, Bumblebee enhances his front wheels to evade Hatchet, yet in the next scene he's fully in Stealth Force mode.
*When Hatchet is killed by Bumblebee and Dino, the last shot shows him being thrown onto a car (using footage recycled from Michael Bay's 2005 film ''{{w|The Island (2005 film)|The Island}}'', as elaborated on below), with Dino's grappling hook cables still attached to Hatchet, which would imply that Dino is still in robot mode at this point. However, the very next shot shows Dino in the far background, driving behind Bumblebee in vehicle mode.
* During Ironhide and Sideswipe's "Mexican standoff" with Crankcase and Crowbar, all combatants drop their firearms, but when Ironhide is speared, his guns are on his back again. They disappear in subsequent shots.
* In addition, the spear impaled in Ironhide disappears when he shoots Crowbar, only to reappear in subsequent shots.
* Despite being captured by Soundwave in her evening gown, Carly is somehow able to change into more convenient clothes (but still wearing high heels!) after arriving at Dylan's place, and has yet another outfit following the attack on Chicago the following day. Not only that, she changes her earrings, too!
* When the Autobots are boarding the ''Xantium,'' Simmons mentions that nine Autobots are leaving. Former Decepticons Wheelie and Brains apparently don't count. Poor little guys!
* The Wreckers claim they had been hiding inside a rocket booster that was jettisoned from the ''Xantium'' before Starscream destroyed it. The boosters are only seen to be detached after Starscream destroys the ship, after it has barely taken off from the ground.
* Though it's a standard action movie contrivance, it sure is convenient that the glass windows inside skyscrapers are extremely fragile when needed, and glass shards are as dangerous as bread crumbs so nobody suffers a single cut from sliding across them.
* Shortly after everyone jumps through the window and starts sliding down, a downwards shot of the building shows all of the windows behind them are intact.
* As everyone tumbles through a lower floor of the building, [[Stone]] is shown to fall right through and out the other side with a collection of office furniture, but not long after is back with Epps's squad.
* Despite the Decepticons taking over Chicago and killing a whole bunch of people, there seem to be a lot of people continuing to go about their daily lives. The skyscraper Epps's team goes into to launch a rocket from still seems to have plenty of office workers in it when the Driller attacks it. When Sam's being thrown around on the end of the grapple glove rope while fighting Starscream, he crashes through a wall into a dry-cleaning business where a woman appears to be calmly hanging up a shirt. Did they all just not get the memo?
* The sequence beginning with Sam, Carly, Epps and the rest of the soldiers jumping out of the windows of the tilted skyscraper is one giant continuity headache: First they jump out of the windows, then slide down several stories, then the camera angle changes and they're sliding down several more stories, and ''then'' a wide shot shows the top of the skyscraper from an angle where the characters cannot be seen, then slowly pans around and eventually shows them all sliding down from one of the topmosts floors all over again! Eventually, they crash back into one of the lowest floors near the break. After the Driller has toppled the top portion of the skyscraper over, the group is ''again'' shown to escape from one one of the topmost floors to the neighboring building!
* Though it is Barricade who kicks and shoves Que along before executing him, the voice heard is Soundwave's. Presumably, this was an artifact of the early alternate version of the scene, in which Soundwave was to kill Dino, and they just re-used the audio.
*While fighting the Autobots at the end of the film, Sentinel Prime's cape disappears for a brief scene before reappearing on his back when the camera angle changes.
*When Sam and Dylan are fighting, the clock behind them changes to different times every shot. It starts at 00:40, then 02:25, 00:15 and 11:00 in the following shots.
*When Sam and Carly are reunited after the final battle, Carly's hands keep changing the position on every cut, sometimes on Sam's neck, sometimes on his shoulders.
*Not intentional: Skids and Mudflap appear for a brief few seconds in the film. This leaves questions as to what happened to them. They weren't seen departing from Earth or taking part in the Chicago battle.
*It's said that four Autobots were captured by the Decepticons in Chicago, but actually five Autobots were captured. (Unless this observation was made ''before'' Bumblebee arrived after saving Sam and Lennox)
*When Que is about to be executed, the "cardboard head on a stick" prop used for [[Mirage (Movie)|Dino]] during the shooting of the movie (a common method used for the movies to give the actors ''something'' to react to) can be spotted in the final edit of the film,<ref name="headprop">[http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-movie-discussion/494618-movies-errors-mirage-prop-final-movie-edit.html "Movies Errors - Mirage prop in final movie edit"] at TFW2005</ref> possibly a leftover from an earlier draft of the script where Soundwave mocked Bumblebee with Dino's disembodied head.

==Transformers references==
In addition to recurring elements from the previous films, ''Dark of the Moon'' bases a number of elements on previous versions of the ''Transformers'' mythos, including plot elements based on older stories, something fairly rare in the other two movies:
* New characters [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] and [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] are heavily based upon their Generation 1 counterparts. [[Wheeljack (Movie)|Que]] is derived from G1 character [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]]. [[Sentinel Prime (disambiguation)|Sentinel Prime]] is the name of Optimus's predecessor in many continuities, and in this instance, he continues his [[Sentinel Prime (Animated)|predecessor]]'s [[Sentinel Prime (G1)#2005 IDW continuity|legacy]] of being a giant jerk.

* Megatron's camp is full of salvaged artifacts from the previous film. A piece of the harvester is being used as part of a tent and several Decepticon corpses are laying around the area. While most are unrecognizable, one of them is a headless Long Haul. Its head was presumable used to create Igor. Megatron's new right hand appears to be salvaged from a fallen Decepticon. The matching left hand can be seen laying around the campsite.

* "Carly" was the name of [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]]'s [[Carly|girlfriend and eventual wife]] in the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|original cartoon]].

* The ''[[Ark (DOTM)|Ark]]'' gets its name from the Autobots' crashed spaceship in the [[Marvel Comics|Marvel]] [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|''Transformers'' comics]].

* The ''[[Xantium (G1)|Xantium]]'' is the name of the [[Wrecker]]s' spaceship in the [[IDW Publishing]]'s ''Transformers'' comics.

* [[Roadbuster (DOTM)|Roadbuster]] and [[Topspin (DOTM)|Topspin]] being members of the Wreckers recalls their original G1 counterparts being likewise part of the Wreckers.

* Optimus's new trailer is based on the trailer that [[Optimus Prime (G1)|his Generation 1 counterpart]] hauled around, including its ability to open up into a weapons base.

* Optimus now carries the Matrix around in his chest as he has in past incarnations.

* The corrosive end met by Ironhide comes at the hands of [[Cosmic Rust (disease)|Cosmic Rust]], the oxidizing pathogen that first appeared in the Generation 1 cartoon episode [[Cosmic Rust (episode)|of the same name]]. Though not named in the film, its identity is made clear by production artwork by [[Josh Nizzi]] which labels Sentinel Prime's gun a "Cosmic Rust gun".

* Megatron removing [[Abraham Lincoln]] from his chair at the {{w|Lincoln Memorial}} and then sitting in it is a scene taken directly from the Generation 1 cartoon episode, "[[Atlantis, Arise!]]", and the Decepticon ending for ''[[Transformers The Game]]'' (sort of).

* The idea of bringing Cybertron to Earth via space bridge and enslaving humans was the plot of the Generation 1 multi-part episode "[[The Ultimate Doom]]."

* Likewise, the idea of an influential and powerful human joining forces with the Decepticons, resulting in the Autobots being exiled from Earth by the government via a spacecraft, only for that spacecraft to be destroyed, was the plot behind another Generation 1 cartoon multi-part episode, "[[Megatron's Master Plan, Part 1|Megatron's Master Plan]]."

* Megatron's first line - a weary "[[The Transformers: All Hail Megatron|All hail Megatron]]" - is the title of IDW's direction-changing comic maxi-series, which had just wrapped up when production on the film was beginning.

* When the worker at Accureta Systems is trying to make the [[Laserbeak (DOTM)|photocopier]] work, it beeps the "more than meets the eye" refrain from the original cartoon's [[theme song]].

* The [[Transformation#The noise|transformation noise]] can be heard at the end of the film when Bumblebee transforms to robot mode, the final onscreen transformation, just as it was heard during [[Blackout (Movie)|Blackout's]] transformation, which was also the first onscreen transformation in the first film.

* The technique of shooting at a skyscraper until it breaks in half and the top falls horizontally on other buildings has been done by [[Megatron (BW)|another Megatron]] in [[Endgame Pt. III: Seeds of the Future|another city]].

==Real-world references==
* When Brains and Wheelie are watching ''{{w|Star Trek: The Original Series}}'', the screen features [[Spock|Mr. Spock]], portrayed by Leonard Nimoy—who voices Sentinel Prime. Wheelie comments that it is "the one where Spock goes nuts," which foreshadows Sentinel's heel turn. The episode itself is the famous ''TOS'' episode "{{w|Amok Time}}", although for some inexplicable reason, the first of the two clips shown on-screen is ''mirrored''.

* Sentinel Prime says "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." The voice actor said the same line in the 1982 film ''{{w|Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan}}'' as Mr. Spock. However, in that movie, Nimoy's character dies a hero.

* To finish the Spock trifecta, when Bumblebee says his goodbyes to Sam, he uses a clip of Leonard Nimoy, as Spock, saying "I will always be your friend," another line from ''Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan''.

* [[Dutch (DOTM)|Dutch]] and his fake girlfriend's name, "India", are a reference to {{w|Dutch India}}.

* [[Wheeljack (Movie)|Que]]'s name is a reference to {{w|Q (James Bond)|Q}} from ''{{w|James Bond}}'' novels and films. Que also gives weapons to NEST soldiers while explaining the advantages and abilities for the weapons much like Q does for James Bond.

* When Bumblebee brings forth "rings" for Sam and Carly, he "hums" the {{w|Wedding March}} (or, more correctly, the {{w|Bridal Chorus}} from {{w|Richard Wagner}}'s 1850 opera ''{{w|Lohengrin (opera)|Lohengrin}}'').
*Before Sentinel gets attacked by Megatron, he quotes "There can only be one" from the film Highlander. Sentinel is also modeled after one of the film's lead stars Sean Connery.

==Other editions==

==Prequel material==
*''[[Transformers: Sector 7]]''
*''[[Transformers: Foundation]]''
*''[[Transformers: Rising Storm]]''
*''[[Transformers: Convergence]]''
*''[[Transformers: Jazz]]''
*''[[Transformers: Space Case]]''
*''[[Transformers: Ratchet]]''
*''[[Transformers: Arcee]]''
*''[[Transformers: Bumblebee]]''
*''[[Transformers: Starscream]]''
*''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (Xbox 360/PS3)]]''
*''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon: Stealth Force Edition]]''
*''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon: Autobots/Decepticons]]''
*''[[Transformers (Titan Magazine)#Dark of the Moon|Transformers (Titan Magazine)]]''
*''[[Transformers Classified: Switching Gears]]''

==Adaptations==
*''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon Movie Adaptation]]''
*''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (novel)]]''
*''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon: The Junior Novel]]''

==Soundtrack==
{{main|Dark of the Moon: The Album}}

==Score==
{{main|Dark of the Moon: The Score}}

==Home video releases==
{{main|Transformers: Dark of the Moon (film)/home video}}
''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'' was released on DVD, Blu-Ray, and Digital Download on September 30, 2011, followed by the 2-Disc Special Edition in December.<ref>[TFW2005 - Official Transformers Movie Website Updated With Transformers 3 Home Release Info http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/official-transformers-movie-website-updated-with-transformers-3-home-release-info-173245/]</ref>
===Additional Information===
{{collist|
* Close Captions in English
* Audio Description as Audio Description in English <ref>http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B005G4TJUC/audiodescriin-20</ref>|collist}}

==Theatrical posters==
<center>
<gallery perrow="3">
File:DOTM-OPbillboardposter.jpg
File:DOTM-Bumblebeebanner.jpg
File:DOTM-Shockwavebanner.jpg
File:DOTM-OPportraitposter.jpg
</gallery>
</center>

==Reception==
On June 23, 2011, the world premiere of ''Dark of the Moon'' was held in [[Moscow]], [[Russia]], with band [[Linkin Park]] performing a concert that included their title song for the movie, "Iridescent".

The official release date was moved up from July 1 to June 29 to allow breathing room between its release and ''{{w|Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2}}''. On June 28, 2011, the film was released in 3D and IMAX at 9pm in the US. Some theaters cheated a little and showed it at 8:45.

''Dark of the Moon'' launched with nearly 10,000 copies in 4011 theaters nationwide. On its opening day, the movie earned $37.3 million, making not only for the best opening day of 2011 up to that point, but also ranking as the sixth most successful opening on a Wednesday ever, while at the same time ranking well behind ''Revenge of the Fallen'', with $60 million on its opening day (also a Wednesday).<ref name="openingday">[http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=3197&p=.htm "'Transformers' Suboptimal on Wednesday"], Box Office Mojo, June 2011.</ref> (Of course, a lot of the print material still listed the release date as [[July 1]]st, the following Friday.)

On [[August 2]], it crossed the $1 billion mark in worldwide gross, just under 5 weeks after its release, landing it in the #9 spot for worldwide gross of all time.<ref>http://www.deadline.com/2011/08/transformers-dark-of-the-moon-crosses-1-billion-worldwide-mark-for-paramount/ Deadline Hollywood</ref> Of that, $338 million came from the US. It is currently one of two Paramount pictures to have made the $1 billion mark, the other being [[Transformers: Age of Extinction (film)|its sequel]]. (While ''Titanic'' also made over $1 billion worldwide, it was only a Paramount movie ''domestically'', where it made "only" $620 million.)

''Dark of the Moon'' ended its theatrical run in the #4 spot for highest worldwide gross of all time.

The film's critical reception was an improvement from ''Revenge of the Fallen'', but it was still considered a bad movie, with a mediocre 35% on Rotten Tomatoes. The film was praised for its special effects, but blasted for its running time and dialogue.<ref>https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/transformers_dark_of_the_moon</ref>

''Dark of the Moon'' was nominated for three Academy Awards, in the categories of Best Visual Effects, Sound Editing, and Sound Mixing, losing all to ''{{w|Hugo (film)|Hugo}}''.<ref>[http://oscar.go.com/nominees#t Official 2012 Oscar nominees page]</ref>

On February 25, 2012, it was announced that ''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'' was nominated for eight {{w|Golden Raspberry Award}}s. Unlike ''Revenge of the Fallen'', however, it did not receive the awards for Worst Picture, Worst Screenplay, & Worst Director, losing all of its nominations to ''{{w|Jack & Jill (film)|Jack & Jill}}''.<ref>[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/transformers-dark-of-the-moon-is-safe-from-razzies-174726/]</ref>

==Production staff==
{{stub}}

===Visual effects===
{{stub}}

===Locations department===
{{quote|[The Decepticons'] decision to attack Chicago<ref>http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-471495</ref> seems inexplicable, until you take into consideration the generous tax credits offered by the Illinois Film Office.|film critic Roger Ebert|[http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2011/07/on_the_origin_of_transformers.html On the Origin of Transformers]}}

==Development details==
===Cast and crew signing on===
[[File:TF3-licensingPrime.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Featuring a surprise appearance by Optimus Prime!]]
On May 30, 2007, a month before the official release of ''[[Transformers (film)|Transformers]]'', [[DreamWorks]] announced that two sequels were already being planned.<ref name="spy">[http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/movies/a58430/two-transformers-sequels-in-pipeline.html Digital Spy article from May 2007, confirming that two sequels were being planned]</ref> On March 16, 2009, over three months before the premiere of ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'', [[Paramount Pictures|Paramount]] announced the third movie for July 1, 2011.<ref name="3release">Pamela McClintock: [http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118001280?refCatId=13 Variety article from March 2009], confirming Transformers 3 for July 2011.</ref> Director [[Michael Bay]] promptly backpedaled, as he had intended for the third ''Transformers'' movie to be released in 2012.<ref name="baywait">[http://www.shootfortheedit.com/forum/showthread.php?3947-Wait-a-minute! Michael Bay's reaction to Paramount's July 2011 date for ''Transformers 3''], March 2009.</ref> He officially changed his mind in October 2009, agreeing to the release date set by Paramount.<ref name="bay3-2011">[http://michaelbay.com/2009/10/01/transformers-3-july-1st-2011/ Michael Bay officially confirms the 2011 release date], October 2009.</ref>

[[Roberto Orci]] and [[Alex Kurtzman]], two of the previous two movies' screenwriters, had already announced in March 2009 that they would not return for a third part.<ref name="noorcikurtz">[http://www.slashfilm.com/orci-and-kurtzman-not-returning-for-transformers-3-will-leonard-nimoy-voice-the-fallen/ Slashfilm quoting Roberto Orci that he and Kurtzman would not return for a third movie], March 2009. (Original post on Don Murphy's message board appears to no longer exist.)</ref> In September 2009, their ''Revenge'' co-writer [[Ehren Kruger]] was confirmed as the screenwriter of ''Transformers 3''.<ref name="krugernelson">[http://michaelbay.com/2009/09/14/transformers-3-pain-gain-bad-boys-3/ Michael Bay's website admin Nelson Lauren sorta-confirms Ehren Kruger as TF3's screenwriter], September 2009.</ref> Kruger had already impressed both director Michael Bay and [[Hasbro]] CEO [[Brian Goldner]] with his knowledge of ''Transformers'' mythology prior to working on ''Revenge''.<ref name="writersr">[http://www.zap2it.com/movies/news/zap-transformers2writers,0,1938976.story Zap2it story about the ROTF writers]</ref>

In an interview with ''Wonderland'' magazine in September 2009, [[Megan Fox]], the main female star of the previous two movies, discussed the harsh conditions on the sets and compared director Michael Bay to [[Adolf Hitler]].<ref name="latimesfox">[http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/the_big_picture/2009/09/megan-fox-on-michael-bay-he-wants-to-be-hitler.html Los Angeles Times article about Megan Fox's fatal interview with ''Wonderland'' magazine], September 2009.</ref> Bay initially played down the affair and still welcomed Fox back for the third installment a month later.<ref name="bay3-2011"/> Even though Fox was still spotted on the ''Transformers 3'' set in May 2010,<ref name="foxonset">[http://www.superherohype.com/news/articles/100786-megan-fox-on-set-for-transformers-3-previz Megan Fox on the DOTM set], May 2010.</ref> Paramount announced a few weeks later that she wouldn't return for a third movie after all.<ref name="nomorefox">[http://www.deadline.com/2010/05/michael-bays-revenge-no-more-megan/ Deadline article confirming that Megan Fox had been dropped off ''Transformers 3''], May 2010.</ref> Still that same month, [[Rosie Huntington-Whiteley]] was confirmed to replace her as the lead female actress.<ref name="rosierepl">[http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1640047/model-rosie-huntingtonwhiteley-cast-transformers-3.jhtml MTV.com article confirming Rosie Huntington-Whiteley as the new female star of ''Transformers ''], May 2010.</ref> Her character's name was confirmed as "[[Carly Spencer|Carly]]" by Nelson Lauren, the webmaster of Michael Bay's official website, in July 2010.<ref name="nelsonchicagojul">[http://www.shootfortheedit.com/forum/showthread.php?7566-Transformers-3-Chicago-Set-Photos Nelson posts about his visit to the Chicago set at shootfortheedit.com's forums], July 2010.</ref> In 2011, Michael Bay finally confirmed in an interview with ''GQ'' magazine that it had been [[Steven Spielberg]], executive producer of the ''Transformers'' movies, who had urged him to fire Fox following the Hitler comparison.<ref name="baygq">[http://www.gq.com/entertainment/movies-and-tv/201107/michael-bay-steven-spielberg-fired-megan-fox-transformers GQ interview with Michael Bay], June 2011.</ref> In a later interview, however, he claimed this statement had been taken out of context.<ref name="baych">[http://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/kultur/kino/Diese-Autos-muessen-zerstoert-werden--und-da-bin-ich-der-richtige-Mann/story/23997460 Interview with Michael Bay from Switzerland] (German language), July 2011.</ref>

In March 2010, Oscar winners [[John Malkovich]] and [[Frances McDormand]] as well as Comedian [[Ken Jeong]] were confirmed having signed on for supporting roles.<ref name="malkomcdor">[http://michaelbay.com/2010/03/22/transformers-3-update-from-michael-bay/ Michael Bay confirming John Malkovich, Frances McDormand and Ken Jeong for ''Transformers 3''], March 2010.</ref>

In April 2010, [[Kevin Dunn]] and [[Julie White]] were confirmed as returning as Sam Witwicky's parents.<ref name="varietydunnwhite">[http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118017329.html?categoryid=1236&cs=1 'Dunn, White sign on for 'Transformers 3''], Variety, April 2010.</ref>

In May 2010, Paramount confirmed that [[Patrick Dempsey]] has been cast in ''Transformers 3'' to play Mikaela Banes' boss (this was before Megan Fox was fired from the production).<ref name="dempsey">[http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2010/05/04/patrick-dempsey-confirmed-for-transformers-3/ "Patrick Dempsey confirmed for Transformers 3"], Hollywood Insider, May 2010.</ref>

In July 2010, Nelson Lauren confirmed that former American footballer [[Lester Speight]] would play a soldier in the movie.<ref name="nelsonchicagophotos">[http://michaelbay.com/2010/07/20/transformers-3-chicago-set-photos/ Photos of the Chicago set by michaelbay.com webmaster Nelson Lauren], July 2010.</ref>

[[Leonard Nimoy]] was confirmed as the voice actor for [[Sentinel Prime (ROTF)|Sentinel Prime]] in March 2011.<ref name="nimoysent">[http://insidemovies.ew.com/2011/03/31/leonard-nimoy-transformers-dark-of-the-moon Entertainment Weekly announces Leonard Nimoy's involvement], March 2011]</ref> Nimoy, who had previously voiced [[Galvatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Galvatron]] in 1986's ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'' and was married to Michael Bay's cousin Susan, had previously been under consideration for [[The Fallen]]'s voice in ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'', but Bay had been hesitant for fear of offending his relative with the relatively low pay allotted to voice actors.<ref name="nimoy1">[http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2009/04/21/michael-bay-afraid-to-offend-leonard-nimoy-with-transformers-family-reunion-offer/ ''Michael Bay Afraid To Offend Leonard Nimoy With ‘Transformers’ Family Reunion Offer''], MTV.com Movies blog, April 2009.</ref> Even though Nimoy openly asked Bay to simply give him a call,<ref name="nimoy2">[http://www.latinoreview.com/news/leonard-nimoy-to-michael-bay-call-me-6682 Leonard Nimoy To Michael Bay: "Call Me!"], Latino Review, April 2009.</ref> it ultimately never worked out, and The Fallen was voiced by [[Tony Todd]] instead. For ''Dark of the Moon'', Bay finally overcame his anxiety and hired Nimoy, who accepted the offer.<ref name="nimoy3">[http://insidemovies.ew.com/2011/03/31/leonard-nimoy-transformers-dark-of-the-moon/ "Leonard Nimoy joins 'Transformers: Dark of the Moon' voice cast -- EXCLUSIVE"], Entertainment Weekly, March 2011.</ref> In return, screenwriter Ehren Kruger included several nods to Nimoy's well-known character as Mr. Spock from ''[[Star Trek]]'' in the movie.<ref name="nimoystartrek">[http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1666643/transformers-dark-of-the-moon-star-trek-references.jhtml "'Transformers: Dark Of The Moon': Behind The 'Star Trek' Nods"], MTV.com, July 2011.</ref> ''Dark of the Moon'' would be Nimoy's final performance in the ''Transformers'' franchise before his death in early 2015.

===Writing and production===
After having defended the almost universally critically panned ''Revenge of the Fallen'' for a long time, Michael Bay finally acknowledged flaws of the script, but blamed the {{w|2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike}} prior to the movie for many problems. As a definite error, he singled out the "dork comedy", which he promised to avoid with ''Dark of the Moon''.<ref name="bayvisit">[http://collider.com/michael-bay-interview-transformers-dark-moon-edit-bay-visit/63824/ Collider.com article about DOTM], December 2010.</ref>

Principal shooting began in May 2010. Shooting locations included [[Chicago]] (and nearby East Chicago and Gary Indiana), Moscow,<ref name="locations">[http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=63682 "Transformers 3 Headed to Chicago and Moscow"], Comingsoon.net, February 2010.</ref> the [[Kennedy Space Center]] in Florida,<ref name="kennedyspace">[http://www.superherohype.com/news/articles/101114-the-transformers-3-shoot-at-kennedy-space-center "The Transformers 3 Shoot at Kennedy Space Center"], SuperHeroHype.com, May 2010.</ref> Milwaukee (Wisconsin),<ref name="milwaukee">[http://www.jsonline.com/entertainment/movies/98266574.html "'Transformers 3' takes over Milwaukee Art Museum"], Journal Sentinel Online, July 2010.</ref> Detroit,<ref name="detroit">[http://www.superherohype.com/news/articles/107775-photos-from-the-detroit-transformers-3-set "Photos From the Detroit Transformers 3 Set"], SuperHeroHype.com, September 2010.</ref> [[Washington, D.C.]]<ref name="militaryextras">[http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=473674758199&id=114648515718 US Department of Defense casting call for ''Dark of the Moon''], October 2010.</ref> and Angkor Wat in Cambodia.<ref name="angkor">[http://www.akp.gov.kh/?p=1184 "'Transformers 3' To Be Shot in Cambodia"], Agence Kampuchea Presse, January 2011.</ref>

For the scene where Lennox and his soldier jump out of a V-22 Osprey using wingsuits, Michael Bay used real parachutists and thus avoided unnecessary CG effects. In fact, he had been inspired for this scene in the first place by watching the parachutists in their wingsuits on television<ref name="wingsuits">[http://blog.movies.yahoo.com/blog/1498-transformers-wingsuits-no-cgi-required Yahoo! Movies article on the wingsuit parachutists], June 2011.</ref> and wrote the scene with the intention of using the parachutists in the movie.<ref name="bayvisit"/>

For the Apollo 11 moon landing mission in the flashback sequence at the beginning of the movie, astronauts [[Neil Armstrong]] and [[Buzz Aldrin]] are played by actors Don Jeanes and Cory Tucker, respectively. In the present day timeline, Aldrin himself appears briefly as his own older self.<ref name="aldrin">[http://movies.yahoo.com/news/yahoo-contributor-network/astronaut-buzz-aldrin-hangs-out-with-optimus-prime-transformers-dark-moon Yahoo! Movies article on Buzz Aldrin's appearance in DOTM], July 2011.</ref>

Over 500 cars were destroyed in the making of ''Dark of the Moon'', all of them damaged property from insurance companies intended for destruction.<ref name="baych"/>
[[Image:ROTFvsDOTMUSNavyHollenbeck.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|right|Wherever General Morshower goes, I go.]]

Two accidents happened during shooting: In September 2010, while shooting in East Chicago, Indiana, a female extra was severely injured when a stunt scene went wrong, leaving her with permanent brain damage, the left side of her body paralyzed and her left eye stitched shut. Paramount was subsequently sued for damages by the victim's family.<ref name="extrastunt">[http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-10-05/news/ct-met-transformers-lawsuit-20101005_1_gabriela-cedillo-stunt-welding Chicago tibune article on the injured extra and the subsequent lawsuit], October 2010.</ref> She was eventually granted an $18.5 million settlement in May 2012.<ref name="settlement">[http://www.tmz.com/2012/05/23/transfomers-3-injured-extra-gets-18-million-settlement/ TMZ story about Gabriela Cedillo's settlement]</ref> As a consequence, part of the scene of the car chase battle in Washington, D.C. (which would have included the shoot that had led to the accident) was instead "[[Stock footage|borrowed]]" from Michael Bay's 2005 film ''{{w|The Island (2005 film)|The Island}}''.<ref name="island1">[http://www.ign.com/articles/2011/07/04/transformers-3-re-uses-car-crash-from-the-island "Transformers 3 Re-Uses Car Crash From The Island"], IGN Movies, July 2011.</ref> While shooting in Washington, D.C., in October 2010, one of the Chevrolet Camaro prop cars that served as Bumblebee's [[alternate mode]] crashed into a {{w|Metropolitan Police}} SUV. Nobody was seriously injured this time, though Bumblebee sustained severe front-end damage.<ref name="camarocrash">[http://jalopnik.com/5661321/bumblebee-smashes-cop-car-in-yet-another-transformers-3-accident Jalopnik article on the Camaro crash], October 2010.</ref> Hasbro would later "commemorate" this latter event with the [[Toys"R"Us]] [[exclusive]] [[Cyberverse (toyline)|Cyberverse]] "Cybertronian Warriors Pack". Fans, meanwhile, joked that the SUV was Barricade getting revenge.

Another (brief) instance of recycled footage occurs during the Chicago battle: When the Navy fires several Tomahawks at the Decepticons, the mission control room scene was previously used to depict the interior of the [[USS Kidd]] in ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]''. The most obvious similarity is the [[Hollenbeck|same operator]] saying "Target acquired" both times.<ref name="recycled">[http://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=6tSMdR8vH0s Youtube video] featuring brief clips from ''Dark of the Moon'' and ''Revenge of the Fallen'', highlighting the recycled footage.</ref>

''Dark of the Moon'' is the first of the ''Transformers'' movies to be released in 3D. Despite early considerations to shoot the movie in 2D and convert it into 3D later, Michael Bay ultimately shot 60% of the film in native 3D, another 15% were done digitally, and the rest was shot in 2D and converted later. [[James Cameron]] assisted Michael Bay with the 3D effects. The movie's budget amounted to $195 million, which is about the same budget ''Revenge of the Fallen'' had. About $30 million went into the 3D effects.<ref name="cameron">[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/michael-bay-reveals-james-camerons-191774 "Michael Bay Reveals James Cameron's Secret Role in the Making of 'Transformers'"], The Hollywood Reporter, May 2011.</ref>

=== Sponsors and partners ===
==== Hasbro ====
Hasbro, licensor of the [[Transformers brand]], hoped that the third movie would once again boost toy sales, after profits had dropped in the first quarter of 2011.<ref name="hasbroq12011">[http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Hasbro-1Q-profit-drops-71-pct-apf-664090076.html?x=0&.v=11 Yahoo! Finance article about weak Hasbro toy sales in 2011's first quarter], April 2011.</ref> For the second quarter of 2011, Hasbro reported a net revenue growth of 23 percent to $908.5 million, citing brands such as ''Transformers'' and ''Beyblade'' as the main sources of the increased income.<ref name="hasbro2nsq">[http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Hasbro-Reports-Revenue-and-bw-4063497156.html?x=0&.v=1 "Hasbro Reports Revenue and Earnings Growth for the Second Quarter 2011"], Yahoo! Finance, July 2011.</ref>

==== US military and NASA ====
Like the previous two movies, ''Dark of the Moon'' featured real military personnel as extras, supported by the [[United States Department of Defense]].<ref name="militaryextras"/> Shooting locations were Hurlburt Field and [[Edwards Air Force Base]].<ref name="hurlburt">[http://www.shadowspear.com/special-operations-entertainment/105725-transformers-filmed-at-hurlburt.html "'Transformers 3 Filmed at Hurlburt, 1SOW Included as 'Extras'"], ShadowSpear Special Operations, July 2011.</ref>

In addition, ''Dark of the Moon'' was also supported by NASA, and NASA employees appear as extras in the movie as well.<ref name="nasa">[http://www.space.com/12142-transformers-film-nasa-space-program-touches.html "'Transformers: Dark of the Moon' Has Real-Life NASA Touches"], Space.com, July 2011.</ref>

==== General Motors and other car manufacturers ====
[[General Motors]] once again provided several vehicles. All recurring Autobots retain their [[alternate mode]]s from ''Revenge of the Fallen'' despite some minor tweaks, such as Sideswipe now being a convertible, and Bumblebee now sporting a rear spoiler. Once again, the cooperation was mutual, with General Motors using Bumblebee for TV commercials. The first of those, aired during the 2011 Super Bowl, also revealed some minor tweaks to Bumblebee's robot mode.<ref name="bumblebeead1">[http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2011/02/-bumblebee-appears-in-a-chevrolet-camaro-super-bowl-ad/1 "'Bumblebee' appears in Chevrolet's Super Bowl ad"], USA Today, February 2011.</ref><ref name="bumblebeead2">[http://www.autoblog.com/2011/06/06/chevy-drops-new-ad-touting-transformers-3-tie-in/ "Video: Chevy drops new ad touting Transformers 3 tie-in"], Autoblog.com, June 2011.</ref> According to Chevrolet, the ''Transformers'' movies notably affect car sales, as about ten percent of all Camaros sold in the preceding year were yellow, twice as many as with other models.<ref name="carstarscast">[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/transformers-dark-moon-how-sequels-204557 "'Transformers: Dark of the Moon': How the Sequel's Star Cars Were Cast"], The Hollywood Reporter, June 2011.</ref>

New additions for ''Dark of the Moon'' are a Ferrari 458 Italia and a Mercedes-Benz E550 as Autobots ([[Mirage (Movie)|Dino]] and [[Wheeljack (Movie)|Que]], respectively) and a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG as a Decepticon ([[Soundwave (ROTF)|Soundwave]]). In the movie, both Autobots sport names which aren't recycled from existing Hasbro toys. In the Ferrari's case, the reason for this is that Hasbro's greatest competitor, Mattel, has an exclusive license for Ferrari toys.<ref name="ferrarimattel">[http://www.ferrari.com/English/Pages/Mattel.aspx Mattel license information], Ferrari.com.</ref><ref name="nelsonnomirage">[http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-news-rumors/409844-mirage-no-longer-name-red-italia-dotm-3.html#post6103423 Michael Bay's website admin, Nelson Lauren, explaining why the Ferrari isn't named "Mirage"], TFW2005, May 2011.</ref> "Dino" is named in reference to {{w|Alfredo Ferrari|Alfredo "Dino" Ferrari}}, as per Ferrari's request. The Mercedes-Benz E550, meanwhile, was specifically customized for the movie.<ref name="e550tuning">[http://www.eurotuner.com/news/eurp_1102_mercedes_benz_e550_for_next_transformers_movie/index.html "Mercedes-Benz E550 for Next Transformers Movie - Web Exclusive"], Eurotuner.com, February 2011.</ref> "Que" is named in homage to {{w|Q (James Bond)|Q}} from ''{{w|James Bond}}. A Maybach 62S Landaulet is also featured in the movie, albeit not as a Transformer, but merely as a regular car used by [[Seymour Simmons]] and his assistant [[Dutch (DOTM)|Dutch]].

Unlike Optimus Prime, whose alternate mode was not licensed for any of the three movies, the Rosenbauer Panther 6x6 airport fire truck used for [[Sentinel Prime (ROTF)|Sentinel Prime]] was officially provided by the Rosenbauer International AG and entirely repainted specifically for the film, at a cost of thousands of dollars, as real-world aircraft fire-fighting vehicles are required by FAA regulations to have a much lighter color scheme, which didn't appeal to director [[Michael Bay]].<ref name="rosenbauer">[http://www.rosenbaueramerica.com/press/2011/06/rosenbauer-panther-6x6-to-be-f/ Rosenbauer America press release, June 28, 2011]</ref>

Since the heavily armed Chevrolet Impalas that serve as the [[Wrecker|Wreckers']] alternate modes are directly based on existing NASCAR race cars, the prop versions of [[Roadbuster (DOTM)|Roadbuster]], [[Leadfoot (DOTM)|Leadfoot]], and [[Topspin (DOTM)|Topspin]] made an appearance at [[2011]] Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on [[February 20]], four month before the movie's release, appearing both off the track as display cars, and on the track, participating in the ceremonial first lap.<ref name="daytona">[http://www.hendrickmotorsports.com/news/photos/2011/02/18/TRANSFORMERS-cars-on-display-at-Daytona "'TRANSFORMERS' cars on display at Daytona"], Hendrick Motorsports, February 2011.</ref> Director Michael Bay, actor [[Josh Duhamel]] and actress [[Rosie Huntington-Whiteley]] also attended the event, and during the television broadcast of the race, a new ''Dark of the Moon'' television spot was aired.

==== Other product placement ====
As always, various companies have their products and names prominently displayed throughout the movie, such as {{w|Northrop Grumman}}, [[CNN]], [[Fox News Channel|Fox News]], {{w|Cisco}} and {{w|Superfund}}.<ref name="brands1">[http://www.brandchannel.com/brandcameo_films.asp?movie_year_az=2011 "Transformers: Dark of the Moon"] at brandchannel.com.</ref> Paper manufacturer Double A also cooperated with Paramount and even had Michael Bay direct a commercial that features scenes from ''Dark of the Moon'', notably [[Laserbeak (DOTM)|Laserbeak]].<ref name="paper">[http://www.superherohype.com/news/articles/167497-transformers-featured-in-double-a-paper-ad "Transformers Featured in Double A Paper Ad"] at SuperHeroHype, June 2011.</ref> Of particular note is the large number of Chinese brands such as {{w|Lenovo}}, {{w|Yili Group|Yili}} Shuhua Milk, {{w|Metersbonwe Group|Metersbonwe}} Mtee shirts and {{w|TCL Corporation|TCL}} HDTV screens.<ref name="chinesebrands">[http://advertising.chinasmack.com/2011/transformers-the-rise-of-chinese-product-placement.html "Transformers: The Rise Of Chinese Product Placement"] at Chinasmack.</ref><ref name="brands2">[http://www.brandchannel.com/home/post/2011/07/05/Brandcameo-070411-Transformers-3.aspx "Transformers 3 Product Placement: If Tom Hanks Gets a Pass, Michael Bay Does Not"] at brandchannel, July 2011.</ref>

For [[Nokia]], the product placement turned out to be dated by the time the movie came out, as a mobile phone featured in the movie ran on {{w|Symbian}}, despite Nokia mostly dropping Symbian as an operating system due to their recent partnership with {{w|Microsoft}}.<ref name="nokiaobit">[http://www.thenoisecast.com/2011/07/nokia-x7-product-placement-in-transformers-3-feels-like-an-obituary/ "Nokia X7 Product Placement In Transformers 3 Feels Like An Obituary"], Noisecast, July 2011.</ref>

=== Changes before, during and after production ===
* In an interview with the Los Angeles Times in June 2009, Michael Bay suggested that [[Ramon Rodriguez]] would reprise his role as [[Leo Spitz]] from ''Revenge of the Fallen'' for the third movie.<ref name="bayramon">[http://herocomplex.latimes.com/2009/06/30/ramon-rodriguez-will-have-bigger-role-in-third-transformers-movie-bay-hints/ "Ramon Rodriguez will have bigger role in third ‘Transformers’ movie, Bay hints"], Los Angeles Times, June 2009.</ref>

* As stated above, [[Megan Fox]] was originally intended to reprise her role as [[Mikaela Banes]] from the previous two movies. She was still spotted on the ''Dark of the Moon'' set during the previsualization stage in May 2010,<ref name="foxonset"/> but was fired from the production shortly afterwards due to a falling out with director [[Michael Bay]]. [[Rosie Huntington-Whiteley]]'s character of [[Carly Spencer]] was written in as a replacement, though the fact that her part was originally written for Mikaela still shows in some parts: For example, Carly is overseeing [[Dylan Gould|Dylan]]'s car collection, which could be viewed as an extension of Mikaela's history with working with cars. Furthermore, Sam and Carly not only have [[Wheelie (ROTF)|Wheelie]] (who had been previously "domesticated" by Mikaela) as a "pet", but also her dog [[Bonecrusher (dog)|Bonecrusher]] (played by Michael Bay's eponymous real-life dog).

[[File:DOTM Skids, Mudflap, Que and Sideswipe.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|Eat this, Megan Fox.]]
*In January 2010, actor James Avery claimed in an interview that he would be playing a new Autobot named "Silverbolt".<ref name="avery">[http://unscripted.ca/episodes/show/136 James Avery interview on Unscripted], January 2010</ref> In June 2010, representatives of James Avery, responding to a bizarre rumor that he had passed away, confirmed that the actor was indeed alive and would be playing Silverbolt in ''Transformers 3''.<ref>[http://www.examiner.com/entertainment-in-national/uncle-phil-james-avery-isn-t-dead-after-all James Avery isn't dead after all], The Examiner, June 2010.</ref> Despite this, neither Avery nor Silverbolt ultimately appear in ''Dark of the Moon''.

* In January 2011, an Idaho newspaper<ref>[http://magicvalley.com/news/local/article_d4f374a4-d960-5589-8d0c-be37df66fc40.html?mode=story "Rupert's Fagerbakke finds a voice that is truly golden"]</ref> announced voice actor [[Bill Fagerbakke]] as the voice of a "Chevy Impala stock car" that would appear in ''Dark of the Moon'' (presumably meaning one of the three [[Wrecker]]s, who share that base altmode). Why Fagerbakke did not end up voicing any of the Wreckers in the final cut of the film is unknown.

* Shockwave's original voice actor, [[Corey Burton]], expressed that he had no interest in voicing him for ''Dark of the Moon'', explaining "[I] have practically no interest in that kind of mega-budget movie enterprise involvement" and that the inspiration for his Shockwave voice, {{w|David Warner (actor)|David Warner}}, was rumored to have been considered.<ref>[http://www.coreyburton.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?p=2707&highlight=#2707 Corey Burton's message board post.]</ref> In the end, Shockwave's almost-entirely-wordless-snarl-based role would have been something of a waste of Warner; the role ultimately went to Frank Welker. There's a nice touch of symmetry in the casting, with Welker taking over a Burton-originated role not long after Burton took on a Welker-originated character in [[Megatron (Animated)|''Animated'' Megatron]].

* In an earlier draft of the movie's script, Megatron is sincere when he offers Optimus Prime a truce at the end. Optimus accepts, and Megatron and the remaining Decepticons leave Earth to rebuild Cybertron. This ending is used for the [[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (novel)|novelization]] and the [[Transformers: Dark of the Moon Movie Adaptation|comic adaptation]]. According to Michael Bay's website administrator Nelson, the ending was changed because the studio didn't want the adaptations to share the same ending with the film.<ref>http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/members/nelson-47919.html#vmessage284191</ref>

* Furthermore, it was originally supposed to be [[Mirage (Movie)|Mirage/"Dino"]] rather than [[Wheeljack (Movie)|Wheeljack/"Que"]] who would have been executed by [[Soundwave (ROTF)|Soundwave]] in Chicago. This version made it into the comic adaptation and the [[Transformers: Dark of the Moon: The Junior Novel|junior novelization]].

[[File:DOTM-SentinelPrimetrailer.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|Colour me your colour, baby<br>Colour me your car<br>Colour me your colour, darling<br>I know who you are]]
* Another scrapped death for Mirage is seen in the [[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (novel)|novelization]], in where he's decapicated by [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]]. His severed head is subsequently used by Soundwave to mock the Autobots before they are about to get executed.

* A scrapped death for Wheeljack/"Que" involved the Autobot being run off of a Chicago street and into a river by the [[Driller]], where he would have been torn to pieces by Decepticon troopers lying in wait in the river.

* [[The Twins]], [[Skids (ROTF)|Skids]] and [[Mudflap (ROTF)|Mudflap]], were originally supposed to return for ''Dark of the Moon'', and to die at the hands of Sentinel Prime shortly after Ironhide. Even though [[General Motors]] provided two Chevrolet Sparks to serve as their alternate modes<ref name="chevyspark">[http://www.leftlanenews.com/chevrolet-spark-transformers-3.html Left Lane News article on two Chevrolet Sparks spotted on the DOTM set], May 2010.</ref> which were still spotted on the set as late as October 2010,<ref name="dcparking">[http://transformerslive.blogspot.com/2010/10/transformers-3-dc-parking-lot-gallery.html "Transformers 3 DC Parking Lot Gallery"], Transformers Live Action Movie Blog, October 2010.</ref> the two were mostly edited out of the final movie (their vehicle modes can barely be glimpsed in a few brief shots). Michael Bay even went so far as to offer a $25,000 reward for anyone who would see the Twins "perform" in the movie.<ref name="reward">[http://collider.com/transformers-3-twins-skids-mudflap-michael-bay/91104/ Collider.com article on Michael Bay's "reward" for spotting Skids and Mudflap "perform" in DOTM], May 2011.</ref> In the novelization and the comic adaptation, Skids and Mudflap still appear.

* Another plot point that was apparently dropped was an anti-Autobot sentiment among the human populace. Graffiti with a crossed out Autobot [[insignia|logo]] with the words "go home" below it showed up in several set photos.<ref name="gohome1">[http://transformerslive.blogspot.com/2010/05/transformers-3-filming-with-twins.html Photos from the set in Sherman Oaks, California] at the Transformers Live Action Movie Blog, May 2010.</ref><ref name="gohome2">[http://www.seibertron.com/transformers/news/possible-tf3-plot-point-revealed-autobots-go-home/19188/ Photos from the Chicago set] at Seibertron.com, July 2010.</ref> In the movie, Congress instantly passes a law exiling the Autobots from Earth following Sentinel Prime's ultimatum.

* Early working names included "[[Ultra Magnus (disambiguation)|Ultra Magnus]]" for [[Sentinel Prime (ROTF)|Sentinel Prime]],<ref name="chicagocall">[http://transformerslive.blogspot.com/2011/06/chicgo-call-sheet-for-ultra-magnus.html "Chicago Call Sheet For Ultra Magnus"], Transformers Live Action Movie Blog, June 2011.</ref> "Enzo" (after {{w|Enzo Ferrari}})<ref name="callsheet2">[http://tilallaremine.wordpress.com/2011/07/01/dark-of-the-moon-call-sheets/ Dark of the Moon Call Sheets!] at Til All Are Mine blog, July 2011.</ref> and "Rush" for Mirage/"Dino", "[[Warpath (disambiguation)|Warpath]]" for both [[Roadbuster (DOTM)|Roadbuster]] and [[Topspin (DOTM)|Topspin]], "Tempest" for Topspin, "[[Flash (disambiguation)|Flash]]" for [[Leadfoot (DOTM)|Leadfoot]], "[[Dreadwind (disambiguation)|Dreadwind]]" for [[Crankcase (DOTM)|Crankcase]], "[[Hooligan (disambiguation)|Hooligan]]" for [[Crowbar]], "[[Dirtbag]]" for [[Hatchet (DOTM)|Hatchet]], "[[Blitzwing (disambiguation)|Blitzwing]]" for [[Shockwave (Movie)|Shockwave]], "[[Breakdown (disambiguation)|Breakdown]]" for Soundwave's new vehicular design, "[[Clench (G1)|Colossus]]" for the [[Driller]],<ref name="nizzi">[http://www.joshnizzi.com/TF3.htm Josh Nizzi DOTM concepts.]</ref> "Buzzard" for [[Laserbeak (DOTM)|Laserbeak]], "[[Undermine (Cybertron)|Undermine]]" for [[Igor]] and "[[Steeljaw (disambiguation)|Steeljaw]]" for Wheeljack/"Que". However, it's quite possible a few of these were code names used to keep character identities a secret during production as images of Megatron's new cloak obscured face refer to the character as "[[Cyclonus (disambiguation)|Cyclonus]]".<ref name="wburt">[http://conceptartworld.com/?p=8388 Wesley Burt DOTM concepts.]</ref>

* Roadbuster was originally intended to have {{w|Jeff Gordon}}'s #24 {{w|DuPont}}-sponsored Chevrolet Impala as his alternate mode, rather than {{w|Dale Earnhardt, Jr.}}'s #88 Impala sponsored by {{w|AMP Energy}}.<ref name="nizzi"/>

[[File:DOTMSuperBowlvsTrailer.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|So does this qualify as a retcon?]]
* Que/Wheeljack's head was once considered to be based on {{w|Christopher Lloyd}}'s {{w|Emmett Brown|Doc Brown}} from ''[[Back to the Future]]'', rather than [[Albert Einstein]].<ref name="wburt"/>

* The Wreckers were originally intended to have a robot pet dog, whose working names also included "Warpath".<ref name="nizzi"/> Hasbro released a toy of the dog with the [[Human Alliance]] version of Leadfoot, named "[[Steeljaw (DOTM)|Steeljaw]]".

* Megatron was originally supposed to appear in his ''Revenge of the Fallen'' form.<ref>http://joshnizzi.com/images/TF3/JoshNizzi_TF3_56.jpg</ref>

* In an interview with MTV.com, actors [[Shia LaBeouf]] and [[John Malkovich]] hinted at some smaller scenes that were cut from the final edit of the movie. In addition to some ad-libbing by the actors, one scene would have featured Malkovich's character, [[Bruce Brazos]], attempting to get Carly's phone number.<ref name="deletedmtv">[http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1666772/transformers-dark-of-the-moon-dvd-deleted-scenes.jhtml MTV.com on deleted scenes], July 2011.</ref>

* In the original teaser trailer for ''Dark of the Moon'' that was released in December 2010, the opening scene that featured [[Neil Armstrong]] and [[Buzz Aldrin]] investigate the ''[[Ark (DOTM)|Ark]]'' on the moon had Sentinel Prime sport a gold and silver color scheme. For the final movie, his base color was changed to red.

* Similar to the teaser trailer, the Super Bowl spot also features footage that contains unfinished CG effects. Most notably, the shot that depicts Optimus Prime, equipped with his flight pack, swooping down on the Decepticons before starting his epic rampage on the ground was changed by the time the first full trailer was released: Optimus himself and the first [[M1 Abrams Decepticon]] are both rescaled and moved to different positions on-screen; a Decepticon using the same [[body-type]] as [[Blackout (Movie)|Blackout]] and [[Grindor (ROTF)|Grindor]] is removed entirely; and a Decepticon using the same body-type as Long Haul, as well as other [[generic]]s, are added. The final movie uses pretty much the same version as seen in the trailer.
{{-}}

=== Leaks and disinformation===
[[File:DOTMgameSoundwave.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|What you're about to see is totally classified.]]
The movie's title, then "Transformers: ''The'' Dark of the Moon", was first discovered on October 6, 2010 via listings for childrens' books on [[Amazon (website)|Amazon]]. The title was further confirmed by a whois check for "www.transformersdarkofthemoonmovie.com".<ref>[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/transformers-3-title-revealed-170697/ Transformers 3 Title Revealed?] @ TFW2005.com</ref> On October 31, the official website for all three movies, [http://www.transformersmovie.com/ transformersmovie.com], was updated to show the ''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'' logo as well as international release dates.

[[Shockwave (Movie)|Shockwave]] was heavily touted as the new main villain, no doubt in an attempt to conceal [[Sentinel Prime (ROTF)|Sentinel Prime]]'s unexpected betrayal halfway through the movie. A piece of information that commonly popped up in media coverage was the claim that Shockwave was the ruler of [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] while the other Autobots and Decepticons were duking it out on Earth.<ref name="pushpops">[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/transformers-3-plot-summary-revealed-170756/ "Transformers 3 Plot Summary Revealed"], TFW2005, October 2010.</ref> The last bit could be written off as a case of {{w|Chinese whispers}}: Shockwave got announced as the villain for ''Dark of the Moon'', mainstream media (such as USA Today<ref name="usatodayswitch">[http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2010-06-11-Transformers11_ST_N.htm "Next 'Transformers' is due for a switch"], USA Today, June 2010.</ref>) who aren't versed in Transformers lore looked up the character, found out about his ''[[The Transformers (franchise)|Generation 1]]'' [[Shockwave (G1)|namesake]]'s role in the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|cartoon]], included it as a piece of trivia to show they did their research, and then the trivia note got picked up as gospel by other media. Nevertheless, it was included in the ''official plot summary'' by Paramount's German branch (which also claimed that ''Shockwave'' was the robot discovered inside the ''[[Ark (DOTM)|Ark]]'' as seen in the trailer).<ref name="germansite">[http://www.transformers3-film.de/ Official German DOTM site] including faulty plot summary.</ref>

[[File:TF3HasbroSoundwaveBio.JPG|thumb|upright=1.66|left|If you breathe a word of what you see in here, you will do time for treason.]]Michael Bay and other official parties tried ''really'' hard to suppress the plot twist of the silver Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG given to [[Carly Spencer|Carly]] by [[Dylan Gould|Dylan]] turning out to be the new [[alternate mode]] of [[Soundwave (ROTF)|Soundwave]]. After the Mercedes had been spotted on the set, with [[Rosie Huntington-Whiteley]] exiting it,<ref name="mercedesset">[http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=67518 DOTM Set Photos], ComingSoon.net, July 2010.</ref> the first hint that it was more than meets the eye came with the trailer for the [[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (Xbox 360/PS3)|video game]], which showed Soundwave's robot mode with car [[kibble]] such as wheels that heavily resembled those of the Mercedes. In addition, [[Rising Storm issue 3|issue 3]] of ''[[Transformers: Rising Storm]]'' depicted Soundwave's robot mode not only with car kibble, but with a Mercedes star on his chest. Despite this, director Michael Bay insisted that the Mercedes was simply Carly's car, claiming that "Mercedes would never let us make their car into a bad Decepticon. Car company's {{sic}} really frown on that. I can't say what the game company and comics do that's their own thing. They don't have the same constraints movies do. It's Carly's car."<ref name="baynomerc">[http://www.shootfortheedit.com/forum/showthread.php?8724-Update-Is-Soundwave-the-silver-Mercedes-on-set-of-DOTM&p=169598&viewfull=1#post169598 Michael Bay's response to the fan theory that Soundwave is the Silver Mercedes.], April 2011.</ref> On April 19, 2011, an event for promoting the ''Spider-Man: Edge of Time'' and ''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'' video games was held in London. As part of this, [[High Moon Studios]] released promotional stills from the ''Dark of the Moon'' game, one of which depicted Soundwave's new robot mode, again with Mercedes parts. However, a news embargo was enforced on the attending press, which was broken by South African video game site [http://egamer.co.za egamer].<ref name="egamera">[http://egamer.co.za/2011/05/exclusive-hands-on-transformers-dark-of-the-moon/ egamer's preview of the ''Dark of the Moon'' video game]</ref> The site was soon asked to take down the article and images, as were various ''Transformers'' fan sites that had reported on the article and mirrored the images. On May 2, 2011, Hasbro's [http://www.hasbro.com/transformers/en_US/ official Transformers website] was given a massive overhaul, including the addition of the new [http://www.hasbro.com/transformers/en_US/discover/cybertronian-database.cfm Vector Sigma database]. The entry for Soundwave initially identified his alternate mode as a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, but was soon changed to "satellite". On May 3, 2011, the embargo for the video game article and promotional stills was finally lifted, allowing sites to freely show the image of Soundwave's new robot mode.

On May 5, 2011, several weeks before the trade paperback collection's official release, preview pages from [[IDW Publishing|IDW]]'s [[Transformers: Dark of the Moon Movie Adaptation|''Dark of the Moon'' comic adaptation]] were discovered at [[Amazon (website)|Amazon]]. Through some bizarre system error, ''several dozen pages'' were made available, which included the major plot twist of Sentinel Prime showing his true colors and killing [[Ironhide (Movie)|Ironhide]]. Unsurprisingly, this discovery was quickly posted on several major Transformers [[fandom|fan sites]], often without a spoiler warning.

==Notes==
* A 126-page script for the movie was leaked in December 2009,<ref>[http://www.allspark.com/content/view/6435/20/ The Allspark: Transformers News Movie Comics Animated - Script Treatment for Transformers 3? Bogus or Not, Here You Go!]</ref> causing much discussion among the fandom. It was later confirmed as fake.<ref>[http://shootfortheedit.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6532 Script]</ref>
* When word hit that [[Megan Fox]] was off the picture, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VTs5ESycpY Heidi Montag] put an "audition" for her part on YouTube. [http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/114ce28ddd/sir-ben-kingsley-shows-up-heidi-montag Sir Ben Kingsley] and [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4FZeucBO0c Ashton Kutcher] made fun of her, because life is rad.
* Several concepts that had been established by the [[Transformers (film)|first movie]] were (more or less) dropped with ''Dark of the Moon'' in favor or a more traditional, ''[[The Transformers (franchise)|Generation 1]]''-esque approach:
** In the 2007 movie, the Autobots arrive on Earth in "[[Protoform]]" entry modes (which was subsequently used as the basis for the Decepticons' arrival in [[Planetfall (Movie)|Planetfall]]). Prior to the release of the movie, screenwriter [[Roberto Orci]] defended this choice over the use of a spaceship such as the ''Ark'' by asking why "aliens who moonlight as vehicles need other vehicles to travel".<ref name="orcitravel">[http://tformers.com/Ark-Not-Making-An-Appearance-In-the-Movie/6513/news.html TFormers quoting Roberto Orci], because Don Murphy's board can only be read by registered members.</ref> He somewhat changed his mind after the movie had been released, however.<ref name="orciship">[http://boards.transformersmovie.com/showpost.php?p=388596&postcount=271 Roberto Orci on the Transformers Live Action Movie Boards], July 2007.</ref> After the Decepticons' ship, the ''[[Nemesis (ROTF)|Nemesis]]'', had made an appearance in ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'', ''Dark of the Moon'' not only introduces the movieverse version of the ''[[Ark (DOTM)|Ark]]'', but also reveals that all the new Autobots who have been on Earth since before ''Revenge of the Fallen'' had arrived in their own spaceship, the ''[[Xantium (DOTM)|Xantium]]'', making the notion of individual Transformers traveling through space as "comets" an exception rather than the rule. ''[[Transformers: Age of Extinction (film)|Age of Extinction]]'' would also later depict the Autobots as stranded on Earth after the destruction of the ''Xantium'' in this film, further pointing towards the "comet" transportation as an abandoned concept. ''[[Transformers: The Last Knight (film)|The Last Knight]]'' would also show this idea when the Autobots again declare themselves stranded, as they don't know where the ''[[Knight Ship|Knightship]]'' is, only being able to finally go home after they acquired it.
** Furthermore, ''Dark of the Moon'' largely abandons the idea of Transformers having all their weapons integrated into their bodies in favor of more traditional, separate weapons. For example, [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]], who had blades and hooks emerging from his forearms in the previous two movies now stores all his weapons (including an axe) as accessories inside his trailer (though he still carries some on his person). Also, Ironhide, whose cannons were previously affixed to his arms, now sports handheld firearms instead. Even Megatron, whose [[fusion cannon]] previously grew out of his arms, now has a hand-held shotgun. Though it can be argued that Optimus still has his swords in his arms during the Chicago battle, and both Ironhide and Megatron lost their integrated weapons in the previous film, the general change is still noticeable. The only ones who still seem to have the same converting arm cannons as in the previous movies are Bumblebee, Ratchet, and Starscream.
* Another change from the previous movies (though not rooted in ''Generation 1'') is that Transformers that take damage in battle now spill a red liquid that is very obviously meant to resemble human blood.
* [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]] finally achieves a certain consistency between his two primary modes: Ever since his upgrade to a modern Camaro in ''Transformers'' (2007), his [[license plate]] had alternated between "900 STRA" in vehicle mode and "4NZZ 454" in robot mode. ''Dark of the Moon'' finally uses "900 STRA" for the robot mode as well. Hasbro's toys, which had previously favored the CG robot model's "4NZZ 454" (barring the occasional "4NZZ'''Z''' 454" flub), follow suit.
*Speaking of license plates: [[Dutch (DOTM)|Dutch]]'s Maybach 62S Landaulet sports a German license plate, "'''S MM 6201'''", registered in the city of Stuttgart. In reality, that plate is registered to the manufacturer and used for promotional photos.<ref name="maybach">[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/update--transformers-3-rumor--who-wants-to-be-a-millionaire-170533/ Set photos and promo photos of the Maybach 62S Landaulet] at TFW2005.</ref>
*Michael Bay's private Gulfstream Aerospace G-1159A jet (registration number N4500X) has a cameo in the movie as [[Charlotte Mearing]]'s plane.

===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''''Transformers/Darkside Moon''''' (トランスフォーマー/ダークサイド・ムーン ''Toransufōmā/Dākusaido Mūn'')
*''Cantonese:'' (變形金剛: 黑月降臨, "Transformers: The Arrival of the Black Moon")
*''Finnish:'' '''''Transformers: Kuun pimeä puoli''''' ("Transformers: The Dark Side of the Moon")
*''French:'' '''''Transformers 3: La Face cachée de la Lune''''' ("Transformers 3: The Hidden Side of the Moon")
*''German:'' '''''Transformers 3: Die dunkle Seite des Mondes''''' ("Transformers 3: The Dark Side of the Moon")
*''Italian:'' '''''Transformers 3'''''
*''Mandarin:'' '''''Biànxíng Jīngāng 3''''' (Taiwan, 變形金剛３, "Transformers 3"), '''''Biànxíng Jīngāng: Yuè Hēi zhī Shí''''' (Mainland China, 变形金刚：月黑之时, "Transformers: When the Moon Becomes Black")
*''Polish:'' '''''Transformers 3'''''
*''Portuguese:'' '''''Transformers: O Lado Oculto da Lua''''' (Brazil, "Transformers: The Hidden Side of the Moon"), '''''Transformers 3''''' (Portugal)
*''Russian:'' '''''Transformery 3: Tjomnaja storona Luny''''' (Трансформеры 3: Тёмная сторона Луны, "Transformers 3: The Dark Side of the Moon")
*''Serbian:'' '''''Transformers 3: Tama Meseca''''' ("Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon")
*''Spanish:'' '''''Transformers: El Lado Oscuro de la Luna''''' (Latin American, "Transformers: The Dark Side of the Moon"), '''''Transformers 3''''' (Spain)
*''Swedish:'' '''''Transformers 3'''''
*''Turkish:'' '''''Transformers: Ayın Karanlık Yüzü''''' ("Transformers: The Dark Side of the Moon")
*''Czech:'' '''''Transformers 3'''''
*''Hindi:'' '''''Traansaphormars: Chaand ka Andhera''''' (ट्राँसफॉर्मर्स: चांद का अंधेरा, "Transformers: Darkness of the Moon")
*''Tamil:'' '''''Ṭirāṉsḥpārmas: Ṭārk op ti mūṉ''''' (டிரான்ஸ்ஃபார்மஸ்: டார்க் ஒப் தி மூன், "Transformers: Dark of the Moon")
*''Greek:'' '''''Transformers 3'''''
*''Ukrainian:'' '''''Transformery: Temnyy bik Misyatsya''''' (Трансформери: Темний бік Місяця, "Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon")
*''Dutch:'' '''''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'''''
*''Norwegian:'' '''''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'''''
*''Hungarian:'' '''''Transformers 3'''''
*''Croatian:'' '''''Transformeri: Tamna strana Mjeseca''''' ("Transformers: The Dark Side of the Moon")
*''Latvian:'' '''''Transformeri 3: Mēness no otras puses''''' ("Transformers 3: The Moon on the Other Side")
*''Lithuanian:'' '''''Transformeriai: tamsioji Mėnulio pusė''''' ("Transformers: The Dark Side of the Moon")
*''Arabic:'' '''''Almtahawilun: Aljanib Almuzlim Lilqamar''''' (المتحولون: الجانب المظلم للقمر, "Transformers: The Dark Side of the Moon")
*''Indonesian:'' '''''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'''''
*''Malay:'' '''''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'''''
*''Hebrew:'' '''''Rvvvtrkm 3. Flt hrch''''' (רובוטריקים 3: אפלת הירח, "Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon")
*''Korean:'' '''''Teulaenseupomeo 3''''' (트랜스포머 3, "Transformers 3")
*''Romanian:'' '''''Transformers: Fața ascunsă a Lunii''''' ("Transformers: The Hidden Face of the Moon")
*''Thai:'' '''''Thrāns̄̒ fxr̒m me xr̒s̄ 3''''' (ทรานส์ฟอร์มเมอร์ส 3, "Transformers 3")

==External links==
* [http://www.transformersmovie.com/ Transformersmovie.com]
* [http://www.imdb.com/tt1399103/ ''Dark of the Moon'' at IMDB.com]
* {{w|Transformers: Dark of the Moon|''Dark of the Moon'' film on Wikipedia}}
* [https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/transformers_dark_of_the_moon/ ''Dark of the Moon'' on RottenTomatoes.com]

==Footnotes==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.transformersmovie.com/ Official ''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'' website]
*[http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/paramount/transformersdarkofthemoon/ Trailers.Apple.com ''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'' page]
* Designer portfolios: [http://www.joshnizzi.com/TF3.htm Josh Nizzi], [http://www.warrenmanser.com/WarrenManser.com/PORTFOLIO_M/Pages/TRANSFORMERS_3.html Warren Manser], [http://www.joelchang.com/index.php?/projects/transformers-dark-of-the-moon/ Joel Chang], [http://conceptartworld.com/?p=8293 The Aaron Sims Company] (at Concept Art World), [http://conceptartworld.com/?p=8388 Wesley Burt] (at Concept Art World), [http://massiveblack.com/MBwebolution/blog/?p=301 Massive Black], [http://www.ghull.com/#/125195 George Hull]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dark of the Moon (film)}}
[[Category:Dark of the Moon| Dark of the Moon (film)]]
[[Category:Dark of the Moon media| ]]
[[Category:Real world films]]

Transformers: Dark of the Moon (film)

2020-04-17T23:38:40Z

96megatron: /* Continuity Notes */

{{Nav-dotm}}
[[File:DOTM-OPportraitposter.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|"Of [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|my friend]], I can only say this: of all the souls I have encountered, he was the most... human."]]
'''''Transformers: Dark of the Moon''''' is the third film in the [[live-action film series]]. It was released in 3D and IMAX at 9PM on [[June 28]], [[2011]]<ref name="open3D">[http://michaelbay.com/2011/06/18/see-dark-of-the-moon-one-day-earlier-on-imax-3d/ See Dark Of The Moon One Day Earlier on IMAX 3D | MichaelBay]</ref> and in wide release on [[June 29]], [[2011]]<ref name="open">[http://www.deadline.com/2011/05/paramount-moving-up-transformers-3/ Paramount Moving Up ‘T’formers 3′ Release – Deadline.com]</ref> in the United States, and between [[June 29]] and July 1 for other markets.

The film is set three years after the events of ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]''. The Autobots continue to work for NEST, but no longer in secret, and for the goal of keeping peace between humans by taking out volatile overseas political targets. But after discovering a strange artifact during a mission in Chernobyl, it becomes apparent to Optimus Prime that the United States government has been less than forthright with them.

And SCENE!

{{bigquote|Aw, shit, I seen this one. It's the one where [[Spock]] goes nuts.|Wheelie|''Transformers: Dark of the Moon''}}

==Synopsis==
[[File:Dotm-Arkreflection.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.4|"Wha... this is the finest engine room in the whole Starfleet!"]]

In the distant past, during the latter days of the [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertronian]] civil war, [[Sentinel Prime (ROTF)|Sentinel Prime]] attempted to leave the planet with groundbreaking technology on board the ''[[Ark (DOTM)|Ark]]''. However, his ship was shot down by the Decepticons and, after being sent hurling through space for a while, eventually crashed on the [[Earth]]'s [[Moon (moon)|moon]] in 1961. The crash is noticed by the humans on Earth, leading to the {{w|Space Race}} under President [[John F. Kennedy]]. Landing on the Moon as part of the [[Apollo 11]] mission in 1969, astronauts [[Neil Armstrong]] and [[Buzz Aldrin]] use several minutes of [[radio]] silence to investigate the spaceship and discover that Mankind is not alone in space.

[[File:DOTM - ShockwaveDriller.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|"When I swing around, I mean to deprive you of your life."]]
In the present day, the Autobots are still part of [[NEST]], cooperating with the [[United States military|US Armed Forces]]. They have also begun to help humanity in its local conflicts, as [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]], [[Sideswipe (Movie)|Sideswipe]], [[Wheeljack (Movie)|Que]], and [[Mirage (Movie)|Dino]] destroy an illegal [[Iran]]ian nuclear facility. On a mission to the [[Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant]], a NEST team led by [[William Lennox|Lt. Col. Lennox]], [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] and [[Ratchet (Movie)|Ratchet]] discovers an unknown alien fuel cell which had led to the {{w|Chernobyl disaster}}. While trying to secure the cell, they are attacked by the Decepticon [[Shockwave (Movie)|Shockwave]] and his "pet", the [[Driller]], who are eventually forced to retreat by Optimus Prime. Meanwhile, [[Laserbeak (DOTM)|Laserbeak]] kills [[Alexi Voskhod]], who had called NEST to Chernobyl and was secretly working for him. After securing the fuel cell and identifying it as part of the ''Ark'', Optimus Prime is angry at the humans for not following through with their agreement of sharing all known information relating to Cybertron and its inhabitants. Despite this, he eventually informs his allies and [[Charlotte Mearing]], the {{w|Director of National Intelligence}}, about the space bridge technology the ''Ark'' contains. Together with [[Ratchet (Movie)|Ratchet]], Optimus travels to the Moon, where they find Sentinel Prime inside the ship. Retrieving him along with four pillars of the space bridge and the accompanying control pillar, they return to Earth, where Optimus uses the [[Matrix of Leadership]] to reactivate Sentinel Prime. In [[Africa]], Decepticon leader [[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]] (still recovering from wounds [[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|suffered]] in [[Egypt]]) meets with his lieutenants [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]] and [[Soundwave (ROTF)|Soundwave]]. Upon learning that the Autobots have recovered Sentinel and the pillars, Megatron orders Soundwave and Laserbeak to terminate their "loose ends".

Meanwhile, [[Sam Witwicky]], the Autobots' human friend, is suffering from everyday problems. Even though President [[Barack Obama]] has awarded him a medal for saving the Earth twice, Sam has trouble finding a job. Together with his new girlfriend [[Carly Spencer]], whom he had met in the [[White House]] (after his former girlfriend [[Mikaela Banes|Mikaela]] had left him), he also gives the stranded Autobots [[Wheelie (ROTF)|Wheelie]] and [[Brains]] a home. After a long search, he finally finds a position as a mail carrier at a telecommunication company named [[Accuretta Systems]]. From his colleague, [[Jerry Wang]], he learns about a conspiracy by humans who collaborate with the Decepticons. Before Jerry can tell Sam more, however, he is killed by Laserbeak.

[[File:DOTM-Sentinelendofyourworld.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.66|"There's a man out there I haven't seen in fifteen years who's trying to kill me."]]

Locked out of participating in the investigation by Mearing, Sam turns to [[Seymour Simmons]] for help. Simmons, who has become a millionaire as a writer, and his aide, [[Dutch (DOTM)|Dutch]], help Sam find out that the Soviets have taken photos of Decepticons removing hundreds of space bridge pillars out of the ''Ark'' even before Apollo 11 had landed on the Moon. Sam and Simmons conclude that the Decepticons had left Sentinel Prime behind on purpose, knowing that only he would be able to activate the space bridge, and only Optimus Prime could reactivate him. Sam is able to warn the Autobots in time so they can protect Sentinel from a Decepticon attack and escort him back to the NEST headquarters. Upon arriving there, however, Sentinel Prime betrays them, revealing that he made a deal with Megatron to ensure Cybertron's survival. After killing [[Ironhide (Movie)|Ironhide]] and most of the NEST soldiers, Sentinel claims the remaining pillars and escapes. The other Autobots track him down to [[Washington, D.C.]], but before Optimus can stop him, Sentinel activates a space bridge to the Moon. The portal allows dozens of Decepticon troops which had remained hidden under the Moon's surface to reach Earth, forcing the Autobots to retreat.

[[File:DOTM-Moonspacebridge.jpg|thumb|upright=1.55|"We are one big, happy fleet! Ah, [[James Kirk|Kirk]], my old friend, do you know the [[Klingon]] proverb that tells us revenge is a dish that is best served cold? It is ''very'' cold in space."]]

In the meantime, Sam is worried about Carly and searches for her. He finds her with her employer, [[Dylan Gould]], who reveals to Sam that he not only arranged for Sam to get a job with Acuretta, but is also a collaborator with the Decepticons. At their request, his father had used his influence to ensure that [[NASA]] would not conduct any more missions to the Moon. When Sam and Carly attempt to flee, they discover Carly's car is a disguise for Soundwave, who takes her captive. Dylan instructs Sam to ask Optimus Prime about the Autobots' strategy, otherwise Carly will die. To ensure that Sam will not try to warn the Autobots, he attaches a Decepticon disguised as a watch on Sam's wrist, and it taps into his nervous system.

Meanwhile, Sentinel Prime has given Mankind an ultimatum to exile the Autobots from Earth, since he is only trying to save Cybertron, or so he claims. The US government promptly passes a bill to this effect. Before the Autobots leave Earth aboard their spaceship, the ''[[Xantium (DOTM)|Xantium]]'', Sam asks Optimus about his plan. Optimus replies that there is no plan, and Mankind is on its own now. With all Autobots on board, the ''Xantium'' takes off, but is promptly intercepted by Starscream, who had waited in Earth's orbit. With the ''Xantium'' destroyed, the Decepticons believe the Autobots to be dead and let Sam go.

[[File:DarkoftheMoon-Chicago.jpg|thumb|upright=1.55|left|"Let them eat static. "]]
With the Autobots out of the way, the Decepticons conquer [[Chicago]], kill most of its population and set up the control pillar for the space bridge inside the city, placing the other pillars around the world. Dylan informs Carly that the Decepticons do not intend to return to Cybertron; instead, they want to transport Cybertron into Earth's orbit, because Earth not only has the necessary resources, but also six billion slaves to rebuild the Transformers' home planet.

Sam decides to go to Chicago, where Dylan has taken Carly. Former NEST soldier [[Robert Epps]], who now works for NASA, accompanies him, together with other former NEST members. Upon arrival in Chicago, they are promptly attacked by the Decepticons, but are rescued by Optimus Prime and the other Autobots. Having never intended to leave Earth, they had hidden themselves inside a modified rocket booster that was jettisoned before Starscream destroyed the ''Xantium''.

[[File:DOTM Driller vs Prime.jpg|thumb|upright=1.55|"From Hell's heart, I stab at thee!"]]

The Autobots and the humans soldiers make their way to the skyscraper where Dylan is located in order to destroy the space bridge's control pillar. Sam and Bumblebee rescue Carly, killing Laserbeak in the process, during which they find a damaged UAV and alert the military to the Decepticons plans. Due to another attack by a team of Decepticons led by Shockwave, the team is separated once more. While the Autobots battle the Decepticons, Epps and his team try to destroy the pillar from another skyscraper. However, they are attacked by Shockwave and the Driller, who brings the skyscraper crashing down. Optimus Prime comes to their aid and destroys the Driller, but is shot by Shockwave and becomes trapped in crane cables.

In the meantime, Lennox and the rest of NEST have managed to make their way into the city using [[wingsuit]]s, and with Lennox's help, Sam destroys Starscream using weapons provided to him by the Autobot scientist Que. Meanwhile, the Decepticons have captured several Autobots, but Dylan convinces them not to keep prisoners and kill them all. [[Barricade (Movie)|Barricade]] executes Que, and Soundwave moves to kill Bumblebee next, but the Autobots Wheelie and Brains have managed to make one of the Decepticons' ships crash, thereby distracting Soundwave long enough for Bumblebee and the other Autobots to get free. Bumblebee overpowers and kills Soundwave. NEST soldiers and US Marines snipe the Decepticons. Autobots and Tanks roll in and ambush the Decepticons. Optimus Prime returns and massacres a large group of Decepticons. He then kills Shockwave and uses the Decepticon's arm cannon to topple over the space bridge's control pillar, deactivating the bridge.

[[File:DOTMCybertrontransit.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.55|"Earth was created in six days. Now, watch out! Here comes Genesis! We'll do it for you in six minutes!"]]

Optimus Prime then confronts Sentinel Prime and the two engage in a ferocious battle of Student vs Master. Carly stumbles across Megatron outside the main battle zone. Having previously witnessed a violent argument between Sentinel Prime and Megatron, she appeals to his pride and makes him realize that he will never be able to rule over Cybertron as long as Sentinel is alive. Meanwhile, after a long fight, Sentinel gains the upper hand over Optimus and severs his right arm. However, before he can execute his former pupil, an infuriated Megatron attacks Sentinel and severely damages him, declaring that Earth is his planet to rule. Megatron realized how far he had fallen in power within the past few years, and has decided to once again take his rightful place at the top of the command chain. Meanwhile, Dylan manages to reactivate the toppled pillar, but is attacked by Sam, who hurls him against the pillar, killing him. Subsequently, Bumblebee destroys the pillar for good, thus destroying the space bridge and, presumably, Cybertron with it. Seeing this, Megatron half-heartedly offers Optimus Prime a truce on the condition that he will remain in charge of the Decepticons, mockingly saying that they would be nothing without each other. Realizing that the offer is less than sincere, Optimus refuses and attacks Megatron, decapitating him with an axe. The weakened Sentinel Prime tries to excuse his actions, but Optimus, claiming Sentinel "betrayed himself," executes the treacherous Prime with Megatron's shotgun.

[[File:DOTM Autobots NEST victorious.jpg|thumb|upright=1.55|"Live long... and prosper..."]]

With the battle over, Sam and Carly are reunited, and Simmons takes an opportunity to kiss Mearing, who he still has feelings for, and she has him arrested. With their home planet now forever beyond reach, and the forces of the Decepticons destroyed, the remaining Autobots finally accept Earth as their new home, as Optimus Prime states that the Autobots will always be here, to protect the Earth and all who live on it.

==Quotes==

'''Mission Control''': We are not alone after all, are we? <br>
'''Buzz Aldrin''': No, sir. We are not alone. <br>
:—Buzz Aldrin makes history, and raises the hackles of conspiracy theorists.

'''Dino''': "He's in a bad mood. He's not talking to anybody today." <br>
'''Mearing''': "What is this, the silent treatment?" <br>
'''Ironhide''': "We've seen that and this is ''not'' that." <br>
'''Que''': "Definitely not." <br>
'''Ironhide''': "This is ''worse''. Prime! Make something of yourself! (Ironhide taps Optimus's roof) He's pissed."
:—Ironhide discusses Optimus Prime's foul mood.

"Who wants some chicken dinner now, bitch? Huh? 'Cause somebody messed with the wrong Wang today!" <br>
:—'''Jerry Wang''', being crazy. But also awesome.

"The thing about Russians is, they never like to talk. Gonna take a little of the 'international language.'" <Doorman opens sliding hatch> "''Do svidaniya''." <br>
"That means 'goodbye!'" <closes hatch>
:—'''Simmons''' tries to reason with a '''Russian''', to no avail.

"It's a Cyrillic alphabet; it's like all the buttons you never push on a calculator!"
:—'''Dutch''' tries to translate Russian, also to no avail.

"Woah! Little Mexican standoff we got here!"
:-'''Sideswipe''', talking to Ironhide and the Dreads.

"Class dismissed."
:—'''Ironhide''', after dispatching the Dreads.

"What you must realize, my Autobot brothers, is that we were never going to win the war. For the sake of our planet's survival, a deal had to be made...with ''Megatron''."
:—'''Sentinel Prime''' reveals his treachery.

[[File:DOTM-MegatronLincoln.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|"I'll give him this: [[Atlantis, Arise!|he's]] [[Transformers The Game (console)|consistent]]!"]]
"Here we are. Fight us ''now''."
:—'''Megatron''', pulling the evil overlord cliché on us while sitting atop the [[Abraham Lincoln|Lincoln Memorial]]

"If you go in this building, that's if she's even still alive, there's no way you're going to reach her!"<br>
"What do you suggest I do?!"<br>
"...it's over. I'm sorry, but it's over."<br>
:—'''Robert Epps''' tells '''Sam Witwicky''' that they've run out of plans.

"We will kill them all."
:—'''Optimus Prime''' offers an alternative plan.

"They got my trailer. I ''need'' that flight tech!"<br>
:—'''Optimus Prime''', valiantly [[To sell toys|selling toys]].

"I bring you Cybertron, your home! and still you choose humanity."<br>
"You are the one who taught me [[Bio|freedom is everyone's right]]."<br>
:—'''Sentinel''' VS '''Optimus Prime'''.

"Your Decepticons are finally conquering this planet, and yet their leader won't be you."<br>
"IT WILL BE ME! It will ''always'' be me!<br>
"In any minute now, you'll be nothing but Sentinel's bitch."
:—'''Carly Spencer''' tells '''Megatron''' that if he's going to be the Starscream, he should ''act'' like it.

"Optimus. All I ever wanted...was the survival of our race. You must see why I had to betray you..."<br>
"You didn't betray me. You betrayed yourself..."<br>
:—'''Optimus Prime''''s final exchange with '''Sentinel Prime''' before effectively ''double-tapping'' him.

"Who would you be without me, Prime?"<br>
"Time to find out."<br>
:—'''Megatron''' and '''Optimus Prime''' exchange pre-fight banter one last time.

"In any war, there are calms between storms. There will be days when we lose faith. Days when our allies turn against us... but the day will never come that we forsake this planet and its people."
:—'''Optimus Prime'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s closing narration, [[Transformers: Age of Extinction (film)|which predicts what will]] [[Transformers: The Last Knight (film)|happen to them years later.]]

==Main cast==

{{featuredcharacters|
h1=[[Autobot]]s|c1=
*[[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] ([[Peter Cullen]])
*[[Sentinel Prime (ROTF)|Sentinel Prime]] ([[Leonard Nimoy]])
*[[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]]
*[[Ironhide (Movie)|Ironhide]] ([[Jess Harnell]])
*[[Ratchet (Movie)|Ratchet]] ([[Robert Foxworth]])
*[[Sideswipe (Movie)|Sideswipe]] ([[James Remar]])
*[[Mirage (Movie)|Dino]]<ref name="credits">Mirage and Wheeljack, known by those names in the toyline and essentially all supporting media, are respectively named "Dino" and "Que" in the film. While Dino is simply credited as such, Que is listed in the credits as "Que/Wheeljack".</ref> ([[Francesco Quinn]])
*[[Wheeljack (Movie)|Que/Wheeljack]]<ref name="credits"/> ([[George Coe]])
*The [[Wrecker]]s
**[[Roadbuster (DOTM)|Roadbuster]]<ref>Roadbuster is listed as "Roadbuster/Amp" in the credits, a reference to his car mode's sponsor. His name is not used in the film, but he is called "Roadbuster" in the toyline and supporting media.</ref> ([[Ron Bottitta]])
**[[Topspin (DOTM)|Topspin]]
**[[Leadfoot (DOTM)|Leadfoot]]<ref>Leadfoot is listed in the film's end credits as "Leadfoot/Target", a reference to his car mode's sponsor. His name is not spoken in the film, but he is called "Leadfoot" in the toyline and the supporting media.</ref> ([[John DiMaggio]])
*[[Wheelie (ROTF)|Wheelie]] ([[Tom Kenny]])
*[[Brains]] ([[Reno Wilson]])
*[[Skids (ROTF)|Skids]]<ref name=skidsandmudflap>Skids and Mudflap only appear during the convoy scene at the beginning of the film</ref> (cameo)
*[[Mudflap (ROTF)|Mudflap]]<ref name=skidsandmudflap/> (cameo)

|h2=[[Decepticon]]s|c2=
*[[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]] ([[Hugo Weaving]])
*[[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]] ([[Charlie Adler]])
*[[Shockwave (Movie)|Shockwave]] ([[Frank Welker]])
**[[Driller]]
*[[Soundwave (ROTF)|Soundwave]] ([[Frank Welker]])
**[[Laserbeak (DOTM)|Laserbeak]] ([[Keith Szarabajka]])
*[[Barricade (Movie)|Barricade]] (''Frank Welker'')
*[[Loader]]
*[[Devcon (DOTM)|Devcon]]
*[[Igor]] ([[Greg Berg]])
* [[Dread (DOTM)|The Dreads]]
**[[Crankcase (DOTM)|Crankcase]]
**[[Hatchet (DOTM)|Hatchet]]
**[[Crowbar]]
*[[Hatchling]]s
*[[Scrapper (ROTF)|Scrapper]] type Decepticon
*[[Long Haul (ROTF)|Long Haul]] type Decepticon
*[[Audi R8 Decepticon]]
*Two [[M1 Abrams Decepticon]]s
*[[Garagebot]]
*[[Lensmeter Decepticon]]s
*[[Protoform]]s
*[[Watch-bot]]<ref>Repeatedly referred to as the "Watch-bot" (proper noun) in the ''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon: The Junior Novel]]''</ref>
*[[Pickup Decepticon]]
*[[Police car Decepticon]]

|h3=[[Human]]s|c3=
*[[Sam Witwicky]] ([[Shia LaBeouf]])
*[[Carly Spencer]] ([[Rosie Huntington-Whiteley]])
*[[William Lennox]] ([[Josh Duhamel]])
*[[Robert Epps]] ([[Tyrese Gibson]])
*[[Seymour Simmons]] ([[John Turturro]])
*[[Charlotte Mearing]] ([[Frances McDormand]])
*[[Dylan Gould]] ([[Patrick Dempsey]])
*[[Bruce Brazos]] ([[John Malkovich]])
*[[Hardcore Eddie]] ([[Lester Speight]])
*[[Morshower]] ([[Glenn Morshower]])
*[[Dutch (DOTM)|Dutch]] ([[Alan Tudyk]])
*[[Ron Witwicky]] ([[Kevin Dunn]])
*[[Judy Witwicky]] ([[Julie White]])
*[[Jerry Wang]] ([[Ken Jeong]])
*[[Neil Armstrong]] ([[Don Jeanes]])
*[[Buzz Aldrin]] ([[Cory Tucker]]/himself)
*[[Walter Cronkite]]
*[[Bill O'Reilly]] (himself)
*[[Alexi Voskhod]] ([[Ravil Isyanov]])
}}

==Continuity Notes==
*Sam has since graduated from college, being three months out of school is currently looking for a job.
*Since the events of ''Revenge of the Fallen'', Sam and Mikaela had broke up (despite having to spend an entire film of Sam needing to say the L-word). Prior to the events of this film, he started a relationship with Carly Spencer.
*In the years since the Autobots arrival in 2007, Earth has boosted up security, Energon detectors guard Earth’s cities, while long-range defense systems watch the skies.
*Prior to the events of ''Dark of the Moon'', Autobots Que/Wheeljack and Dino have joined N.E.S.T.
*Decepticon Enforcer Shockwave, and his massive, devasting pet, The Driller, arrived on Earth sometime before the events of this film.
*Bumblebee, who was living in the Witwicky's garage at the start of the second film, is now an active member of NEST. In ''ROTF'', Sam had suggested for Bumblebee to join up with the other Autobots, instead of being cooped up in his family's garage. Sam wanted a robot civil war-free college experience and it seems he got it.
*NEST’s barracks for the Autobots have moved from a hanger on the island of Diego Garcia to a building, with Health and Human Services used as a cover, and are operating from Washington D.C.
*Sometime after the events of Operation: Firestorm, Sergeant Epps retired from combat duty, and now is tasked with maintaining both the Autobot ship named the Xantium and relationships between the human engineers and the bloodthirsty Wreckers.
*The Wreckers, according to Charlotte Mearing arrived on Earth, aboard the Xantium, and brought the second wave of Autobots. That would mean they arrived with Sideswipe and co., in the second film, if we're to assume the second wave of Autobots are the ''ROTF'' bots, while the first wave was Optimus and 07' bots. If they were on Earth during the events of the second film, the reason for the Wreckers not participating in Operation Firestorm, might be because Mearing mentioned them not being allowed off the base much, due to their behavior.
*The only returning Autobots, that made their debut in ''Revenge of the Fallen'' to return are Sideswipe and Wheelie (Also The Twins, but only in a few minor cameos, having been cut from a majority of the film). Wheelie, now joined by his companion, Brains, are both currently living with Sam and Carly.
*Returning Decepticons are Megatron and Starscream, who both managed to survive the final battle of ''Revenge of the Fallen'', although the former received serious injuries. Soundwave, made his live-action debut in the last film, now joined by Laserbeak, is revealed to have been active on Earth since at least the 1970s and was tasked with hiding Megatron’s secret plan, hidden on the dark side of the moon. Barricade makes a surprising return during the final battle in Chicago, last seen driving alongside Bonecrusher on the highway, before the latter engaged the Autobot Leader in the first film, while not being an active participant during the events of the second film.
*Following his injuries sustained during the final fight of ''Revenge of the Fallen'', Megatron had acquired a new arm, nearly repaired his damaged face, he has even adopted an earth mode, and is hiding and plotting in Namibia, Africa.
*Seymour Simmons, now a billionaire, makes his return, having made his fortune by sharing to the world the ins-and-outs of the robot civil war. He is also a proud supporter of the Autobot movement, even defending them on public television, and is quick to answer the call from the alien bad news magnet. He also has a bodyguard named Dutch, who is more than meets the eye.
*Optimus Prime's main moral compass that "freedom is the right of all sentient beings", is revealed to have been taught to him by his predecessor and mentor, Sentinel Prime. This had been one of the motivations behind Optimus protecting humans from 'Decepticon' tyranny throughout the films (and various parts of the franchise).
*This also reveals that in this continuity, Optimus wasn't always the leader of the Autobots, with Sentinel Prime (like in other continuities) being the leader of the Autobots before him.
*Megatron and Sentinel Prime were meant to rendezvous on Earth together to enact Project Pillar, before fate waylaid them both. Megatron was frozen in ice, in his pursuit of the Allspark, after crash landing in the arctic, later ending up in the vault of Sector Seven, before the events of the first film. While Sentinel Prime's ship was accidentally shot down by a random Decepticon soldier piloting an Orbital Assault Carrier, in pursuit of The Ark's as it was making its escape from Cybertron, as seen in this film's prologue. Seemingly unaware of the secret truce between their leader, Megatron, with Sentinel Prime, the enemy leader.
*Sentinel Prime was first mentioned in the previous film, by Sam Witwicky during one of his many Allspark induced exposition dump. The Fallen not being able to sense Sentinel Prime was probably due the latter being in stasis lock.
*Megatron's deal with Sentinel Prime makes one question his relationship with The Fallen, as The Fallen himself stated "only a Prime can defeat me", wonder how he would have felt if he knew Megatron had another Prime locked away somewhere, in secret.
*In the last film, if Earth's government ultimately decided that it would be in humanity's best interest to further deny the Autobots' further asylum on our planet, Optimus said that if they'd reach such a decision, that they would honor their request and leave peacefully. Although the Autobots weren't fully transparent on their end as they didn't fully trust the Decepticons. Even though Galloway assumed the Decepticons' reasons for continuing to invade Earth was because the Autobots were here. And apparently, prior to the events of this film, a poll was taken that showed half the world shared the same sentiment. However, revealed after the Autobots left, they weren't the Decepticons' intended target. As once they left, Carly managed to correctly deduce that the Decepticons were after our resources, one unique to our own planet, us.

==Errors==
===Astronomical and historical errors===
* The Moon does not rotate with respect to Earth, and Mare Tranquillitatis is near the middle of the near side. Therefore, Tranquility Base could never be described as being on the far side, and Earth is never as close to the horizon as shown in the movie.
* The Apollo 11 Command/Service Module is seen flying to the Moon without the Lunar Module. The Lunar Module is attached when the vehicle is orbiting the Moon, however.
* When the modern day site of the Apollo 11 landing is seen, the ascent module (the cabin Buzz and Neil flew back to orbit in) is still there.
* In real life, Apollo 11 did not land on the far side of the Moon. Tranquility Base is on the near side of the Moon.
* One of the directors of NASA says that all six Apollo missions recovered parts of the Ark but this not possible as the six missions all had different landing sites which were all a significant distance apart.
* Cybertron is apparently several times the size of Earth, yet the characters talk of bringing it "into Earth's atmosphere".
* The Space Bridge starts to bring Cybertron amazingly close to Earth - less than one Earth-diameter away. Assuming Cybertron's mass is proportional to its size, Cybertron's gravitational field would [[The Ultimate Doom|tear the Earth apart]] at that distance.

===Geographic discontinuities===
* The [[Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant]] is shown to be located ''inside'' of, or at least right next to the abandoned city of {{w|Pripyat}}, and the human characters access it through nearby buildings. In reality, the power plant is situated on the outskirts of the city. Even worse, [[Alexi Voskhod]] ''explicitly'' says that the entrance leads through a ''school''. Who builds a ''school'' right next to a ''nuclear power plant''?
* Furthermore, Pripyat's infamous Ferris wheel as shown in the movie is not only the wrong model (the real one's passenger cabins have canopies), but the real one is also located in an open field far away from any buildings.<ref name="ferris">[http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pripyat_-_Ferris_wheel.jpg Photo of the Pripyat Ferris wheel] showing the closest nearby buildings.</ref> But hey, at least it's the right color!
* Also, why exactly is the Sputnik mission case inside the Chernobyl reactor building? Did the Soviets never bother to discard the packaging of their toy after starting to play with it?
* When Megatron transforms for the first time, he's in a grassy savannah. In the next shot, he's standing in the middle of a desert... and in the establishing shot of the Decepticon camp, it's back in the savannah.
* {{w|Mount Kilimanjaro}} is seen in the background of many of the scenes in Namibia; in reality, the mountain is located in Tanzania, more than three thousand kilometers away.
[[File:DOTM-Wreckers-Prime-Cables.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|Chicago's own [[knockoff]] of a prominent Chinese building.]]
* In a [[Atlantis, Arise!|fairly common cinematic contrivance]], the film depicts multiple skyscrapers in the background of many scenes set in Washington, D.C., while the real-life city has no skyscrapers.
* Also, Washington, D.C. almost entirely lacks old industrial buildings that could be converted into lofts, and likewise doesn't have the kind of densely urban streets that Sam is shown to live on.
* NEST Headquarters, supposedly in Washington, is actually Chicago's abandoned Main Post Office.
* Likewise, Dylan's auto collection museum, also set in (land-locked) Washington, is actually the Milwaukee Art Museum. [[Lake Michigan]] is even visible through the windows!
* When Optimus Prime (using his jetpack) gets himself caught in wires below an under-construction building, that building bears a striking resemblance to the {{w|China Central Television Headquarters}} in [[Beijing]], [[China]]... a far shot from [[Chicago]]. Since construction for the CCTV building was finished in 2008, long before ''Dark of the Moon'' was even ''conceived'', this appears to be an intentional instance of a "cool building" being inserted just for the sake of it.

===Continuity errors===
* Like in ''Revenge of the Fallen'', Ironhide sports his [[license plate]] from the [[Transformers (film)|first movie]], "4PCI382", on his robot mode chest, but doesn't have a license plate in vehicle mode. (According to set photos, his license plate in vehicle mode is mostly black, with a NEST logo on it.)
* Speaking of inconsistencies between robot and vehicle mode: Bumblebee's updated Chevrolet Camaro alternate mode no longer has pinstripes bordering his black racing stripes, but the CG robot model still has the pinstripes.
[[Image:DOTM-SoundwaveMercedesStar.jpg|thumb|upright=1.9|right|Is this the reverse of hidden faction insignias in vehicle mode?]]
*Soundwave has [[kibble]] from his [[Mercedes-Benz|Mercedes]] alternate mode while he is in Africa, but his chest has only a blank grille. The Mercedes star is only added to his chest from the scene where he reveals himself to be Carly's car onward.
* After Megatron pulls out his shotgun for the first time, he holsters it on the right side of his back. In the next scene it is on his left side.
* In the highway battle scene with the [[Dread (DOTM)|Dreads]], Crowbar smashes into some traffic signs and knocks them over. In the next shot when the other two Dreads use them as ramps, the angle at which the signs fell has changed. After Hatchet and Crankcase transform, the signs revert into their original position.
* Also in the highway battle, Bumblebee enhances his front wheels to evade Hatchet, yet in the next scene he's fully in Stealth Force mode.
*When Hatchet is killed by Bumblebee and Dino, the last shot shows him being thrown onto a car (using footage recycled from Michael Bay's 2005 film ''{{w|The Island (2005 film)|The Island}}'', as elaborated on below), with Dino's grappling hook cables still attached to Hatchet, which would imply that Dino is still in robot mode at this point. However, the very next shot shows Dino in the far background, driving behind Bumblebee in vehicle mode.
* During Ironhide and Sideswipe's "Mexican standoff" with Crankcase and Crowbar, all combatants drop their firearms, but when Ironhide is speared, his guns are on his back again. They disappear in subsequent shots.
* In addition, the spear impaled in Ironhide disappears when he shoots Crowbar, only to reappear in subsequent shots.
* Despite being captured by Soundwave in her evening gown, Carly is somehow able to change into more convenient clothes (but still wearing high heels!) after arriving at Dylan's place, and has yet another outfit following the attack on Chicago the following day. Not only that, she changes her earrings, too!
* When the Autobots are boarding the ''Xantium,'' Simmons mentions that nine Autobots are leaving. Former Decepticons Wheelie and Brains apparently don't count. Poor little guys!
* The Wreckers claim they had been hiding inside a rocket booster that was jettisoned from the ''Xantium'' before Starscream destroyed it. The boosters are only seen to be detached after Starscream destroys the ship, after it has barely taken off from the ground.
* Though it's a standard action movie contrivance, it sure is convenient that the glass windows inside skyscrapers are extremely fragile when needed, and glass shards are as dangerous as bread crumbs so nobody suffers a single cut from sliding across them.
* Shortly after everyone jumps through the window and starts sliding down, a downwards shot of the building shows all of the windows behind them are intact.
* As everyone tumbles through a lower floor of the building, [[Stone]] is shown to fall right through and out the other side with a collection of office furniture, but not long after is back with Epps's squad.
* Despite the Decepticons taking over Chicago and killing a whole bunch of people, there seem to be a lot of people continuing to go about their daily lives. The skyscraper Epps's team goes into to launch a rocket from still seems to have plenty of office workers in it when the Driller attacks it. When Sam's being thrown around on the end of the grapple glove rope while fighting Starscream, he crashes through a wall into a dry-cleaning business where a woman appears to be calmly hanging up a shirt. Did they all just not get the memo?
* The sequence beginning with Sam, Carly, Epps and the rest of the soldiers jumping out of the windows of the tilted skyscraper is one giant continuity headache: First they jump out of the windows, then slide down several stories, then the camera angle changes and they're sliding down several more stories, and ''then'' a wide shot shows the top of the skyscraper from an angle where the characters cannot be seen, then slowly pans around and eventually shows them all sliding down from one of the topmosts floors all over again! Eventually, they crash back into one of the lowest floors near the break. After the Driller has toppled the top portion of the skyscraper over, the group is ''again'' shown to escape from one one of the topmost floors to the neighboring building!
* Though it is Barricade who kicks and shoves Que along before executing him, the voice heard is Soundwave's. Presumably, this was an artifact of the early alternate version of the scene, in which Soundwave was to kill Dino, and they just re-used the audio.
*While fighting the Autobots at the end of the film, Sentinel Prime's cape disappears for a brief scene before reappearing on his back when the camera angle changes.
*When Sam and Dylan are fighting, the clock behind them changes to different times every shot. It starts at 00:40, then 02:25, 00:15 and 11:00 in the following shots.
*When Sam and Carly are reunited after the final battle, Carly's hands keep changing the position on every cut, sometimes on Sam's neck, sometimes on his shoulders.
*Not intentional: Skids and Mudflap appear for a brief few seconds in the film. This leaves questions as to what happened to them. They weren't seen departing from Earth or taking part in the Chicago battle.
*It's said that four Autobots were captured by the Decepticons in Chicago, but actually five Autobots were captured. (Unless this observation was made ''before'' Bumblebee arrived after saving Sam and Lennox)
*When Que is about to be executed, the "cardboard head on a stick" prop used for [[Mirage (Movie)|Dino]] during the shooting of the movie (a common method used for the movies to give the actors ''something'' to react to) can be spotted in the final edit of the film,<ref name="headprop">[http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-movie-discussion/494618-movies-errors-mirage-prop-final-movie-edit.html "Movies Errors - Mirage prop in final movie edit"] at TFW2005</ref> possibly a leftover from an earlier draft of the script where Soundwave mocked Bumblebee with Dino's disembodied head.

==Transformers references==
In addition to recurring elements from the previous films, ''Dark of the Moon'' bases a number of elements on previous versions of the ''Transformers'' mythos, including plot elements based on older stories, something fairly rare in the other two movies:
* New characters [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] and [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] are heavily based upon their Generation 1 counterparts. [[Wheeljack (Movie)|Que]] is derived from G1 character [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]]. [[Sentinel Prime (disambiguation)|Sentinel Prime]] is the name of Optimus's predecessor in many continuities, and in this instance, he continues his [[Sentinel Prime (Animated)|predecessor]]'s [[Sentinel Prime (G1)#2005 IDW continuity|legacy]] of being a giant jerk.

* Megatron's camp is full of salvaged artifacts from the previous film. A piece of the harvester is being used as part of a tent and several Decepticon corpses are laying around the area. While most are unrecognizable, one of them is a headless Long Haul. Its head was presumable used to create Igor. Megatron's new right hand appears to be salvaged from a fallen Decepticon. The matching left hand can be seen laying around the campsite.

* "Carly" was the name of [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]]'s [[Carly|girlfriend and eventual wife]] in the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|original cartoon]].

* The ''[[Ark (DOTM)|Ark]]'' gets its name from the Autobots' crashed spaceship in the [[Marvel Comics|Marvel]] [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|''Transformers'' comics]].

* The ''[[Xantium (G1)|Xantium]]'' is the name of the [[Wrecker]]s' spaceship in the [[IDW Publishing]]'s ''Transformers'' comics.

* [[Roadbuster (DOTM)|Roadbuster]] and [[Topspin (DOTM)|Topspin]] being members of the Wreckers recalls their original G1 counterparts being likewise part of the Wreckers.

* Optimus's new trailer is based on the trailer that [[Optimus Prime (G1)|his Generation 1 counterpart]] hauled around, including its ability to open up into a weapons base.

* Optimus now carries the Matrix around in his chest as he has in past incarnations.

* The corrosive end met by Ironhide comes at the hands of [[Cosmic Rust (disease)|Cosmic Rust]], the oxidizing pathogen that first appeared in the Generation 1 cartoon episode [[Cosmic Rust (episode)|of the same name]]. Though not named in the film, its identity is made clear by production artwork by [[Josh Nizzi]] which labels Sentinel Prime's gun a "Cosmic Rust gun".

* Megatron removing [[Abraham Lincoln]] from his chair at the {{w|Lincoln Memorial}} and then sitting in it is a scene taken directly from the Generation 1 cartoon episode, "[[Atlantis, Arise!]]", and the Decepticon ending for ''[[Transformers The Game]]'' (sort of).

* The idea of bringing Cybertron to Earth via space bridge and enslaving humans was the plot of the Generation 1 multi-part episode "[[The Ultimate Doom]]."

* Likewise, the idea of an influential and powerful human joining forces with the Decepticons, resulting in the Autobots being exiled from Earth by the government via a spacecraft, only for that spacecraft to be destroyed, was the plot behind another Generation 1 cartoon multi-part episode, "[[Megatron's Master Plan, Part 1|Megatron's Master Plan]]."

* Megatron's first line - a weary "[[The Transformers: All Hail Megatron|All hail Megatron]]" - is the title of IDW's direction-changing comic maxi-series, which had just wrapped up when production on the film was beginning.

* When the worker at Accureta Systems is trying to make the [[Laserbeak (DOTM)|photocopier]] work, it beeps the "more than meets the eye" refrain from the original cartoon's [[theme song]].

* The [[Transformation#The noise|transformation noise]] can be heard at the end of the film when Bumblebee transforms to robot mode, the final onscreen transformation, just as it was heard during [[Blackout (Movie)|Blackout's]] transformation, which was also the first onscreen transformation in the first film.

* The technique of shooting at a skyscraper until it breaks in half and the top falls horizontally on other buildings has been done by [[Megatron (BW)|another Megatron]] in [[Endgame Pt. III: Seeds of the Future|another city]].

==Real-world references==
* When Brains and Wheelie are watching ''{{w|Star Trek: The Original Series}}'', the screen features [[Spock|Mr. Spock]], portrayed by Leonard Nimoy—who voices Sentinel Prime. Wheelie comments that it is "the one where Spock goes nuts," which foreshadows Sentinel's heel turn. The episode itself is the famous ''TOS'' episode "{{w|Amok Time}}", although for some inexplicable reason, the first of the two clips shown on-screen is ''mirrored''.

* Sentinel Prime says "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." The voice actor said the same line in the 1982 film ''{{w|Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan}}'' as Mr. Spock. However, in that movie, Nimoy's character dies a hero.

* To finish the Spock trifecta, when Bumblebee says his goodbyes to Sam, he uses a clip of Leonard Nimoy, as Spock, saying "I will always be your friend," another line from ''Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan''.

* [[Dutch (DOTM)|Dutch]] and his fake girlfriend's name, "India", are a reference to {{w|Dutch India}}.

* [[Wheeljack (Movie)|Que]]'s name is a reference to {{w|Q (James Bond)|Q}} from ''{{w|James Bond}}'' novels and films. Que also gives weapons to NEST soldiers while explaining the advantages and abilities for the weapons much like Q does for James Bond.

* When Bumblebee brings forth "rings" for Sam and Carly, he "hums" the {{w|Wedding March}} (or, more correctly, the {{w|Bridal Chorus}} from {{w|Richard Wagner}}'s 1850 opera ''{{w|Lohengrin (opera)|Lohengrin}}'').
*Before Sentinel gets attacked by Megatron, he quotes "There can only be one" from the film Highlander. Sentinel is also modeled after one of the film's lead stars Sean Connery.

==Other editions==

==Prequel material==
*''[[Transformers: Sector 7]]''
*''[[Transformers: Foundation]]''
*''[[Transformers: Rising Storm]]''
*''[[Transformers: Convergence]]''
*''[[Transformers: Jazz]]''
*''[[Transformers: Space Case]]''
*''[[Transformers: Ratchet]]''
*''[[Transformers: Arcee]]''
*''[[Transformers: Bumblebee]]''
*''[[Transformers: Starscream]]''
*''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (Xbox 360/PS3)]]''
*''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon: Stealth Force Edition]]''
*''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon: Autobots/Decepticons]]''
*''[[Transformers (Titan Magazine)#Dark of the Moon|Transformers (Titan Magazine)]]''
*''[[Transformers Classified: Switching Gears]]''

==Adaptations==
*''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon Movie Adaptation]]''
*''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (novel)]]''
*''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon: The Junior Novel]]''

==Soundtrack==
{{main|Dark of the Moon: The Album}}

==Score==
{{main|Dark of the Moon: The Score}}

==Home video releases==
{{main|Transformers: Dark of the Moon (film)/home video}}
''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'' was released on DVD, Blu-Ray, and Digital Download on September 30, 2011, followed by the 2-Disc Special Edition in December.<ref>[TFW2005 - Official Transformers Movie Website Updated With Transformers 3 Home Release Info http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/official-transformers-movie-website-updated-with-transformers-3-home-release-info-173245/]</ref>
===Additional Information===
{{collist|
* Close Captions in English
* Audio Description as Audio Description in English <ref>http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B005G4TJUC/audiodescriin-20</ref>|collist}}

==Theatrical posters==
<center>
<gallery perrow="3">
File:DOTM-OPbillboardposter.jpg
File:DOTM-Bumblebeebanner.jpg
File:DOTM-Shockwavebanner.jpg
File:DOTM-OPportraitposter.jpg
</gallery>
</center>

==Reception==
On June 23, 2011, the world premiere of ''Dark of the Moon'' was held in [[Moscow]], [[Russia]], with band [[Linkin Park]] performing a concert that included their title song for the movie, "Iridescent".

The official release date was moved up from July 1 to June 29 to allow breathing room between its release and ''{{w|Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2}}''. On June 28, 2011, the film was released in 3D and IMAX at 9pm in the US. Some theaters cheated a little and showed it at 8:45.

''Dark of the Moon'' launched with nearly 10,000 copies in 4011 theaters nationwide. On its opening day, the movie earned $37.3 million, making not only for the best opening day of 2011 up to that point, but also ranking as the sixth most successful opening on a Wednesday ever, while at the same time ranking well behind ''Revenge of the Fallen'', with $60 million on its opening day (also a Wednesday).<ref name="openingday">[http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=3197&p=.htm "'Transformers' Suboptimal on Wednesday"], Box Office Mojo, June 2011.</ref> (Of course, a lot of the print material still listed the release date as [[July 1]]st, the following Friday.)

On [[August 2]], it crossed the $1 billion mark in worldwide gross, just under 5 weeks after its release, landing it in the #9 spot for worldwide gross of all time.<ref>http://www.deadline.com/2011/08/transformers-dark-of-the-moon-crosses-1-billion-worldwide-mark-for-paramount/ Deadline Hollywood</ref> Of that, $338 million came from the US. It is currently one of two Paramount pictures to have made the $1 billion mark, the other being [[Transformers: Age of Extinction (film)|its sequel]]. (While ''Titanic'' also made over $1 billion worldwide, it was only a Paramount movie ''domestically'', where it made "only" $620 million.)

''Dark of the Moon'' ended its theatrical run in the #4 spot for highest worldwide gross of all time.

The film's critical reception was an improvement from ''Revenge of the Fallen'', but it was still considered a bad movie, with a mediocre 35% on Rotten Tomatoes. The film was praised for its special effects, but blasted for its running time and dialogue.<ref>https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/transformers_dark_of_the_moon</ref>

''Dark of the Moon'' was nominated for three Academy Awards, in the categories of Best Visual Effects, Sound Editing, and Sound Mixing, losing all to ''{{w|Hugo (film)|Hugo}}''.<ref>[http://oscar.go.com/nominees#t Official 2012 Oscar nominees page]</ref>

On February 25, 2012, it was announced that ''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'' was nominated for eight {{w|Golden Raspberry Award}}s. Unlike ''Revenge of the Fallen'', however, it did not receive the awards for Worst Picture, Worst Screenplay, & Worst Director, losing all of its nominations to ''{{w|Jack & Jill (film)|Jack & Jill}}''.<ref>[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/transformers-dark-of-the-moon-is-safe-from-razzies-174726/]</ref>

==Production staff==
{{stub}}

===Visual effects===
{{stub}}

===Locations department===
{{quote|[The Decepticons'] decision to attack Chicago<ref>http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-471495</ref> seems inexplicable, until you take into consideration the generous tax credits offered by the Illinois Film Office.|film critic Roger Ebert|[http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2011/07/on_the_origin_of_transformers.html On the Origin of Transformers]}}

==Development details==
===Cast and crew signing on===
[[File:TF3-licensingPrime.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Featuring a surprise appearance by Optimus Prime!]]
On May 30, 2007, a month before the official release of ''[[Transformers (film)|Transformers]]'', [[DreamWorks]] announced that two sequels were already being planned.<ref name="spy">[http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/movies/a58430/two-transformers-sequels-in-pipeline.html Digital Spy article from May 2007, confirming that two sequels were being planned]</ref> On March 16, 2009, over three months before the premiere of ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'', [[Paramount Pictures|Paramount]] announced the third movie for July 1, 2011.<ref name="3release">Pamela McClintock: [http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118001280?refCatId=13 Variety article from March 2009], confirming Transformers 3 for July 2011.</ref> Director [[Michael Bay]] promptly backpedaled, as he had intended for the third ''Transformers'' movie to be released in 2012.<ref name="baywait">[http://www.shootfortheedit.com/forum/showthread.php?3947-Wait-a-minute! Michael Bay's reaction to Paramount's July 2011 date for ''Transformers 3''], March 2009.</ref> He officially changed his mind in October 2009, agreeing to the release date set by Paramount.<ref name="bay3-2011">[http://michaelbay.com/2009/10/01/transformers-3-july-1st-2011/ Michael Bay officially confirms the 2011 release date], October 2009.</ref>

[[Roberto Orci]] and [[Alex Kurtzman]], two of the previous two movies' screenwriters, had already announced in March 2009 that they would not return for a third part.<ref name="noorcikurtz">[http://www.slashfilm.com/orci-and-kurtzman-not-returning-for-transformers-3-will-leonard-nimoy-voice-the-fallen/ Slashfilm quoting Roberto Orci that he and Kurtzman would not return for a third movie], March 2009. (Original post on Don Murphy's message board appears to no longer exist.)</ref> In September 2009, their ''Revenge'' co-writer [[Ehren Kruger]] was confirmed as the screenwriter of ''Transformers 3''.<ref name="krugernelson">[http://michaelbay.com/2009/09/14/transformers-3-pain-gain-bad-boys-3/ Michael Bay's website admin Nelson Lauren sorta-confirms Ehren Kruger as TF3's screenwriter], September 2009.</ref> Kruger had already impressed both director Michael Bay and [[Hasbro]] CEO [[Brian Goldner]] with his knowledge of ''Transformers'' mythology prior to working on ''Revenge''.<ref name="writersr">[http://www.zap2it.com/movies/news/zap-transformers2writers,0,1938976.story Zap2it story about the ROTF writers]</ref>

In an interview with ''Wonderland'' magazine in September 2009, [[Megan Fox]], the main female star of the previous two movies, discussed the harsh conditions on the sets and compared director Michael Bay to [[Adolf Hitler]].<ref name="latimesfox">[http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/the_big_picture/2009/09/megan-fox-on-michael-bay-he-wants-to-be-hitler.html Los Angeles Times article about Megan Fox's fatal interview with ''Wonderland'' magazine], September 2009.</ref> Bay initially played down the affair and still welcomed Fox back for the third installment a month later.<ref name="bay3-2011"/> Even though Fox was still spotted on the ''Transformers 3'' set in May 2010,<ref name="foxonset">[http://www.superherohype.com/news/articles/100786-megan-fox-on-set-for-transformers-3-previz Megan Fox on the DOTM set], May 2010.</ref> Paramount announced a few weeks later that she wouldn't return for a third movie after all.<ref name="nomorefox">[http://www.deadline.com/2010/05/michael-bays-revenge-no-more-megan/ Deadline article confirming that Megan Fox had been dropped off ''Transformers 3''], May 2010.</ref> Still that same month, [[Rosie Huntington-Whiteley]] was confirmed to replace her as the lead female actress.<ref name="rosierepl">[http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1640047/model-rosie-huntingtonwhiteley-cast-transformers-3.jhtml MTV.com article confirming Rosie Huntington-Whiteley as the new female star of ''Transformers ''], May 2010.</ref> Her character's name was confirmed as "[[Carly Spencer|Carly]]" by Nelson Lauren, the webmaster of Michael Bay's official website, in July 2010.<ref name="nelsonchicagojul">[http://www.shootfortheedit.com/forum/showthread.php?7566-Transformers-3-Chicago-Set-Photos Nelson posts about his visit to the Chicago set at shootfortheedit.com's forums], July 2010.</ref> In 2011, Michael Bay finally confirmed in an interview with ''GQ'' magazine that it had been [[Steven Spielberg]], executive producer of the ''Transformers'' movies, who had urged him to fire Fox following the Hitler comparison.<ref name="baygq">[http://www.gq.com/entertainment/movies-and-tv/201107/michael-bay-steven-spielberg-fired-megan-fox-transformers GQ interview with Michael Bay], June 2011.</ref> In a later interview, however, he claimed this statement had been taken out of context.<ref name="baych">[http://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/kultur/kino/Diese-Autos-muessen-zerstoert-werden--und-da-bin-ich-der-richtige-Mann/story/23997460 Interview with Michael Bay from Switzerland] (German language), July 2011.</ref>

In March 2010, Oscar winners [[John Malkovich]] and [[Frances McDormand]] as well as Comedian [[Ken Jeong]] were confirmed having signed on for supporting roles.<ref name="malkomcdor">[http://michaelbay.com/2010/03/22/transformers-3-update-from-michael-bay/ Michael Bay confirming John Malkovich, Frances McDormand and Ken Jeong for ''Transformers 3''], March 2010.</ref>

In April 2010, [[Kevin Dunn]] and [[Julie White]] were confirmed as returning as Sam Witwicky's parents.<ref name="varietydunnwhite">[http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118017329.html?categoryid=1236&cs=1 'Dunn, White sign on for 'Transformers 3''], Variety, April 2010.</ref>

In May 2010, Paramount confirmed that [[Patrick Dempsey]] has been cast in ''Transformers 3'' to play Mikaela Banes' boss (this was before Megan Fox was fired from the production).<ref name="dempsey">[http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2010/05/04/patrick-dempsey-confirmed-for-transformers-3/ "Patrick Dempsey confirmed for Transformers 3"], Hollywood Insider, May 2010.</ref>

In July 2010, Nelson Lauren confirmed that former American footballer [[Lester Speight]] would play a soldier in the movie.<ref name="nelsonchicagophotos">[http://michaelbay.com/2010/07/20/transformers-3-chicago-set-photos/ Photos of the Chicago set by michaelbay.com webmaster Nelson Lauren], July 2010.</ref>

[[Leonard Nimoy]] was confirmed as the voice actor for [[Sentinel Prime (ROTF)|Sentinel Prime]] in March 2011.<ref name="nimoysent">[http://insidemovies.ew.com/2011/03/31/leonard-nimoy-transformers-dark-of-the-moon Entertainment Weekly announces Leonard Nimoy's involvement], March 2011]</ref> Nimoy, who had previously voiced [[Galvatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Galvatron]] in 1986's ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'' and was married to Michael Bay's cousin Susan, had previously been under consideration for [[The Fallen]]'s voice in ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'', but Bay had been hesitant for fear of offending his relative with the relatively low pay allotted to voice actors.<ref name="nimoy1">[http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2009/04/21/michael-bay-afraid-to-offend-leonard-nimoy-with-transformers-family-reunion-offer/ ''Michael Bay Afraid To Offend Leonard Nimoy With ‘Transformers’ Family Reunion Offer''], MTV.com Movies blog, April 2009.</ref> Even though Nimoy openly asked Bay to simply give him a call,<ref name="nimoy2">[http://www.latinoreview.com/news/leonard-nimoy-to-michael-bay-call-me-6682 Leonard Nimoy To Michael Bay: "Call Me!"], Latino Review, April 2009.</ref> it ultimately never worked out, and The Fallen was voiced by [[Tony Todd]] instead. For ''Dark of the Moon'', Bay finally overcame his anxiety and hired Nimoy, who accepted the offer.<ref name="nimoy3">[http://insidemovies.ew.com/2011/03/31/leonard-nimoy-transformers-dark-of-the-moon/ "Leonard Nimoy joins 'Transformers: Dark of the Moon' voice cast -- EXCLUSIVE"], Entertainment Weekly, March 2011.</ref> In return, screenwriter Ehren Kruger included several nods to Nimoy's well-known character as Mr. Spock from ''[[Star Trek]]'' in the movie.<ref name="nimoystartrek">[http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1666643/transformers-dark-of-the-moon-star-trek-references.jhtml "'Transformers: Dark Of The Moon': Behind The 'Star Trek' Nods"], MTV.com, July 2011.</ref> ''Dark of the Moon'' would be Nimoy's final performance in the ''Transformers'' franchise before his death in early 2015.

===Writing and production===
After having defended the almost universally critically panned ''Revenge of the Fallen'' for a long time, Michael Bay finally acknowledged flaws of the script, but blamed the {{w|2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike}} prior to the movie for many problems. As a definite error, he singled out the "dork comedy", which he promised to avoid with ''Dark of the Moon''.<ref name="bayvisit">[http://collider.com/michael-bay-interview-transformers-dark-moon-edit-bay-visit/63824/ Collider.com article about DOTM], December 2010.</ref>

Principal shooting began in May 2010. Shooting locations included [[Chicago]] (and nearby East Chicago and Gary Indiana), Moscow,<ref name="locations">[http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=63682 "Transformers 3 Headed to Chicago and Moscow"], Comingsoon.net, February 2010.</ref> the [[Kennedy Space Center]] in Florida,<ref name="kennedyspace">[http://www.superherohype.com/news/articles/101114-the-transformers-3-shoot-at-kennedy-space-center "The Transformers 3 Shoot at Kennedy Space Center"], SuperHeroHype.com, May 2010.</ref> Milwaukee (Wisconsin),<ref name="milwaukee">[http://www.jsonline.com/entertainment/movies/98266574.html "'Transformers 3' takes over Milwaukee Art Museum"], Journal Sentinel Online, July 2010.</ref> Detroit,<ref name="detroit">[http://www.superherohype.com/news/articles/107775-photos-from-the-detroit-transformers-3-set "Photos From the Detroit Transformers 3 Set"], SuperHeroHype.com, September 2010.</ref> [[Washington, D.C.]]<ref name="militaryextras">[http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=473674758199&id=114648515718 US Department of Defense casting call for ''Dark of the Moon''], October 2010.</ref> and Angkor Wat in Cambodia.<ref name="angkor">[http://www.akp.gov.kh/?p=1184 "'Transformers 3' To Be Shot in Cambodia"], Agence Kampuchea Presse, January 2011.</ref>

For the scene where Lennox and his soldier jump out of a V-22 Osprey using wingsuits, Michael Bay used real parachutists and thus avoided unnecessary CG effects. In fact, he had been inspired for this scene in the first place by watching the parachutists in their wingsuits on television<ref name="wingsuits">[http://blog.movies.yahoo.com/blog/1498-transformers-wingsuits-no-cgi-required Yahoo! Movies article on the wingsuit parachutists], June 2011.</ref> and wrote the scene with the intention of using the parachutists in the movie.<ref name="bayvisit"/>

For the Apollo 11 moon landing mission in the flashback sequence at the beginning of the movie, astronauts [[Neil Armstrong]] and [[Buzz Aldrin]] are played by actors Don Jeanes and Cory Tucker, respectively. In the present day timeline, Aldrin himself appears briefly as his own older self.<ref name="aldrin">[http://movies.yahoo.com/news/yahoo-contributor-network/astronaut-buzz-aldrin-hangs-out-with-optimus-prime-transformers-dark-moon Yahoo! Movies article on Buzz Aldrin's appearance in DOTM], July 2011.</ref>

Over 500 cars were destroyed in the making of ''Dark of the Moon'', all of them damaged property from insurance companies intended for destruction.<ref name="baych"/>
[[Image:ROTFvsDOTMUSNavyHollenbeck.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|right|Wherever General Morshower goes, I go.]]

Two accidents happened during shooting: In September 2010, while shooting in East Chicago, Indiana, a female extra was severely injured when a stunt scene went wrong, leaving her with permanent brain damage, the left side of her body paralyzed and her left eye stitched shut. Paramount was subsequently sued for damages by the victim's family.<ref name="extrastunt">[http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-10-05/news/ct-met-transformers-lawsuit-20101005_1_gabriela-cedillo-stunt-welding Chicago tibune article on the injured extra and the subsequent lawsuit], October 2010.</ref> She was eventually granted an $18.5 million settlement in May 2012.<ref name="settlement">[http://www.tmz.com/2012/05/23/transfomers-3-injured-extra-gets-18-million-settlement/ TMZ story about Gabriela Cedillo's settlement]</ref> As a consequence, part of the scene of the car chase battle in Washington, D.C. (which would have included the shoot that had led to the accident) was instead "[[Stock footage|borrowed]]" from Michael Bay's 2005 film ''{{w|The Island (2005 film)|The Island}}''.<ref name="island1">[http://www.ign.com/articles/2011/07/04/transformers-3-re-uses-car-crash-from-the-island "Transformers 3 Re-Uses Car Crash From The Island"], IGN Movies, July 2011.</ref> While shooting in Washington, D.C., in October 2010, one of the Chevrolet Camaro prop cars that served as Bumblebee's [[alternate mode]] crashed into a {{w|Metropolitan Police}} SUV. Nobody was seriously injured this time, though Bumblebee sustained severe front-end damage.<ref name="camarocrash">[http://jalopnik.com/5661321/bumblebee-smashes-cop-car-in-yet-another-transformers-3-accident Jalopnik article on the Camaro crash], October 2010.</ref> Hasbro would later "commemorate" this latter event with the [[Toys"R"Us]] [[exclusive]] [[Cyberverse (toyline)|Cyberverse]] "Cybertronian Warriors Pack". Fans, meanwhile, joked that the SUV was Barricade getting revenge.

Another (brief) instance of recycled footage occurs during the Chicago battle: When the Navy fires several Tomahawks at the Decepticons, the mission control room scene was previously used to depict the interior of the [[USS Kidd]] in ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]''. The most obvious similarity is the [[Hollenbeck|same operator]] saying "Target acquired" both times.<ref name="recycled">[http://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=6tSMdR8vH0s Youtube video] featuring brief clips from ''Dark of the Moon'' and ''Revenge of the Fallen'', highlighting the recycled footage.</ref>

''Dark of the Moon'' is the first of the ''Transformers'' movies to be released in 3D. Despite early considerations to shoot the movie in 2D and convert it into 3D later, Michael Bay ultimately shot 60% of the film in native 3D, another 15% were done digitally, and the rest was shot in 2D and converted later. [[James Cameron]] assisted Michael Bay with the 3D effects. The movie's budget amounted to $195 million, which is about the same budget ''Revenge of the Fallen'' had. About $30 million went into the 3D effects.<ref name="cameron">[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/michael-bay-reveals-james-camerons-191774 "Michael Bay Reveals James Cameron's Secret Role in the Making of 'Transformers'"], The Hollywood Reporter, May 2011.</ref>

=== Sponsors and partners ===
==== Hasbro ====
Hasbro, licensor of the [[Transformers brand]], hoped that the third movie would once again boost toy sales, after profits had dropped in the first quarter of 2011.<ref name="hasbroq12011">[http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Hasbro-1Q-profit-drops-71-pct-apf-664090076.html?x=0&.v=11 Yahoo! Finance article about weak Hasbro toy sales in 2011's first quarter], April 2011.</ref> For the second quarter of 2011, Hasbro reported a net revenue growth of 23 percent to $908.5 million, citing brands such as ''Transformers'' and ''Beyblade'' as the main sources of the increased income.<ref name="hasbro2nsq">[http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Hasbro-Reports-Revenue-and-bw-4063497156.html?x=0&.v=1 "Hasbro Reports Revenue and Earnings Growth for the Second Quarter 2011"], Yahoo! Finance, July 2011.</ref>

==== US military and NASA ====
Like the previous two movies, ''Dark of the Moon'' featured real military personnel as extras, supported by the [[United States Department of Defense]].<ref name="militaryextras"/> Shooting locations were Hurlburt Field and [[Edwards Air Force Base]].<ref name="hurlburt">[http://www.shadowspear.com/special-operations-entertainment/105725-transformers-filmed-at-hurlburt.html "'Transformers 3 Filmed at Hurlburt, 1SOW Included as 'Extras'"], ShadowSpear Special Operations, July 2011.</ref>

In addition, ''Dark of the Moon'' was also supported by NASA, and NASA employees appear as extras in the movie as well.<ref name="nasa">[http://www.space.com/12142-transformers-film-nasa-space-program-touches.html "'Transformers: Dark of the Moon' Has Real-Life NASA Touches"], Space.com, July 2011.</ref>

==== General Motors and other car manufacturers ====
[[General Motors]] once again provided several vehicles. All recurring Autobots retain their [[alternate mode]]s from ''Revenge of the Fallen'' despite some minor tweaks, such as Sideswipe now being a convertible, and Bumblebee now sporting a rear spoiler. Once again, the cooperation was mutual, with General Motors using Bumblebee for TV commercials. The first of those, aired during the 2011 Super Bowl, also revealed some minor tweaks to Bumblebee's robot mode.<ref name="bumblebeead1">[http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2011/02/-bumblebee-appears-in-a-chevrolet-camaro-super-bowl-ad/1 "'Bumblebee' appears in Chevrolet's Super Bowl ad"], USA Today, February 2011.</ref><ref name="bumblebeead2">[http://www.autoblog.com/2011/06/06/chevy-drops-new-ad-touting-transformers-3-tie-in/ "Video: Chevy drops new ad touting Transformers 3 tie-in"], Autoblog.com, June 2011.</ref> According to Chevrolet, the ''Transformers'' movies notably affect car sales, as about ten percent of all Camaros sold in the preceding year were yellow, twice as many as with other models.<ref name="carstarscast">[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/transformers-dark-moon-how-sequels-204557 "'Transformers: Dark of the Moon': How the Sequel's Star Cars Were Cast"], The Hollywood Reporter, June 2011.</ref>

New additions for ''Dark of the Moon'' are a Ferrari 458 Italia and a Mercedes-Benz E550 as Autobots ([[Mirage (Movie)|Dino]] and [[Wheeljack (Movie)|Que]], respectively) and a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG as a Decepticon ([[Soundwave (ROTF)|Soundwave]]). In the movie, both Autobots sport names which aren't recycled from existing Hasbro toys. In the Ferrari's case, the reason for this is that Hasbro's greatest competitor, Mattel, has an exclusive license for Ferrari toys.<ref name="ferrarimattel">[http://www.ferrari.com/English/Pages/Mattel.aspx Mattel license information], Ferrari.com.</ref><ref name="nelsonnomirage">[http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-news-rumors/409844-mirage-no-longer-name-red-italia-dotm-3.html#post6103423 Michael Bay's website admin, Nelson Lauren, explaining why the Ferrari isn't named "Mirage"], TFW2005, May 2011.</ref> "Dino" is named in reference to {{w|Alfredo Ferrari|Alfredo "Dino" Ferrari}}, as per Ferrari's request. The Mercedes-Benz E550, meanwhile, was specifically customized for the movie.<ref name="e550tuning">[http://www.eurotuner.com/news/eurp_1102_mercedes_benz_e550_for_next_transformers_movie/index.html "Mercedes-Benz E550 for Next Transformers Movie - Web Exclusive"], Eurotuner.com, February 2011.</ref> "Que" is named in homage to {{w|Q (James Bond)|Q}} from ''{{w|James Bond}}. A Maybach 62S Landaulet is also featured in the movie, albeit not as a Transformer, but merely as a regular car used by [[Seymour Simmons]] and his assistant [[Dutch (DOTM)|Dutch]].

Unlike Optimus Prime, whose alternate mode was not licensed for any of the three movies, the Rosenbauer Panther 6x6 airport fire truck used for [[Sentinel Prime (ROTF)|Sentinel Prime]] was officially provided by the Rosenbauer International AG and entirely repainted specifically for the film, at a cost of thousands of dollars, as real-world aircraft fire-fighting vehicles are required by FAA regulations to have a much lighter color scheme, which didn't appeal to director [[Michael Bay]].<ref name="rosenbauer">[http://www.rosenbaueramerica.com/press/2011/06/rosenbauer-panther-6x6-to-be-f/ Rosenbauer America press release, June 28, 2011]</ref>

Since the heavily armed Chevrolet Impalas that serve as the [[Wrecker|Wreckers']] alternate modes are directly based on existing NASCAR race cars, the prop versions of [[Roadbuster (DOTM)|Roadbuster]], [[Leadfoot (DOTM)|Leadfoot]], and [[Topspin (DOTM)|Topspin]] made an appearance at [[2011]] Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on [[February 20]], four month before the movie's release, appearing both off the track as display cars, and on the track, participating in the ceremonial first lap.<ref name="daytona">[http://www.hendrickmotorsports.com/news/photos/2011/02/18/TRANSFORMERS-cars-on-display-at-Daytona "'TRANSFORMERS' cars on display at Daytona"], Hendrick Motorsports, February 2011.</ref> Director Michael Bay, actor [[Josh Duhamel]] and actress [[Rosie Huntington-Whiteley]] also attended the event, and during the television broadcast of the race, a new ''Dark of the Moon'' television spot was aired.

==== Other product placement ====
As always, various companies have their products and names prominently displayed throughout the movie, such as {{w|Northrop Grumman}}, [[CNN]], [[Fox News Channel|Fox News]], {{w|Cisco}} and {{w|Superfund}}.<ref name="brands1">[http://www.brandchannel.com/brandcameo_films.asp?movie_year_az=2011 "Transformers: Dark of the Moon"] at brandchannel.com.</ref> Paper manufacturer Double A also cooperated with Paramount and even had Michael Bay direct a commercial that features scenes from ''Dark of the Moon'', notably [[Laserbeak (DOTM)|Laserbeak]].<ref name="paper">[http://www.superherohype.com/news/articles/167497-transformers-featured-in-double-a-paper-ad "Transformers Featured in Double A Paper Ad"] at SuperHeroHype, June 2011.</ref> Of particular note is the large number of Chinese brands such as {{w|Lenovo}}, {{w|Yili Group|Yili}} Shuhua Milk, {{w|Metersbonwe Group|Metersbonwe}} Mtee shirts and {{w|TCL Corporation|TCL}} HDTV screens.<ref name="chinesebrands">[http://advertising.chinasmack.com/2011/transformers-the-rise-of-chinese-product-placement.html "Transformers: The Rise Of Chinese Product Placement"] at Chinasmack.</ref><ref name="brands2">[http://www.brandchannel.com/home/post/2011/07/05/Brandcameo-070411-Transformers-3.aspx "Transformers 3 Product Placement: If Tom Hanks Gets a Pass, Michael Bay Does Not"] at brandchannel, July 2011.</ref>

For [[Nokia]], the product placement turned out to be dated by the time the movie came out, as a mobile phone featured in the movie ran on {{w|Symbian}}, despite Nokia mostly dropping Symbian as an operating system due to their recent partnership with {{w|Microsoft}}.<ref name="nokiaobit">[http://www.thenoisecast.com/2011/07/nokia-x7-product-placement-in-transformers-3-feels-like-an-obituary/ "Nokia X7 Product Placement In Transformers 3 Feels Like An Obituary"], Noisecast, July 2011.</ref>

=== Changes before, during and after production ===
* In an interview with the Los Angeles Times in June 2009, Michael Bay suggested that [[Ramon Rodriguez]] would reprise his role as [[Leo Spitz]] from ''Revenge of the Fallen'' for the third movie.<ref name="bayramon">[http://herocomplex.latimes.com/2009/06/30/ramon-rodriguez-will-have-bigger-role-in-third-transformers-movie-bay-hints/ "Ramon Rodriguez will have bigger role in third ‘Transformers’ movie, Bay hints"], Los Angeles Times, June 2009.</ref>

* As stated above, [[Megan Fox]] was originally intended to reprise her role as [[Mikaela Banes]] from the previous two movies. She was still spotted on the ''Dark of the Moon'' set during the previsualization stage in May 2010,<ref name="foxonset"/> but was fired from the production shortly afterwards due to a falling out with director [[Michael Bay]]. [[Rosie Huntington-Whiteley]]'s character of [[Carly Spencer]] was written in as a replacement, though the fact that her part was originally written for Mikaela still shows in some parts: For example, Carly is overseeing [[Dylan Gould|Dylan]]'s car collection, which could be viewed as an extension of Mikaela's history with working with cars. Furthermore, Sam and Carly not only have [[Wheelie (ROTF)|Wheelie]] (who had been previously "domesticated" by Mikaela) as a "pet", but also her dog [[Bonecrusher (dog)|Bonecrusher]] (played by Michael Bay's eponymous real-life dog).

[[File:DOTM Skids, Mudflap, Que and Sideswipe.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|Eat this, Megan Fox.]]
*In January 2010, actor James Avery claimed in an interview that he would be playing a new Autobot named "Silverbolt".<ref name="avery">[http://unscripted.ca/episodes/show/136 James Avery interview on Unscripted], January 2010</ref> In June 2010, representatives of James Avery, responding to a bizarre rumor that he had passed away, confirmed that the actor was indeed alive and would be playing Silverbolt in ''Transformers 3''.<ref>[http://www.examiner.com/entertainment-in-national/uncle-phil-james-avery-isn-t-dead-after-all James Avery isn't dead after all], The Examiner, June 2010.</ref> Despite this, neither Avery nor Silverbolt ultimately appear in ''Dark of the Moon''.

* In January 2011, an Idaho newspaper<ref>[http://magicvalley.com/news/local/article_d4f374a4-d960-5589-8d0c-be37df66fc40.html?mode=story "Rupert's Fagerbakke finds a voice that is truly golden"]</ref> announced voice actor [[Bill Fagerbakke]] as the voice of a "Chevy Impala stock car" that would appear in ''Dark of the Moon'' (presumably meaning one of the three [[Wrecker]]s, who share that base altmode). Why Fagerbakke did not end up voicing any of the Wreckers in the final cut of the film is unknown.

* Shockwave's original voice actor, [[Corey Burton]], expressed that he had no interest in voicing him for ''Dark of the Moon'', explaining "[I] have practically no interest in that kind of mega-budget movie enterprise involvement" and that the inspiration for his Shockwave voice, {{w|David Warner (actor)|David Warner}}, was rumored to have been considered.<ref>[http://www.coreyburton.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?p=2707&highlight=#2707 Corey Burton's message board post.]</ref> In the end, Shockwave's almost-entirely-wordless-snarl-based role would have been something of a waste of Warner; the role ultimately went to Frank Welker. There's a nice touch of symmetry in the casting, with Welker taking over a Burton-originated role not long after Burton took on a Welker-originated character in [[Megatron (Animated)|''Animated'' Megatron]].

* In an earlier draft of the movie's script, Megatron is sincere when he offers Optimus Prime a truce at the end. Optimus accepts, and Megatron and the remaining Decepticons leave Earth to rebuild Cybertron. This ending is used for the [[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (novel)|novelization]] and the [[Transformers: Dark of the Moon Movie Adaptation|comic adaptation]]. According to Michael Bay's website administrator Nelson, the ending was changed because the studio didn't want the adaptations to share the same ending with the film.<ref>http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/members/nelson-47919.html#vmessage284191</ref>

* Furthermore, it was originally supposed to be [[Mirage (Movie)|Mirage/"Dino"]] rather than [[Wheeljack (Movie)|Wheeljack/"Que"]] who would have been executed by [[Soundwave (ROTF)|Soundwave]] in Chicago. This version made it into the comic adaptation and the [[Transformers: Dark of the Moon: The Junior Novel|junior novelization]].

[[File:DOTM-SentinelPrimetrailer.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|Colour me your colour, baby<br>Colour me your car<br>Colour me your colour, darling<br>I know who you are]]
* Another scrapped death for Mirage is seen in the [[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (novel)|novelization]], in where he's decapicated by [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]]. His severed head is subsequently used by Soundwave to mock the Autobots before they are about to get executed.

* A scrapped death for Wheeljack/"Que" involved the Autobot being run off of a Chicago street and into a river by the [[Driller]], where he would have been torn to pieces by Decepticon troopers lying in wait in the river.

* [[The Twins]], [[Skids (ROTF)|Skids]] and [[Mudflap (ROTF)|Mudflap]], were originally supposed to return for ''Dark of the Moon'', and to die at the hands of Sentinel Prime shortly after Ironhide. Even though [[General Motors]] provided two Chevrolet Sparks to serve as their alternate modes<ref name="chevyspark">[http://www.leftlanenews.com/chevrolet-spark-transformers-3.html Left Lane News article on two Chevrolet Sparks spotted on the DOTM set], May 2010.</ref> which were still spotted on the set as late as October 2010,<ref name="dcparking">[http://transformerslive.blogspot.com/2010/10/transformers-3-dc-parking-lot-gallery.html "Transformers 3 DC Parking Lot Gallery"], Transformers Live Action Movie Blog, October 2010.</ref> the two were mostly edited out of the final movie (their vehicle modes can barely be glimpsed in a few brief shots). Michael Bay even went so far as to offer a $25,000 reward for anyone who would see the Twins "perform" in the movie.<ref name="reward">[http://collider.com/transformers-3-twins-skids-mudflap-michael-bay/91104/ Collider.com article on Michael Bay's "reward" for spotting Skids and Mudflap "perform" in DOTM], May 2011.</ref> In the novelization and the comic adaptation, Skids and Mudflap still appear.

* Another plot point that was apparently dropped was an anti-Autobot sentiment among the human populace. Graffiti with a crossed out Autobot [[insignia|logo]] with the words "go home" below it showed up in several set photos.<ref name="gohome1">[http://transformerslive.blogspot.com/2010/05/transformers-3-filming-with-twins.html Photos from the set in Sherman Oaks, California] at the Transformers Live Action Movie Blog, May 2010.</ref><ref name="gohome2">[http://www.seibertron.com/transformers/news/possible-tf3-plot-point-revealed-autobots-go-home/19188/ Photos from the Chicago set] at Seibertron.com, July 2010.</ref> In the movie, Congress instantly passes a law exiling the Autobots from Earth following Sentinel Prime's ultimatum.

* Early working names included "[[Ultra Magnus (disambiguation)|Ultra Magnus]]" for [[Sentinel Prime (ROTF)|Sentinel Prime]],<ref name="chicagocall">[http://transformerslive.blogspot.com/2011/06/chicgo-call-sheet-for-ultra-magnus.html "Chicago Call Sheet For Ultra Magnus"], Transformers Live Action Movie Blog, June 2011.</ref> "Enzo" (after {{w|Enzo Ferrari}})<ref name="callsheet2">[http://tilallaremine.wordpress.com/2011/07/01/dark-of-the-moon-call-sheets/ Dark of the Moon Call Sheets!] at Til All Are Mine blog, July 2011.</ref> and "Rush" for Mirage/"Dino", "[[Warpath (disambiguation)|Warpath]]" for both [[Roadbuster (DOTM)|Roadbuster]] and [[Topspin (DOTM)|Topspin]], "Tempest" for Topspin, "[[Flash (disambiguation)|Flash]]" for [[Leadfoot (DOTM)|Leadfoot]], "[[Dreadwind (disambiguation)|Dreadwind]]" for [[Crankcase (DOTM)|Crankcase]], "[[Hooligan (disambiguation)|Hooligan]]" for [[Crowbar]], "[[Dirtbag]]" for [[Hatchet (DOTM)|Hatchet]], "[[Blitzwing (disambiguation)|Blitzwing]]" for [[Shockwave (Movie)|Shockwave]], "[[Breakdown (disambiguation)|Breakdown]]" for Soundwave's new vehicular design, "[[Clench (G1)|Colossus]]" for the [[Driller]],<ref name="nizzi">[http://www.joshnizzi.com/TF3.htm Josh Nizzi DOTM concepts.]</ref> "Buzzard" for [[Laserbeak (DOTM)|Laserbeak]], "[[Undermine (Cybertron)|Undermine]]" for [[Igor]] and "[[Steeljaw (disambiguation)|Steeljaw]]" for Wheeljack/"Que". However, it's quite possible a few of these were code names used to keep character identities a secret during production as images of Megatron's new cloak obscured face refer to the character as "[[Cyclonus (disambiguation)|Cyclonus]]".<ref name="wburt">[http://conceptartworld.com/?p=8388 Wesley Burt DOTM concepts.]</ref>

* Roadbuster was originally intended to have {{w|Jeff Gordon}}'s #24 {{w|DuPont}}-sponsored Chevrolet Impala as his alternate mode, rather than {{w|Dale Earnhardt, Jr.}}'s #88 Impala sponsored by {{w|AMP Energy}}.<ref name="nizzi"/>

[[File:DOTMSuperBowlvsTrailer.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|So does this qualify as a retcon?]]
* Que/Wheeljack's head was once considered to be based on {{w|Christopher Lloyd}}'s {{w|Emmett Brown|Doc Brown}} from ''[[Back to the Future]]'', rather than [[Albert Einstein]].<ref name="wburt"/>

* The Wreckers were originally intended to have a robot pet dog, whose working names also included "Warpath".<ref name="nizzi"/> Hasbro released a toy of the dog with the [[Human Alliance]] version of Leadfoot, named "[[Steeljaw (DOTM)|Steeljaw]]".

* Megatron was originally supposed to appear in his ''Revenge of the Fallen'' form.<ref>http://joshnizzi.com/images/TF3/JoshNizzi_TF3_56.jpg</ref>

* In an interview with MTV.com, actors [[Shia LaBeouf]] and [[John Malkovich]] hinted at some smaller scenes that were cut from the final edit of the movie. In addition to some ad-libbing by the actors, one scene would have featured Malkovich's character, [[Bruce Brazos]], attempting to get Carly's phone number.<ref name="deletedmtv">[http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1666772/transformers-dark-of-the-moon-dvd-deleted-scenes.jhtml MTV.com on deleted scenes], July 2011.</ref>

* In the original teaser trailer for ''Dark of the Moon'' that was released in December 2010, the opening scene that featured [[Neil Armstrong]] and [[Buzz Aldrin]] investigate the ''[[Ark (DOTM)|Ark]]'' on the moon had Sentinel Prime sport a gold and silver color scheme. For the final movie, his base color was changed to red.

* Similar to the teaser trailer, the Super Bowl spot also features footage that contains unfinished CG effects. Most notably, the shot that depicts Optimus Prime, equipped with his flight pack, swooping down on the Decepticons before starting his epic rampage on the ground was changed by the time the first full trailer was released: Optimus himself and the first [[M1 Abrams Decepticon]] are both rescaled and moved to different positions on-screen; a Decepticon using the same [[body-type]] as [[Blackout (Movie)|Blackout]] and [[Grindor (ROTF)|Grindor]] is removed entirely; and a Decepticon using the same body-type as Long Haul, as well as other [[generic]]s, are added. The final movie uses pretty much the same version as seen in the trailer.
{{-}}

=== Leaks and disinformation===
[[File:DOTMgameSoundwave.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|What you're about to see is totally classified.]]
The movie's title, then "Transformers: ''The'' Dark of the Moon", was first discovered on October 6, 2010 via listings for childrens' books on [[Amazon (website)|Amazon]]. The title was further confirmed by a whois check for "www.transformersdarkofthemoonmovie.com".<ref>[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/transformers-3-title-revealed-170697/ Transformers 3 Title Revealed?] @ TFW2005.com</ref> On October 31, the official website for all three movies, [http://www.transformersmovie.com/ transformersmovie.com], was updated to show the ''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'' logo as well as international release dates.

[[Shockwave (Movie)|Shockwave]] was heavily touted as the new main villain, no doubt in an attempt to conceal [[Sentinel Prime (ROTF)|Sentinel Prime]]'s unexpected betrayal halfway through the movie. A piece of information that commonly popped up in media coverage was the claim that Shockwave was the ruler of [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] while the other Autobots and Decepticons were duking it out on Earth.<ref name="pushpops">[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/transformers-3-plot-summary-revealed-170756/ "Transformers 3 Plot Summary Revealed"], TFW2005, October 2010.</ref> The last bit could be written off as a case of {{w|Chinese whispers}}: Shockwave got announced as the villain for ''Dark of the Moon'', mainstream media (such as USA Today<ref name="usatodayswitch">[http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2010-06-11-Transformers11_ST_N.htm "Next 'Transformers' is due for a switch"], USA Today, June 2010.</ref>) who aren't versed in Transformers lore looked up the character, found out about his ''[[The Transformers (franchise)|Generation 1]]'' [[Shockwave (G1)|namesake]]'s role in the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|cartoon]], included it as a piece of trivia to show they did their research, and then the trivia note got picked up as gospel by other media. Nevertheless, it was included in the ''official plot summary'' by Paramount's German branch (which also claimed that ''Shockwave'' was the robot discovered inside the ''[[Ark (DOTM)|Ark]]'' as seen in the trailer).<ref name="germansite">[http://www.transformers3-film.de/ Official German DOTM site] including faulty plot summary.</ref>

[[File:TF3HasbroSoundwaveBio.JPG|thumb|upright=1.66|left|If you breathe a word of what you see in here, you will do time for treason.]]Michael Bay and other official parties tried ''really'' hard to suppress the plot twist of the silver Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG given to [[Carly Spencer|Carly]] by [[Dylan Gould|Dylan]] turning out to be the new [[alternate mode]] of [[Soundwave (ROTF)|Soundwave]]. After the Mercedes had been spotted on the set, with [[Rosie Huntington-Whiteley]] exiting it,<ref name="mercedesset">[http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=67518 DOTM Set Photos], ComingSoon.net, July 2010.</ref> the first hint that it was more than meets the eye came with the trailer for the [[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (Xbox 360/PS3)|video game]], which showed Soundwave's robot mode with car [[kibble]] such as wheels that heavily resembled those of the Mercedes. In addition, [[Rising Storm issue 3|issue 3]] of ''[[Transformers: Rising Storm]]'' depicted Soundwave's robot mode not only with car kibble, but with a Mercedes star on his chest. Despite this, director Michael Bay insisted that the Mercedes was simply Carly's car, claiming that "Mercedes would never let us make their car into a bad Decepticon. Car company's {{sic}} really frown on that. I can't say what the game company and comics do that's their own thing. They don't have the same constraints movies do. It's Carly's car."<ref name="baynomerc">[http://www.shootfortheedit.com/forum/showthread.php?8724-Update-Is-Soundwave-the-silver-Mercedes-on-set-of-DOTM&p=169598&viewfull=1#post169598 Michael Bay's response to the fan theory that Soundwave is the Silver Mercedes.], April 2011.</ref> On April 19, 2011, an event for promoting the ''Spider-Man: Edge of Time'' and ''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'' video games was held in London. As part of this, [[High Moon Studios]] released promotional stills from the ''Dark of the Moon'' game, one of which depicted Soundwave's new robot mode, again with Mercedes parts. However, a news embargo was enforced on the attending press, which was broken by South African video game site [http://egamer.co.za egamer].<ref name="egamera">[http://egamer.co.za/2011/05/exclusive-hands-on-transformers-dark-of-the-moon/ egamer's preview of the ''Dark of the Moon'' video game]</ref> The site was soon asked to take down the article and images, as were various ''Transformers'' fan sites that had reported on the article and mirrored the images. On May 2, 2011, Hasbro's [http://www.hasbro.com/transformers/en_US/ official Transformers website] was given a massive overhaul, including the addition of the new [http://www.hasbro.com/transformers/en_US/discover/cybertronian-database.cfm Vector Sigma database]. The entry for Soundwave initially identified his alternate mode as a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, but was soon changed to "satellite". On May 3, 2011, the embargo for the video game article and promotional stills was finally lifted, allowing sites to freely show the image of Soundwave's new robot mode.

On May 5, 2011, several weeks before the trade paperback collection's official release, preview pages from [[IDW Publishing|IDW]]'s [[Transformers: Dark of the Moon Movie Adaptation|''Dark of the Moon'' comic adaptation]] were discovered at [[Amazon (website)|Amazon]]. Through some bizarre system error, ''several dozen pages'' were made available, which included the major plot twist of Sentinel Prime showing his true colors and killing [[Ironhide (Movie)|Ironhide]]. Unsurprisingly, this discovery was quickly posted on several major Transformers [[fandom|fan sites]], often without a spoiler warning.

==Notes==
* A 126-page script for the movie was leaked in December 2009,<ref>[http://www.allspark.com/content/view/6435/20/ The Allspark: Transformers News Movie Comics Animated - Script Treatment for Transformers 3? Bogus or Not, Here You Go!]</ref> causing much discussion among the fandom. It was later confirmed as fake.<ref>[http://shootfortheedit.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6532 Script]</ref>
* When word hit that [[Megan Fox]] was off the picture, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VTs5ESycpY Heidi Montag] put an "audition" for her part on YouTube. [http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/114ce28ddd/sir-ben-kingsley-shows-up-heidi-montag Sir Ben Kingsley] and [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4FZeucBO0c Ashton Kutcher] made fun of her, because life is rad.
* Several concepts that had been established by the [[Transformers (film)|first movie]] were (more or less) dropped with ''Dark of the Moon'' in favor or a more traditional, ''[[The Transformers (franchise)|Generation 1]]''-esque approach:
** In the 2007 movie, the Autobots arrive on Earth in "[[Protoform]]" entry modes (which was subsequently used as the basis for the Decepticons' arrival in [[Planetfall (Movie)|Planetfall]]). Prior to the release of the movie, screenwriter [[Roberto Orci]] defended this choice over the use of a spaceship such as the ''Ark'' by asking why "aliens who moonlight as vehicles need other vehicles to travel".<ref name="orcitravel">[http://tformers.com/Ark-Not-Making-An-Appearance-In-the-Movie/6513/news.html TFormers quoting Roberto Orci], because Don Murphy's board can only be read by registered members.</ref> He somewhat changed his mind after the movie had been released, however.<ref name="orciship">[http://boards.transformersmovie.com/showpost.php?p=388596&postcount=271 Roberto Orci on the Transformers Live Action Movie Boards], July 2007.</ref> After the Decepticons' ship, the ''[[Nemesis (ROTF)|Nemesis]]'', had made an appearance in ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'', ''Dark of the Moon'' not only introduces the movieverse version of the ''[[Ark (DOTM)|Ark]]'', but also reveals that all the new Autobots who have been on Earth since before ''Revenge of the Fallen'' had arrived in their own spaceship, the ''[[Xantium (DOTM)|Xantium]]'', making the notion of individual Transformers traveling through space as "comets" an exception rather than the rule. ''[[Transformers: Age of Extinction (film)|Age of Extinction]]'' would also later depict the Autobots as stranded on Earth after the destruction of the ''Xantium'' in this film, further pointing towards the "comet" transportation as an abandoned concept. ''[[Transformers: The Last Knight (film)|The Last Knight]]'' would also show this idea when the Autobots again declare themselves stranded, as they don't know where the ''[[Knight Ship|Knightship]]'' is, only being able to finally go home after they acquired it.
** Furthermore, ''Dark of the Moon'' largely abandons the idea of Transformers having all their weapons integrated into their bodies in favor of more traditional, separate weapons. For example, [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]], who had blades and hooks emerging from his forearms in the previous two movies now stores all his weapons (including an axe) as accessories inside his trailer (though he still carries some on his person). Also, Ironhide, whose cannons were previously affixed to his arms, now sports handheld firearms instead. Even Megatron, whose [[fusion cannon]] previously grew out of his arms, now has a hand-held shotgun. Though it can be argued that Optimus still has his swords in his arms during the Chicago battle, and both Ironhide and Megatron lost their integrated weapons in the previous film, the general change is still noticeable. The only ones who still seem to have the same converting arm cannons as in the previous movies are Bumblebee, Ratchet, and Starscream.
* Another change from the previous movies (though not rooted in ''Generation 1'') is that Transformers that take damage in battle now spill a red liquid that is very obviously meant to resemble human blood.
* [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]] finally achieves a certain consistency between his two primary modes: Ever since his upgrade to a modern Camaro in ''Transformers'' (2007), his [[license plate]] had alternated between "900 STRA" in vehicle mode and "4NZZ 454" in robot mode. ''Dark of the Moon'' finally uses "900 STRA" for the robot mode as well. Hasbro's toys, which had previously favored the CG robot model's "4NZZ 454" (barring the occasional "4NZZ'''Z''' 454" flub), follow suit.
*Speaking of license plates: [[Dutch (DOTM)|Dutch]]'s Maybach 62S Landaulet sports a German license plate, "'''S MM 6201'''", registered in the city of Stuttgart. In reality, that plate is registered to the manufacturer and used for promotional photos.<ref name="maybach">[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/update--transformers-3-rumor--who-wants-to-be-a-millionaire-170533/ Set photos and promo photos of the Maybach 62S Landaulet] at TFW2005.</ref>
*Michael Bay's private Gulfstream Aerospace G-1159A jet (registration number N4500X) has a cameo in the movie as [[Charlotte Mearing]]'s plane.

===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''''Transformers/Darkside Moon''''' (トランスフォーマー/ダークサイド・ムーン ''Toransufōmā/Dākusaido Mūn'')
*''Cantonese:'' (變形金剛: 黑月降臨, "Transformers: The Arrival of the Black Moon")
*''Finnish:'' '''''Transformers: Kuun pimeä puoli''''' ("Transformers: The Dark Side of the Moon")
*''French:'' '''''Transformers 3: La Face cachée de la Lune''''' ("Transformers 3: The Hidden Side of the Moon")
*''German:'' '''''Transformers 3: Die dunkle Seite des Mondes''''' ("Transformers 3: The Dark Side of the Moon")
*''Italian:'' '''''Transformers 3'''''
*''Mandarin:'' '''''Biànxíng Jīngāng 3''''' (Taiwan, 變形金剛３, "Transformers 3"), '''''Biànxíng Jīngāng: Yuè Hēi zhī Shí''''' (Mainland China, 变形金刚：月黑之时, "Transformers: When the Moon Becomes Black")
*''Polish:'' '''''Transformers 3'''''
*''Portuguese:'' '''''Transformers: O Lado Oculto da Lua''''' (Brazil, "Transformers: The Hidden Side of the Moon"), '''''Transformers 3''''' (Portugal)
*''Russian:'' '''''Transformery 3: Tjomnaja storona Luny''''' (Трансформеры 3: Тёмная сторона Луны, "Transformers 3: The Dark Side of the Moon")
*''Serbian:'' '''''Transformers 3: Tama Meseca''''' ("Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon")
*''Spanish:'' '''''Transformers: El Lado Oscuro de la Luna''''' (Latin American, "Transformers: The Dark Side of the Moon"), '''''Transformers 3''''' (Spain)
*''Swedish:'' '''''Transformers 3'''''
*''Turkish:'' '''''Transformers: Ayın Karanlık Yüzü''''' ("Transformers: The Dark Side of the Moon")
*''Czech:'' '''''Transformers 3'''''
*''Hindi:'' '''''Traansaphormars: Chaand ka Andhera''''' (ट्राँसफॉर्मर्स: चांद का अंधेरा, "Transformers: Darkness of the Moon")
*''Tamil:'' '''''Ṭirāṉsḥpārmas: Ṭārk op ti mūṉ''''' (டிரான்ஸ்ஃபார்மஸ்: டார்க் ஒப் தி மூன், "Transformers: Dark of the Moon")
*''Greek:'' '''''Transformers 3'''''
*''Ukrainian:'' '''''Transformery: Temnyy bik Misyatsya''''' (Трансформери: Темний бік Місяця, "Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon")
*''Dutch:'' '''''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'''''
*''Norwegian:'' '''''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'''''
*''Hungarian:'' '''''Transformers 3'''''
*''Croatian:'' '''''Transformeri: Tamna strana Mjeseca''''' ("Transformers: The Dark Side of the Moon")
*''Latvian:'' '''''Transformeri 3: Mēness no otras puses''''' ("Transformers 3: The Moon on the Other Side")
*''Lithuanian:'' '''''Transformeriai: tamsioji Mėnulio pusė''''' ("Transformers: The Dark Side of the Moon")
*''Arabic:'' '''''Almtahawilun: Aljanib Almuzlim Lilqamar''''' (المتحولون: الجانب المظلم للقمر, "Transformers: The Dark Side of the Moon")
*''Indonesian:'' '''''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'''''
*''Malay:'' '''''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'''''
*''Hebrew:'' '''''Rvvvtrkm 3. Flt hrch''''' (רובוטריקים 3: אפלת הירח, "Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon")
*''Korean:'' '''''Teulaenseupomeo 3''''' (트랜스포머 3, "Transformers 3")
*''Romanian:'' '''''Transformers: Fața ascunsă a Lunii''''' ("Transformers: The Hidden Face of the Moon")
*''Thai:'' '''''Thrāns̄̒ fxr̒m me xr̒s̄ 3''''' (ทรานส์ฟอร์มเมอร์ส 3, "Transformers 3")

==External links==
* [http://www.transformersmovie.com/ Transformersmovie.com]
* [http://www.imdb.com/tt1399103/ ''Dark of the Moon'' at IMDB.com]
* {{w|Transformers: Dark of the Moon|''Dark of the Moon'' film on Wikipedia}}
* [https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/transformers_dark_of_the_moon/ ''Dark of the Moon'' on RottenTomatoes.com]

==Footnotes==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.transformersmovie.com/ Official ''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'' website]
*[http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/paramount/transformersdarkofthemoon/ Trailers.Apple.com ''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'' page]
* Designer portfolios: [http://www.joshnizzi.com/TF3.htm Josh Nizzi], [http://www.warrenmanser.com/WarrenManser.com/PORTFOLIO_M/Pages/TRANSFORMERS_3.html Warren Manser], [http://www.joelchang.com/index.php?/projects/transformers-dark-of-the-moon/ Joel Chang], [http://conceptartworld.com/?p=8293 The Aaron Sims Company] (at Concept Art World), [http://conceptartworld.com/?p=8388 Wesley Burt] (at Concept Art World), [http://massiveblack.com/MBwebolution/blog/?p=301 Massive Black], [http://www.ghull.com/#/125195 George Hull]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dark of the Moon (film)}}
[[Category:Dark of the Moon| Dark of the Moon (film)]]
[[Category:Dark of the Moon media| ]]
[[Category:Real world films]]

Transformers: Dark of the Moon (film)

2020-04-17T23:38:14Z

96megatron: /* Continuity Notes */

{{Nav-dotm}}
[[File:DOTM-OPportraitposter.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|"Of [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|my friend]], I can only say this: of all the souls I have encountered, he was the most... human."]]
'''''Transformers: Dark of the Moon''''' is the third film in the [[live-action film series]]. It was released in 3D and IMAX at 9PM on [[June 28]], [[2011]]<ref name="open3D">[http://michaelbay.com/2011/06/18/see-dark-of-the-moon-one-day-earlier-on-imax-3d/ See Dark Of The Moon One Day Earlier on IMAX 3D | MichaelBay]</ref> and in wide release on [[June 29]], [[2011]]<ref name="open">[http://www.deadline.com/2011/05/paramount-moving-up-transformers-3/ Paramount Moving Up ‘T’formers 3′ Release – Deadline.com]</ref> in the United States, and between [[June 29]] and July 1 for other markets.

The film is set three years after the events of ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]''. The Autobots continue to work for NEST, but no longer in secret, and for the goal of keeping peace between humans by taking out volatile overseas political targets. But after discovering a strange artifact during a mission in Chernobyl, it becomes apparent to Optimus Prime that the United States government has been less than forthright with them.

And SCENE!

{{bigquote|Aw, shit, I seen this one. It's the one where [[Spock]] goes nuts.|Wheelie|''Transformers: Dark of the Moon''}}

==Synopsis==
[[File:Dotm-Arkreflection.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.4|"Wha... this is the finest engine room in the whole Starfleet!"]]

In the distant past, during the latter days of the [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertronian]] civil war, [[Sentinel Prime (ROTF)|Sentinel Prime]] attempted to leave the planet with groundbreaking technology on board the ''[[Ark (DOTM)|Ark]]''. However, his ship was shot down by the Decepticons and, after being sent hurling through space for a while, eventually crashed on the [[Earth]]'s [[Moon (moon)|moon]] in 1961. The crash is noticed by the humans on Earth, leading to the {{w|Space Race}} under President [[John F. Kennedy]]. Landing on the Moon as part of the [[Apollo 11]] mission in 1969, astronauts [[Neil Armstrong]] and [[Buzz Aldrin]] use several minutes of [[radio]] silence to investigate the spaceship and discover that Mankind is not alone in space.

[[File:DOTM - ShockwaveDriller.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|"When I swing around, I mean to deprive you of your life."]]
In the present day, the Autobots are still part of [[NEST]], cooperating with the [[United States military|US Armed Forces]]. They have also begun to help humanity in its local conflicts, as [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]], [[Sideswipe (Movie)|Sideswipe]], [[Wheeljack (Movie)|Que]], and [[Mirage (Movie)|Dino]] destroy an illegal [[Iran]]ian nuclear facility. On a mission to the [[Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant]], a NEST team led by [[William Lennox|Lt. Col. Lennox]], [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] and [[Ratchet (Movie)|Ratchet]] discovers an unknown alien fuel cell which had led to the {{w|Chernobyl disaster}}. While trying to secure the cell, they are attacked by the Decepticon [[Shockwave (Movie)|Shockwave]] and his "pet", the [[Driller]], who are eventually forced to retreat by Optimus Prime. Meanwhile, [[Laserbeak (DOTM)|Laserbeak]] kills [[Alexi Voskhod]], who had called NEST to Chernobyl and was secretly working for him. After securing the fuel cell and identifying it as part of the ''Ark'', Optimus Prime is angry at the humans for not following through with their agreement of sharing all known information relating to Cybertron and its inhabitants. Despite this, he eventually informs his allies and [[Charlotte Mearing]], the {{w|Director of National Intelligence}}, about the space bridge technology the ''Ark'' contains. Together with [[Ratchet (Movie)|Ratchet]], Optimus travels to the Moon, where they find Sentinel Prime inside the ship. Retrieving him along with four pillars of the space bridge and the accompanying control pillar, they return to Earth, where Optimus uses the [[Matrix of Leadership]] to reactivate Sentinel Prime. In [[Africa]], Decepticon leader [[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]] (still recovering from wounds [[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|suffered]] in [[Egypt]]) meets with his lieutenants [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]] and [[Soundwave (ROTF)|Soundwave]]. Upon learning that the Autobots have recovered Sentinel and the pillars, Megatron orders Soundwave and Laserbeak to terminate their "loose ends".

Meanwhile, [[Sam Witwicky]], the Autobots' human friend, is suffering from everyday problems. Even though President [[Barack Obama]] has awarded him a medal for saving the Earth twice, Sam has trouble finding a job. Together with his new girlfriend [[Carly Spencer]], whom he had met in the [[White House]] (after his former girlfriend [[Mikaela Banes|Mikaela]] had left him), he also gives the stranded Autobots [[Wheelie (ROTF)|Wheelie]] and [[Brains]] a home. After a long search, he finally finds a position as a mail carrier at a telecommunication company named [[Accuretta Systems]]. From his colleague, [[Jerry Wang]], he learns about a conspiracy by humans who collaborate with the Decepticons. Before Jerry can tell Sam more, however, he is killed by Laserbeak.

[[File:DOTM-Sentinelendofyourworld.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.66|"There's a man out there I haven't seen in fifteen years who's trying to kill me."]]

Locked out of participating in the investigation by Mearing, Sam turns to [[Seymour Simmons]] for help. Simmons, who has become a millionaire as a writer, and his aide, [[Dutch (DOTM)|Dutch]], help Sam find out that the Soviets have taken photos of Decepticons removing hundreds of space bridge pillars out of the ''Ark'' even before Apollo 11 had landed on the Moon. Sam and Simmons conclude that the Decepticons had left Sentinel Prime behind on purpose, knowing that only he would be able to activate the space bridge, and only Optimus Prime could reactivate him. Sam is able to warn the Autobots in time so they can protect Sentinel from a Decepticon attack and escort him back to the NEST headquarters. Upon arriving there, however, Sentinel Prime betrays them, revealing that he made a deal with Megatron to ensure Cybertron's survival. After killing [[Ironhide (Movie)|Ironhide]] and most of the NEST soldiers, Sentinel claims the remaining pillars and escapes. The other Autobots track him down to [[Washington, D.C.]], but before Optimus can stop him, Sentinel activates a space bridge to the Moon. The portal allows dozens of Decepticon troops which had remained hidden under the Moon's surface to reach Earth, forcing the Autobots to retreat.

[[File:DOTM-Moonspacebridge.jpg|thumb|upright=1.55|"We are one big, happy fleet! Ah, [[James Kirk|Kirk]], my old friend, do you know the [[Klingon]] proverb that tells us revenge is a dish that is best served cold? It is ''very'' cold in space."]]

In the meantime, Sam is worried about Carly and searches for her. He finds her with her employer, [[Dylan Gould]], who reveals to Sam that he not only arranged for Sam to get a job with Acuretta, but is also a collaborator with the Decepticons. At their request, his father had used his influence to ensure that [[NASA]] would not conduct any more missions to the Moon. When Sam and Carly attempt to flee, they discover Carly's car is a disguise for Soundwave, who takes her captive. Dylan instructs Sam to ask Optimus Prime about the Autobots' strategy, otherwise Carly will die. To ensure that Sam will not try to warn the Autobots, he attaches a Decepticon disguised as a watch on Sam's wrist, and it taps into his nervous system.

Meanwhile, Sentinel Prime has given Mankind an ultimatum to exile the Autobots from Earth, since he is only trying to save Cybertron, or so he claims. The US government promptly passes a bill to this effect. Before the Autobots leave Earth aboard their spaceship, the ''[[Xantium (DOTM)|Xantium]]'', Sam asks Optimus about his plan. Optimus replies that there is no plan, and Mankind is on its own now. With all Autobots on board, the ''Xantium'' takes off, but is promptly intercepted by Starscream, who had waited in Earth's orbit. With the ''Xantium'' destroyed, the Decepticons believe the Autobots to be dead and let Sam go.

[[File:DarkoftheMoon-Chicago.jpg|thumb|upright=1.55|left|"Let them eat static. "]]
With the Autobots out of the way, the Decepticons conquer [[Chicago]], kill most of its population and set up the control pillar for the space bridge inside the city, placing the other pillars around the world. Dylan informs Carly that the Decepticons do not intend to return to Cybertron; instead, they want to transport Cybertron into Earth's orbit, because Earth not only has the necessary resources, but also six billion slaves to rebuild the Transformers' home planet.

Sam decides to go to Chicago, where Dylan has taken Carly. Former NEST soldier [[Robert Epps]], who now works for NASA, accompanies him, together with other former NEST members. Upon arrival in Chicago, they are promptly attacked by the Decepticons, but are rescued by Optimus Prime and the other Autobots. Having never intended to leave Earth, they had hidden themselves inside a modified rocket booster that was jettisoned before Starscream destroyed the ''Xantium''.

[[File:DOTM Driller vs Prime.jpg|thumb|upright=1.55|"From Hell's heart, I stab at thee!"]]

The Autobots and the humans soldiers make their way to the skyscraper where Dylan is located in order to destroy the space bridge's control pillar. Sam and Bumblebee rescue Carly, killing Laserbeak in the process, during which they find a damaged UAV and alert the military to the Decepticons plans. Due to another attack by a team of Decepticons led by Shockwave, the team is separated once more. While the Autobots battle the Decepticons, Epps and his team try to destroy the pillar from another skyscraper. However, they are attacked by Shockwave and the Driller, who brings the skyscraper crashing down. Optimus Prime comes to their aid and destroys the Driller, but is shot by Shockwave and becomes trapped in crane cables.

In the meantime, Lennox and the rest of NEST have managed to make their way into the city using [[wingsuit]]s, and with Lennox's help, Sam destroys Starscream using weapons provided to him by the Autobot scientist Que. Meanwhile, the Decepticons have captured several Autobots, but Dylan convinces them not to keep prisoners and kill them all. [[Barricade (Movie)|Barricade]] executes Que, and Soundwave moves to kill Bumblebee next, but the Autobots Wheelie and Brains have managed to make one of the Decepticons' ships crash, thereby distracting Soundwave long enough for Bumblebee and the other Autobots to get free. Bumblebee overpowers and kills Soundwave. NEST soldiers and US Marines snipe the Decepticons. Autobots and Tanks roll in and ambush the Decepticons. Optimus Prime returns and massacres a large group of Decepticons. He then kills Shockwave and uses the Decepticon's arm cannon to topple over the space bridge's control pillar, deactivating the bridge.

[[File:DOTMCybertrontransit.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.55|"Earth was created in six days. Now, watch out! Here comes Genesis! We'll do it for you in six minutes!"]]

Optimus Prime then confronts Sentinel Prime and the two engage in a ferocious battle of Student vs Master. Carly stumbles across Megatron outside the main battle zone. Having previously witnessed a violent argument between Sentinel Prime and Megatron, she appeals to his pride and makes him realize that he will never be able to rule over Cybertron as long as Sentinel is alive. Meanwhile, after a long fight, Sentinel gains the upper hand over Optimus and severs his right arm. However, before he can execute his former pupil, an infuriated Megatron attacks Sentinel and severely damages him, declaring that Earth is his planet to rule. Megatron realized how far he had fallen in power within the past few years, and has decided to once again take his rightful place at the top of the command chain. Meanwhile, Dylan manages to reactivate the toppled pillar, but is attacked by Sam, who hurls him against the pillar, killing him. Subsequently, Bumblebee destroys the pillar for good, thus destroying the space bridge and, presumably, Cybertron with it. Seeing this, Megatron half-heartedly offers Optimus Prime a truce on the condition that he will remain in charge of the Decepticons, mockingly saying that they would be nothing without each other. Realizing that the offer is less than sincere, Optimus refuses and attacks Megatron, decapitating him with an axe. The weakened Sentinel Prime tries to excuse his actions, but Optimus, claiming Sentinel "betrayed himself," executes the treacherous Prime with Megatron's shotgun.

[[File:DOTM Autobots NEST victorious.jpg|thumb|upright=1.55|"Live long... and prosper..."]]

With the battle over, Sam and Carly are reunited, and Simmons takes an opportunity to kiss Mearing, who he still has feelings for, and she has him arrested. With their home planet now forever beyond reach, and the forces of the Decepticons destroyed, the remaining Autobots finally accept Earth as their new home, as Optimus Prime states that the Autobots will always be here, to protect the Earth and all who live on it.

==Quotes==

'''Mission Control''': We are not alone after all, are we? <br>
'''Buzz Aldrin''': No, sir. We are not alone. <br>
:—Buzz Aldrin makes history, and raises the hackles of conspiracy theorists.

'''Dino''': "He's in a bad mood. He's not talking to anybody today." <br>
'''Mearing''': "What is this, the silent treatment?" <br>
'''Ironhide''': "We've seen that and this is ''not'' that." <br>
'''Que''': "Definitely not." <br>
'''Ironhide''': "This is ''worse''. Prime! Make something of yourself! (Ironhide taps Optimus's roof) He's pissed."
:—Ironhide discusses Optimus Prime's foul mood.

"Who wants some chicken dinner now, bitch? Huh? 'Cause somebody messed with the wrong Wang today!" <br>
:—'''Jerry Wang''', being crazy. But also awesome.

"The thing about Russians is, they never like to talk. Gonna take a little of the 'international language.'" <Doorman opens sliding hatch> "''Do svidaniya''." <br>
"That means 'goodbye!'" <closes hatch>
:—'''Simmons''' tries to reason with a '''Russian''', to no avail.

"It's a Cyrillic alphabet; it's like all the buttons you never push on a calculator!"
:—'''Dutch''' tries to translate Russian, also to no avail.

"Woah! Little Mexican standoff we got here!"
:-'''Sideswipe''', talking to Ironhide and the Dreads.

"Class dismissed."
:—'''Ironhide''', after dispatching the Dreads.

"What you must realize, my Autobot brothers, is that we were never going to win the war. For the sake of our planet's survival, a deal had to be made...with ''Megatron''."
:—'''Sentinel Prime''' reveals his treachery.

[[File:DOTM-MegatronLincoln.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|"I'll give him this: [[Atlantis, Arise!|he's]] [[Transformers The Game (console)|consistent]]!"]]
"Here we are. Fight us ''now''."
:—'''Megatron''', pulling the evil overlord cliché on us while sitting atop the [[Abraham Lincoln|Lincoln Memorial]]

"If you go in this building, that's if she's even still alive, there's no way you're going to reach her!"<br>
"What do you suggest I do?!"<br>
"...it's over. I'm sorry, but it's over."<br>
:—'''Robert Epps''' tells '''Sam Witwicky''' that they've run out of plans.

"We will kill them all."
:—'''Optimus Prime''' offers an alternative plan.

"They got my trailer. I ''need'' that flight tech!"<br>
:—'''Optimus Prime''', valiantly [[To sell toys|selling toys]].

"I bring you Cybertron, your home! and still you choose humanity."<br>
"You are the one who taught me [[Bio|freedom is everyone's right]]."<br>
:—'''Sentinel''' VS '''Optimus Prime'''.

"Your Decepticons are finally conquering this planet, and yet their leader won't be you."<br>
"IT WILL BE ME! It will ''always'' be me!<br>
"In any minute now, you'll be nothing but Sentinel's bitch."
:—'''Carly Spencer''' tells '''Megatron''' that if he's going to be the Starscream, he should ''act'' like it.

"Optimus. All I ever wanted...was the survival of our race. You must see why I had to betray you..."<br>
"You didn't betray me. You betrayed yourself..."<br>
:—'''Optimus Prime''''s final exchange with '''Sentinel Prime''' before effectively ''double-tapping'' him.

"Who would you be without me, Prime?"<br>
"Time to find out."<br>
:—'''Megatron''' and '''Optimus Prime''' exchange pre-fight banter one last time.

"In any war, there are calms between storms. There will be days when we lose faith. Days when our allies turn against us... but the day will never come that we forsake this planet and its people."
:—'''Optimus Prime'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s closing narration, [[Transformers: Age of Extinction (film)|which predicts what will]] [[Transformers: The Last Knight (film)|happen to them years later.]]

==Main cast==

{{featuredcharacters|
h1=[[Autobot]]s|c1=
*[[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] ([[Peter Cullen]])
*[[Sentinel Prime (ROTF)|Sentinel Prime]] ([[Leonard Nimoy]])
*[[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]]
*[[Ironhide (Movie)|Ironhide]] ([[Jess Harnell]])
*[[Ratchet (Movie)|Ratchet]] ([[Robert Foxworth]])
*[[Sideswipe (Movie)|Sideswipe]] ([[James Remar]])
*[[Mirage (Movie)|Dino]]<ref name="credits">Mirage and Wheeljack, known by those names in the toyline and essentially all supporting media, are respectively named "Dino" and "Que" in the film. While Dino is simply credited as such, Que is listed in the credits as "Que/Wheeljack".</ref> ([[Francesco Quinn]])
*[[Wheeljack (Movie)|Que/Wheeljack]]<ref name="credits"/> ([[George Coe]])
*The [[Wrecker]]s
**[[Roadbuster (DOTM)|Roadbuster]]<ref>Roadbuster is listed as "Roadbuster/Amp" in the credits, a reference to his car mode's sponsor. His name is not used in the film, but he is called "Roadbuster" in the toyline and supporting media.</ref> ([[Ron Bottitta]])
**[[Topspin (DOTM)|Topspin]]
**[[Leadfoot (DOTM)|Leadfoot]]<ref>Leadfoot is listed in the film's end credits as "Leadfoot/Target", a reference to his car mode's sponsor. His name is not spoken in the film, but he is called "Leadfoot" in the toyline and the supporting media.</ref> ([[John DiMaggio]])
*[[Wheelie (ROTF)|Wheelie]] ([[Tom Kenny]])
*[[Brains]] ([[Reno Wilson]])
*[[Skids (ROTF)|Skids]]<ref name=skidsandmudflap>Skids and Mudflap only appear during the convoy scene at the beginning of the film</ref> (cameo)
*[[Mudflap (ROTF)|Mudflap]]<ref name=skidsandmudflap/> (cameo)

|h2=[[Decepticon]]s|c2=
*[[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]] ([[Hugo Weaving]])
*[[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]] ([[Charlie Adler]])
*[[Shockwave (Movie)|Shockwave]] ([[Frank Welker]])
**[[Driller]]
*[[Soundwave (ROTF)|Soundwave]] ([[Frank Welker]])
**[[Laserbeak (DOTM)|Laserbeak]] ([[Keith Szarabajka]])
*[[Barricade (Movie)|Barricade]] (''Frank Welker'')
*[[Loader]]
*[[Devcon (DOTM)|Devcon]]
*[[Igor]] ([[Greg Berg]])
* [[Dread (DOTM)|The Dreads]]
**[[Crankcase (DOTM)|Crankcase]]
**[[Hatchet (DOTM)|Hatchet]]
**[[Crowbar]]
*[[Hatchling]]s
*[[Scrapper (ROTF)|Scrapper]] type Decepticon
*[[Long Haul (ROTF)|Long Haul]] type Decepticon
*[[Audi R8 Decepticon]]
*Two [[M1 Abrams Decepticon]]s
*[[Garagebot]]
*[[Lensmeter Decepticon]]s
*[[Protoform]]s
*[[Watch-bot]]<ref>Repeatedly referred to as the "Watch-bot" (proper noun) in the ''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon: The Junior Novel]]''</ref>
*[[Pickup Decepticon]]
*[[Police car Decepticon]]

|h3=[[Human]]s|c3=
*[[Sam Witwicky]] ([[Shia LaBeouf]])
*[[Carly Spencer]] ([[Rosie Huntington-Whiteley]])
*[[William Lennox]] ([[Josh Duhamel]])
*[[Robert Epps]] ([[Tyrese Gibson]])
*[[Seymour Simmons]] ([[John Turturro]])
*[[Charlotte Mearing]] ([[Frances McDormand]])
*[[Dylan Gould]] ([[Patrick Dempsey]])
*[[Bruce Brazos]] ([[John Malkovich]])
*[[Hardcore Eddie]] ([[Lester Speight]])
*[[Morshower]] ([[Glenn Morshower]])
*[[Dutch (DOTM)|Dutch]] ([[Alan Tudyk]])
*[[Ron Witwicky]] ([[Kevin Dunn]])
*[[Judy Witwicky]] ([[Julie White]])
*[[Jerry Wang]] ([[Ken Jeong]])
*[[Neil Armstrong]] ([[Don Jeanes]])
*[[Buzz Aldrin]] ([[Cory Tucker]]/himself)
*[[Walter Cronkite]]
*[[Bill O'Reilly]] (himself)
*[[Alexi Voskhod]] ([[Ravil Isyanov]])
}}

==Continuity Notes==
*Sam has since graduated from college, being three months out of school is currently looking for a job.
*Since the events of ''Revenge of the Fallen'', Sam and Mikaela had broke up (despite having to spend an entire film of Sam needing to say the L-word). Prior to the events of this film, he started a relationship with Carly Spencer.
*In the years since the Autobots arrival in 2007, Earth has boosted up security, Energon detectors guard Earth’s cities, while long-range defense systems watch the skies.
*Prior to the events of ''Dark of the Moon'', Autobots Que/Wheeljack and Dino have joined N.E.S.T.
*Decepticon Enforcer Shockwave, and his massive, devasting pet, The Driller arrived on Earth sometime before the events of this film.
*Bumblebee, who was living in the Witwicky's garage at the start of the second film, is now an active member of NEST. In ''ROTF'', Sam had suggested for Bumblebee to join up with the other Autobots, instead of being cooped up in his family's garage. Sam wanted a robot civil war-free college experience and it seems he got it.
*NEST’s barracks for the Autobots have moved from a hanger on the island of Diego Garcia to a building, with Health and Human Services used as a cover, and are operating from Washington D.C.
*Sometime after the events of Operation: Firestorm, Sergeant Epps retired from combat duty, and now is tasked with maintaining both the Autobot ship named the Xantium and relationships between the human engineers and the bloodthirsty Wreckers.
*The Wreckers, according to Charlotte Mearing arrived on Earth, aboard the Xantium, and brought the second wave of Autobots. That would mean they arrived with Sideswipe and co., in the second film, if we're to assume the second wave of Autobots are the ''ROTF'' bots, while the first wave was Optimus and 07' bots. If they were on Earth during the events of the second film, the reason for the Wreckers not participating in Operation Firestorm, might be because Mearing mentioned them not being allowed off the base much, due to their behavior.
*The only returning Autobots, that made their debut in ''Revenge of the Fallen'' to return are Sideswipe and Wheelie (Also The Twins, but only in a few minor cameos, having been cut from a majority of the film). Wheelie, now joined by his companion, Brains, are both currently living with Sam and Carly.
*Returning Decepticons are Megatron and Starscream, who both managed to survive the final battle of ''Revenge of the Fallen'', although the former received serious injuries. Soundwave, made his live-action debut in the last film, now joined by Laserbeak, is revealed to have been active on Earth since at least the 1970s and was tasked with hiding Megatron’s secret plan, hidden on the dark side of the moon. Barricade makes a surprising return during the final battle in Chicago, last seen driving alongside Bonecrusher on the highway, before the latter engaged the Autobot Leader in the first film, while not being an active participant during the events of the second film.
*Following his injuries sustained during the final fight of ''Revenge of the Fallen'', Megatron had acquired a new arm, nearly repaired his damaged face, he has even adopted an earth mode, and is hiding and plotting in Namibia, Africa.
*Seymour Simmons, now a billionaire, makes his return, having made his fortune by sharing to the world the ins-and-outs of the robot civil war. He is also a proud supporter of the Autobot movement, even defending them on public television, and is quick to answer the call from the alien bad news magnet. He also has a bodyguard named Dutch, who is more than meets the eye.
*Optimus Prime's main moral compass that "freedom is the right of all sentient beings", is revealed to have been taught to him by his predecessor and mentor, Sentinel Prime. This had been one of the motivations behind Optimus protecting humans from 'Decepticon' tyranny throughout the films (and various parts of the franchise).
*This also reveals that in this continuity, Optimus wasn't always the leader of the Autobots, with Sentinel Prime (like in other continuities) being the leader of the Autobots before him.
*Megatron and Sentinel Prime were meant to rendezvous on Earth together to enact Project Pillar, before fate waylaid them both. Megatron was frozen in ice, in his pursuit of the Allspark, after crash landing in the arctic, later ending up in the vault of Sector Seven, before the events of the first film. While Sentinel Prime's ship was accidentally shot down by a random Decepticon soldier piloting an Orbital Assault Carrier, in pursuit of The Ark's as it was making its escape from Cybertron, as seen in this film's prologue. Seemingly unaware of the secret truce between their leader, Megatron, with Sentinel Prime, the enemy leader.
*Sentinel Prime was first mentioned in the previous film, by Sam Witwicky during one of his many Allspark induced exposition dump. The Fallen not being able to sense Sentinel Prime was probably due the latter being in stasis lock.
*Megatron's deal with Sentinel Prime makes one question his relationship with The Fallen, as The Fallen himself stated "only a Prime can defeat me", wonder how he would have felt if he knew Megatron had another Prime locked away somewhere, in secret.
*In the last film, if Earth's government ultimately decided that it would be in humanity's best interest to further deny the Autobots' further asylum on our planet, Optimus said that if they'd reach such a decision, that they would honor their request and leave peacefully. Although the Autobots weren't fully transparent on their end as they didn't fully trust the Decepticons. Even though Galloway assumed the Decepticons' reasons for continuing to invade Earth was because the Autobots were here. And apparently, prior to the events of this film, a poll was taken that showed half the world shared the same sentiment. However, revealed after the Autobots left, they weren't the Decepticons' intended target. As once they left, Carly managed to correctly deduce that the Decepticons were after our resources, one unique to our own planet, us.

==Errors==
===Astronomical and historical errors===
* The Moon does not rotate with respect to Earth, and Mare Tranquillitatis is near the middle of the near side. Therefore, Tranquility Base could never be described as being on the far side, and Earth is never as close to the horizon as shown in the movie.
* The Apollo 11 Command/Service Module is seen flying to the Moon without the Lunar Module. The Lunar Module is attached when the vehicle is orbiting the Moon, however.
* When the modern day site of the Apollo 11 landing is seen, the ascent module (the cabin Buzz and Neil flew back to orbit in) is still there.
* In real life, Apollo 11 did not land on the far side of the Moon. Tranquility Base is on the near side of the Moon.
* One of the directors of NASA says that all six Apollo missions recovered parts of the Ark but this not possible as the six missions all had different landing sites which were all a significant distance apart.
* Cybertron is apparently several times the size of Earth, yet the characters talk of bringing it "into Earth's atmosphere".
* The Space Bridge starts to bring Cybertron amazingly close to Earth - less than one Earth-diameter away. Assuming Cybertron's mass is proportional to its size, Cybertron's gravitational field would [[The Ultimate Doom|tear the Earth apart]] at that distance.

===Geographic discontinuities===
* The [[Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant]] is shown to be located ''inside'' of, or at least right next to the abandoned city of {{w|Pripyat}}, and the human characters access it through nearby buildings. In reality, the power plant is situated on the outskirts of the city. Even worse, [[Alexi Voskhod]] ''explicitly'' says that the entrance leads through a ''school''. Who builds a ''school'' right next to a ''nuclear power plant''?
* Furthermore, Pripyat's infamous Ferris wheel as shown in the movie is not only the wrong model (the real one's passenger cabins have canopies), but the real one is also located in an open field far away from any buildings.<ref name="ferris">[http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pripyat_-_Ferris_wheel.jpg Photo of the Pripyat Ferris wheel] showing the closest nearby buildings.</ref> But hey, at least it's the right color!
* Also, why exactly is the Sputnik mission case inside the Chernobyl reactor building? Did the Soviets never bother to discard the packaging of their toy after starting to play with it?
* When Megatron transforms for the first time, he's in a grassy savannah. In the next shot, he's standing in the middle of a desert... and in the establishing shot of the Decepticon camp, it's back in the savannah.
* {{w|Mount Kilimanjaro}} is seen in the background of many of the scenes in Namibia; in reality, the mountain is located in Tanzania, more than three thousand kilometers away.
[[File:DOTM-Wreckers-Prime-Cables.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|Chicago's own [[knockoff]] of a prominent Chinese building.]]
* In a [[Atlantis, Arise!|fairly common cinematic contrivance]], the film depicts multiple skyscrapers in the background of many scenes set in Washington, D.C., while the real-life city has no skyscrapers.
* Also, Washington, D.C. almost entirely lacks old industrial buildings that could be converted into lofts, and likewise doesn't have the kind of densely urban streets that Sam is shown to live on.
* NEST Headquarters, supposedly in Washington, is actually Chicago's abandoned Main Post Office.
* Likewise, Dylan's auto collection museum, also set in (land-locked) Washington, is actually the Milwaukee Art Museum. [[Lake Michigan]] is even visible through the windows!
* When Optimus Prime (using his jetpack) gets himself caught in wires below an under-construction building, that building bears a striking resemblance to the {{w|China Central Television Headquarters}} in [[Beijing]], [[China]]... a far shot from [[Chicago]]. Since construction for the CCTV building was finished in 2008, long before ''Dark of the Moon'' was even ''conceived'', this appears to be an intentional instance of a "cool building" being inserted just for the sake of it.

===Continuity errors===
* Like in ''Revenge of the Fallen'', Ironhide sports his [[license plate]] from the [[Transformers (film)|first movie]], "4PCI382", on his robot mode chest, but doesn't have a license plate in vehicle mode. (According to set photos, his license plate in vehicle mode is mostly black, with a NEST logo on it.)
* Speaking of inconsistencies between robot and vehicle mode: Bumblebee's updated Chevrolet Camaro alternate mode no longer has pinstripes bordering his black racing stripes, but the CG robot model still has the pinstripes.
[[Image:DOTM-SoundwaveMercedesStar.jpg|thumb|upright=1.9|right|Is this the reverse of hidden faction insignias in vehicle mode?]]
*Soundwave has [[kibble]] from his [[Mercedes-Benz|Mercedes]] alternate mode while he is in Africa, but his chest has only a blank grille. The Mercedes star is only added to his chest from the scene where he reveals himself to be Carly's car onward.
* After Megatron pulls out his shotgun for the first time, he holsters it on the right side of his back. In the next scene it is on his left side.
* In the highway battle scene with the [[Dread (DOTM)|Dreads]], Crowbar smashes into some traffic signs and knocks them over. In the next shot when the other two Dreads use them as ramps, the angle at which the signs fell has changed. After Hatchet and Crankcase transform, the signs revert into their original position.
* Also in the highway battle, Bumblebee enhances his front wheels to evade Hatchet, yet in the next scene he's fully in Stealth Force mode.
*When Hatchet is killed by Bumblebee and Dino, the last shot shows him being thrown onto a car (using footage recycled from Michael Bay's 2005 film ''{{w|The Island (2005 film)|The Island}}'', as elaborated on below), with Dino's grappling hook cables still attached to Hatchet, which would imply that Dino is still in robot mode at this point. However, the very next shot shows Dino in the far background, driving behind Bumblebee in vehicle mode.
* During Ironhide and Sideswipe's "Mexican standoff" with Crankcase and Crowbar, all combatants drop their firearms, but when Ironhide is speared, his guns are on his back again. They disappear in subsequent shots.
* In addition, the spear impaled in Ironhide disappears when he shoots Crowbar, only to reappear in subsequent shots.
* Despite being captured by Soundwave in her evening gown, Carly is somehow able to change into more convenient clothes (but still wearing high heels!) after arriving at Dylan's place, and has yet another outfit following the attack on Chicago the following day. Not only that, she changes her earrings, too!
* When the Autobots are boarding the ''Xantium,'' Simmons mentions that nine Autobots are leaving. Former Decepticons Wheelie and Brains apparently don't count. Poor little guys!
* The Wreckers claim they had been hiding inside a rocket booster that was jettisoned from the ''Xantium'' before Starscream destroyed it. The boosters are only seen to be detached after Starscream destroys the ship, after it has barely taken off from the ground.
* Though it's a standard action movie contrivance, it sure is convenient that the glass windows inside skyscrapers are extremely fragile when needed, and glass shards are as dangerous as bread crumbs so nobody suffers a single cut from sliding across them.
* Shortly after everyone jumps through the window and starts sliding down, a downwards shot of the building shows all of the windows behind them are intact.
* As everyone tumbles through a lower floor of the building, [[Stone]] is shown to fall right through and out the other side with a collection of office furniture, but not long after is back with Epps's squad.
* Despite the Decepticons taking over Chicago and killing a whole bunch of people, there seem to be a lot of people continuing to go about their daily lives. The skyscraper Epps's team goes into to launch a rocket from still seems to have plenty of office workers in it when the Driller attacks it. When Sam's being thrown around on the end of the grapple glove rope while fighting Starscream, he crashes through a wall into a dry-cleaning business where a woman appears to be calmly hanging up a shirt. Did they all just not get the memo?
* The sequence beginning with Sam, Carly, Epps and the rest of the soldiers jumping out of the windows of the tilted skyscraper is one giant continuity headache: First they jump out of the windows, then slide down several stories, then the camera angle changes and they're sliding down several more stories, and ''then'' a wide shot shows the top of the skyscraper from an angle where the characters cannot be seen, then slowly pans around and eventually shows them all sliding down from one of the topmosts floors all over again! Eventually, they crash back into one of the lowest floors near the break. After the Driller has toppled the top portion of the skyscraper over, the group is ''again'' shown to escape from one one of the topmost floors to the neighboring building!
* Though it is Barricade who kicks and shoves Que along before executing him, the voice heard is Soundwave's. Presumably, this was an artifact of the early alternate version of the scene, in which Soundwave was to kill Dino, and they just re-used the audio.
*While fighting the Autobots at the end of the film, Sentinel Prime's cape disappears for a brief scene before reappearing on his back when the camera angle changes.
*When Sam and Dylan are fighting, the clock behind them changes to different times every shot. It starts at 00:40, then 02:25, 00:15 and 11:00 in the following shots.
*When Sam and Carly are reunited after the final battle, Carly's hands keep changing the position on every cut, sometimes on Sam's neck, sometimes on his shoulders.
*Not intentional: Skids and Mudflap appear for a brief few seconds in the film. This leaves questions as to what happened to them. They weren't seen departing from Earth or taking part in the Chicago battle.
*It's said that four Autobots were captured by the Decepticons in Chicago, but actually five Autobots were captured. (Unless this observation was made ''before'' Bumblebee arrived after saving Sam and Lennox)
*When Que is about to be executed, the "cardboard head on a stick" prop used for [[Mirage (Movie)|Dino]] during the shooting of the movie (a common method used for the movies to give the actors ''something'' to react to) can be spotted in the final edit of the film,<ref name="headprop">[http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-movie-discussion/494618-movies-errors-mirage-prop-final-movie-edit.html "Movies Errors - Mirage prop in final movie edit"] at TFW2005</ref> possibly a leftover from an earlier draft of the script where Soundwave mocked Bumblebee with Dino's disembodied head.

==Transformers references==
In addition to recurring elements from the previous films, ''Dark of the Moon'' bases a number of elements on previous versions of the ''Transformers'' mythos, including plot elements based on older stories, something fairly rare in the other two movies:
* New characters [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] and [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] are heavily based upon their Generation 1 counterparts. [[Wheeljack (Movie)|Que]] is derived from G1 character [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]]. [[Sentinel Prime (disambiguation)|Sentinel Prime]] is the name of Optimus's predecessor in many continuities, and in this instance, he continues his [[Sentinel Prime (Animated)|predecessor]]'s [[Sentinel Prime (G1)#2005 IDW continuity|legacy]] of being a giant jerk.

* Megatron's camp is full of salvaged artifacts from the previous film. A piece of the harvester is being used as part of a tent and several Decepticon corpses are laying around the area. While most are unrecognizable, one of them is a headless Long Haul. Its head was presumable used to create Igor. Megatron's new right hand appears to be salvaged from a fallen Decepticon. The matching left hand can be seen laying around the campsite.

* "Carly" was the name of [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]]'s [[Carly|girlfriend and eventual wife]] in the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|original cartoon]].

* The ''[[Ark (DOTM)|Ark]]'' gets its name from the Autobots' crashed spaceship in the [[Marvel Comics|Marvel]] [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|''Transformers'' comics]].

* The ''[[Xantium (G1)|Xantium]]'' is the name of the [[Wrecker]]s' spaceship in the [[IDW Publishing]]'s ''Transformers'' comics.

* [[Roadbuster (DOTM)|Roadbuster]] and [[Topspin (DOTM)|Topspin]] being members of the Wreckers recalls their original G1 counterparts being likewise part of the Wreckers.

* Optimus's new trailer is based on the trailer that [[Optimus Prime (G1)|his Generation 1 counterpart]] hauled around, including its ability to open up into a weapons base.

* Optimus now carries the Matrix around in his chest as he has in past incarnations.

* The corrosive end met by Ironhide comes at the hands of [[Cosmic Rust (disease)|Cosmic Rust]], the oxidizing pathogen that first appeared in the Generation 1 cartoon episode [[Cosmic Rust (episode)|of the same name]]. Though not named in the film, its identity is made clear by production artwork by [[Josh Nizzi]] which labels Sentinel Prime's gun a "Cosmic Rust gun".

* Megatron removing [[Abraham Lincoln]] from his chair at the {{w|Lincoln Memorial}} and then sitting in it is a scene taken directly from the Generation 1 cartoon episode, "[[Atlantis, Arise!]]", and the Decepticon ending for ''[[Transformers The Game]]'' (sort of).

* The idea of bringing Cybertron to Earth via space bridge and enslaving humans was the plot of the Generation 1 multi-part episode "[[The Ultimate Doom]]."

* Likewise, the idea of an influential and powerful human joining forces with the Decepticons, resulting in the Autobots being exiled from Earth by the government via a spacecraft, only for that spacecraft to be destroyed, was the plot behind another Generation 1 cartoon multi-part episode, "[[Megatron's Master Plan, Part 1|Megatron's Master Plan]]."

* Megatron's first line - a weary "[[The Transformers: All Hail Megatron|All hail Megatron]]" - is the title of IDW's direction-changing comic maxi-series, which had just wrapped up when production on the film was beginning.

* When the worker at Accureta Systems is trying to make the [[Laserbeak (DOTM)|photocopier]] work, it beeps the "more than meets the eye" refrain from the original cartoon's [[theme song]].

* The [[Transformation#The noise|transformation noise]] can be heard at the end of the film when Bumblebee transforms to robot mode, the final onscreen transformation, just as it was heard during [[Blackout (Movie)|Blackout's]] transformation, which was also the first onscreen transformation in the first film.

* The technique of shooting at a skyscraper until it breaks in half and the top falls horizontally on other buildings has been done by [[Megatron (BW)|another Megatron]] in [[Endgame Pt. III: Seeds of the Future|another city]].

==Real-world references==
* When Brains and Wheelie are watching ''{{w|Star Trek: The Original Series}}'', the screen features [[Spock|Mr. Spock]], portrayed by Leonard Nimoy—who voices Sentinel Prime. Wheelie comments that it is "the one where Spock goes nuts," which foreshadows Sentinel's heel turn. The episode itself is the famous ''TOS'' episode "{{w|Amok Time}}", although for some inexplicable reason, the first of the two clips shown on-screen is ''mirrored''.

* Sentinel Prime says "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." The voice actor said the same line in the 1982 film ''{{w|Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan}}'' as Mr. Spock. However, in that movie, Nimoy's character dies a hero.

* To finish the Spock trifecta, when Bumblebee says his goodbyes to Sam, he uses a clip of Leonard Nimoy, as Spock, saying "I will always be your friend," another line from ''Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan''.

* [[Dutch (DOTM)|Dutch]] and his fake girlfriend's name, "India", are a reference to {{w|Dutch India}}.

* [[Wheeljack (Movie)|Que]]'s name is a reference to {{w|Q (James Bond)|Q}} from ''{{w|James Bond}}'' novels and films. Que also gives weapons to NEST soldiers while explaining the advantages and abilities for the weapons much like Q does for James Bond.

* When Bumblebee brings forth "rings" for Sam and Carly, he "hums" the {{w|Wedding March}} (or, more correctly, the {{w|Bridal Chorus}} from {{w|Richard Wagner}}'s 1850 opera ''{{w|Lohengrin (opera)|Lohengrin}}'').
*Before Sentinel gets attacked by Megatron, he quotes "There can only be one" from the film Highlander. Sentinel is also modeled after one of the film's lead stars Sean Connery.

==Other editions==

==Prequel material==
*''[[Transformers: Sector 7]]''
*''[[Transformers: Foundation]]''
*''[[Transformers: Rising Storm]]''
*''[[Transformers: Convergence]]''
*''[[Transformers: Jazz]]''
*''[[Transformers: Space Case]]''
*''[[Transformers: Ratchet]]''
*''[[Transformers: Arcee]]''
*''[[Transformers: Bumblebee]]''
*''[[Transformers: Starscream]]''
*''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (Xbox 360/PS3)]]''
*''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon: Stealth Force Edition]]''
*''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon: Autobots/Decepticons]]''
*''[[Transformers (Titan Magazine)#Dark of the Moon|Transformers (Titan Magazine)]]''
*''[[Transformers Classified: Switching Gears]]''

==Adaptations==
*''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon Movie Adaptation]]''
*''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (novel)]]''
*''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon: The Junior Novel]]''

==Soundtrack==
{{main|Dark of the Moon: The Album}}

==Score==
{{main|Dark of the Moon: The Score}}

==Home video releases==
{{main|Transformers: Dark of the Moon (film)/home video}}
''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'' was released on DVD, Blu-Ray, and Digital Download on September 30, 2011, followed by the 2-Disc Special Edition in December.<ref>[TFW2005 - Official Transformers Movie Website Updated With Transformers 3 Home Release Info http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/official-transformers-movie-website-updated-with-transformers-3-home-release-info-173245/]</ref>
===Additional Information===
{{collist|
* Close Captions in English
* Audio Description as Audio Description in English <ref>http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B005G4TJUC/audiodescriin-20</ref>|collist}}

==Theatrical posters==
<center>
<gallery perrow="3">
File:DOTM-OPbillboardposter.jpg
File:DOTM-Bumblebeebanner.jpg
File:DOTM-Shockwavebanner.jpg
File:DOTM-OPportraitposter.jpg
</gallery>
</center>

==Reception==
On June 23, 2011, the world premiere of ''Dark of the Moon'' was held in [[Moscow]], [[Russia]], with band [[Linkin Park]] performing a concert that included their title song for the movie, "Iridescent".

The official release date was moved up from July 1 to June 29 to allow breathing room between its release and ''{{w|Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2}}''. On June 28, 2011, the film was released in 3D and IMAX at 9pm in the US. Some theaters cheated a little and showed it at 8:45.

''Dark of the Moon'' launched with nearly 10,000 copies in 4011 theaters nationwide. On its opening day, the movie earned $37.3 million, making not only for the best opening day of 2011 up to that point, but also ranking as the sixth most successful opening on a Wednesday ever, while at the same time ranking well behind ''Revenge of the Fallen'', with $60 million on its opening day (also a Wednesday).<ref name="openingday">[http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=3197&p=.htm "'Transformers' Suboptimal on Wednesday"], Box Office Mojo, June 2011.</ref> (Of course, a lot of the print material still listed the release date as [[July 1]]st, the following Friday.)

On [[August 2]], it crossed the $1 billion mark in worldwide gross, just under 5 weeks after its release, landing it in the #9 spot for worldwide gross of all time.<ref>http://www.deadline.com/2011/08/transformers-dark-of-the-moon-crosses-1-billion-worldwide-mark-for-paramount/ Deadline Hollywood</ref> Of that, $338 million came from the US. It is currently one of two Paramount pictures to have made the $1 billion mark, the other being [[Transformers: Age of Extinction (film)|its sequel]]. (While ''Titanic'' also made over $1 billion worldwide, it was only a Paramount movie ''domestically'', where it made "only" $620 million.)

''Dark of the Moon'' ended its theatrical run in the #4 spot for highest worldwide gross of all time.

The film's critical reception was an improvement from ''Revenge of the Fallen'', but it was still considered a bad movie, with a mediocre 35% on Rotten Tomatoes. The film was praised for its special effects, but blasted for its running time and dialogue.<ref>https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/transformers_dark_of_the_moon</ref>

''Dark of the Moon'' was nominated for three Academy Awards, in the categories of Best Visual Effects, Sound Editing, and Sound Mixing, losing all to ''{{w|Hugo (film)|Hugo}}''.<ref>[http://oscar.go.com/nominees#t Official 2012 Oscar nominees page]</ref>

On February 25, 2012, it was announced that ''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'' was nominated for eight {{w|Golden Raspberry Award}}s. Unlike ''Revenge of the Fallen'', however, it did not receive the awards for Worst Picture, Worst Screenplay, & Worst Director, losing all of its nominations to ''{{w|Jack & Jill (film)|Jack & Jill}}''.<ref>[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/transformers-dark-of-the-moon-is-safe-from-razzies-174726/]</ref>

==Production staff==
{{stub}}

===Visual effects===
{{stub}}

===Locations department===
{{quote|[The Decepticons'] decision to attack Chicago<ref>http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-471495</ref> seems inexplicable, until you take into consideration the generous tax credits offered by the Illinois Film Office.|film critic Roger Ebert|[http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2011/07/on_the_origin_of_transformers.html On the Origin of Transformers]}}

==Development details==
===Cast and crew signing on===
[[File:TF3-licensingPrime.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Featuring a surprise appearance by Optimus Prime!]]
On May 30, 2007, a month before the official release of ''[[Transformers (film)|Transformers]]'', [[DreamWorks]] announced that two sequels were already being planned.<ref name="spy">[http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/movies/a58430/two-transformers-sequels-in-pipeline.html Digital Spy article from May 2007, confirming that two sequels were being planned]</ref> On March 16, 2009, over three months before the premiere of ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'', [[Paramount Pictures|Paramount]] announced the third movie for July 1, 2011.<ref name="3release">Pamela McClintock: [http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118001280?refCatId=13 Variety article from March 2009], confirming Transformers 3 for July 2011.</ref> Director [[Michael Bay]] promptly backpedaled, as he had intended for the third ''Transformers'' movie to be released in 2012.<ref name="baywait">[http://www.shootfortheedit.com/forum/showthread.php?3947-Wait-a-minute! Michael Bay's reaction to Paramount's July 2011 date for ''Transformers 3''], March 2009.</ref> He officially changed his mind in October 2009, agreeing to the release date set by Paramount.<ref name="bay3-2011">[http://michaelbay.com/2009/10/01/transformers-3-july-1st-2011/ Michael Bay officially confirms the 2011 release date], October 2009.</ref>

[[Roberto Orci]] and [[Alex Kurtzman]], two of the previous two movies' screenwriters, had already announced in March 2009 that they would not return for a third part.<ref name="noorcikurtz">[http://www.slashfilm.com/orci-and-kurtzman-not-returning-for-transformers-3-will-leonard-nimoy-voice-the-fallen/ Slashfilm quoting Roberto Orci that he and Kurtzman would not return for a third movie], March 2009. (Original post on Don Murphy's message board appears to no longer exist.)</ref> In September 2009, their ''Revenge'' co-writer [[Ehren Kruger]] was confirmed as the screenwriter of ''Transformers 3''.<ref name="krugernelson">[http://michaelbay.com/2009/09/14/transformers-3-pain-gain-bad-boys-3/ Michael Bay's website admin Nelson Lauren sorta-confirms Ehren Kruger as TF3's screenwriter], September 2009.</ref> Kruger had already impressed both director Michael Bay and [[Hasbro]] CEO [[Brian Goldner]] with his knowledge of ''Transformers'' mythology prior to working on ''Revenge''.<ref name="writersr">[http://www.zap2it.com/movies/news/zap-transformers2writers,0,1938976.story Zap2it story about the ROTF writers]</ref>

In an interview with ''Wonderland'' magazine in September 2009, [[Megan Fox]], the main female star of the previous two movies, discussed the harsh conditions on the sets and compared director Michael Bay to [[Adolf Hitler]].<ref name="latimesfox">[http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/the_big_picture/2009/09/megan-fox-on-michael-bay-he-wants-to-be-hitler.html Los Angeles Times article about Megan Fox's fatal interview with ''Wonderland'' magazine], September 2009.</ref> Bay initially played down the affair and still welcomed Fox back for the third installment a month later.<ref name="bay3-2011"/> Even though Fox was still spotted on the ''Transformers 3'' set in May 2010,<ref name="foxonset">[http://www.superherohype.com/news/articles/100786-megan-fox-on-set-for-transformers-3-previz Megan Fox on the DOTM set], May 2010.</ref> Paramount announced a few weeks later that she wouldn't return for a third movie after all.<ref name="nomorefox">[http://www.deadline.com/2010/05/michael-bays-revenge-no-more-megan/ Deadline article confirming that Megan Fox had been dropped off ''Transformers 3''], May 2010.</ref> Still that same month, [[Rosie Huntington-Whiteley]] was confirmed to replace her as the lead female actress.<ref name="rosierepl">[http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1640047/model-rosie-huntingtonwhiteley-cast-transformers-3.jhtml MTV.com article confirming Rosie Huntington-Whiteley as the new female star of ''Transformers ''], May 2010.</ref> Her character's name was confirmed as "[[Carly Spencer|Carly]]" by Nelson Lauren, the webmaster of Michael Bay's official website, in July 2010.<ref name="nelsonchicagojul">[http://www.shootfortheedit.com/forum/showthread.php?7566-Transformers-3-Chicago-Set-Photos Nelson posts about his visit to the Chicago set at shootfortheedit.com's forums], July 2010.</ref> In 2011, Michael Bay finally confirmed in an interview with ''GQ'' magazine that it had been [[Steven Spielberg]], executive producer of the ''Transformers'' movies, who had urged him to fire Fox following the Hitler comparison.<ref name="baygq">[http://www.gq.com/entertainment/movies-and-tv/201107/michael-bay-steven-spielberg-fired-megan-fox-transformers GQ interview with Michael Bay], June 2011.</ref> In a later interview, however, he claimed this statement had been taken out of context.<ref name="baych">[http://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/kultur/kino/Diese-Autos-muessen-zerstoert-werden--und-da-bin-ich-der-richtige-Mann/story/23997460 Interview with Michael Bay from Switzerland] (German language), July 2011.</ref>

In March 2010, Oscar winners [[John Malkovich]] and [[Frances McDormand]] as well as Comedian [[Ken Jeong]] were confirmed having signed on for supporting roles.<ref name="malkomcdor">[http://michaelbay.com/2010/03/22/transformers-3-update-from-michael-bay/ Michael Bay confirming John Malkovich, Frances McDormand and Ken Jeong for ''Transformers 3''], March 2010.</ref>

In April 2010, [[Kevin Dunn]] and [[Julie White]] were confirmed as returning as Sam Witwicky's parents.<ref name="varietydunnwhite">[http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118017329.html?categoryid=1236&cs=1 'Dunn, White sign on for 'Transformers 3''], Variety, April 2010.</ref>

In May 2010, Paramount confirmed that [[Patrick Dempsey]] has been cast in ''Transformers 3'' to play Mikaela Banes' boss (this was before Megan Fox was fired from the production).<ref name="dempsey">[http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2010/05/04/patrick-dempsey-confirmed-for-transformers-3/ "Patrick Dempsey confirmed for Transformers 3"], Hollywood Insider, May 2010.</ref>

In July 2010, Nelson Lauren confirmed that former American footballer [[Lester Speight]] would play a soldier in the movie.<ref name="nelsonchicagophotos">[http://michaelbay.com/2010/07/20/transformers-3-chicago-set-photos/ Photos of the Chicago set by michaelbay.com webmaster Nelson Lauren], July 2010.</ref>

[[Leonard Nimoy]] was confirmed as the voice actor for [[Sentinel Prime (ROTF)|Sentinel Prime]] in March 2011.<ref name="nimoysent">[http://insidemovies.ew.com/2011/03/31/leonard-nimoy-transformers-dark-of-the-moon Entertainment Weekly announces Leonard Nimoy's involvement], March 2011]</ref> Nimoy, who had previously voiced [[Galvatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Galvatron]] in 1986's ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'' and was married to Michael Bay's cousin Susan, had previously been under consideration for [[The Fallen]]'s voice in ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'', but Bay had been hesitant for fear of offending his relative with the relatively low pay allotted to voice actors.<ref name="nimoy1">[http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2009/04/21/michael-bay-afraid-to-offend-leonard-nimoy-with-transformers-family-reunion-offer/ ''Michael Bay Afraid To Offend Leonard Nimoy With ‘Transformers’ Family Reunion Offer''], MTV.com Movies blog, April 2009.</ref> Even though Nimoy openly asked Bay to simply give him a call,<ref name="nimoy2">[http://www.latinoreview.com/news/leonard-nimoy-to-michael-bay-call-me-6682 Leonard Nimoy To Michael Bay: "Call Me!"], Latino Review, April 2009.</ref> it ultimately never worked out, and The Fallen was voiced by [[Tony Todd]] instead. For ''Dark of the Moon'', Bay finally overcame his anxiety and hired Nimoy, who accepted the offer.<ref name="nimoy3">[http://insidemovies.ew.com/2011/03/31/leonard-nimoy-transformers-dark-of-the-moon/ "Leonard Nimoy joins 'Transformers: Dark of the Moon' voice cast -- EXCLUSIVE"], Entertainment Weekly, March 2011.</ref> In return, screenwriter Ehren Kruger included several nods to Nimoy's well-known character as Mr. Spock from ''[[Star Trek]]'' in the movie.<ref name="nimoystartrek">[http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1666643/transformers-dark-of-the-moon-star-trek-references.jhtml "'Transformers: Dark Of The Moon': Behind The 'Star Trek' Nods"], MTV.com, July 2011.</ref> ''Dark of the Moon'' would be Nimoy's final performance in the ''Transformers'' franchise before his death in early 2015.

===Writing and production===
After having defended the almost universally critically panned ''Revenge of the Fallen'' for a long time, Michael Bay finally acknowledged flaws of the script, but blamed the {{w|2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike}} prior to the movie for many problems. As a definite error, he singled out the "dork comedy", which he promised to avoid with ''Dark of the Moon''.<ref name="bayvisit">[http://collider.com/michael-bay-interview-transformers-dark-moon-edit-bay-visit/63824/ Collider.com article about DOTM], December 2010.</ref>

Principal shooting began in May 2010. Shooting locations included [[Chicago]] (and nearby East Chicago and Gary Indiana), Moscow,<ref name="locations">[http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=63682 "Transformers 3 Headed to Chicago and Moscow"], Comingsoon.net, February 2010.</ref> the [[Kennedy Space Center]] in Florida,<ref name="kennedyspace">[http://www.superherohype.com/news/articles/101114-the-transformers-3-shoot-at-kennedy-space-center "The Transformers 3 Shoot at Kennedy Space Center"], SuperHeroHype.com, May 2010.</ref> Milwaukee (Wisconsin),<ref name="milwaukee">[http://www.jsonline.com/entertainment/movies/98266574.html "'Transformers 3' takes over Milwaukee Art Museum"], Journal Sentinel Online, July 2010.</ref> Detroit,<ref name="detroit">[http://www.superherohype.com/news/articles/107775-photos-from-the-detroit-transformers-3-set "Photos From the Detroit Transformers 3 Set"], SuperHeroHype.com, September 2010.</ref> [[Washington, D.C.]]<ref name="militaryextras">[http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=473674758199&id=114648515718 US Department of Defense casting call for ''Dark of the Moon''], October 2010.</ref> and Angkor Wat in Cambodia.<ref name="angkor">[http://www.akp.gov.kh/?p=1184 "'Transformers 3' To Be Shot in Cambodia"], Agence Kampuchea Presse, January 2011.</ref>

For the scene where Lennox and his soldier jump out of a V-22 Osprey using wingsuits, Michael Bay used real parachutists and thus avoided unnecessary CG effects. In fact, he had been inspired for this scene in the first place by watching the parachutists in their wingsuits on television<ref name="wingsuits">[http://blog.movies.yahoo.com/blog/1498-transformers-wingsuits-no-cgi-required Yahoo! Movies article on the wingsuit parachutists], June 2011.</ref> and wrote the scene with the intention of using the parachutists in the movie.<ref name="bayvisit"/>

For the Apollo 11 moon landing mission in the flashback sequence at the beginning of the movie, astronauts [[Neil Armstrong]] and [[Buzz Aldrin]] are played by actors Don Jeanes and Cory Tucker, respectively. In the present day timeline, Aldrin himself appears briefly as his own older self.<ref name="aldrin">[http://movies.yahoo.com/news/yahoo-contributor-network/astronaut-buzz-aldrin-hangs-out-with-optimus-prime-transformers-dark-moon Yahoo! Movies article on Buzz Aldrin's appearance in DOTM], July 2011.</ref>

Over 500 cars were destroyed in the making of ''Dark of the Moon'', all of them damaged property from insurance companies intended for destruction.<ref name="baych"/>
[[Image:ROTFvsDOTMUSNavyHollenbeck.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|right|Wherever General Morshower goes, I go.]]

Two accidents happened during shooting: In September 2010, while shooting in East Chicago, Indiana, a female extra was severely injured when a stunt scene went wrong, leaving her with permanent brain damage, the left side of her body paralyzed and her left eye stitched shut. Paramount was subsequently sued for damages by the victim's family.<ref name="extrastunt">[http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-10-05/news/ct-met-transformers-lawsuit-20101005_1_gabriela-cedillo-stunt-welding Chicago tibune article on the injured extra and the subsequent lawsuit], October 2010.</ref> She was eventually granted an $18.5 million settlement in May 2012.<ref name="settlement">[http://www.tmz.com/2012/05/23/transfomers-3-injured-extra-gets-18-million-settlement/ TMZ story about Gabriela Cedillo's settlement]</ref> As a consequence, part of the scene of the car chase battle in Washington, D.C. (which would have included the shoot that had led to the accident) was instead "[[Stock footage|borrowed]]" from Michael Bay's 2005 film ''{{w|The Island (2005 film)|The Island}}''.<ref name="island1">[http://www.ign.com/articles/2011/07/04/transformers-3-re-uses-car-crash-from-the-island "Transformers 3 Re-Uses Car Crash From The Island"], IGN Movies, July 2011.</ref> While shooting in Washington, D.C., in October 2010, one of the Chevrolet Camaro prop cars that served as Bumblebee's [[alternate mode]] crashed into a {{w|Metropolitan Police}} SUV. Nobody was seriously injured this time, though Bumblebee sustained severe front-end damage.<ref name="camarocrash">[http://jalopnik.com/5661321/bumblebee-smashes-cop-car-in-yet-another-transformers-3-accident Jalopnik article on the Camaro crash], October 2010.</ref> Hasbro would later "commemorate" this latter event with the [[Toys"R"Us]] [[exclusive]] [[Cyberverse (toyline)|Cyberverse]] "Cybertronian Warriors Pack". Fans, meanwhile, joked that the SUV was Barricade getting revenge.

Another (brief) instance of recycled footage occurs during the Chicago battle: When the Navy fires several Tomahawks at the Decepticons, the mission control room scene was previously used to depict the interior of the [[USS Kidd]] in ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]''. The most obvious similarity is the [[Hollenbeck|same operator]] saying "Target acquired" both times.<ref name="recycled">[http://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=6tSMdR8vH0s Youtube video] featuring brief clips from ''Dark of the Moon'' and ''Revenge of the Fallen'', highlighting the recycled footage.</ref>

''Dark of the Moon'' is the first of the ''Transformers'' movies to be released in 3D. Despite early considerations to shoot the movie in 2D and convert it into 3D later, Michael Bay ultimately shot 60% of the film in native 3D, another 15% were done digitally, and the rest was shot in 2D and converted later. [[James Cameron]] assisted Michael Bay with the 3D effects. The movie's budget amounted to $195 million, which is about the same budget ''Revenge of the Fallen'' had. About $30 million went into the 3D effects.<ref name="cameron">[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/michael-bay-reveals-james-camerons-191774 "Michael Bay Reveals James Cameron's Secret Role in the Making of 'Transformers'"], The Hollywood Reporter, May 2011.</ref>

=== Sponsors and partners ===
==== Hasbro ====
Hasbro, licensor of the [[Transformers brand]], hoped that the third movie would once again boost toy sales, after profits had dropped in the first quarter of 2011.<ref name="hasbroq12011">[http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Hasbro-1Q-profit-drops-71-pct-apf-664090076.html?x=0&.v=11 Yahoo! Finance article about weak Hasbro toy sales in 2011's first quarter], April 2011.</ref> For the second quarter of 2011, Hasbro reported a net revenue growth of 23 percent to $908.5 million, citing brands such as ''Transformers'' and ''Beyblade'' as the main sources of the increased income.<ref name="hasbro2nsq">[http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Hasbro-Reports-Revenue-and-bw-4063497156.html?x=0&.v=1 "Hasbro Reports Revenue and Earnings Growth for the Second Quarter 2011"], Yahoo! Finance, July 2011.</ref>

==== US military and NASA ====
Like the previous two movies, ''Dark of the Moon'' featured real military personnel as extras, supported by the [[United States Department of Defense]].<ref name="militaryextras"/> Shooting locations were Hurlburt Field and [[Edwards Air Force Base]].<ref name="hurlburt">[http://www.shadowspear.com/special-operations-entertainment/105725-transformers-filmed-at-hurlburt.html "'Transformers 3 Filmed at Hurlburt, 1SOW Included as 'Extras'"], ShadowSpear Special Operations, July 2011.</ref>

In addition, ''Dark of the Moon'' was also supported by NASA, and NASA employees appear as extras in the movie as well.<ref name="nasa">[http://www.space.com/12142-transformers-film-nasa-space-program-touches.html "'Transformers: Dark of the Moon' Has Real-Life NASA Touches"], Space.com, July 2011.</ref>

==== General Motors and other car manufacturers ====
[[General Motors]] once again provided several vehicles. All recurring Autobots retain their [[alternate mode]]s from ''Revenge of the Fallen'' despite some minor tweaks, such as Sideswipe now being a convertible, and Bumblebee now sporting a rear spoiler. Once again, the cooperation was mutual, with General Motors using Bumblebee for TV commercials. The first of those, aired during the 2011 Super Bowl, also revealed some minor tweaks to Bumblebee's robot mode.<ref name="bumblebeead1">[http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2011/02/-bumblebee-appears-in-a-chevrolet-camaro-super-bowl-ad/1 "'Bumblebee' appears in Chevrolet's Super Bowl ad"], USA Today, February 2011.</ref><ref name="bumblebeead2">[http://www.autoblog.com/2011/06/06/chevy-drops-new-ad-touting-transformers-3-tie-in/ "Video: Chevy drops new ad touting Transformers 3 tie-in"], Autoblog.com, June 2011.</ref> According to Chevrolet, the ''Transformers'' movies notably affect car sales, as about ten percent of all Camaros sold in the preceding year were yellow, twice as many as with other models.<ref name="carstarscast">[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/transformers-dark-moon-how-sequels-204557 "'Transformers: Dark of the Moon': How the Sequel's Star Cars Were Cast"], The Hollywood Reporter, June 2011.</ref>

New additions for ''Dark of the Moon'' are a Ferrari 458 Italia and a Mercedes-Benz E550 as Autobots ([[Mirage (Movie)|Dino]] and [[Wheeljack (Movie)|Que]], respectively) and a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG as a Decepticon ([[Soundwave (ROTF)|Soundwave]]). In the movie, both Autobots sport names which aren't recycled from existing Hasbro toys. In the Ferrari's case, the reason for this is that Hasbro's greatest competitor, Mattel, has an exclusive license for Ferrari toys.<ref name="ferrarimattel">[http://www.ferrari.com/English/Pages/Mattel.aspx Mattel license information], Ferrari.com.</ref><ref name="nelsonnomirage">[http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-news-rumors/409844-mirage-no-longer-name-red-italia-dotm-3.html#post6103423 Michael Bay's website admin, Nelson Lauren, explaining why the Ferrari isn't named "Mirage"], TFW2005, May 2011.</ref> "Dino" is named in reference to {{w|Alfredo Ferrari|Alfredo "Dino" Ferrari}}, as per Ferrari's request. The Mercedes-Benz E550, meanwhile, was specifically customized for the movie.<ref name="e550tuning">[http://www.eurotuner.com/news/eurp_1102_mercedes_benz_e550_for_next_transformers_movie/index.html "Mercedes-Benz E550 for Next Transformers Movie - Web Exclusive"], Eurotuner.com, February 2011.</ref> "Que" is named in homage to {{w|Q (James Bond)|Q}} from ''{{w|James Bond}}. A Maybach 62S Landaulet is also featured in the movie, albeit not as a Transformer, but merely as a regular car used by [[Seymour Simmons]] and his assistant [[Dutch (DOTM)|Dutch]].

Unlike Optimus Prime, whose alternate mode was not licensed for any of the three movies, the Rosenbauer Panther 6x6 airport fire truck used for [[Sentinel Prime (ROTF)|Sentinel Prime]] was officially provided by the Rosenbauer International AG and entirely repainted specifically for the film, at a cost of thousands of dollars, as real-world aircraft fire-fighting vehicles are required by FAA regulations to have a much lighter color scheme, which didn't appeal to director [[Michael Bay]].<ref name="rosenbauer">[http://www.rosenbaueramerica.com/press/2011/06/rosenbauer-panther-6x6-to-be-f/ Rosenbauer America press release, June 28, 2011]</ref>

Since the heavily armed Chevrolet Impalas that serve as the [[Wrecker|Wreckers']] alternate modes are directly based on existing NASCAR race cars, the prop versions of [[Roadbuster (DOTM)|Roadbuster]], [[Leadfoot (DOTM)|Leadfoot]], and [[Topspin (DOTM)|Topspin]] made an appearance at [[2011]] Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on [[February 20]], four month before the movie's release, appearing both off the track as display cars, and on the track, participating in the ceremonial first lap.<ref name="daytona">[http://www.hendrickmotorsports.com/news/photos/2011/02/18/TRANSFORMERS-cars-on-display-at-Daytona "'TRANSFORMERS' cars on display at Daytona"], Hendrick Motorsports, February 2011.</ref> Director Michael Bay, actor [[Josh Duhamel]] and actress [[Rosie Huntington-Whiteley]] also attended the event, and during the television broadcast of the race, a new ''Dark of the Moon'' television spot was aired.

==== Other product placement ====
As always, various companies have their products and names prominently displayed throughout the movie, such as {{w|Northrop Grumman}}, [[CNN]], [[Fox News Channel|Fox News]], {{w|Cisco}} and {{w|Superfund}}.<ref name="brands1">[http://www.brandchannel.com/brandcameo_films.asp?movie_year_az=2011 "Transformers: Dark of the Moon"] at brandchannel.com.</ref> Paper manufacturer Double A also cooperated with Paramount and even had Michael Bay direct a commercial that features scenes from ''Dark of the Moon'', notably [[Laserbeak (DOTM)|Laserbeak]].<ref name="paper">[http://www.superherohype.com/news/articles/167497-transformers-featured-in-double-a-paper-ad "Transformers Featured in Double A Paper Ad"] at SuperHeroHype, June 2011.</ref> Of particular note is the large number of Chinese brands such as {{w|Lenovo}}, {{w|Yili Group|Yili}} Shuhua Milk, {{w|Metersbonwe Group|Metersbonwe}} Mtee shirts and {{w|TCL Corporation|TCL}} HDTV screens.<ref name="chinesebrands">[http://advertising.chinasmack.com/2011/transformers-the-rise-of-chinese-product-placement.html "Transformers: The Rise Of Chinese Product Placement"] at Chinasmack.</ref><ref name="brands2">[http://www.brandchannel.com/home/post/2011/07/05/Brandcameo-070411-Transformers-3.aspx "Transformers 3 Product Placement: If Tom Hanks Gets a Pass, Michael Bay Does Not"] at brandchannel, July 2011.</ref>

For [[Nokia]], the product placement turned out to be dated by the time the movie came out, as a mobile phone featured in the movie ran on {{w|Symbian}}, despite Nokia mostly dropping Symbian as an operating system due to their recent partnership with {{w|Microsoft}}.<ref name="nokiaobit">[http://www.thenoisecast.com/2011/07/nokia-x7-product-placement-in-transformers-3-feels-like-an-obituary/ "Nokia X7 Product Placement In Transformers 3 Feels Like An Obituary"], Noisecast, July 2011.</ref>

=== Changes before, during and after production ===
* In an interview with the Los Angeles Times in June 2009, Michael Bay suggested that [[Ramon Rodriguez]] would reprise his role as [[Leo Spitz]] from ''Revenge of the Fallen'' for the third movie.<ref name="bayramon">[http://herocomplex.latimes.com/2009/06/30/ramon-rodriguez-will-have-bigger-role-in-third-transformers-movie-bay-hints/ "Ramon Rodriguez will have bigger role in third ‘Transformers’ movie, Bay hints"], Los Angeles Times, June 2009.</ref>

* As stated above, [[Megan Fox]] was originally intended to reprise her role as [[Mikaela Banes]] from the previous two movies. She was still spotted on the ''Dark of the Moon'' set during the previsualization stage in May 2010,<ref name="foxonset"/> but was fired from the production shortly afterwards due to a falling out with director [[Michael Bay]]. [[Rosie Huntington-Whiteley]]'s character of [[Carly Spencer]] was written in as a replacement, though the fact that her part was originally written for Mikaela still shows in some parts: For example, Carly is overseeing [[Dylan Gould|Dylan]]'s car collection, which could be viewed as an extension of Mikaela's history with working with cars. Furthermore, Sam and Carly not only have [[Wheelie (ROTF)|Wheelie]] (who had been previously "domesticated" by Mikaela) as a "pet", but also her dog [[Bonecrusher (dog)|Bonecrusher]] (played by Michael Bay's eponymous real-life dog).

[[File:DOTM Skids, Mudflap, Que and Sideswipe.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|Eat this, Megan Fox.]]
*In January 2010, actor James Avery claimed in an interview that he would be playing a new Autobot named "Silverbolt".<ref name="avery">[http://unscripted.ca/episodes/show/136 James Avery interview on Unscripted], January 2010</ref> In June 2010, representatives of James Avery, responding to a bizarre rumor that he had passed away, confirmed that the actor was indeed alive and would be playing Silverbolt in ''Transformers 3''.<ref>[http://www.examiner.com/entertainment-in-national/uncle-phil-james-avery-isn-t-dead-after-all James Avery isn't dead after all], The Examiner, June 2010.</ref> Despite this, neither Avery nor Silverbolt ultimately appear in ''Dark of the Moon''.

* In January 2011, an Idaho newspaper<ref>[http://magicvalley.com/news/local/article_d4f374a4-d960-5589-8d0c-be37df66fc40.html?mode=story "Rupert's Fagerbakke finds a voice that is truly golden"]</ref> announced voice actor [[Bill Fagerbakke]] as the voice of a "Chevy Impala stock car" that would appear in ''Dark of the Moon'' (presumably meaning one of the three [[Wrecker]]s, who share that base altmode). Why Fagerbakke did not end up voicing any of the Wreckers in the final cut of the film is unknown.

* Shockwave's original voice actor, [[Corey Burton]], expressed that he had no interest in voicing him for ''Dark of the Moon'', explaining "[I] have practically no interest in that kind of mega-budget movie enterprise involvement" and that the inspiration for his Shockwave voice, {{w|David Warner (actor)|David Warner}}, was rumored to have been considered.<ref>[http://www.coreyburton.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?p=2707&highlight=#2707 Corey Burton's message board post.]</ref> In the end, Shockwave's almost-entirely-wordless-snarl-based role would have been something of a waste of Warner; the role ultimately went to Frank Welker. There's a nice touch of symmetry in the casting, with Welker taking over a Burton-originated role not long after Burton took on a Welker-originated character in [[Megatron (Animated)|''Animated'' Megatron]].

* In an earlier draft of the movie's script, Megatron is sincere when he offers Optimus Prime a truce at the end. Optimus accepts, and Megatron and the remaining Decepticons leave Earth to rebuild Cybertron. This ending is used for the [[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (novel)|novelization]] and the [[Transformers: Dark of the Moon Movie Adaptation|comic adaptation]]. According to Michael Bay's website administrator Nelson, the ending was changed because the studio didn't want the adaptations to share the same ending with the film.<ref>http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/members/nelson-47919.html#vmessage284191</ref>

* Furthermore, it was originally supposed to be [[Mirage (Movie)|Mirage/"Dino"]] rather than [[Wheeljack (Movie)|Wheeljack/"Que"]] who would have been executed by [[Soundwave (ROTF)|Soundwave]] in Chicago. This version made it into the comic adaptation and the [[Transformers: Dark of the Moon: The Junior Novel|junior novelization]].

[[File:DOTM-SentinelPrimetrailer.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|Colour me your colour, baby<br>Colour me your car<br>Colour me your colour, darling<br>I know who you are]]
* Another scrapped death for Mirage is seen in the [[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (novel)|novelization]], in where he's decapicated by [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]]. His severed head is subsequently used by Soundwave to mock the Autobots before they are about to get executed.

* A scrapped death for Wheeljack/"Que" involved the Autobot being run off of a Chicago street and into a river by the [[Driller]], where he would have been torn to pieces by Decepticon troopers lying in wait in the river.

* [[The Twins]], [[Skids (ROTF)|Skids]] and [[Mudflap (ROTF)|Mudflap]], were originally supposed to return for ''Dark of the Moon'', and to die at the hands of Sentinel Prime shortly after Ironhide. Even though [[General Motors]] provided two Chevrolet Sparks to serve as their alternate modes<ref name="chevyspark">[http://www.leftlanenews.com/chevrolet-spark-transformers-3.html Left Lane News article on two Chevrolet Sparks spotted on the DOTM set], May 2010.</ref> which were still spotted on the set as late as October 2010,<ref name="dcparking">[http://transformerslive.blogspot.com/2010/10/transformers-3-dc-parking-lot-gallery.html "Transformers 3 DC Parking Lot Gallery"], Transformers Live Action Movie Blog, October 2010.</ref> the two were mostly edited out of the final movie (their vehicle modes can barely be glimpsed in a few brief shots). Michael Bay even went so far as to offer a $25,000 reward for anyone who would see the Twins "perform" in the movie.<ref name="reward">[http://collider.com/transformers-3-twins-skids-mudflap-michael-bay/91104/ Collider.com article on Michael Bay's "reward" for spotting Skids and Mudflap "perform" in DOTM], May 2011.</ref> In the novelization and the comic adaptation, Skids and Mudflap still appear.

* Another plot point that was apparently dropped was an anti-Autobot sentiment among the human populace. Graffiti with a crossed out Autobot [[insignia|logo]] with the words "go home" below it showed up in several set photos.<ref name="gohome1">[http://transformerslive.blogspot.com/2010/05/transformers-3-filming-with-twins.html Photos from the set in Sherman Oaks, California] at the Transformers Live Action Movie Blog, May 2010.</ref><ref name="gohome2">[http://www.seibertron.com/transformers/news/possible-tf3-plot-point-revealed-autobots-go-home/19188/ Photos from the Chicago set] at Seibertron.com, July 2010.</ref> In the movie, Congress instantly passes a law exiling the Autobots from Earth following Sentinel Prime's ultimatum.

* Early working names included "[[Ultra Magnus (disambiguation)|Ultra Magnus]]" for [[Sentinel Prime (ROTF)|Sentinel Prime]],<ref name="chicagocall">[http://transformerslive.blogspot.com/2011/06/chicgo-call-sheet-for-ultra-magnus.html "Chicago Call Sheet For Ultra Magnus"], Transformers Live Action Movie Blog, June 2011.</ref> "Enzo" (after {{w|Enzo Ferrari}})<ref name="callsheet2">[http://tilallaremine.wordpress.com/2011/07/01/dark-of-the-moon-call-sheets/ Dark of the Moon Call Sheets!] at Til All Are Mine blog, July 2011.</ref> and "Rush" for Mirage/"Dino", "[[Warpath (disambiguation)|Warpath]]" for both [[Roadbuster (DOTM)|Roadbuster]] and [[Topspin (DOTM)|Topspin]], "Tempest" for Topspin, "[[Flash (disambiguation)|Flash]]" for [[Leadfoot (DOTM)|Leadfoot]], "[[Dreadwind (disambiguation)|Dreadwind]]" for [[Crankcase (DOTM)|Crankcase]], "[[Hooligan (disambiguation)|Hooligan]]" for [[Crowbar]], "[[Dirtbag]]" for [[Hatchet (DOTM)|Hatchet]], "[[Blitzwing (disambiguation)|Blitzwing]]" for [[Shockwave (Movie)|Shockwave]], "[[Breakdown (disambiguation)|Breakdown]]" for Soundwave's new vehicular design, "[[Clench (G1)|Colossus]]" for the [[Driller]],<ref name="nizzi">[http://www.joshnizzi.com/TF3.htm Josh Nizzi DOTM concepts.]</ref> "Buzzard" for [[Laserbeak (DOTM)|Laserbeak]], "[[Undermine (Cybertron)|Undermine]]" for [[Igor]] and "[[Steeljaw (disambiguation)|Steeljaw]]" for Wheeljack/"Que". However, it's quite possible a few of these were code names used to keep character identities a secret during production as images of Megatron's new cloak obscured face refer to the character as "[[Cyclonus (disambiguation)|Cyclonus]]".<ref name="wburt">[http://conceptartworld.com/?p=8388 Wesley Burt DOTM concepts.]</ref>

* Roadbuster was originally intended to have {{w|Jeff Gordon}}'s #24 {{w|DuPont}}-sponsored Chevrolet Impala as his alternate mode, rather than {{w|Dale Earnhardt, Jr.}}'s #88 Impala sponsored by {{w|AMP Energy}}.<ref name="nizzi"/>

[[File:DOTMSuperBowlvsTrailer.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|So does this qualify as a retcon?]]
* Que/Wheeljack's head was once considered to be based on {{w|Christopher Lloyd}}'s {{w|Emmett Brown|Doc Brown}} from ''[[Back to the Future]]'', rather than [[Albert Einstein]].<ref name="wburt"/>

* The Wreckers were originally intended to have a robot pet dog, whose working names also included "Warpath".<ref name="nizzi"/> Hasbro released a toy of the dog with the [[Human Alliance]] version of Leadfoot, named "[[Steeljaw (DOTM)|Steeljaw]]".

* Megatron was originally supposed to appear in his ''Revenge of the Fallen'' form.<ref>http://joshnizzi.com/images/TF3/JoshNizzi_TF3_56.jpg</ref>

* In an interview with MTV.com, actors [[Shia LaBeouf]] and [[John Malkovich]] hinted at some smaller scenes that were cut from the final edit of the movie. In addition to some ad-libbing by the actors, one scene would have featured Malkovich's character, [[Bruce Brazos]], attempting to get Carly's phone number.<ref name="deletedmtv">[http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1666772/transformers-dark-of-the-moon-dvd-deleted-scenes.jhtml MTV.com on deleted scenes], July 2011.</ref>

* In the original teaser trailer for ''Dark of the Moon'' that was released in December 2010, the opening scene that featured [[Neil Armstrong]] and [[Buzz Aldrin]] investigate the ''[[Ark (DOTM)|Ark]]'' on the moon had Sentinel Prime sport a gold and silver color scheme. For the final movie, his base color was changed to red.

* Similar to the teaser trailer, the Super Bowl spot also features footage that contains unfinished CG effects. Most notably, the shot that depicts Optimus Prime, equipped with his flight pack, swooping down on the Decepticons before starting his epic rampage on the ground was changed by the time the first full trailer was released: Optimus himself and the first [[M1 Abrams Decepticon]] are both rescaled and moved to different positions on-screen; a Decepticon using the same [[body-type]] as [[Blackout (Movie)|Blackout]] and [[Grindor (ROTF)|Grindor]] is removed entirely; and a Decepticon using the same body-type as Long Haul, as well as other [[generic]]s, are added. The final movie uses pretty much the same version as seen in the trailer.
{{-}}

=== Leaks and disinformation===
[[File:DOTMgameSoundwave.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|What you're about to see is totally classified.]]
The movie's title, then "Transformers: ''The'' Dark of the Moon", was first discovered on October 6, 2010 via listings for childrens' books on [[Amazon (website)|Amazon]]. The title was further confirmed by a whois check for "www.transformersdarkofthemoonmovie.com".<ref>[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/transformers-3-title-revealed-170697/ Transformers 3 Title Revealed?] @ TFW2005.com</ref> On October 31, the official website for all three movies, [http://www.transformersmovie.com/ transformersmovie.com], was updated to show the ''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'' logo as well as international release dates.

[[Shockwave (Movie)|Shockwave]] was heavily touted as the new main villain, no doubt in an attempt to conceal [[Sentinel Prime (ROTF)|Sentinel Prime]]'s unexpected betrayal halfway through the movie. A piece of information that commonly popped up in media coverage was the claim that Shockwave was the ruler of [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] while the other Autobots and Decepticons were duking it out on Earth.<ref name="pushpops">[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/transformers-3-plot-summary-revealed-170756/ "Transformers 3 Plot Summary Revealed"], TFW2005, October 2010.</ref> The last bit could be written off as a case of {{w|Chinese whispers}}: Shockwave got announced as the villain for ''Dark of the Moon'', mainstream media (such as USA Today<ref name="usatodayswitch">[http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2010-06-11-Transformers11_ST_N.htm "Next 'Transformers' is due for a switch"], USA Today, June 2010.</ref>) who aren't versed in Transformers lore looked up the character, found out about his ''[[The Transformers (franchise)|Generation 1]]'' [[Shockwave (G1)|namesake]]'s role in the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|cartoon]], included it as a piece of trivia to show they did their research, and then the trivia note got picked up as gospel by other media. Nevertheless, it was included in the ''official plot summary'' by Paramount's German branch (which also claimed that ''Shockwave'' was the robot discovered inside the ''[[Ark (DOTM)|Ark]]'' as seen in the trailer).<ref name="germansite">[http://www.transformers3-film.de/ Official German DOTM site] including faulty plot summary.</ref>

[[File:TF3HasbroSoundwaveBio.JPG|thumb|upright=1.66|left|If you breathe a word of what you see in here, you will do time for treason.]]Michael Bay and other official parties tried ''really'' hard to suppress the plot twist of the silver Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG given to [[Carly Spencer|Carly]] by [[Dylan Gould|Dylan]] turning out to be the new [[alternate mode]] of [[Soundwave (ROTF)|Soundwave]]. After the Mercedes had been spotted on the set, with [[Rosie Huntington-Whiteley]] exiting it,<ref name="mercedesset">[http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=67518 DOTM Set Photos], ComingSoon.net, July 2010.</ref> the first hint that it was more than meets the eye came with the trailer for the [[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (Xbox 360/PS3)|video game]], which showed Soundwave's robot mode with car [[kibble]] such as wheels that heavily resembled those of the Mercedes. In addition, [[Rising Storm issue 3|issue 3]] of ''[[Transformers: Rising Storm]]'' depicted Soundwave's robot mode not only with car kibble, but with a Mercedes star on his chest. Despite this, director Michael Bay insisted that the Mercedes was simply Carly's car, claiming that "Mercedes would never let us make their car into a bad Decepticon. Car company's {{sic}} really frown on that. I can't say what the game company and comics do that's their own thing. They don't have the same constraints movies do. It's Carly's car."<ref name="baynomerc">[http://www.shootfortheedit.com/forum/showthread.php?8724-Update-Is-Soundwave-the-silver-Mercedes-on-set-of-DOTM&p=169598&viewfull=1#post169598 Michael Bay's response to the fan theory that Soundwave is the Silver Mercedes.], April 2011.</ref> On April 19, 2011, an event for promoting the ''Spider-Man: Edge of Time'' and ''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'' video games was held in London. As part of this, [[High Moon Studios]] released promotional stills from the ''Dark of the Moon'' game, one of which depicted Soundwave's new robot mode, again with Mercedes parts. However, a news embargo was enforced on the attending press, which was broken by South African video game site [http://egamer.co.za egamer].<ref name="egamera">[http://egamer.co.za/2011/05/exclusive-hands-on-transformers-dark-of-the-moon/ egamer's preview of the ''Dark of the Moon'' video game]</ref> The site was soon asked to take down the article and images, as were various ''Transformers'' fan sites that had reported on the article and mirrored the images. On May 2, 2011, Hasbro's [http://www.hasbro.com/transformers/en_US/ official Transformers website] was given a massive overhaul, including the addition of the new [http://www.hasbro.com/transformers/en_US/discover/cybertronian-database.cfm Vector Sigma database]. The entry for Soundwave initially identified his alternate mode as a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, but was soon changed to "satellite". On May 3, 2011, the embargo for the video game article and promotional stills was finally lifted, allowing sites to freely show the image of Soundwave's new robot mode.

On May 5, 2011, several weeks before the trade paperback collection's official release, preview pages from [[IDW Publishing|IDW]]'s [[Transformers: Dark of the Moon Movie Adaptation|''Dark of the Moon'' comic adaptation]] were discovered at [[Amazon (website)|Amazon]]. Through some bizarre system error, ''several dozen pages'' were made available, which included the major plot twist of Sentinel Prime showing his true colors and killing [[Ironhide (Movie)|Ironhide]]. Unsurprisingly, this discovery was quickly posted on several major Transformers [[fandom|fan sites]], often without a spoiler warning.

==Notes==
* A 126-page script for the movie was leaked in December 2009,<ref>[http://www.allspark.com/content/view/6435/20/ The Allspark: Transformers News Movie Comics Animated - Script Treatment for Transformers 3? Bogus or Not, Here You Go!]</ref> causing much discussion among the fandom. It was later confirmed as fake.<ref>[http://shootfortheedit.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6532 Script]</ref>
* When word hit that [[Megan Fox]] was off the picture, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VTs5ESycpY Heidi Montag] put an "audition" for her part on YouTube. [http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/114ce28ddd/sir-ben-kingsley-shows-up-heidi-montag Sir Ben Kingsley] and [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4FZeucBO0c Ashton Kutcher] made fun of her, because life is rad.
* Several concepts that had been established by the [[Transformers (film)|first movie]] were (more or less) dropped with ''Dark of the Moon'' in favor or a more traditional, ''[[The Transformers (franchise)|Generation 1]]''-esque approach:
** In the 2007 movie, the Autobots arrive on Earth in "[[Protoform]]" entry modes (which was subsequently used as the basis for the Decepticons' arrival in [[Planetfall (Movie)|Planetfall]]). Prior to the release of the movie, screenwriter [[Roberto Orci]] defended this choice over the use of a spaceship such as the ''Ark'' by asking why "aliens who moonlight as vehicles need other vehicles to travel".<ref name="orcitravel">[http://tformers.com/Ark-Not-Making-An-Appearance-In-the-Movie/6513/news.html TFormers quoting Roberto Orci], because Don Murphy's board can only be read by registered members.</ref> He somewhat changed his mind after the movie had been released, however.<ref name="orciship">[http://boards.transformersmovie.com/showpost.php?p=388596&postcount=271 Roberto Orci on the Transformers Live Action Movie Boards], July 2007.</ref> After the Decepticons' ship, the ''[[Nemesis (ROTF)|Nemesis]]'', had made an appearance in ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'', ''Dark of the Moon'' not only introduces the movieverse version of the ''[[Ark (DOTM)|Ark]]'', but also reveals that all the new Autobots who have been on Earth since before ''Revenge of the Fallen'' had arrived in their own spaceship, the ''[[Xantium (DOTM)|Xantium]]'', making the notion of individual Transformers traveling through space as "comets" an exception rather than the rule. ''[[Transformers: Age of Extinction (film)|Age of Extinction]]'' would also later depict the Autobots as stranded on Earth after the destruction of the ''Xantium'' in this film, further pointing towards the "comet" transportation as an abandoned concept. ''[[Transformers: The Last Knight (film)|The Last Knight]]'' would also show this idea when the Autobots again declare themselves stranded, as they don't know where the ''[[Knight Ship|Knightship]]'' is, only being able to finally go home after they acquired it.
** Furthermore, ''Dark of the Moon'' largely abandons the idea of Transformers having all their weapons integrated into their bodies in favor of more traditional, separate weapons. For example, [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]], who had blades and hooks emerging from his forearms in the previous two movies now stores all his weapons (including an axe) as accessories inside his trailer (though he still carries some on his person). Also, Ironhide, whose cannons were previously affixed to his arms, now sports handheld firearms instead. Even Megatron, whose [[fusion cannon]] previously grew out of his arms, now has a hand-held shotgun. Though it can be argued that Optimus still has his swords in his arms during the Chicago battle, and both Ironhide and Megatron lost their integrated weapons in the previous film, the general change is still noticeable. The only ones who still seem to have the same converting arm cannons as in the previous movies are Bumblebee, Ratchet, and Starscream.
* Another change from the previous movies (though not rooted in ''Generation 1'') is that Transformers that take damage in battle now spill a red liquid that is very obviously meant to resemble human blood.
* [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]] finally achieves a certain consistency between his two primary modes: Ever since his upgrade to a modern Camaro in ''Transformers'' (2007), his [[license plate]] had alternated between "900 STRA" in vehicle mode and "4NZZ 454" in robot mode. ''Dark of the Moon'' finally uses "900 STRA" for the robot mode as well. Hasbro's toys, which had previously favored the CG robot model's "4NZZ 454" (barring the occasional "4NZZ'''Z''' 454" flub), follow suit.
*Speaking of license plates: [[Dutch (DOTM)|Dutch]]'s Maybach 62S Landaulet sports a German license plate, "'''S MM 6201'''", registered in the city of Stuttgart. In reality, that plate is registered to the manufacturer and used for promotional photos.<ref name="maybach">[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/update--transformers-3-rumor--who-wants-to-be-a-millionaire-170533/ Set photos and promo photos of the Maybach 62S Landaulet] at TFW2005.</ref>
*Michael Bay's private Gulfstream Aerospace G-1159A jet (registration number N4500X) has a cameo in the movie as [[Charlotte Mearing]]'s plane.

===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''''Transformers/Darkside Moon''''' (トランスフォーマー/ダークサイド・ムーン ''Toransufōmā/Dākusaido Mūn'')
*''Cantonese:'' (變形金剛: 黑月降臨, "Transformers: The Arrival of the Black Moon")
*''Finnish:'' '''''Transformers: Kuun pimeä puoli''''' ("Transformers: The Dark Side of the Moon")
*''French:'' '''''Transformers 3: La Face cachée de la Lune''''' ("Transformers 3: The Hidden Side of the Moon")
*''German:'' '''''Transformers 3: Die dunkle Seite des Mondes''''' ("Transformers 3: The Dark Side of the Moon")
*''Italian:'' '''''Transformers 3'''''
*''Mandarin:'' '''''Biànxíng Jīngāng 3''''' (Taiwan, 變形金剛３, "Transformers 3"), '''''Biànxíng Jīngāng: Yuè Hēi zhī Shí''''' (Mainland China, 变形金刚：月黑之时, "Transformers: When the Moon Becomes Black")
*''Polish:'' '''''Transformers 3'''''
*''Portuguese:'' '''''Transformers: O Lado Oculto da Lua''''' (Brazil, "Transformers: The Hidden Side of the Moon"), '''''Transformers 3''''' (Portugal)
*''Russian:'' '''''Transformery 3: Tjomnaja storona Luny''''' (Трансформеры 3: Тёмная сторона Луны, "Transformers 3: The Dark Side of the Moon")
*''Serbian:'' '''''Transformers 3: Tama Meseca''''' ("Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon")
*''Spanish:'' '''''Transformers: El Lado Oscuro de la Luna''''' (Latin American, "Transformers: The Dark Side of the Moon"), '''''Transformers 3''''' (Spain)
*''Swedish:'' '''''Transformers 3'''''
*''Turkish:'' '''''Transformers: Ayın Karanlık Yüzü''''' ("Transformers: The Dark Side of the Moon")
*''Czech:'' '''''Transformers 3'''''
*''Hindi:'' '''''Traansaphormars: Chaand ka Andhera''''' (ट्राँसफॉर्मर्स: चांद का अंधेरा, "Transformers: Darkness of the Moon")
*''Tamil:'' '''''Ṭirāṉsḥpārmas: Ṭārk op ti mūṉ''''' (டிரான்ஸ்ஃபார்மஸ்: டார்க் ஒப் தி மூன், "Transformers: Dark of the Moon")
*''Greek:'' '''''Transformers 3'''''
*''Ukrainian:'' '''''Transformery: Temnyy bik Misyatsya''''' (Трансформери: Темний бік Місяця, "Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon")
*''Dutch:'' '''''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'''''
*''Norwegian:'' '''''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'''''
*''Hungarian:'' '''''Transformers 3'''''
*''Croatian:'' '''''Transformeri: Tamna strana Mjeseca''''' ("Transformers: The Dark Side of the Moon")
*''Latvian:'' '''''Transformeri 3: Mēness no otras puses''''' ("Transformers 3: The Moon on the Other Side")
*''Lithuanian:'' '''''Transformeriai: tamsioji Mėnulio pusė''''' ("Transformers: The Dark Side of the Moon")
*''Arabic:'' '''''Almtahawilun: Aljanib Almuzlim Lilqamar''''' (المتحولون: الجانب المظلم للقمر, "Transformers: The Dark Side of the Moon")
*''Indonesian:'' '''''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'''''
*''Malay:'' '''''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'''''
*''Hebrew:'' '''''Rvvvtrkm 3. Flt hrch''''' (רובוטריקים 3: אפלת הירח, "Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon")
*''Korean:'' '''''Teulaenseupomeo 3''''' (트랜스포머 3, "Transformers 3")
*''Romanian:'' '''''Transformers: Fața ascunsă a Lunii''''' ("Transformers: The Hidden Face of the Moon")
*''Thai:'' '''''Thrāns̄̒ fxr̒m me xr̒s̄ 3''''' (ทรานส์ฟอร์มเมอร์ส 3, "Transformers 3")

==External links==
* [http://www.transformersmovie.com/ Transformersmovie.com]
* [http://www.imdb.com/tt1399103/ ''Dark of the Moon'' at IMDB.com]
* {{w|Transformers: Dark of the Moon|''Dark of the Moon'' film on Wikipedia}}
* [https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/transformers_dark_of_the_moon/ ''Dark of the Moon'' on RottenTomatoes.com]

==Footnotes==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.transformersmovie.com/ Official ''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'' website]
*[http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/paramount/transformersdarkofthemoon/ Trailers.Apple.com ''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'' page]
* Designer portfolios: [http://www.joshnizzi.com/TF3.htm Josh Nizzi], [http://www.warrenmanser.com/WarrenManser.com/PORTFOLIO_M/Pages/TRANSFORMERS_3.html Warren Manser], [http://www.joelchang.com/index.php?/projects/transformers-dark-of-the-moon/ Joel Chang], [http://conceptartworld.com/?p=8293 The Aaron Sims Company] (at Concept Art World), [http://conceptartworld.com/?p=8388 Wesley Burt] (at Concept Art World), [http://massiveblack.com/MBwebolution/blog/?p=301 Massive Black], [http://www.ghull.com/#/125195 George Hull]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dark of the Moon (film)}}
[[Category:Dark of the Moon| Dark of the Moon (film)]]
[[Category:Dark of the Moon media| ]]
[[Category:Real world films]]

Transformers: Age of Extinction (film)

2020-04-17T21:31:12Z

96megatron: /* Continuity Notes */

{{Nav-aoe}}
[[File:Transformers- Age of ExtinctionOptimusPrimePoster.jpg‎|thumb|upright=1.67|An adventure 65 million years in the making.]]

'''''Transformers: Age of Extinction''''' is the fourth film in the [[live-action film series]]. It was released on [[June 27]], [[2014]].

Following the [[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (film)|Battle of Chicago]], humanity has come to fear both Autobots and Decepticons alike. With the aid of a Transformer mercenary named [[Lockdown (ROTF)|Lockdown]], a CIA [[Cemetery Wind|task-force]] operated by [[Harold Attinger]] begins hunting the remaining [[Transformer]]s on [[Earth]]. Hunted by enemies that were once his allies, [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] loses faith in humanity and sends his forces into hiding. Now, five years later, struggling inventor and single-father [[Cade Yeager]] discovers a damaged Transformer, placing both himself and his [[Tessa Yeager|daughter]] on a collision course with events that threaten the extinction of humankind itself.

{{bigquote|The trouble with loyalty to a cause is that the cause will ''always'' betray you.|[[Lockdown (ROTF)|Lockdown]]|''Transformers: Age of Extinction''}}

==Synopsis==

[[File:The Creators cyberforming Earth AOE.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.67|"God creates dinosaurs. God destroys dinosaurs. God creates man. Man destroys God. Man creates dinosaurs."]]
65 million years ago, on Cretaceous [[Earth]], a ''Psittacosaurus'' is out hunting for food. The small dinosaur finds a fish and starts to feed, but stops as hundreds of alien ships enter Earth's atmosphere, piloted by the mysterious [[Creator (AOE)|"Creators"]]. The alien ships launch dozens of strange [[Seed]]s across the planet. As they detonate, they convert the landscape and the herds of panicking dinosaurs into a metallic substance, ending the Age of Dinosaurs. Millions of years later, while digging in the [[Arctic]], a team of geologists uncover a mysterious pair of metallized dinosaur skeletons - a discovery that attracts the attention of [[Darcy Tirrel]]...

Five years after the invasion of [[Chicago]], tensions between humans and Cybertronians have risen dramatically. Although the Autobots are officially granted asylum on Earth, public opinion has turned against all Transformers. The government of the United States has terminated all human-Autobot joint programs and instated [[Cemetery Wind]], an elite [[CIA]] unit intended to flush out the handful of [[Decepticon]]s left on Earth. What the President doesn't know is that [[Harold Attinger]], the leader of the operation, is slaughtering all Transformers, regardless of faction. On one such mission, the team pinpoints [[Ratchet (Movie)|Ratchet]] hiding within an abandoned boat. He immediately tries to flee, but is crippled and brought down by their weapons. The team leader, [[James Savoy]], mockingly asks why Ratchet ran if he's not their enemy, and Ratchet replays a transmission he received from [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]], ordering all Autobots to hide from humans. However, Savoy dismisses his pleas as his sister was killed in Chicago. A Transformer bounty hunter, [[Lockdown (ROTF)|Lockdown]], who has actually been helping Cemetery Wind hunt the Autobots, emerges from the nearby swamp and attacks Ratchet, further damaging him. Walking past his human allies, Lockdown demands to know [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]]'s whereabouts. When Ratchet refuses, Lockdown brutally kills him by ripping out his spark.
[[File:AOE Ratchet dying.jpg|thumb|upright=1.67|"Condors. Condors are on the verge of extinction..."]]

In Texas, struggling inventor [[Cade Yeager]] and his friend/employee [[Lucas Flannery]] meet at an old theater, looking for salvage. He finds an old truck, and upon inspection it seems to be full of artillery shells. He buys the truck along with the other theater equipment and puts it in his garage.[[Tessa Yeager|Tessa]], Cade's daughter, observes this while video-chatting with her boyfriend and criticizes her dad for buying the heap of junk. While attempting to salvage the truck's engine to sell, Cade realizes it's actually a badly-damaged Transformer. After calling Lucas and Tessa, he connects jumper cables to its engine, only for it to begin replaying the distress call Ratchet had received earlier. Lucas and Tessa advocate calling the government, claiming that there is a huge reward for Transformers. Cade convinces them not to call the authorities until he can spend more time working on the truck, as he may be able to stumble on a technological breakthrough if he can figure out how the Transformers work. When Cade removes a live missile from the truck's "power core," it transforms into a heavily injured Optimus Prime, who roars at them to stay back while he swings his weapon around the barn. Cade, Lucas, and Tessa ask why Optimus is so badly damaged, to which he replies that the Autobots are being hunted and he must help them. Cade offers to repair him, and sends Lucas to buy the parts that will enable him to fix Optimus. Cade and Optimus begin to bond as the repairs begin.
[[File:AOE-injuredoptimus.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.67|"Should we chance moving him?"]]

In the Arctic, Attinger arrives via helicopter at [[Knight Ship|Lockdown's ship]] and demands to know why Optimus Prime escaped him in [[Mexico]]. Lockdown derisively tells Attinger that Optimus Prime would not have escaped were it not for Cemetery Wind's interference, stressing that he does not care about Attinger or his goals and wishes only to capture Optimus Prime.

Shortly after returning to [[Washington, D.C.]], Attinger receives a tip that Optimus Prime has been located in Texas and sends Savoy and Cemetery Wind to apprehend him. The agents swarm the barn, but there is no trace of Prime inside. When Savoy threatens Tessa to force Cade to tell him of Prime's whereabouts, the Autobot leader explodes out of the barn's basement in which he was hiding. He escapes after a brief skirmish that destroys the Yeager residence, with both Cemetery Wind and Lockdown in pursuit. As Cade catches one of Cemetery Wind's mini drones, a white rally car zooms over the adjacent fields and picks up the Yeagers and Lucas. The driver turns out to be [[Shane Dyson|Shane]], a rally car racer who is also Tessa's boyfriend. A group of Cemetery Wind vehicles begins chasing them.
[[File:Optimus shooting humans AOE.jpg|thumb|upright=1.67|"You think they'll have that on the tour?"]]

Both the rally car and Optimus Prime are chased into an abandoned factory, where Optimus Prime fights off Lockdown. Shane puts his driving skills to good use and pulls a series of tight maneuvers that result in the Cemetery Wind cars crashing, destroys his car in the process. Optimus Prime, who has caught Lockdown in a crane cable, transforms and tells the humans to pile into him and escape. Lockdown throws a grenade at the humans as they run towards Optimus Prime; though Shane and the Yeagers escape, Lucas is caught in the blast and killed.

Arriving at an abandoned gas station, Optimus orders the humans out and drives off to ensure that they have not been followed. Cade confronts Tessa and Shane about their relationship but Tessa gets angry at Cade for putting them all in danger. The next day, Optimus and the humans set off towards Monument Valley. Prime [[trans-scan|scans]] a passing truck, sheds his layer of rust and takes on a new form with his old paint scheme. They arrive in Monument Valley where they meet the other surviving Autobots in the form of [[Crosshairs (AOE)|Crosshairs]], [[Hound (Movie)|Hound]], [[Drift (AOE)|Drift]], and their de facto leader [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]]. Crosshairs and Hound start threatening the humans for having their species betray them but Optimus convinces them that they have risked their lives to save his. The Humans notice that there are clear tensions between the Autobots. Cade reveals footage of the attack on Ratchet and [[Leadfoot (DOTM)|Leadfoot's]] demise using the stolen aerial drone and Prime declares that he will kill the one responsible for hunting down the Autobots.

[[File:Autobots unite monument valley AOE.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.67|"Dr. Grant, my dear Dr. Sattler... Welcome to [[Jurassic Park]]." ]]

Inspection of the drone leads them to a company named [[Kinetic Solutions Incorporated|KSI]], located in a rebuilt Chicago. It is run by [[Joshua Joyce]], who is working with [[Su Yueming]] and Attinger to create artificial Transformers to eventually be used in the military. Using the remains of [[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]], [[Sentinel Prime (ROTF)|Sentinel Prime]], [[Starscream (Movie)|the]] [[Soundwave (ROTF)|countless]] [[Shockwave (Movie)|Decepticons]] from the Chicago battle and the hunted Autobots, they have synthesized the metal that the Transformers are made of, calling it [[Living metal#Live-action film series|Transformium]]. When given commands through a computer, Transformium can be changed into various shapes or objects. Although a drone called [[Stinger (AOE)|Stinger]] (designed after Bumblebee) is active, Joshua's major project is a bigger, stronger drone called [[Megatron (Movie)|Galvatron]]. However, his attempts have not been successful; the drone keeps resembling Megatron instead of the friendlier image of Optimus Prime. Bumblebee builds Cade and Shane faux-ID badges which the duo use to infiltrate KSI. Cade goes further in and projects imagery of Ratchet's severed head being melted down, which sends Prime into a rage.

[[File:Joshua Joyce Transformium Experiment AOE.jpg|thumb|upright=1.67|"God help us, we're in the hands of engineers."]]

However, Cade is caught when his ID badge is found to have been scanned twice (by him and its original owner). He is taken to the upper floors and confronted by Attinger, who claims that what he has witnessed is in the name of world peace. He also asks him about the whereabouts of Optimus Prime but Cade maintains his silence.

Furious over how the humans have mutilated their comrades, Optimus orders an attack on KSI. Bumblebee, carried by Drift in copter mode, rescues Cade. The others trash the lab, free the injured and enslaved [[Brains]], and confront Joshua, only for him to openly declare that what is being done is being done to prevent more Transformer-caused damage and that the humans "don't need" the Autobots. Disheartened, Prime orders a retreat.

As the Autobots exit the factory and leave, Attinger catches up with Joshua and claims that the Autobots are terrorists for attacking the facility. He coerces Joyce to use the two functional drones to take down the Autobots. Galvatron and Stinger activate and pursue their quarry across a highway, with Galvatron doing more damage than his KSI handlers intend. Bumblebee fires upon Galvatron but is surprised to see him simply disintegrate and reintegrate again. Galvatron attacks Prime. As they battle, Optimus declares that the artificial creation has no soul, to which it retorts "That is why I have no FEAR!"

[[File:AOEGalvatron.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.67|"Kids! You want to have one of those?"]]

As Tessa scrambles for cover in a nearby vehicle, Prime is suddenly shot from the back and falls-Lockdown has arrived, along with his ship! Lockdown gloats to his prisoner, claiming that Optimus was built, not born, and now the Creators want him returned in one piece. The bounty hunter orders a net dropped over Optimus and hoists both the Autobot leader and Tessa's hiding place into his ship. Cade desperately clings to the net, but his strength gives out and he falls to the fields below. As the spaceship departs, Cade and Shane vow to get Tessa back.

Lockdown throws Prime in a cage and orders his lackeys to dispose of Tessa. Prime takes note of several other aliens in similar cages, including [[Dinobot (AOE)|other Cybertronian warriors]]. He also discovers the original purpose of the mercenary ship: it was originally used by a group of legendary Knights (presumably including Prime himself) but now acts as Lockdown's flying prison. Lockdown's ship hovers over Chicago, triggering panic in the streets, but Attinger manages to talk down the authorities and send Savoy to rendezvous with Lockdown. As payment for Prime's capture, Lockdown gives him a Seed.

Cade, Shane, and the other Autobots get aboard the ship as it flies low over a bridge. While being pursued by Lockdown's henchmen, the two humans find a strange Knight armory, from which Cade takes a sword that opens up to form a gun. While Shane and Cade rescue Tessa, Crosshairs deploys the ship's mooring cables, which fire into the Willis Tower and preventing the ship from breaking atmosphere. The humans begin to clamber down the cables to safety, but they are pursued by a pack of [[Steeljaw (AOE)|Steeljaw]]s. Bumblebee manages to save the trio. The other Autobots locate Optimus, who reveals that the section of the ship they are on can separate from the main body. Crosshairs uses a gunship to pick up Bumblebee and the humans, then leads them on a dogfight through Chicago's streets, destroying some of Lockdown's [[Shadow Raider|mercenaries]].

[[File:Prime gets shotAOE.jpg|thumb|upright=1.67|"It could have been worse, John. A lot worse."]]

Back at KSI, it is decided that all equipment is to be moved to the Beijing facility to continue operations. Joshua is also none too pleased about the previous field test of Galvatron; not only was it a loss on several fronts, but the drone also ''spoke'', which was something it was ''not'' programmed to do!

The Autobots land their new ship at an abandoned train yard. Optimus claims that he sensed Megatron's presence during his fight with Galvatron. Brains explains Galvatron's true nature: while he decoded dead Transformer brains, he learned that Megatron's mind had survived and planned to transfer itself to Galvatron's body, explaining Galvatron's sinister appearance. The tiny bot further mentions how Galvatron used his knowledge to build Stinger and the other drones, with plans to make them into his personal army. As Tessa tells the group about the Seed she saw, Optimus and Hound explain that the Creators used Seeds to convert organic material into metal, then harvested the resulting Transformium for their own purposes. Cade makes a call to Joyce and relays the newfound data about Galvatron. Knowing that Joyce is also an inventor with a heart, he pleads with Joyce to shut down Galvatron before things escalate. Although Joyce puts up an unconvinced façade, he demands increased security around Galvatron after hanging up.

As police cars surround the train yard, the Autobots board their shuttle again and take to the air. Optimus says that though the Autobots will travel to Hong Kong and get the Seed back, they will leave Earth afterwards; they are done protecting humanity. Cade disagrees but Prime is non-responsive. They later debate the matter, with Cade attempting to reignite Prime's faith in humanity.

In deep space, Lockdown finally discovers the absence of the smaller ship. He grumbles about Optimus Prime taking his trophy case and how the Prime will feel his wrath while he reverses course. Joyce meets with Attinger and Savoy and receives the Seed. Joyce intends to detonate it in a region of the [[Gobi Desert]], which will generate enough Transformium to last a century. Attinger is eager to expedite production but grows incensed when Joshua disagrees and says that they should go slower, quite obviously moved by Cade's call. Meanwhile, Galvatron activates ''himself'' and starts to infect the legion of over fifty other KSI Transformers. When the alarm rings regarding Galvatron's escape, Joyce has Attinger and Savoy evacuated from the building and gets in a car with Su, an associate named Darcy, and the Seed. They decide to try to hide the Seed in [[Hong Kong]].

Being hunted by Attinger and Savoy, Joyce seeks refuge on a rooftop when the Autobot-piloted ship arrives and attempts to pick him and the Seed up. However, Galvatron and his drones ramy arrive and shoot down the airborne vessel, causing Bumblebee, Hound, and the Yeagers to spill out while the others (Prime, Crosshairs, Drift, and the captured Knights) to careen away into the Wulong Valley. Savoy finds the Yeagers and Joyce on the rooftop and open fires on them but Cade leads him away from the others. The two jump across rooftops, eventually crashing into a house and getting into a fist fight which ends with Savoy falling from a window to his death.

Hound and Bumblebee attempt to escort the humans and the Seed out of the city, but are cut short when Joshua points out that the KSI-built Transformers were specifically built to destroy any Autobots or Decepticons left on Earth. This prompts Prime to enter the crashed ship and activate the armory as well as release the other captives within the ship. As Hound and Bumblebee hold the line and protect the humans, Optimus tries to convince the Legendary Warriors to fight alongside them. Their [[Grimlock (AOE)|apparent leader]] violently declines at first, fighting the Prime in both his massive robot mode and his Tyrannosaurus mode. Optimus quickly defeats him, saying that he and the other warriors will protect his family or die, then mounts the metal dinosaur. The Autobots mount their Dinobots and charge over the mountains into Hong Kong.

[[File:Dinobots ready for battle AOE.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.67|"''T. rex'' doesn't want to be fed. He wants to ''hunt''."]]

Meanwhile, as Hound and Bumblebee are starting to be overwhelmed by Galvatron's drone forces, Optimus and his fellow Autobots storm into the city, slamming, crushing, stomping, and chomping all nearby enemies. Galvatron retreats as the Autobots and Dinobots decimate his forces. With this battle over, Optimus confronts Joshua for his actions and gives the order to defend the humans and escort them, and the Seed, away from the city. On the way, a homing beacon within the Seed activates, allowing Lockdown to track the Autobots down. He activates a massive magnet, wreaking havoc on Hong Kong. Everything metal from kitchenware to massive ships are picked up by the magnet, including the Autobots and Dinobots. After narrowly avoiding the magnet, the Yeagers are momentarily separated from the Autobots. Optimus shoots at the magnet, destroying it and releasing the Transformers from its influence. The ship retreats to a nearby factory, with Optimus hot on its trail. Cade tells his daughter to stay with Shane and the Autobots, as he wishes to fight alongside Optimus against Lockdown. As Optimus Prime and Lockdown battle one-on-one, Attinger corners Yeager with a pistol, accusing him of choosing aliens over his own race, but he is quickly shot and killed by Optimus.

Because of Optimus's choice to save Cade before defending himself, Lockdown gains the upper hand, impaling Optimus through the chest with his own sword and pinning him to a concrete pillar. Meanwhile, Tessa convinces Bumblebee to turn around and the three join in fighting Lockdown, allowing Shane to use a tow truck to unpin Prime. Just as Lockdown is about to kill Cade, Optimus jumps up and slices the bounty hunter in half. Activating one of Lockdown's grenades, Prime tells the humans to hold on and uses rocket boosters to escape while the grenade destroys the last of the KSI drones. Galvatron has survived and retreated to the outskirts of the city; watching Prime blast off, he tells Optimus to beware, for he is reborn...

[[File:AOE-DefendThisFamily.jpg|thumb|upright=1.67|"I don't know. I guess... I guess we'll just have to evolve too."]]

The Autobots, Dinobots, and their human allies all regroup on the waterfront. Cade and Tessa happily reconcile and Cade finally accepts Shane. Joshua nobly says he will help them with their destroyed home. Prime declares the Dinobots are now free as they depart for parts unknown. With the bounty on his head placing the entire Earth in danger, Prime blasts off into space with the Seed to confront the Creators and discover the mystery behind his own origins, but not before ordering the Autobots to protect the Yeager family. As he leaves Earth's atmosphere, Optimus Prime sends a message to his Creators to leave planet Earth alone, because he's coming for them.

{{--}}

==Quotes==
"Lockdown...?"<br>
"Autobots, Decepticons, like little children, always fighting; making a mess out of the universe, then ''I've'' got to clean it up! There is one way you survive. Tell me where he's hiding. Where is Optimus Prime?"<br>
"Never."<br>
''(Lockdown rips out Ratchet's spark)''<br>
"Never is here."<br>
:—'''Ratchet''''s final moments before '''Lockdown''' kills him.

"In this planet we have a saying: ''The enemy of my enemy is my friend''." <br/>
"I also have a saying: '''''I don't care'''''."
:—'''Harold Attinger''' discusses with '''Lockdown'''.

"Every galaxy I've traveled, all you species are the same. You all think you're the center of the universe. You have no idea..."
:—'''Lockdown''' never truly appreciated one of his clients.

"Human beings. Bunch of backstabbing weasels!" <br>
"Hound, find your inner compass. ''Loyalty is but a flower in the winds of fear and temptation.''" <br>
"What the hell are you saying?!?" <br>
"It's a haiku."<br>
"Cut the crap before I drop a grenade down your throat!"<br>
"Try it, you'll be dead!"<br>
"Oh, please pull it. Please do it."
:—'''Hound''' doesn't appreciate '''Drift's''' haikus.

"With your fate unknown, Bumblebee has held command, despite his complete and total lack of anything resembling warrior discipline. He's like a child."<br>
"This child is about to ''kick your ass!''"
:—'''Drift''' and '''Bumblebee'''

"Autobots, I have sworn never to kill humans..."<br>
"Big mistake."<br>
"...but when I find out who's behind this...he's going to ''die''."<br>
"Hoo-ah!"
:—'''Prime's''' rage is fueled by '''Hound'''.

"Destroy the lab! Destroy it all!" <br>
''(The Autobots lay waste to the KSI research facility)'' <br>
"Hey, you! Stop! That's company property!" <br>
"They're not ''your'' property! ''They were my friends.''" <br>
:—'''Optimus Prime''' duly informs '''Joshua Joyce''' that Transformers aren't just machines.

"You have no soul!"<br>
"That is why I have no ''fear''!"
:—'''Optimus Prime'''' is shocked to find '''Galvatron''' isn't as lifeless as he thought.

"We're behind enemy lines now. Lockdown's ship has booby traps! Eyes open."<br>
"Beware of his bone-grinders, brain-blinders, flesh-stealers, chromosomal-inverters, catatonic slugs, black hole trapdoors and of course, radiation."

:—'''Hound''' and '''Crosshairs''' warn the humans of the perils held within Lockdown's ship.

"I was expecting a [[Grimlock (G1)/toys#Alternators.2FBinaltech|giant car!]]"
:—'''Drift''' witnessing Grimlock transform into a dinosaur.

"Autobots, we're going to prove who we are, and ''why we're here''!"
:—'''Optimus Prime''' rallies his troops with his characteristic passion and charisma.

"Ugh, you just wanna die for the guy. ''That's'' leadership. Or brainwashing, or something."<br>
"No, that's Optimus Prime."
:—'''Crosshairs''' and '''Drift''', remarking on their [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|leader]]/[[Dinobot (AOE)|Giant Robot Dinosaur]] tamer.

"I'm like a fat ballerina who takes scalps and slits throats!"
:—'''Hound''' takes another five levels in badass and ballerina class.

"How do you say 'Get the f&%# out of the way' in Chinese?"
:—'''Joshua''' has some issues with the language barrier.

"I hate cheap knockoffs."
:—'''Bumblebee''' looking for [[Jazz (Movie)#Human_Alliance|Human Alliance Jazz]] on [[eBay|eBay]].

"We shall meet again, Prime, for I am reborn."
:—'''Galvatron''' retreats to fight another day.

"There are mysteries to the universe we were never meant to solve, but who we are and why we are here are not among them. Those answers we carry inside. I am Optimus Prime, and this message is to my Creators. Leave planet Earth alone. 'Cause I'm coming...for you."
:—'''Optimus Prime'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s closing narration.

==Main cast==
{{featuredcharacters|
h1=[[Autobot]]s|c1=
*[[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] ([[Peter Cullen]])
*[[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]]
*[[Hound (Movie)|Hound]] ([[John Goodman]])
*[[Drift (AOE)|Drift]] ([[Ken Watanabe]])
*[[Ratchet (Movie)|Ratchet]] ([[Robert Foxworth]])
*[[Crosshairs (AOE)|Crosshairs]] ([[John DiMaggio]])
*[[Leadfoot (DOTM)|Leadfoot]] (''Robert Foxworth'', video footage)
*[[Brains]] ([[Reno Wilson]])
*[[Sentinel Prime (ROTF)|Sentinel Prime]]'s head
'''[[Dinobot (AOE)|Dinobots]]'''
*[[Grimlock (AOE)|Grimlock]]
*[[Scorn]]
*[[Slug (AOE)|Slug]]
*[[Strafe (AOE)|Strafe]]

|h2=[[Decepticon]]s|c2=
*[[Megatron (Movie)|Galvatron]] ([[Frank Welker]])
*[[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]]'s head
*[[Stinger (AOE)|Stinger]]
*[[Junkheap (AOE)|Junkheap]]s
*[[KSI Sentry|KSI Sentries]]
*[[KSI Boss]]es
*"[[Two Head]]s"
*[[McLaren Decepticon]]
*[[Aston Martin Decepticon]]
*[[Insecticon (Movie)|Insecticons]]
*[[Barricade (Movie)|Barricade]] (reused video footage)
*[[Protoform]]s (reused video footage)

|h3=[[Human]]s|c3=
*[[Cade Yeager]] ([[Mark Wahlberg]])
*[[Tessa Yeager]] ([[Nicola Peltz]])
*[[Shane Dyson]] ([[Jack Reynor]])
*[[Joshua Joyce]] ([[Stanley Tucci]])
*[[Harold Attinger]] ([[Kelsey Grammer]])
*[[James Savoy]] ([[Titus Welliver]])
*[[Lucas Flannery]] ([[T. J. Miller]])
*[[Darcy Tirrel]] ([[Sophia Myles]])
*[[Su Yueming]] ([[Li Bingbing]])
*[[Gill Wembley]] ([[James Bachman]])
*[[Chief of Staff]] ([[Thomas Lennon]])

|h4=Others|c4=
*[[Creator (AOE)|Creators]]
'''Lockdown's crew'''
*[[Lockdown (ROTF)|Lockdown]] ([[Mark Ryan]])
*[[Shadow Raider]]s
*[[Steeljaw (AOE)|Steeljaws]]
*[[Stupid Drone]]s
'''[[Kinetic Solutions Incorporated|KSI]] prototypes'''
*[[Oreo Transformer]] (uncredited)
|nonumbering=true
}}

==Continuity Notes==
*This film reveals the existence of ‘The Creators’, a mysterious race of aliens responsible for the extinction of the dinosaurs and creating our titular transforming robotic aliens, or at least their elemental metal. Originally it was believed the Allspark was the sole progenitor of the race of ‘Transformers’. How 'the Allspark' and ‘The Creators’ are connected remains to be told.
*Sometime after the 'Battle for Chicago' in the last film, the U.S. has provided the company, Kinetic Solutions Incorporated, with the collected Decepticons’ remains and their abandoned technology for research. However, during the massive clean up some of the technology was stolen by quite a hefty amount of people, not with the U.S. government. Even ending up in the hands of those both within and outside of the United States, the Russians have even started a bidding war.
*During the events of ''Dark of the Moon'', under duress, the UN voted for the Autobot-Government Cooperation Act to be expunged (first initiated between the events of the first and second films). Effectively, putting an end to the alliance and dispansion of NEST. As of the preceding events of this film, it has not been reinstated.
*With the disbanding of NEST, a new paramilitary unit, called Cemetery Wind was formed, composed of just humans, such as CIA operatives, some who’ve lost families in the Battle of Chicago, and is headed by Harold Attinger, tasked with dealing with the remaining Decepticons forces. Although some of Earth’s government officials are under the assumption that the Autobots are still assisting in efforts to put an end to the remaining Decepticons threat.
*Despite the end of their alliance, several Autobots (presumably the ''DOTM'' survivors and new arrivals) were given sanctuary for their aid in putting an end to the war they brought to our planet.
*Of course, both Autobots Optimus Prime and Bumblebee return, along with Ratchet, Leadfoot (via drone footage), also Brains, who was last seen in the previous film, going down with the Decepticon mothership, alongside Wheelie, after sabotaging it, preventing Bumblebee and the other Autobots (except Wheeljack/Que) from being executed by Soundwave and others. Wheelie's fate was something still unknown, until his reappearance in the following film, ''The Last Knight''.
*In the five-year gap, between ''Dark of the Moon'' and ''Age of Extinction'', Autobots Hound, Crosshairs, and Drift had arrived on Earth and due to the hostile actions of ‘Cemetery Wind’ have been forced into hiding. Somehow ending up under the command of the experienced expert of Earth, Bumblebee (some are not impressed).
*Sometime after the final battle of ''Dark of the Moon'', Optimus had his arm reattached, after being removed by Sentinel Prime during their final fight, presumably by Ratchet, our best offscreen medic.
*Also, Optimus uses his Energon sword (used in every film, ever since the first one) and his mega-striker shotgun (first used in the third film) for the last time. The former seen being shredded to pieces by Galvatron onscreen. Nooo. Ratchet also uses his gun for the final time, being utilized for battle and/or for intimidation throughout the first trilogy.
*In the KSI lab, among the spoils of war, are the heads of Sentinel Prime and Megatron, provided through government contracts.
*Established in the first film, Optimus Prime has held a no-harming-or-killing-humans rule (although his Autobots don't always follow that rule), the betrayal and subsequent hunting of his kind by the humans challenges Optimus' one rule.
*During Optimus Prime's fight with Grimlock, he tries to convince Grimlock and his Dinobots that they should join forces to fight against Lockdown, Galvatron's forces, and their mysterious 'Creators', as well as saving the nearby populace. Promising them 'freedom', Prime's moral compass established in the first film, albeit Grimlock must physically test Prime's strength, forcing Optimus to use force. He later holds up his end of the bargain by setting Grimlock and the other Dinbotos free after the day is saved, while thanking and commending them. Optimus doesn't task them with protecting Cade and his family, instead leaving it to his fellow Autobots already voluntarily under his command.

==Errors==
===Continuity errors===
[[File:DeceasedTransformersAOE.jpg‎|thumb|upright=1.6|Your attention, please. Will the ''real'' Optimus Prime please stand up?]]
[[File:AOECrosshairsDriftWeirdEdit.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|What just happened? No, seriously. Is there some kind of timey-wimey thing going on?]]
[[File:AOE savoy eyegouge.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|"An eye for an eye makes the whole world-OH MY GOD!!!"]]
*[[Ironhide (Movie)|Ironhide]] is seen on the cards Attinger pulls out early in the film, listed as deceased and having been last seen in Chicago. However, Ironhide was killed by Sentinel Prime in Washington, D.C., midway through ''Dark of the Moon'', and long before the final battle in Chicago.
*Scenes from the Decepticons' invasion of Chicago in ''Dark of the Moon'' are shown as archival footage presented by Attinger. While it is conceivable some lucky people with cameras recorded the initial attack and managed to survive and publish their footage, it's highly unlikely people would've been able to get close-up video footage of the NEST team taking down [[Barricade (Movie)|Barricade]] and the other Decepticons.
*A Cemetery Wind vehicle smashes into the side of Shane's car during the chase through the cornfield, but the car doesn't show any damage to that side in subsequent shots.
*Tessa and Shane's reliance on Romeo and Juliet laws is unnecessary, since the age of consent in Texas is 17.
*During the 'Autobots reunite' sequence, Drift starts out in car mode on a road with Bumblebee and Crosshairs, before suddenly appearing atop a rock formation in robot mode and transforming to helicopter mode to meet up with Optimus Prime.
*When Crosshairs and Drift are talking on board Lockdown's ship shortly after boarding it, a ''very'' bizarre edit occurs in the middle of Drift's line "Better hurry, because dark matter drives are preparing to take off". The camera angle is now slightly different than before, but it's not a switch between a long shot and a close-up or a complete change of perspective. Oddly, Drift is still seen from the almost the ''exact same angle'' as before the edit, but even though his and Crosshairs's bodies were at an almost 90 degree angle before the edit, they're now suddenly almost standing in parallel to each other, with Crosshairs' head turned towards Drift. In addition, a flame that appeared in front of Drift just before the edit is suddenly gone.
*When Shane shouts "I surrender!" and drops his "gun-sword", the hilt is facing to the right, but after a close-up showed it landing on the ground and firing a shot, the hilt is suddenly facing to the ''left'' in the subsequent long shot when it fires more shots.
*When Joshua reunites with the rest of the group in Hong Kong, Darcy tells him she'll do a diversion, and to get the Seed somewhere safe. Yet, no diversion of any kind happens.
*As Cade and Savoy grapple in the apartment, Cade jams his thumb deep into Savoy's eye socket (see right), with accompanying "squlech" sound effect, and appropriate reaction from Savoy in the form of a long howl of pain through gritted teeth and a string of drool flowing uncontrolled from his mouth. But as soon as the two separate, Savoy's eye is absolutely fine, with no indication anything is supposed to have happened to it.
*During Hound's fight with [[Two Head]], Cade is seen wearing his jacket but reverts back to his shirt following the Decepticon's defeat.
*While Lockdown is pulling up parts of the city, Shane backs the car into a building which is two stories high at most, but appears much larger on the inside.
*In vehicle mode, Stinger's engine sound is inaccurate to what his alt mode actually is (a Pagani Huayra) and sounds more like a McLaren F1.

===Technical/animation errors===
*The shot right before the close-up of the cyberformed dinosaurs has no cyberformed dinosaurs at all, despite having all the excavation vehicles in the same positions as the next scene.
* Arcee is seen on Attinger's cards misspelled as "Acree".
** Additionally, the image on the card is of [[Elita-One (Movie)|Elita-One]]; while an Arcee ''sister'', is not Arcee herself. This could potentially be explained by the movie ignoring the retcon from the comics that changed her from one character with three bodies to three characters psychically linked by a single spark.
*When Savoy says "Use the mini drones", you can clearly see the green screen in the monitors.
*As Cemetery Wind are attacking Ratchet, a helicopter fires several missiles at him. Two of the missiles miss him, but do not detonate or cause any explosion of any kind to the structures immediately behind Ratchet, and are not even seen to hit them- they simply disappear.
*When Attinger takes over the operation to scramble Cemetery Wind after Optimus, and dismisses everyone in the room, he does so by saying "Ladies and gentlemen, this room is going dark. The exit is on your left." All the people then get up and begin to exit to their ''right''.
*Scrambling Cemetery Wind seems to scramble the timeline. From the deployment of Cemetery Wind to Lucas's death, the time of day is in limbo. For example, Optimus escapes from the Yeager property at sunset, joining the pursuit that takes place in early afternoon, not to mention that Cemetery Wind arrives at the Yeagers' home town at what appears to be dawn. In some instances, repeated changes between shots correspond with changes between different times of day, as different positions of the sun result in very very obviously different lighting conditions.
*When Lockdown transforms to prepare for the attack on Optimus, one can clearly see a faux-part Lamborghini logo pop out from inside the car, while the actual logo disappears.
*In the shot of Shane's car pulling up outside of the Yeager farm after Cemetery Wind has stormed in, nobody is seen inside the vehicle.
*During the scene where Cade is pretending to be a truck driver with Optimus still in his flat-nose truck form, he has a cap and white plaid shirt on. After Optimus scans into his newer form, Cade's back to wearing his leather jacket.
*When Shane's car gets sideswiped in the cornfield, the back left window is shattered. A couple scenes later, the window is just rolled down.
*When Shane's car breaks into a building, the woman sitting right in the middle of the room is clearly waiting on the glass-breaking noise to start running.
*After Lucas' death, there is nothing really stopping Lockdown or Cemetery Wind from continuing to chase Optimus. Lockdown is much faster and could easily catch up to Optimus whilst Cemetery Wind could chase in their remaining vehicles.
*When Optimus transforms to and from his Marmon 97 alternate mode, the windows and grille that make up his chest visibly change size and shape.
*When Optimus transforms out of his flat-nosed truck mode and punches the ground, Tessa and Shane are standing next to each other, as viewed from behind Optimus. When the view immediately switches to be facing Optimus, Cade is suddenly standing between the two.
*Shane defends his relationship with Tessa by stating that the 'Romeo and Juliet laws' "statute 2705-3" protect their relationship, yet the card he shows Cade reads "Statute 22.011". This is also the number that appears in the English subtitles of the DVD, meaning that it was scripted as 22.011 and not 2705-3.
*The truck that Optimus scans, while still being from the Western Star manufacturer, is an older and different model than the one he transforms into.
*When Optimus is on his way to the reunion site, the human characters inside are sitting this way: Shane to the right, Tessa in the Middle and Cade to the left. However when Optimus gets to the reunion point Cade comes out of the truck using Shane's side door (right) instead of his (left). It is clear they (the director and his crew) were trying to get a "superhero" pose but it doesn't make sense.
*When Optimus arrived to the reunion site you can see the filming crew in the reflection of his front chrome parts.
*The statement that Drift claims to be a haiku ("Loyalty is but a flower in the winds of fear and temptation") is not actually a haiku: poems of that style generally consist of three separate statements in a 5-7-5 syllable pattern; the one mentioned in the film is a single unbroken statement that totals to the 17 syllables that a haiku technically consists of.
*Hound's dialogue when he's bickering with Drift doesn't really match up to what we see. Drift pulls his swords on Hound, but the big guy goads him on to "pull it", suggesting Drift was originally supposed to aim a firearm at him.
[[File:Uncolored Ratchet head prop.jpg‎|thumb|upright=1.67|Gray is the new green.]]
*When Joshua is in the lab showing Darcy Transformium, in two different shots, a gray, uncolored prop of Ratchet's head can be seen being worked on in the next room.
*As Cade's drone scans a KSI employee's name tag, it displays its location onscreen as around N 38°44'55", W115°28'27". These coordinates are for a [https://www.google.com/maps/place/38%C2%B044%2755.0%22N+115%C2%B028%2727.0%22W/@38.7486111,-115.4741667,3048m patch of desert in Nevada] rather than any place in Chicago.
*While first infiltrating KSI, in the showroom where Stinger is first viewed, Bumblebee is in car mode when Joshua walks in with Yueming. Bumblebee's engine audibly revs, yet Joshua doesn't notice that there's no one in the car to rev the engine.
[[File:Megatron Head at KSI.jpg|right|upright=1.4|thumb|Screw logic!]]
*Megatron's severed head is in somewhat good shape for someone who got an axe stabbed on the top of his head. Furthermore, his head is more in line with its appearance in the first movie not ''Dark of the Moon''.
*Not to mention, after Joshua's group leaves and Bumblebee knocks Stinger down, there's no transformation noise right before Bumblebee returns to his altmode and the KSI executive walks in. Additionally, Bumblebee starts playing M.C. Hammer's "U Can't Touch This", '''when no one is in the car''' to turn the stereo on. Ostensibly it was for a comic moment, but it didn't raise anyone's suspicions that a car that wasn't typical of the ones being scanned, operating the engine and the stereo with no human inside, might be a disguised Cybertronian?
*After Bumblebee scans his new alternate mode, the camera pans over the car and Tessa and Shane are not inside. However when he's getting his new upgraded form you can see that they used stunt doubles for Shane and Tessa. That scene wasn't dangerous enough to require stunt doubles, was it?
*Some security guards in KSI fail to react to Crosshairs's shooting and shouting until a few seconds before the scene changes.
*When Galvatron first transforms and crashes into a truck, the way he is composed in the scene makes it look like he is simply floating above the wreckage, instead of being in the middle causing it.
*When Optimus transforms, Cade and Shane leap out of Optimus, while Tessa is trapped and rolls away. However, previous shots establish that the seating order in Optimus is Shane, Tessa, Cade. This means that Cade crawled over his daughter to escape(!), which is not quite logical or possible.
*Lockdown fires two missiles at Optimus Prime that, despite piercing his chest, don't manifest any kind of visible damage on his person, despite the previous shot showing Optimus's chest getting blown apart.
*When Lockdown is approaching Optimus after gunning him down, the driver's door of the Cadillac SRX he's resting on is shown to be open in two exterior shots, even though Tessa previously closed it after getting inside, and it's also shown closed in other (mostly interior) shots.
*When he loses his grip on the net holding Optimus and the car containing Tessa, Cade is shown falling toward the street, but he lands on the grass by the road.
*When the Autobots are on a bridge, before boarding Lockdown's ship, Crosshairs is clearly shown to be speaking but no dialogue is heard.
*Also in that same scene when Hound says "It's a bad idea but I'm all about bad ideas" his mouth movements are slightly out of synch.
*When Tessa gets taken to the trash in Lockdown's ship, a green screen can be seen at the end of the corridor.
*While locking up Optimus, Lockdown's scar is on the left side of his face. While talking to Savoy upon delivering the seed, it's on the right side of his face; however, it switches back to the left side right before he walks off after bidding Earth farewell.
*While the human characters are climbing across the anchor cables to the high-rise building some of the Steeljaws begin to climb out after them. Cade tells his daughter not to look back and see them, but when we cut back to her, with a clear view of the cables behind her, the Steeljaws are gone.
*When Bumblebee jumps off Lockdown's ship to save the humans, he is followed by a Steeljaw. In the following shot, the Steeljaw is gone.
*While explaining Megatron's plans to the Autobots, Brains rings a bell on a train. In the next shot, the bell is not moving.
*During the motorcycle chase, the CIA cars change. At first, Joshua and Su are trailed by a Cadillac and an Audi; in the middle of the chase, the Cadillac is replaced by another Audi. By the end of the chase, the Cadillac is back.
*In Hong Kong, when Cade, Joshua, Tessa, and Shane enter the elevator to run away from the rooftop, the elevator won't move and Cade says it's overloaded. But in the next scene, we see that the maximum number of people that the elevator can carry is nine, and it's very clear that the Seed doesn't weight as much as five people.
*When Grimlock transforms to his dino mode and charges at Optimus, there are no other Dinobots, nor the ship, to be seen in the background. However, after Optimus punches Grimlock and the shot changes, Dinobots are standing almost right next to him.
*Optimus somehow has enough strength to not only maintain his ground, but propel Grimlock through the air during his charge. Considering Grimlock's strength, velocity and weight, it is highly unlikely Optimus would win.
*Immediately after he transforms into his triceratops mode, Slug is shown to have a very visible Autobot logo on his dino-mode forehead, yet he just met Optimus and the other Autobots moments before.
*One of the air conditioning units kicked off the building exterior by Savoy falls away to reveal ... a solid wall, with no connection to an apartment's interior.
*During Hound's stand in Hong Kong, the pickup truck he uses as a shield sways left to right whilst his arm remains still.
*The damage Hound receives after being shot down, most noticeably the pipe on his left shoulder, is fixed in subsequent shots.
*Crosshairs is seen driving alongside Drift and Hound through the bridge to take the Seed away from the city ... right after we just saw him staying behind to hold the line with the Dinobots.
*During the final fight, Bumblebee decides to just leave midway. Considering the distance between the factory and the dock where they met, he must have left long before Optimus flew there.
*Also during the final flight, Cade is hiding on his own behind a wall. After Lockdown fires, a second person is seen behind him. In the next shot this person has disappeared. Looking closely, the second person is wearing a suit like Attinger. Alternate take of his death, perhaps?
*After Optimus takes off, the other Autobots are absent from the shot of the main cast watching Optimus fly off.

===Geographic discontinuities===
*When Cade tries to use his card at an ATM, not only is the card issued from a Chinese bank, which wouldn't have any branches in north Texas, where the Yeagers live, the text on the ATM screen (behind the ''Access Denied'' warning) is in Chinese.
*Despite being from north Texas, Cade and Tessa have no Texas accents. Not all Texans have noticeable accents of course, but Wahlberg in particular spends the whole film speaking with his natural ''Boston'' accent.
*Despite the KSI pursuit scene taking place on a two lane highway, there are several scenes spliced in of the Transformers with supercar alt modes (like Stinger and Crosshairs) driving on what is obviously a racecourse (specifically the GM proving grounds in Milford, Michigan). This is apparent by the horizontal incline of the road in some of the shots that are also missing the markings that would normally be on a road, and a reaction shot for Stinger that shows a straight, one lane ninety degree turn.
*The entirety of the KSI pursuit scene switches between taking place between the left and right sides of the two-lane highway, despite being only supposed to take place on the right side. Furthermore, the shot showing stray missiles colliding with oncoming traffic takes place on a completely different highway, one with five lanes instead of three and a wooden fence on the side of the street as opposed to a guardrail. Moreover; the car crashing stunt for the bridge jump scene starts on the five lane highway, continues on the left side of the three lane highway, and then finishes on the ''right side'' of the three lane highway. Trouble finding shots, eh?I
*Furthermore, because this is in Chicago, a U.S. City, it makes no sense for cars to be driving on the left side of the road, instead of the right.
*All of the vehicles seen in Hong Kong are left-hand drive, rather than the right-hand drive you'd expect in a location that drives on the left.
*Some scenes supposed to take place in Hong Kong depict a very distinctively American city with traffic lights suspended by wires above the street.
*Chicago's Willis Tower can be seen in the background of Hong Kong.
*The bridge out of the city shown in the film (Tsing Ma Bridge) is at least a half-hour drive from the battlefield in Central.
*Furthermore, despite Optimus's comment, there are no bridges connecting Hong Kong Island (where all the action allegedly takes place) to the mainland. The only way to get off Hong Kong Island (other than by boat or swimming) is via one of three tunnels, none of which are used, referenced or mentioned in the film.
*Speaking of bridges, Tsing Ma Bridge (the gray version of the Golden Gate Bridge) shown in the movie is effectively a dead end unless one is going to the airport or Disneyland, because it only leads to/from Lantau Island.
*The bridge where Grimlock "digs in" is an expressway bypass. Geographically defending it is pointless as there are multiple other routes (including at least one that is faster) to bypass the bridge and tunnel yet end up at the same place on the other side.
*In one of the fight scenes there is an overhead railway (the {{w|Detroit People Mover}}). There are no overhead railways on Hong Kong Island (yet) and the {{w|MTR}} (the subway train network) trains look nothing like the train used in the scenes, as they are a completely different shape and color.
*There are no "glass houses" on Hong Kong Island.
*There are no Chinese temple ruins on Hong Kong Island. The temples there are all intact and frequently used or preserved and don't have giant metal umbrellas ''at all''.
*The area where Optimus battles and "tames" Grimlock is in the Wushan Valley in Northern China which is over 1100 km from Hong Kong, yet is depicted as being in Pok Fu Lam on the South Western side of Hong Kong Island (which is a high rise residential area). Even flying it would take well over 2 hours to get from Wushan Valley to Hong Kong.
*It's not possible to drive a car from Beijing into Hong Kong, as the number plates would be invalid, and it would take over a day to drive that distance. Chinese vehicles coming into Hong Kong have to be from the Canton area (number plates are black) and have to be registered with Hong Kong plates, which means they must display both plates at all times one above the other. (In addition, the process to obtain permission for a car to have that is also lengthy and costly.)
*The blue SUV used by Cade and his companions is not a type of vehicle that exists in Hong Kong. In addition, its steering wheel is located on the left side, even though cars in Hong Kong have their steering wheels on the right side.
*Optimus Prime's Western Star alternate mode would be illegal to drive on Hong Kong roads, since it's is oversized. The Freightliner truck used for Galvatron is the maximum size/gauge allowed on Hong Kong roads. All scenes with Optimus driving in truck mode were filmed elsewhere, the Western Star truck was never brought to Hong Kong. Even his previous Peterbilt alternate mode would be illegal in Hong Kong.
*The area depicted as the final battle scene where Optimus and Lockdown face off was digitally added on the map of Hong Kong shown in the movie. It doesn't exist at all in real life, where it's actually a breakwater/typhoon shelter full of boats on Victora Harbour. In addition, the factories in Hong Kong (which are all located on Kowloon, because Hong Kong Island is purely a residential/business/shopping district) look nothing like the buildings used in the scene.

===[[Dinobot Island, Part 1|Paleontology weeps]]===
*The cyberformed remains of a ''Tyrannosaurus'' and a ''Spinosaurus'' appear frozen together in the arctic at the beginning of the film, which is rather odd considering the two are found on different continents (North America and Africa respectively) and separated by around 35 million years of evolution. Note that a few months after the release of the movie, the morphology of ''Spinosaurus'' was completely revised, with a different spine shape and shorter legs.
[[File:ExtinctionOfTheDinosaurus.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|And another thing! How is that sauropod running!?!]]
*The opening scene of the movie shows a ''Psittaccosaurus'' (100-120 million years old), a generic hadrosaur that might be either an ''Edmontosaurus'' or a ''Shantungosaurus'' (65-70 million years old), and a brachiosaurid (100-157 million years old) all present during what is implied to be the K-Pg extinction event (64.5-65 million years old).
*The ''Psittaccosaurus'', a well known herbivorous animal, is seen actively hunting and killing live prey. In a nod to paleontological accuracy, however, it is depicted with a row of quill-like feathers along its back, as many ceratopsian dinosaurs are believed to have had.
*The Dinobots' alternate modes are orders of magnitude larger than the real dinosaurs on which they're based. In an interesting twist, using Optimus as a proxy for the average human, all the Dinobots bar Strafe have been accurately scaled up. At 850 tonnes <ref name="Grimlock stats">[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/entertainment-weekly-reveals-new-details-on-transformers-4-age-of-extinction-new-grimlock-image-179675] summarised on TFW2005.</ref> Grimlock is as large compared to Optimus as a real ''Tyrannosaurus'' would be next to a human.

==Transformers references==

* As usual, many of the new characters have roots in older portions of the mythos:
** [[Drift (AOE)|Drift]] is based on [[Drift (G1)|a Generation 1 character]] introduced in IDW's 2008 ''[[The Transformers: All Hail Megatron|All Hail Megatron]]'' series.
** Lockdown is derived from [[Lockdown (Animated)|a character in the 2008 ''Animated'' cartoon]] who had already jumped over to the G1 comics and, in toy form, to the movie universe.
** [[Hound (disambiguation)|Hound]] shares a military-green alternate mode with his [[Hound (G1)|Generation 1 counterpart]], but is otherwise unrelated. His portly physique has put many a fan in mind of similar military-green Autobot [[Bulkhead (disambiguation)|Bulkhead]], but again, the movie character's crusty, violence-hungry, trigger-happy personality owes nothing to that gentle Autobot giant.
** The name [[Crosshairs (disambiguation)|Crosshairs]] has been used by a few characters before, but this version has nothing to do with any of them.
** Galvatron being a new form for Megatron has been a thing for [[Galvatron (disambiguation)|basically forever]]. With Joyce's intentions of creating him as a counterpart to Optimus Prime, he also takes cues from [[Nemesis Prime (disambiguation)|Nemesis Prime]]; in particular the human-controlled ''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Prime]]'' [[Nemesis Prime (Prime)|character]].
** The Dinobots are the latest iteration of [[Dinobot (G1)|the powerhouse subfaction]] that first appeared in the early days of Generation 1. Their leader Grimlock is a direct analog of [[Grimlock (G1)|his Generation 1 counterpart]]; Strafe and Slug are based on Generation 1 [[Swoop (G1)|Swoop]] and [[Slag (G1)|Slag]], respectively.
* The Creators seem inspired by the alien [[Quintesson]]s from the Sunbow ''The Transformers'' cartoon, who were revealed to be the creators of the Cybertronian race in the third season of said cartoon.
* In the film's opening act, Optimus has adopted a cabover truck alternate mode akin to that of his [[Optimus Prime (G1)|G1 counterpart]]. His robot mode also draws some inspiration from his G1 design, such as the large grill on his chest.
* Ratchet and Lockdown are paired off against each other; the first incarnation of [[Lockdown (Animated)|Lockdown]] from ''Transformers: Animated'' was pitted off against that version of [[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]] in his very first appearance, presumably inspiring their scene together.
* As he hunts for Ratchet, Lockdown's head-up display shows characters in [[Cybertronian language|Ancient Autobot]], an alphabet originating in the Generation 1 episode "[[Cosmic Rust (episode)|Cosmic Rust]]". Unlike some uses of the language, it appears at random here, with no secret messages to decode.
* In the scene where Optimus scans a passing truck, the classic [[Transformation#The noise|transformation noise]] plays when the Autobot symbol emerges from his grill.
* The scene where Galvatron goes active and breaks free in KSI's Chinese facility mirrors the scene in the 2007 ''Transformers'' movie when Megatron breaks free inside [[Sector Seven]]'s facility, down to a reuse of the line "I am Megatron", only with the name changed to "Galvatron".
* The ringtone on Gill Wembley's cell phone is a remixed version of the original ''The Transformers'' cartoon's [[theme song]].

==Real-life references==
[[File:Rainbow Dash Age of Extinction.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|"I found the magic!"]]

*Among the objects KSI makes from Transformium in the film is a Rainbow Dash doll from ''[[My Little Pony]]''.

==Other editions==

==Prequel material==
*''[[Transformers (Titan Magazine)|Transformers: Age of Extinction]]'' magazine ([[Titan Books|Titan Comics]])

==Adaptations==
Unusually, no novel or comic adaptations of the film were released. The ''[[Transformers Annual 2015]]'' contained an extremely cut down prose summary of events.

==Music==
==Score==
{{main|Age of Extinction: The Score}}

==Home video releases==
{{main|Transformers: Age of Extinction (film)/home video}}

==Theatrical posters==
<center><gallery>
File:Transformers- Age of ExtinctionTeaserPoster.jpg|Something has survived...
File:Transformers- Age of ExtinctionOptimusPrimePoster.jpg|Will you follow me... for the fourth time?
File:Transformers Age of Extinction poster-IMAX.jpg|The Prime, the Grim, and the Marky.
File:Transformers Age of Extinction Cade poster.jpg|Cade, look out behind you! Ah, too late, Lockdown's ship got him.
File:Transformers Age of Extinction Shane poster.jpg|So the five minute scene about statutory rape was supposed to be funny?
File:Transformers Age of Extinction Tessa poster.jpg|She wants you to forget she was in ''{{w|The Last Airbender (film)|The Last Airbender}}''.
File:Transformers Age of Extinction Su poster.jpg|So the minor character gets a poster and two lengthy filler action scenes to herself?
File:Transformers Age of Extinction Lockdown poster.jpg|''Age of Extinction'', come and spend your money here!
File:Transformers Age of Extinction Rules Have Changed.jpg|It's a scene not in the movie!
File:Transformers Age of Extinction This Is Not War.jpg|This is not human extinction, it's just war.
File:Transformers Age of Extinction Stand Together1.jpg|So we face extinction if we don't stand with you? Huh, that's kinda harsh...
File:Transformers Age of Extinction Stand Together2.jpg|"Now look down. Now look at me. I'm on a dinosaur."
</gallery></center>

==Reception==

{{quote|"The few authentic inspirations to be found in the movie's hundred and sixty-five roiling minutes involve gigantic science-fiction contrivances."|[http://www.newyorker.com/arts/reviews/film/transformers_age_of_extinction_bay The New Yorker's Richard Brody on Transformers 4: Age of Extinction], Richard Brody|[http://newyorker.com newyorker.com] [[2014]]}}

''Transformers: Age of Extinction'' was critically panned, and nearly universally condemned on the American front, receiving a rating of 18% positive critical reviews on RottenTomatoes.com, one percent lower than the final score for ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]''. Common criticisms leveled against it included its relatively long run time of 2 hours and 45 minutes, the disproportionately small amount of screen time the Dinobots got in relation to their relatively large exposure in promotional materials for the film, an over-reliance on product placement, and the decision to set the final act in Hong Kong, which was perceived as a choice solely done to pander towards the Chinese audience for the film. However, the film received praise for its visual effects, action sequences, and the performances of some of the human actors, mainly Mark Wahlberg, Stanley Tucci, and Kelsey Grammer.<ref>http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/transformers_age_of_extinction/</ref> Despite any criticisms, the film was the worldwide top-grossing film for 2014, earning over a billion dollars.<ref>[http://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?view2=worldwide&yr=2014 Box Office Mojo's 2014 Worldwide Grosses]</ref>

It {{w|35th Golden Raspberry Awards|won one Golden Raspberry Award}} for Worst Director ([[Michael Bay]]), was one of four movies contributing to [[Kelsey Grammer]]'s Worst Supporting Actor win (along with ''{{w|The Expendables 3}}'', ''{{w|Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return}}'' and ''{{w|Think Like a Man Too}}''), and was unsuccessfully nominated for Worst Picture; Worst Supporting Actress ([[Nicola Peltz]] as [[Tessa Yeager]]); Worst Screen Combo ("Any two robots, actors (or robotic actors)"); Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel; and Worst Screenplay ("screenplay by [[Ehren Kruger]], based on Hasbro's Transformers action figures").

For Chinese audiences, however, it was a phenomenon and some farmers started making replica Transformers as a new job. <ref>[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/chinese-villagers-give-up-farming-719236 The Hollywood Reporter: "Chinese Villagers Give Up Farming to Build Giant Transformers From Old Car Parts", July 16 2014]</ref>

==Production staff==
''Age of Extinction'' was written by [[Ehren Kruger]], who also wrote ''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (film)|Dark of the Moon]]'' and helped write ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]''.
===Visual effects===
Like the previous films in the series, [[Industrial Light & Magic]] (with assistance from [[Atomic Fiction]] and [[Base FX]]) was employed to do the visual effects. [[Method Studios]] and [[Tippett Studios]] also contributed to the film's VFX production.

===Locations department===

==Development details==
===Cast and crew signing on===
On June 26, 2011, thirteen days before the official theatrical release of ''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (film)|Dark of the Moon]]'', actor [[Tyrese Gibson]] gave an interview to Movieweb, in which he claimed that [[Michael Bay]] would not return for a fourth ''Transformers'' installment; instead, executive producer [[Steven Spielberg]] himself was allegedly interested in directing a sequel.<ref name="tyresemovieweb">[http://movieweb.com/exclusive-steven-spielberg-may-direct-transformers-4/ Movieweb interview with Tyrese Gibson], with several names missing from the text; the full excerpt in question is quoted [http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/rumor-transformers-4-directed-by-steven-spielberg-172501/ here] on TFW2005.</ref> Ten days later, on June 26, 2011, still three days before the official theatrical release of ''Dark of the Moon'', Michael Bay posted praise for actor [[Shia LaBeouf]] on his official forums, while at the same time expressing regret for leaving the ''Transformers'' franchise.<ref name="bayshialeaving">[http://www.shootfortheedit.com/forum/showthread.php?9502-Love-Shia-as-an-Actor Michael Bay's praise for Shia LaBeouf] at the official Michael Bay forums.</ref> Another two days later, on June 28, 2011, LaBeouf confirmed that ''Dark of the Moon'' would definitely be his last ''Transformers'' film, as he didn't think there was "anywhere to take" his character of [[Sam Witwicky]].<ref name="endshia">[http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2011/06/28/transformers-dark-of-the-moon-shia-labeouf/ "'Transformers: Dark Of The Moon' Is The End For Shia LaBeouf"], MTV Movies Blog.</ref>

Eight months later, on February 13, 2012, producer [[Lorenzo di Bonaventura]] gave an interview during [[Toy Fair 2012]], in which he confirmed that a fourth film was scheduled for a release in the Summer of 2014, Michael Bay would direct it after all, and that the movie would be a "reboot". He promptly clarified that it was actually a "hybrid", an "evolution" of the franchise that would be in continuity with the previous films, citing 2012's ''{{w|The Amazing Spider-Man (2012 film)|The Amazing Spider-Man}}'' reboot of the ''[[Spider-Man]]'' film franchise as an example of what people should ''not'' expect from a fourth ''Transformers'' film. Di Bonaventura also confirmed that no casting discussions had taken place yet at that point, since there was no set story yet. However, there would be "a lot of new cast", and it was still uncertain at that point whether any of the previous cast members would return. The only characters that would "certainly" return would be [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] and [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]].<ref name="lorenzointerview">["http://www.mtv.com/videos/movies/733426/a-new-transformers-to-hit-theaters-in-summer-2014.jhtml "a new 'transformers' to hit theaters in summer 2014"], interview with Lorenzo Di Bonaventura at MTV.com.</ref> A day later, on February 14, 2012, Bay himself and [[Paramount Pictures]] officially announced that Bay had indeed signed a deal to make a fourth ''Transformers'' film. The film's release date was stated alternatively as either June 27 or June 29, 2014.<ref name="bayfourthfilm1">[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/transformers-4-release-date-revealed-174395/ "Transformers 4 Release Date Revealed"] at TFW2005.</ref><ref name="bayfourthfilm">[http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-17028248 "Transformers director Michael Bay signs for fourth film"], BBC.co.uk.</ref> That same day, Bay also confirmed that he and Spielberg were working on a "whole new re imagining{{sic}} of ''Transformers''".<ref name="reimagining">[http://www.shootfortheedit.com/forum/showthread.php?10284-Transformers-4 Michael Bay confirming that ''Transformers 4'' would be a "reimaginging"] at the official Michael Bay forums.</ref> Two days later, on February 16, 2012, actor [[Josh Duhamel]] expressed his doubts that he, Shia LaBeouf, [[Rosie Huntington-Whiteley]] or Tyrese Gibson would return for the fourth installment.<ref name="noshiarosie">[http://eonline.com/news/294791/josh-duhamel-not-coming-back-for-transformers-4-is-anyone "Josh Duhamel Not Coming Back for Transformers 4: Is Anyone?!"] at E! Online.</ref>

Four months later, on June 6, 2012, Michael Bay confirmed in an interview centered around ''[[Transformers: The Ride – 3D|Transformers: The Ride]]'' that the fourth film would feature "some redesigns of the robots and an entirely new cast", and that it would be the last ''Transformers'' film he would direct.<ref name="ride">[http://herocomplex.latimes.com/movies/transformers-the-ride-3d-even-impresses-disney-rivals/ "‘Transformers’ taking new shape with Universal ride and fourth film"], LA Times Hero Complex.</ref> A few weeks later, on June 21, 2012, Bay confirmed that the fourth film would feature "different human actors", but the film would not be strictly a "reboot", but rather take the story "in a new direction". While hinting that the story might venture into space for "a little bit", he still wanted to keep it "grounded".<ref name="starsspace">[http://herocomplex.latimes.com/movies/transformers-4-michael-bay-purges-stars-may-go-into-space/ "‘Transformers 4’: Michael Bay purges stars, may go into space"], LA Times Hero Complex.</ref>

[[File:TF4 Chinese Reality Show contestants.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|If ''Age of Extinction'' teaches us anything, it's that more movies should be cast using reality shows.]]On September 21, 2012, Michael Bay confirmed the first "cast" member for the film in the broadest sense, namely the fact that voice actor [[Peter Cullen]] would be kept on as [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]]. He also confirmed that the film would ''not'' be a reboot, but would pick up the story from where ''Dark of the Moon'' had left off in [[Chicago]].<ref name="cullen">[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/21/michael-bay-transformers-4-pain-and-gain_n_1903523.html "Michael Bay, 'Transformers 4' Director, On The Struggles Of 'Pain & Gain'"], Huffington Post interview.</ref> One and a half months later, on November 8, 2012, Bay confirmed [[Mark Wahlberg]] as the first human cast member,<ref name="wahlberg">[http://michaelbay.com/2012/11/08/michael-bay-re-teams-with-his-pain-gain-star-mark-wahlberg-for-transformers-4/ "Michael Bay Re-Teams With His 'Pain & Gain' Star Mark Wahlberg for Transformers 4"], on Michael Bay's official site.</ref> after having referred to such claims as "just a rumor" a mere month earlier.<ref name="baynowahlberg">[http://michaelbay.com/2012/10/23/transformers-4-casting-rumor/ "Transformers 4 Casting Rumor"], on Michael Bay's official site.</ref> On December 15, 2012, Wahlberg himself confirmed that filming would commence in May 2013.<ref name="wahlbergmay">[http://collider.com/ted-2-sequel-mark-wahlberg-transformers-4/218011/ "Mark Wahlberg Talks TED 2, TRANSFORMERS 4, and PAIN AND GAIN; Says TF Starts Shooting in May Followed By TED Sequel"], interview with Collider.com.</ref> Another month later, on January 8, 2013, Irish American actor [[Jack Reynor]] was confirmed as the second human cast member.<ref name="reynor">[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/jack-reynor-lands-starring-role-409850 "Jack Reynor Lands Starring Role in 'Transformers 4'"] at Hollywood Reporter.</ref> [[Nicola Peltz]] was confirmed on March 26, 2013,<ref name="welcomepeltz">[http://michaelbay.com/2013/03/26/welcome-nicola-peltz-to-transformers-4/ "Welcome Nicola Peltz to Transformers 4"], on Michael Bay's official site.</ref> followed by [[Stanley Tucci]] (confirmed to be an antagonist) on April 16, 2013.,<ref name="tucci">[http://www.comingsoon.net/news/cinemaconnews.php?id=103034 "CinemaCon: Stanley Tucci Joins Transformers 4"]</ref> [[Kelsey Grammer]] as a lead (human) villain named "Harold Attinger" on May 1, 2013,<ref name="grammerattinger">[http://www.deadline.com/2013/05/kelsey-grammer-lands-lead-human-villain-in-transformers-sequel/ "Kelsey Grammer Lands Lead (Human) Villain In ‘Transformers’ Sequel"] at Deadline.com.</ref> [[Sophia Myles]] as a scientist on May 6, 2013,<ref name="mylesscientist">[http://www.thewrap.com/movies/column-post/sophia-myles-join-mark-wahlberg-michael-bays-transformers-4-exclusive-89661 "Sophia Myles to Join Mark Wahlberg in Michael Bay's 'Transformers 4' (Exclusive)"] at TheWrap.com.</ref> Chinese actress [[Li Bingbing]] in an at that point still unspecified role on May 20, 2013,<ref name="bingbing">[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/chinas-li-bingbing-boards-transformers-525370 "China's Li Bingbing Boards 'Transformers 4'"] at Hollywood Reporter</ref> and actor-comedian [[T. J. Miller]] as a mechanic and best friend to Wahlberg's character on May 28, 2013.<ref name="miller">[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/tj-miller-joins-transformers-4-559359 "T.J. Miller Joins 'Transformers 4'"] at Hollywood Reporter.</ref> [[Titus Welliver]] wasn't officially confirmed until July 25, 2013, after he had been spotted on set in Texas.<ref name="welliver">[http://www.deadline.com/2013/07/transformers-4-adds-titus-welliver/ "‘Transformers 4′ Adds Titus Welliver"], Deadline.com.</ref> In the lead-up to the release of the movie, Welliver would stir up a minor controversy with an interview in which he stated that the film would be darker and "not a kid's movie". Following a storm of online discussion regarding this statement, he issued a new statement to the effect that ''Age of Extinction'' is in fact a kid's movie, and he meant to say it would expand the audience.<ref name="nerdist">[https://www.nerdist.com/2014/02/titus-welliver-talks-about-transformers-4-and-clark-greggs-s-h-i-e-l-d-comments/ Titus Welliver Talks About TRANSFORMERS 4 and Clark Gregg’s S.H.I.E.L.D. Comments], Nerdist.com.</ref>

A rather unusual addition to the cast were [[Byron Li]], [[Candice Zhao]], [[Austin Lin]] and [[Teresa Daley]], which won their part through participating in the ''[[Transformers 4 Chinese Actors Talent Search Reality Show]]'' on August 25, 2013.<ref name="reality">[http://beijing.china.org.cn/2013-08/28/content_29845758.htm "'Transformers 4' recruits 4 Chinese actors"], China.org.cn.</ref>

The remaining robot voice cast (barring Optimus Prime) wasn't officially revealed until May 8, 2014.<ref name="voicecast">[http://michaelbay.com/2014/05/08/john-goodman-and-ken-watanabe-join-the-autobot-voice-cast-in-michael-bays-transformers-age-of-extinction/ "John Goodman And Ken Watanabe Join The Autobot Voice Cast in Michael Bay’s ‘Transformers: Age Of Extinction’"] at the official Michael Bay website.</ref>

===Writing and production===
On March 20, 2013, the Michigan Film Office announced that the fourth film would return to [[Detroit]].<ref name="michigan">[http://www.michiganfilmoffice.org/The-Film-Office/Press-Releases/Detail.aspx?id=11620 "Transformers Returning to Michigan, Approved for Film Incentive" at the Michigan Film Office website.]</ref> Principal photography began on May 28, 2013, at {{w|Monument Valley}}.<ref name="monument">[http://michaelbay.com/2013/05/28/transformers-4-starts-filming-in-monument-valley-navajo-tribal-park/ "Transformers 4 Starts Filming in Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park"], on Michael Bay's official site.</ref> Other shooting locations were the small towns of Lockhart, Taylor, Elgin and Pflugerville in Texas.<ref name="texas">[http://www.dallasnews.com/entertainment/movies/headlines/20130426-fourth-transformers-film-to-shoot-in-texas.ece "Fourth ‘Transformers’ film to shoot in Texas"] at Dallas Morning News.</ref> Shooting in Michigan involved two historic passenger steamboats, the ''{{w|SS Columbia}}'' and her sister ship, the ''{{w|Ste. Claire (passenger steamboat)|SS Ste. Claire}}'', which were docked in {{w|River Rouge, Michigan|River Rouge}} awaiting restoration at the time being used as props.<ref name="boblo">[http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/story/2013/07/26/wdr-boblo-boats-transformers-four.html "Historic Boblo boats land role in Transformers 4"], CBC News.</ref> While shooting in Detroit, Mark Wahlberg's children visited the set and were given small parts in the movie upon their father's request.<ref name="wahlkids">[http://comicbook.com/blog/2013/07/30/mark-wahlbergs-kids-cast-in-transformers-4/ "Mark Wahlberg's Kids Cast In Transformers 4"], Comicbook.com.</ref>

[[File:AOE Michael Bay Nicola Peltz on set.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Michael Bay uses his legendary charm to get the very best performance out of his actors.]]
Due to an increased focus of Hollywood studios trying to market its movies to the Chinese audience, parts of the movie were not only set in China, but actually filmed there. One of the shooting sites was Hong Kong. While there, the movie crew encountered the risks of shooting a movie in China firsthand when director Michael Bay was assaulted on the set by two locals demanding money; according to some sources, they were store owners that were not satisfied with the compensation they received for the inconvenience of having a movie filming nearby. Bay received minor injuries, but played the incident off on his blog. Both he and an official Paramount statement suggested that the assailants were under the influence of drugs.<ref name="attack1">[http://deadline.com/2013/10/hong-kong-police-called-to-transformers-4-set-amid-alleged-extortion-attempt-report-613912/ "Extortion Attempt On ‘Transformers 4′ Set; Michael Bay Suffers Minor Injury: Report"], Deadline.com.</ref><ref name="attack2">[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/michael-bay-attacked-transformers-4-649183 "Michael Bay Attacked on 'Transformers 4' Set in Hong Kong"], Hollywood Reporter.</ref><ref name="attack3">[http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-24566287 "Transformers director Michael Bay attacked in Hong Kong"], BBC.</ref name="attack4">[http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/michael-bay-attacked-on-transformers-hong-kong-film-shoot-1.2100953 "Michael Bay attacked on Transformers Hong Kong film shoot"], CBC News.</ref><ref name="attack5">[http://michaelbay.com/2013/10/17/hong-kong-incident/ "Hong Kong Incident"] on Michael Bay's official Blog.</ref> A second extortion attempt occured several days later, this time allegedly by several triad gang members. Although one of them was later arrested, no-one was injured this time around.<ref name="extortion2">[http://www.businessinsider.com/michael-bay-transformers-4hong-kong-second-extortion-incident-2013-10?IR=T "More Trouble For 'Transformers 4' In Hong Kong As Second Extortion Attempt Reported"], Business Insider.</ref><ref name="extortion3">[http://edition.cnn.com/2013/10/25/world/asia/hong-kong-transformers-triad-extortion/ "Transformers versus the triads of Hong Kong: the sequel"], CNN.</ref> Once again, Bay played down the extortion attempts in an interview, noting that most of the locals were apologetic over what took place, and that he wanted to film more projects in Hong Kong.<ref name="eager">[http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1342084/hollywood-director-michael-bay-eager-shoot-hong-kong-again "Hollywood director Michael Bay eager to shoot in Hong Kong again"], ''South China Morning Post'']</ref>

[[File:AOEOptimusRidingGrimlock.jpg|thumb|upright=1.9|left|"Get me closer! I want to hit them with my sword!"]]Late script changes resulted in Bay and his crew returning to the Chinese city of {{w|Chongqing}} for a week reshooting a scene in January 2014.<ref name="reshoot">[http://www.ecns.cn/2014/01-23/98337.shtml "'Transformers 4' back to China for additional shots"], China News Service (Ecns.cn).</ref>

Some of [[Industrial Light & Magic|ILM]]'s post-production effects were done at a newly opened Lucasfilm facility in Singapore.<ref name="ilmsg">[http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/lifestyle/story/lucasfilm-singapore-work-new-avengers-and-transformers-movies-20140116 "Lucasfilm Singapore to work on new Avengers and Transformers movies"], The Straits Times.</ref>

{{--}}

=== Sponsors and partners ===
==== General Motors and other car manufacturers ====
[[File:AOE Optimus Prime truck.jpg|thumb|upright=1.34|When having one's midlife crisis, it's not unusual to get a souped-up alternate mode.]]
''Age of Extinction'' continues the collaboration with General Motors. Earlier in the film, Bumblebee chooses a customized 1967 Chevrolet Camaro SS as his disguise when hiding from [[Cemetery Wind]], whereas later on, he upgrades to the newest model, a 2014 Camaro concept car. (The production crew was actually accused of ripping off a one-of-a-kind custom for the 1967 version.<ref name="1967custom">[http://jalopnik.com/did-transformers-4-rip-off-this-guys-design-for-the-ne-510655228 "Did Transformers 4 Rip Off This Guy's Design For The New Bumblebee?"] at Jalopnik.com.</ref>) Furthermore, new addition [[Crosshairs (AOE)|Crosshairs]]'s alternate mode is a 2014 Chevrolet C7 Corvette Stingray, and recurring character Ratchet briefly appears at the beginning of the movie and transforms into his Hummer H2 ambulance mode (in the color scheme from ''Dark of the Moon'') before being killed at the hands of Cemetery Wind and [[Lockdown (ROTF)|Lockdown]].

''Age of Extinction'' is the first movie to feature an official partnership with a manufacturer for [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]]'s alternate mode. Earlier in the movie, he transforms into an old, rusty Marmon 97 truck cab (presumably without support from the manufacturer), but later upgrades into a brand new Western Star "5700 OP" concept truck that was designed specifically for the movie by "Twins Custom Coaches" and the team at West Coast Customs, with Western Star being a subsidiary of Daimler Trucks, who also provided a 2012 Freightliner Argosy that serves as [[Megatron (Movie)|Galvatron]]'s alternate mode.

Other manufacturers that provided vehicles to be used for characters' alternate modes were the Oshkosh Corporation with an Oshkosh Defense FMTV truck for [[Hound (Movie)|Hound]], the Volkswagen group with a 2013 Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse for [[Drift (AOE)|Drift]] and a Lamborghini Aventador for Lockdown, and independent Italian manufacturer Pagani Automobili with a Pagani Huayra for [[Stinger (AOE)|Stinger]].

=== Changes before, during and after production ===
* [[Slash (AOE)|Slash]] was originally intended to appear in the film (he even made it into some concept artwork).<ref name="burt">[http://www.seibertron.com/transformers/news/transformers-age-of-extinction-concept-art-from-wesley-burt/30723/ Age of Extiction concept art by Wesley Burt], mirrored at Seibertron.com.</ref>
* [[Glenn Morshower]] was originally set to return in this film, reprising his role of [[Morshower|General Morshower]], but didn't return due to a scheduling conflict.<ref>http://transformerslive.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/general-morshower-not-returning-to.html</ref>
* Both [[Josh Duhamel]] and [[Tyrese Gibson]] were intended to cameo reprising their roles as [[William Lennox]] and [[Robert Epps]] but were cut before filming started.<ref>http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/tyrese-gibson-in-talks-for-transformers-4-176078/</ref><ref>http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/tyrese-gibson-to-make-cameo-appearance-only-in-transformers-4-177407/</ref><ref>http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/josh-duhamel-to-make-cameo-appearance-in-transformers-4-177026/</ref><ref>http://transformerslive.blogspot.com/2013/06/josh-duhamel-not-in-transformers-4.html</ref>
* Ed Welburn, [[General Motors]]' vice president for global design, was originally set to cameo as the C.I.A. head before being recast as a KSI employee.<ref>http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/29/automobiles/ed-welburn-gets-a-part-in-transformers.html?_r=0</ref>
* A scene depicting Hound and Bumblebee dancing with Tessa (while Drift bobs his head in the background) was not present in the final cut of the film.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnxZ7Gg2yV4</ref>
* Scorn's toys lack the additional two sails he has in the film, suggesting it was a late design change.
*The Pagani Huayra that eventually ended up as [[Stinger (AOE)|Stinger]] was at one point intended as the alternate mode of a female robot with the working name "Widow Maker".<ref name="vitaly">[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-9/age-of-extinction-concept-art-by-vitaly-bulgarov-180636/ Age of Extinction concept art by Vitaly Bulgarov] at TFW2005, including "Widow Maker".</ref><ref name="jung">[http://comicbook.com/blog/2014/07/20/transformers-age-of-extinction-concept-art-shows-off-epic-scope-/ Age of Extinction concept art by Steve Jung] at Comicbook.com, including "Widow Maker".</ref>
* Wahlberg's character was named "Flynn 'Ray' Vincent" rather than "Cade Yeager" in a casting call. The same casting call also revealed that actor [[Glenn Morshower]] was supposed to reprise his role as [[Morshower|General Morshower]] from the previous two films.<ref name="txcasting">[http://www.featurefilmauditions.com/2013/05/casting-for-transformers-4-actors-and.html "Transformers 4' open casting calls for actors and extras in Austin, TX and Detroit, MI"] at Film Auditions.</ref>
* A scene where Cade says "Stick behind me" is not present in the final cut of the film.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXSkXQs890g</ref>
* Another piece of dialogue cut from the film is when Cade says "You tell me" to Attinger when he asks for Optimus Prime.
* In some concept artwork, Grimlock appears as a horn-less T-Rex.
* The original running time of the film was 2 hours and 7 minutes, which would have made it the shortest film in the franchise. The final running time was 2 hours and 30 minutes <ref>http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/BatFreak/news/?a=77992</ref><ref>http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/transformers-4-age-of-extinction-running-time-revealed-180165/</ref>
* [[Dwayne Johnson]] was originally offered the role of Cade Yeager, but due to his commitment to ''Hercules: The Thracian Wars'', the role was later taken over by his ''Pain & Gain'' co-star Mark Wahlberg.<ref>[https://twitter.com/TheRock/statuses/327892048978006016 Dwayne Johnson on Twitter]</ref>
*In some concept artwork, Drift was colored orange instead of blue. but according to the Generation 2 featurette in the Blu-ray release, this was changed because the vehicle that was going to play Drift was sold off.
*Some concept artwork shows that Optimus was intended to have his original trilogy body in the scenes where he had his new look.
*According to Ehren Kruger in the Generation 2 featurette, in the early drafts of the film, it was not originally centered on the Cade Yeager character.
*Numerous silver [[redeco]] toys were produced for Optimus Prime with the moniker of "Silver Knight", suggesting that he was originally supposed to take on this alternate appearance in the film itself, almost certainly upon drawing a sword from the Knights' armory. In the finished film, he does undergo some slight physical alteration at this point, his arms reconfiguring to resemble armor plates, but that's as far as it goes. This was also ''prrrrobably'' where he was supposed to get the rocket-boots he suddenly deploys at the film's end.
*A scene depicting Harold Attinger throwing a man out of a moving vehicle was reportedly cut from the film.<ref>http://news.tfw2005.com/2014/08/16/kelsey-grammer-explains-a-deleted-scene-from-transformers-age-of-extinction-180984</ref>

{{-}}

===Disinformation campaign===

Like ''Revenge of the Fallen'' and ''Dark of The Moon'' before it, ''Age of Extinction'' had a campaign that would mask details of the final film. However, unlike the previous films, this one was all encompassing; no novelization or comics by [[IDW Publishing]] was released, allowing for a great deal of the movie's spoilers to actually remain unknown longer than for the previous three films.

In the original Michigan Film Office press release published on March 20, 2013, several vague plot details were revealed, including the fact that Autobots and Decepticons had "[[Cemetery Wind|all but vanished from the face of the planet]]", a "[[Kinetic Solutions Incorporated|group of [...] businessman and scientists]]" were developing new technologies based on past encounters with the Transformers, and an "[[Lockdown (ROTF)|ancient, powerful Transformer menace]]" was targeting Earth.<ref name="plotunveiled">[http://www.thewrap.com/node/82001/ "‘Transformers 4’ Plot Unveiled by Michigan Film Office"] at TheWrap.com.</ref> These plot details were later claimed to be inaccurate by Paramount Pictures,<ref name="notaccurate">[http://screenrant.com/transformers-4-movie-plot-synopsis-cast/ Unofficial "'Transformers 4' Plot Synopsis Is Not Accurate"] at Screenrant.com</ref> but in all their vagueness ultimately turned out to be not too far off from the film's plot.

A lot of the newly-added characters were given "code names" during production, most of them related to the ''Rocky'' saga: "Duke" for Hound, "Adrian" for Galvatron, "Ivan" for Grimlock, "Rocky" for Slash (who was originally intended to appear in the movie, as noted above), "Southpaw" for Scorn, "Paulie" for Strafe, and "Thunderlips" for Slug. In addition, Crosshairs was code-named "Slingshot", Drift was code-named "Bruce", Lockdown was code-named "Max", and Steeljaw was code-named "Wolf" (which ''might'' have simply been a working name).<ref name="customer">[http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-news-rumors/961952-monzos-mega-hasbro-customer-service-listing-breakdown.html Hasbro customer service list]</ref>

==Notes==
*Not only do the [[Dinobot (AOE)|Dinobots]] go unnamed in the film (other than [[Scorn]] getting the nickname, "Spike"), the word Dinobot is never even said by anyone. The audio description soundtrack on the home video releases refers to them as warriors or barbarians, but notes during the final scene that they "turn into Dinobots" (of course it also refers to Galvatron transforming "into an Autobot" when he turns into a robot, so make of that what you will).
*In addition to the Shadow Raiders, Steeljaws, the ball-shaped drones, and Stupid Drones, inside Lockdown's ship there were also several hovering drones. These drones appear to be of the same type as those the United States used in ''Dark of the Moon'' (the one that got sucked into the engine of Bumblebee's commandeered Decepticon fighter). Maybe Attinger sold them to Lockdown?
*Michael Bay's website incorrectly refers to the film as "Transformers 4 The Age Of Extinction"
* The Autobots and Decepticons shown in the cards Attinger pulled early in the film includes: Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, [[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]], [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]], [[Ironhide (Movie)|Ironhide]], [[Sentinel Prime (ROTF)|Sentinel Prime]], [[Wheeljack (Movie)|Que]], [[Mirage (Movie)|Dino]], [[Shockwave (Movie)|Shockwave]], [[Arcee (Movie)|Arcee]], [[Loader]], [[Garagebot]], and the [[Driller]].
** Even though most of these Transformers are listed as deceased, Dino and Garagebot are not. Therefore, they could have been alive during the events of the film.
* This film seems to put a final nail in the coffin regarding the films' abandonment of the concept of using [[protoform]]s to travel through space; when the Autobots steal a ship from [[Lockdown (ROTF)|Lockdown]], they immediately move to leave Earth, indicating they had been stranded on Earth for the past five years without a spaceship (following the destruction of the ''[[Xantium (DOTM)|Xantium]]''). The fact that no mention is made of searching for any possible survivors of Cemetery Wind's hunt also suggests that all Autobots who did not return for this film have been killed off as well.
**Fortunately, [[Wheelie (ROTF)|Wheelie]] and [[Topspin (DOTM)|Topspin]] reapppear in [[Transformers: The Last Knight (film)|the next film]]. By taking that, Dino among the "not deceased" Transformers cards, and the fact that [[Sideswipe (Movie)|Sideswipe]] is stated to have been killed by Cemetery Wind in some tie-in material into consideration, the only Autobot from ''Dark of the Moon'' whose fate after that film is uncertain is... [[Roadbuster (DOTM)|Roadbuster]].
*The robot designs in this film are markedly different than the previous three; the robots have less alien appearances and are more heavily influenced by human forms with far less visible vehicle parts.
*Speaking of the appearance of the Autobots - they all are based on specific types of human combatants throughout history: Optimus is obviously a medieval knight, Hound heavily resembles a World War II-era commando, Crosshairs looks like a mercenary or assassin, Bumblebee's new form is highly Ninja-like, and Drift is unsurprisingly a samurai.
*Director Michael Bay makes a cameo appearance in the film as a guy sitting in the passenger seat of a truck whose trailer Optimus Prime and Bumblebee crash through after being attacked by Galvatron and Stinger.<ref name="magiceffects">[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btn2tPxjisA "Behind the Magic: The Visual Effects of 'Transformers Age of Extinction'"] on the official ILMVisualFX Youtube channel.</ref> Heck with it, much of the KSI cars are part of his personal collection!

===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''''Transformers: Lost Age''''' (トランスフォーマーロストエイジ ''Toransufōmā Rosuto Eiji'')
*''Cantonese:'' '''''Binying Gamgong: Chimmit Saigei''''' (變形金剛：殲滅世紀 "Transformers: The Century of Annihilation")
*''German:'' '''''Transformers: Ära des Untergangs''''' ("Transformers: Era of Doom")
*''Mandarin:'' '''''Pièn-hsíng Chīn-kāng Ssù: Chuéh-chī Ch'óng-shēng''''' (Taiwan, 變型金剛4：絕跡重生), '''''Biànxíng Jīngāng Sì: Juéjī Chóngshēng''''' (China, 变形金刚4：绝迹重生, "Transformers 4: Rebirth from the Extinction")
*''Polish:'' '''''Transformers: Wiek zagłady''''' ("Transformers: Age of Extinction")
*''Portuguese:'' '''''Transformers: A Era da Extinção''''' ("Transformers: The Age of Extinction")
*''Russian:'' '''''Transformery: Epokha istrebleniya''''' (Трансформеры: Эпоха истребления "Transformers: Age of Extermination")
*''Spanish:'' '''''Transformers 4''''' (Argentina)
*''Turkish:'' '''''Transformers: Kayıp Çağ''''' ("Transformers: Lost Age")
*''Czech:'' '''''Transformers: Zánik''''' (Transformers: Extinction)

==External links==
* [http://www.transformersmovie.com/ Transformersmovie.com]
* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2109248/?ref_=nv_sr_1 ''Age of Extinction'' at IMDB.com]
* {{w|Transformers: Ag of Extinction|''Age of Extinction'' film on Wikipedia}}
* [https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/transformers_age_of_extinction/ ''Age of Extinction'' on RottenTomatoes.com]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

{{stub}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Age of Extinction (film)}}

[[Category:Age of Extinction| Age of Extinction (film)]]
[[Category:Real world films]]

Transformers: Dark of the Moon (film)

2020-04-17T21:14:38Z

96megatron: /* Continuity Notes */

{{Nav-dotm}}
[[File:DOTM-OPportraitposter.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|"Of [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|my friend]], I can only say this: of all the souls I have encountered, he was the most... human."]]
'''''Transformers: Dark of the Moon''''' is the third film in the [[live-action film series]]. It was released in 3D and IMAX at 9PM on [[June 28]], [[2011]]<ref name="open3D">[http://michaelbay.com/2011/06/18/see-dark-of-the-moon-one-day-earlier-on-imax-3d/ See Dark Of The Moon One Day Earlier on IMAX 3D | MichaelBay]</ref> and in wide release on [[June 29]], [[2011]]<ref name="open">[http://www.deadline.com/2011/05/paramount-moving-up-transformers-3/ Paramount Moving Up ‘T’formers 3′ Release – Deadline.com]</ref> in the United States, and between [[June 29]] and July 1 for other markets.

The film is set three years after the events of ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]''. The Autobots continue to work for NEST, but no longer in secret, and for the goal of keeping peace between humans by taking out volatile overseas political targets. But after discovering a strange artifact during a mission in Chernobyl, it becomes apparent to Optimus Prime that the United States government has been less than forthright with them.

And SCENE!

{{bigquote|Aw, shit, I seen this one. It's the one where [[Spock]] goes nuts.|Wheelie|''Transformers: Dark of the Moon''}}

==Synopsis==
[[File:Dotm-Arkreflection.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.4|"Wha... this is the finest engine room in the whole Starfleet!"]]

In the distant past, during the latter days of the [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertronian]] civil war, [[Sentinel Prime (ROTF)|Sentinel Prime]] attempted to leave the planet with groundbreaking technology on board the ''[[Ark (DOTM)|Ark]]''. However, his ship was shot down by the Decepticons and, after being sent hurling through space for a while, eventually crashed on the [[Earth]]'s [[Moon (moon)|moon]] in 1961. The crash is noticed by the humans on Earth, leading to the {{w|Space Race}} under President [[John F. Kennedy]]. Landing on the Moon as part of the [[Apollo 11]] mission in 1969, astronauts [[Neil Armstrong]] and [[Buzz Aldrin]] use several minutes of [[radio]] silence to investigate the spaceship and discover that Mankind is not alone in space.

[[File:DOTM - ShockwaveDriller.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|"When I swing around, I mean to deprive you of your life."]]
In the present day, the Autobots are still part of [[NEST]], cooperating with the [[United States military|US Armed Forces]]. They have also begun to help humanity in its local conflicts, as [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]], [[Sideswipe (Movie)|Sideswipe]], [[Wheeljack (Movie)|Que]], and [[Mirage (Movie)|Dino]] destroy an illegal [[Iran]]ian nuclear facility. On a mission to the [[Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant]], a NEST team led by [[William Lennox|Lt. Col. Lennox]], [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] and [[Ratchet (Movie)|Ratchet]] discovers an unknown alien fuel cell which had led to the {{w|Chernobyl disaster}}. While trying to secure the cell, they are attacked by the Decepticon [[Shockwave (Movie)|Shockwave]] and his "pet", the [[Driller]], who are eventually forced to retreat by Optimus Prime. Meanwhile, [[Laserbeak (DOTM)|Laserbeak]] kills [[Alexi Voskhod]], who had called NEST to Chernobyl and was secretly working for him. After securing the fuel cell and identifying it as part of the ''Ark'', Optimus Prime is angry at the humans for not following through with their agreement of sharing all known information relating to Cybertron and its inhabitants. Despite this, he eventually informs his allies and [[Charlotte Mearing]], the {{w|Director of National Intelligence}}, about the space bridge technology the ''Ark'' contains. Together with [[Ratchet (Movie)|Ratchet]], Optimus travels to the Moon, where they find Sentinel Prime inside the ship. Retrieving him along with four pillars of the space bridge and the accompanying control pillar, they return to Earth, where Optimus uses the [[Matrix of Leadership]] to reactivate Sentinel Prime. In [[Africa]], Decepticon leader [[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]] (still recovering from wounds [[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|suffered]] in [[Egypt]]) meets with his lieutenants [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]] and [[Soundwave (ROTF)|Soundwave]]. Upon learning that the Autobots have recovered Sentinel and the pillars, Megatron orders Soundwave and Laserbeak to terminate their "loose ends".

Meanwhile, [[Sam Witwicky]], the Autobots' human friend, is suffering from everyday problems. Even though President [[Barack Obama]] has awarded him a medal for saving the Earth twice, Sam has trouble finding a job. Together with his new girlfriend [[Carly Spencer]], whom he had met in the [[White House]] (after his former girlfriend [[Mikaela Banes|Mikaela]] had left him), he also gives the stranded Autobots [[Wheelie (ROTF)|Wheelie]] and [[Brains]] a home. After a long search, he finally finds a position as a mail carrier at a telecommunication company named [[Accuretta Systems]]. From his colleague, [[Jerry Wang]], he learns about a conspiracy by humans who collaborate with the Decepticons. Before Jerry can tell Sam more, however, he is killed by Laserbeak.

[[File:DOTM-Sentinelendofyourworld.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.66|"There's a man out there I haven't seen in fifteen years who's trying to kill me."]]

Locked out of participating in the investigation by Mearing, Sam turns to [[Seymour Simmons]] for help. Simmons, who has become a millionaire as a writer, and his aide, [[Dutch (DOTM)|Dutch]], help Sam find out that the Soviets have taken photos of Decepticons removing hundreds of space bridge pillars out of the ''Ark'' even before Apollo 11 had landed on the Moon. Sam and Simmons conclude that the Decepticons had left Sentinel Prime behind on purpose, knowing that only he would be able to activate the space bridge, and only Optimus Prime could reactivate him. Sam is able to warn the Autobots in time so they can protect Sentinel from a Decepticon attack and escort him back to the NEST headquarters. Upon arriving there, however, Sentinel Prime betrays them, revealing that he made a deal with Megatron to ensure Cybertron's survival. After killing [[Ironhide (Movie)|Ironhide]] and most of the NEST soldiers, Sentinel claims the remaining pillars and escapes. The other Autobots track him down to [[Washington, D.C.]], but before Optimus can stop him, Sentinel activates a space bridge to the Moon. The portal allows dozens of Decepticon troops which had remained hidden under the Moon's surface to reach Earth, forcing the Autobots to retreat.

[[File:DOTM-Moonspacebridge.jpg|thumb|upright=1.55|"We are one big, happy fleet! Ah, [[James Kirk|Kirk]], my old friend, do you know the [[Klingon]] proverb that tells us revenge is a dish that is best served cold? It is ''very'' cold in space."]]

In the meantime, Sam is worried about Carly and searches for her. He finds her with her employer, [[Dylan Gould]], who reveals to Sam that he not only arranged for Sam to get a job with Acuretta, but is also a collaborator with the Decepticons. At their request, his father had used his influence to ensure that [[NASA]] would not conduct any more missions to the Moon. When Sam and Carly attempt to flee, they discover Carly's car is a disguise for Soundwave, who takes her captive. Dylan instructs Sam to ask Optimus Prime about the Autobots' strategy, otherwise Carly will die. To ensure that Sam will not try to warn the Autobots, he attaches a Decepticon disguised as a watch on Sam's wrist, and it taps into his nervous system.

Meanwhile, Sentinel Prime has given Mankind an ultimatum to exile the Autobots from Earth, since he is only trying to save Cybertron, or so he claims. The US government promptly passes a bill to this effect. Before the Autobots leave Earth aboard their spaceship, the ''[[Xantium (DOTM)|Xantium]]'', Sam asks Optimus about his plan. Optimus replies that there is no plan, and Mankind is on its own now. With all Autobots on board, the ''Xantium'' takes off, but is promptly intercepted by Starscream, who had waited in Earth's orbit. With the ''Xantium'' destroyed, the Decepticons believe the Autobots to be dead and let Sam go.

[[File:DarkoftheMoon-Chicago.jpg|thumb|upright=1.55|left|"Let them eat static. "]]
With the Autobots out of the way, the Decepticons conquer [[Chicago]], kill most of its population and set up the control pillar for the space bridge inside the city, placing the other pillars around the world. Dylan informs Carly that the Decepticons do not intend to return to Cybertron; instead, they want to transport Cybertron into Earth's orbit, because Earth not only has the necessary resources, but also six billion slaves to rebuild the Transformers' home planet.

Sam decides to go to Chicago, where Dylan has taken Carly. Former NEST soldier [[Robert Epps]], who now works for NASA, accompanies him, together with other former NEST members. Upon arrival in Chicago, they are promptly attacked by the Decepticons, but are rescued by Optimus Prime and the other Autobots. Having never intended to leave Earth, they had hidden themselves inside a modified rocket booster that was jettisoned before Starscream destroyed the ''Xantium''.

[[File:DOTM Driller vs Prime.jpg|thumb|upright=1.55|"From Hell's heart, I stab at thee!"]]

The Autobots and the humans soldiers make their way to the skyscraper where Dylan is located in order to destroy the space bridge's control pillar. Sam and Bumblebee rescue Carly, killing Laserbeak in the process, during which they find a damaged UAV and alert the military to the Decepticons plans. Due to another attack by a team of Decepticons led by Shockwave, the team is separated once more. While the Autobots battle the Decepticons, Epps and his team try to destroy the pillar from another skyscraper. However, they are attacked by Shockwave and the Driller, who brings the skyscraper crashing down. Optimus Prime comes to their aid and destroys the Driller, but is shot by Shockwave and becomes trapped in crane cables.

In the meantime, Lennox and the rest of NEST have managed to make their way into the city using [[wingsuit]]s, and with Lennox's help, Sam destroys Starscream using weapons provided to him by the Autobot scientist Que. Meanwhile, the Decepticons have captured several Autobots, but Dylan convinces them not to keep prisoners and kill them all. [[Barricade (Movie)|Barricade]] executes Que, and Soundwave moves to kill Bumblebee next, but the Autobots Wheelie and Brains have managed to make one of the Decepticons' ships crash, thereby distracting Soundwave long enough for Bumblebee and the other Autobots to get free. Bumblebee overpowers and kills Soundwave. NEST soldiers and US Marines snipe the Decepticons. Autobots and Tanks roll in and ambush the Decepticons. Optimus Prime returns and massacres a large group of Decepticons. He then kills Shockwave and uses the Decepticon's arm cannon to topple over the space bridge's control pillar, deactivating the bridge.

[[File:DOTMCybertrontransit.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.55|"Earth was created in six days. Now, watch out! Here comes Genesis! We'll do it for you in six minutes!"]]

Optimus Prime then confronts Sentinel Prime and the two engage in a ferocious battle of Student vs Master. Carly stumbles across Megatron outside the main battle zone. Having previously witnessed a violent argument between Sentinel Prime and Megatron, she appeals to his pride and makes him realize that he will never be able to rule over Cybertron as long as Sentinel is alive. Meanwhile, after a long fight, Sentinel gains the upper hand over Optimus and severs his right arm. However, before he can execute his former pupil, an infuriated Megatron attacks Sentinel and severely damages him, declaring that Earth is his planet to rule. Megatron realized how far he had fallen in power within the past few years, and has decided to once again take his rightful place at the top of the command chain. Meanwhile, Dylan manages to reactivate the toppled pillar, but is attacked by Sam, who hurls him against the pillar, killing him. Subsequently, Bumblebee destroys the pillar for good, thus destroying the space bridge and, presumably, Cybertron with it. Seeing this, Megatron half-heartedly offers Optimus Prime a truce on the condition that he will remain in charge of the Decepticons, mockingly saying that they would be nothing without each other. Realizing that the offer is less than sincere, Optimus refuses and attacks Megatron, decapitating him with an axe. The weakened Sentinel Prime tries to excuse his actions, but Optimus, claiming Sentinel "betrayed himself," executes the treacherous Prime with Megatron's shotgun.

[[File:DOTM Autobots NEST victorious.jpg|thumb|upright=1.55|"Live long... and prosper..."]]

With the battle over, Sam and Carly are reunited, and Simmons takes an opportunity to kiss Mearing, who he still has feelings for, and she has him arrested. With their home planet now forever beyond reach, and the forces of the Decepticons destroyed, the remaining Autobots finally accept Earth as their new home, as Optimus Prime states that the Autobots will always be here, to protect the Earth and all who live on it.

==Quotes==

'''Mission Control''': We are not alone after all, are we? <br>
'''Buzz Aldrin''': No, sir. We are not alone. <br>
:—Buzz Aldrin makes history, and raises the hackles of conspiracy theorists.

'''Dino''': "He's in a bad mood. He's not talking to anybody today." <br>
'''Mearing''': "What is this, the silent treatment?" <br>
'''Ironhide''': "We've seen that and this is ''not'' that." <br>
'''Que''': "Definitely not." <br>
'''Ironhide''': "This is ''worse''. Prime! Make something of yourself! (Ironhide taps Optimus's roof) He's pissed."
:—Ironhide discusses Optimus Prime's foul mood.

"Who wants some chicken dinner now, bitch? Huh? 'Cause somebody messed with the wrong Wang today!" <br>
:—'''Jerry Wang''', being crazy. But also awesome.

"The thing about Russians is, they never like to talk. Gonna take a little of the 'international language.'" <Doorman opens sliding hatch> "''Do svidaniya''." <br>
"That means 'goodbye!'" <closes hatch>
:—'''Simmons''' tries to reason with a '''Russian''', to no avail.

"It's a Cyrillic alphabet; it's like all the buttons you never push on a calculator!"
:—'''Dutch''' tries to translate Russian, also to no avail.

"Woah! Little Mexican standoff we got here!"
:-'''Sideswipe''', talking to Ironhide and the Dreads.

"Class dismissed."
:—'''Ironhide''', after dispatching the Dreads.

"What you must realize, my Autobot brothers, is that we were never going to win the war. For the sake of our planet's survival, a deal had to be made...with ''Megatron''."
:—'''Sentinel Prime''' reveals his treachery.

[[File:DOTM-MegatronLincoln.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|"I'll give him this: [[Atlantis, Arise!|he's]] [[Transformers The Game (console)|consistent]]!"]]
"Here we are. Fight us ''now''."
:—'''Megatron''', pulling the evil overlord cliché on us while sitting atop the [[Abraham Lincoln|Lincoln Memorial]]

"If you go in this building, that's if she's even still alive, there's no way you're going to reach her!"<br>
"What do you suggest I do?!"<br>
"...it's over. I'm sorry, but it's over."<br>
:—'''Robert Epps''' tells '''Sam Witwicky''' that they've run out of plans.

"We will kill them all."
:—'''Optimus Prime''' offers an alternative plan.

"They got my trailer. I ''need'' that flight tech!"<br>
:—'''Optimus Prime''', valiantly [[To sell toys|selling toys]].

"I bring you Cybertron, your home! and still you choose humanity."<br>
"You are the one who taught me [[Bio|freedom is everyone's right]]."<br>
:—'''Sentinel''' VS '''Optimus Prime'''.

"Your Decepticons are finally conquering this planet, and yet their leader won't be you."<br>
"IT WILL BE ME! It will ''always'' be me!<br>
"In any minute now, you'll be nothing but Sentinel's bitch."
:—'''Carly Spencer''' tells '''Megatron''' that if he's going to be the Starscream, he should ''act'' like it.

"Optimus. All I ever wanted...was the survival of our race. You must see why I had to betray you..."<br>
"You didn't betray me. You betrayed yourself..."<br>
:—'''Optimus Prime''''s final exchange with '''Sentinel Prime''' before effectively ''double-tapping'' him.

"Who would you be without me, Prime?"<br>
"Time to find out."<br>
:—'''Megatron''' and '''Optimus Prime''' exchange pre-fight banter one last time.

"In any war, there are calms between storms. There will be days when we lose faith. Days when our allies turn against us... but the day will never come that we forsake this planet and its people."
:—'''Optimus Prime'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s closing narration, [[Transformers: Age of Extinction (film)|which predicts what will]] [[Transformers: The Last Knight (film)|happen to them years later.]]

==Main cast==

{{featuredcharacters|
h1=[[Autobot]]s|c1=
*[[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] ([[Peter Cullen]])
*[[Sentinel Prime (ROTF)|Sentinel Prime]] ([[Leonard Nimoy]])
*[[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]]
*[[Ironhide (Movie)|Ironhide]] ([[Jess Harnell]])
*[[Ratchet (Movie)|Ratchet]] ([[Robert Foxworth]])
*[[Sideswipe (Movie)|Sideswipe]] ([[James Remar]])
*[[Mirage (Movie)|Dino]]<ref name="credits">Mirage and Wheeljack, known by those names in the toyline and essentially all supporting media, are respectively named "Dino" and "Que" in the film. While Dino is simply credited as such, Que is listed in the credits as "Que/Wheeljack".</ref> ([[Francesco Quinn]])
*[[Wheeljack (Movie)|Que/Wheeljack]]<ref name="credits"/> ([[George Coe]])
*The [[Wrecker]]s
**[[Roadbuster (DOTM)|Roadbuster]]<ref>Roadbuster is listed as "Roadbuster/Amp" in the credits, a reference to his car mode's sponsor. His name is not used in the film, but he is called "Roadbuster" in the toyline and supporting media.</ref> ([[Ron Bottitta]])
**[[Topspin (DOTM)|Topspin]]
**[[Leadfoot (DOTM)|Leadfoot]]<ref>Leadfoot is listed in the film's end credits as "Leadfoot/Target", a reference to his car mode's sponsor. His name is not spoken in the film, but he is called "Leadfoot" in the toyline and the supporting media.</ref> ([[John DiMaggio]])
*[[Wheelie (ROTF)|Wheelie]] ([[Tom Kenny]])
*[[Brains]] ([[Reno Wilson]])
*[[Skids (ROTF)|Skids]]<ref name=skidsandmudflap>Skids and Mudflap only appear during the convoy scene at the beginning of the film</ref> (cameo)
*[[Mudflap (ROTF)|Mudflap]]<ref name=skidsandmudflap/> (cameo)

|h2=[[Decepticon]]s|c2=
*[[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]] ([[Hugo Weaving]])
*[[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]] ([[Charlie Adler]])
*[[Shockwave (Movie)|Shockwave]] ([[Frank Welker]])
**[[Driller]]
*[[Soundwave (ROTF)|Soundwave]] ([[Frank Welker]])
**[[Laserbeak (DOTM)|Laserbeak]] ([[Keith Szarabajka]])
*[[Barricade (Movie)|Barricade]] (''Frank Welker'')
*[[Loader]]
*[[Devcon (DOTM)|Devcon]]
*[[Igor]] ([[Greg Berg]])
* [[Dread (DOTM)|The Dreads]]
**[[Crankcase (DOTM)|Crankcase]]
**[[Hatchet (DOTM)|Hatchet]]
**[[Crowbar]]
*[[Hatchling]]s
*[[Scrapper (ROTF)|Scrapper]] type Decepticon
*[[Long Haul (ROTF)|Long Haul]] type Decepticon
*[[Audi R8 Decepticon]]
*Two [[M1 Abrams Decepticon]]s
*[[Garagebot]]
*[[Lensmeter Decepticon]]s
*[[Protoform]]s
*[[Watch-bot]]<ref>Repeatedly referred to as the "Watch-bot" (proper noun) in the ''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon: The Junior Novel]]''</ref>
*[[Pickup Decepticon]]
*[[Police car Decepticon]]

|h3=[[Human]]s|c3=
*[[Sam Witwicky]] ([[Shia LaBeouf]])
*[[Carly Spencer]] ([[Rosie Huntington-Whiteley]])
*[[William Lennox]] ([[Josh Duhamel]])
*[[Robert Epps]] ([[Tyrese Gibson]])
*[[Seymour Simmons]] ([[John Turturro]])
*[[Charlotte Mearing]] ([[Frances McDormand]])
*[[Dylan Gould]] ([[Patrick Dempsey]])
*[[Bruce Brazos]] ([[John Malkovich]])
*[[Hardcore Eddie]] ([[Lester Speight]])
*[[Morshower]] ([[Glenn Morshower]])
*[[Dutch (DOTM)|Dutch]] ([[Alan Tudyk]])
*[[Ron Witwicky]] ([[Kevin Dunn]])
*[[Judy Witwicky]] ([[Julie White]])
*[[Jerry Wang]] ([[Ken Jeong]])
*[[Neil Armstrong]] ([[Don Jeanes]])
*[[Buzz Aldrin]] ([[Cory Tucker]]/himself)
*[[Walter Cronkite]]
*[[Bill O'Reilly]] (himself)
*[[Alexi Voskhod]] ([[Ravil Isyanov]])
}}

==Continuity Notes==
*Sam has since graduated from college, being three months out of school is currently looking for a job.
*Since the events of ''Revenge of the Fallen'', Sam and Mikaela had broke up (despite having to spend an entire film of Sam needing to say the L-word). Prior to the events of this film, he started a relationship with Carly Spencer.
*In the years since the Autobots arrival in 2007, Earth has boosted up security, Energon detectors guard Earth’s cities, while long-range defense systems watch the skies.
*Prior to the events of ''Dark of the Moon'', Autobots Que/Wheeljack and Dino have joined N.E.S.T.
*Bumblebee, who was living in the Witwicky's garage at the start of the second film, is now an active member of NEST. In ''ROTF'', Sam had suggested for Bumblebee to join up with the other Autobots, instead of being cooped up in his family's garage. Sam wanted a robot civil war-free college experience and it seems he got it.
*NEST’s barracks for the Autobots have moved from a hanger on the island of Diego Garcia to a building, with Health and Human Services used as a cover, and are operating from Washington D.C.
*Sometime after the events of Operation: Firestorm, Sergeant Epps retired from combat duty, and now is tasked with maintaining both the Autobot ship named the Xantium and relationships between the human engineers and the bloodthirsty Wreckers.
*The Wreckers, according to Charlotte Mearing arrived on Earth, aboard the Xantium, and brought the second wave of Autobots. That would mean they arrived with Sideswipe and co., in the second film, if we're to assume the second wave of Autobots are the ''ROTF'' bots, while the first wave was Optimus and 07' bots. If they were on Earth during the events of the second film, the reason for the Wreckers not participating in Operation Firestorm, might be because Mearing mentioned them not being allowed off the base much, due to their behavior.
*The only returning Autobots, that made their debut in ''Revenge of the Fallen'' to return are Sideswipe and Wheelie (Also The Twins, but only in a few minor cameos, having been cut from a majority of the film). Wheelie, now joined by his companion, Brains, are both currently living with Sam and Carly.
*Returning Decepticons are Megatron and Starscream, who both managed to survive the final battle of ''Revenge of the Fallen'', although the former received serious injuries. Soundwave, made his live-action debut in the last film, now joined by Laserbeak, is revealed to have been active on Earth since at least the 1970s and was tasked with hiding Megatron’s secret plan, hidden on the dark side of the moon. Shockwave, and his massive, devasting pet, The Driller arrived on Earth before the events of this film. Barricade makes a surprising return during the final battle in Chicago, last seen driving alongside Bonecrusher on the highway, before the latter engaged the Autobot Leader in the first film, while not being an active participant during the events of the second film.
*Following his injuries sustained during the final fight of ''Revenge of the Fallen'', Megatron had acquired a new arm, nearly repaired his damaged face, he has even adopted an earth mode, and is hiding and plotting in Namibia, Africa.
*Seymour Simmons, now a billionaire, makes his return, having made his fortune by sharing to the world the ins-and-outs of the robot civil war. He is also a proud supporter of the Autobot movement, even defending them on public television, and is quick to answer the call from the alien bad news magnet. He also has a bodyguard named Dutch, who is more than meets the eye.
*Optimus Prime's main moral compass that "freedom is the right of all sentient beings", is revealed to have been taught to him by his predecessor and mentor, Sentinel Prime. This had been one of the motivations behind Optimus protecting humans from 'Decepticon' tyranny throughout the films (and various parts of the franchise).
*This also reveals that in this continuity, Optimus wasn't always the leader of the Autobots, with Sentinel Prime (like in other continuities) being the leader of the Autobots before him.
*Megatron and Sentinel Prime were meant to rendezvous on Earth together to enact Project Pillar, before fate waylaid them both. Megatron was frozen in ice, in his pursuit of the Allspark, after crash landing in the arctic, later ending up in the vault of Sector Seven, before the events of the first film. While Sentinel Prime's ship was accidentally shot down by a random Decepticon soldier piloting an Orbital Assault Carrier, in pursuit of The Ark's as it was making its escape from Cybertron, as seen in this film's prologue. Seemingly unaware of the secret truce between their leader, Megatron, with Sentinel Prime, the enemy leader.
*Sentinel Prime was first mentioned in the previous film, by Sam Witwicky during one of his many Allspark induced exposition dump. The Fallen not being able to sense Sentinel Prime was probably due the latter being in stasis lock.
*Megatron's deal with Sentinel Prime makes one question his relationship with The Fallen, as The Fallen himself stated "only a Prime can defeat me", wonder how he would have felt if he knew Megatron had another Prime locked away somewhere, in secret.
*In the last film, if Earth's government ultimately decided that it would be in humanity's best interest to further deny the Autobots' further asylum on our planet, Optimus said that if they'd reach such a decision, that they would honor their request and leave peacefully. Although the Autobots weren't fully transparent on their end as they didn't fully trust the Decepticons. Even though Galloway assumed the Decepticons' reasons for continuing to invade Earth was because the Autobots were here. And apparently, prior to the events of this film, a poll was taken that showed half the world shared the same sentiment. However, revealed after the Autobots left, they weren't the Decepticons' intended target. As once they left, Carly managed to correctly deduce that the Decepticons were after our resources, one unique to our own planet, us.

==Errors==
===Astronomical and historical errors===
* The Moon does not rotate with respect to Earth, and Mare Tranquillitatis is near the middle of the near side. Therefore, Tranquility Base could never be described as being on the far side, and Earth is never as close to the horizon as shown in the movie.
* The Apollo 11 Command/Service Module is seen flying to the Moon without the Lunar Module. The Lunar Module is attached when the vehicle is orbiting the Moon, however.
* When the modern day site of the Apollo 11 landing is seen, the ascent module (the cabin Buzz and Neil flew back to orbit in) is still there.
* In real life, Apollo 11 did not land on the far side of the Moon. Tranquility Base is on the near side of the Moon.
* One of the directors of NASA says that all six Apollo missions recovered parts of the Ark but this not possible as the six missions all had different landing sites which were all a significant distance apart.
* Cybertron is apparently several times the size of Earth, yet the characters talk of bringing it "into Earth's atmosphere".
* The Space Bridge starts to bring Cybertron amazingly close to Earth - less than one Earth-diameter away. Assuming Cybertron's mass is proportional to its size, Cybertron's gravitational field would [[The Ultimate Doom|tear the Earth apart]] at that distance.

===Geographic discontinuities===
* The [[Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant]] is shown to be located ''inside'' of, or at least right next to the abandoned city of {{w|Pripyat}}, and the human characters access it through nearby buildings. In reality, the power plant is situated on the outskirts of the city. Even worse, [[Alexi Voskhod]] ''explicitly'' says that the entrance leads through a ''school''. Who builds a ''school'' right next to a ''nuclear power plant''?
* Furthermore, Pripyat's infamous Ferris wheel as shown in the movie is not only the wrong model (the real one's passenger cabins have canopies), but the real one is also located in an open field far away from any buildings.<ref name="ferris">[http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pripyat_-_Ferris_wheel.jpg Photo of the Pripyat Ferris wheel] showing the closest nearby buildings.</ref> But hey, at least it's the right color!
* Also, why exactly is the Sputnik mission case inside the Chernobyl reactor building? Did the Soviets never bother to discard the packaging of their toy after starting to play with it?
* When Megatron transforms for the first time, he's in a grassy savannah. In the next shot, he's standing in the middle of a desert... and in the establishing shot of the Decepticon camp, it's back in the savannah.
* {{w|Mount Kilimanjaro}} is seen in the background of many of the scenes in Namibia; in reality, the mountain is located in Tanzania, more than three thousand kilometers away.
[[File:DOTM-Wreckers-Prime-Cables.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|Chicago's own [[knockoff]] of a prominent Chinese building.]]
* In a [[Atlantis, Arise!|fairly common cinematic contrivance]], the film depicts multiple skyscrapers in the background of many scenes set in Washington, D.C., while the real-life city has no skyscrapers.
* Also, Washington, D.C. almost entirely lacks old industrial buildings that could be converted into lofts, and likewise doesn't have the kind of densely urban streets that Sam is shown to live on.
* NEST Headquarters, supposedly in Washington, is actually Chicago's abandoned Main Post Office.
* Likewise, Dylan's auto collection museum, also set in (land-locked) Washington, is actually the Milwaukee Art Museum. [[Lake Michigan]] is even visible through the windows!
* When Optimus Prime (using his jetpack) gets himself caught in wires below an under-construction building, that building bears a striking resemblance to the {{w|China Central Television Headquarters}} in [[Beijing]], [[China]]... a far shot from [[Chicago]]. Since construction for the CCTV building was finished in 2008, long before ''Dark of the Moon'' was even ''conceived'', this appears to be an intentional instance of a "cool building" being inserted just for the sake of it.

===Continuity errors===
* Like in ''Revenge of the Fallen'', Ironhide sports his [[license plate]] from the [[Transformers (film)|first movie]], "4PCI382", on his robot mode chest, but doesn't have a license plate in vehicle mode. (According to set photos, his license plate in vehicle mode is mostly black, with a NEST logo on it.)
* Speaking of inconsistencies between robot and vehicle mode: Bumblebee's updated Chevrolet Camaro alternate mode no longer has pinstripes bordering his black racing stripes, but the CG robot model still has the pinstripes.
[[Image:DOTM-SoundwaveMercedesStar.jpg|thumb|upright=1.9|right|Is this the reverse of hidden faction insignias in vehicle mode?]]
*Soundwave has [[kibble]] from his [[Mercedes-Benz|Mercedes]] alternate mode while he is in Africa, but his chest has only a blank grille. The Mercedes star is only added to his chest from the scene where he reveals himself to be Carly's car onward.
* After Megatron pulls out his shotgun for the first time, he holsters it on the right side of his back. In the next scene it is on his left side.
* In the highway battle scene with the [[Dread (DOTM)|Dreads]], Crowbar smashes into some traffic signs and knocks them over. In the next shot when the other two Dreads use them as ramps, the angle at which the signs fell has changed. After Hatchet and Crankcase transform, the signs revert into their original position.
* Also in the highway battle, Bumblebee enhances his front wheels to evade Hatchet, yet in the next scene he's fully in Stealth Force mode.
*When Hatchet is killed by Bumblebee and Dino, the last shot shows him being thrown onto a car (using footage recycled from Michael Bay's 2005 film ''{{w|The Island (2005 film)|The Island}}'', as elaborated on below), with Dino's grappling hook cables still attached to Hatchet, which would imply that Dino is still in robot mode at this point. However, the very next shot shows Dino in the far background, driving behind Bumblebee in vehicle mode.
* During Ironhide and Sideswipe's "Mexican standoff" with Crankcase and Crowbar, all combatants drop their firearms, but when Ironhide is speared, his guns are on his back again. They disappear in subsequent shots.
* In addition, the spear impaled in Ironhide disappears when he shoots Crowbar, only to reappear in subsequent shots.
* Despite being captured by Soundwave in her evening gown, Carly is somehow able to change into more convenient clothes (but still wearing high heels!) after arriving at Dylan's place, and has yet another outfit following the attack on Chicago the following day. Not only that, she changes her earrings, too!
* When the Autobots are boarding the ''Xantium,'' Simmons mentions that nine Autobots are leaving. Former Decepticons Wheelie and Brains apparently don't count. Poor little guys!
* The Wreckers claim they had been hiding inside a rocket booster that was jettisoned from the ''Xantium'' before Starscream destroyed it. The boosters are only seen to be detached after Starscream destroys the ship, after it has barely taken off from the ground.
* Though it's a standard action movie contrivance, it sure is convenient that the glass windows inside skyscrapers are extremely fragile when needed, and glass shards are as dangerous as bread crumbs so nobody suffers a single cut from sliding across them.
* Shortly after everyone jumps through the window and starts sliding down, a downwards shot of the building shows all of the windows behind them are intact.
* As everyone tumbles through a lower floor of the building, [[Stone]] is shown to fall right through and out the other side with a collection of office furniture, but not long after is back with Epps's squad.
* Despite the Decepticons taking over Chicago and killing a whole bunch of people, there seem to be a lot of people continuing to go about their daily lives. The skyscraper Epps's team goes into to launch a rocket from still seems to have plenty of office workers in it when the Driller attacks it. When Sam's being thrown around on the end of the grapple glove rope while fighting Starscream, he crashes through a wall into a dry-cleaning business where a woman appears to be calmly hanging up a shirt. Did they all just not get the memo?
* The sequence beginning with Sam, Carly, Epps and the rest of the soldiers jumping out of the windows of the tilted skyscraper is one giant continuity headache: First they jump out of the windows, then slide down several stories, then the camera angle changes and they're sliding down several more stories, and ''then'' a wide shot shows the top of the skyscraper from an angle where the characters cannot be seen, then slowly pans around and eventually shows them all sliding down from one of the topmosts floors all over again! Eventually, they crash back into one of the lowest floors near the break. After the Driller has toppled the top portion of the skyscraper over, the group is ''again'' shown to escape from one one of the topmost floors to the neighboring building!
* Though it is Barricade who kicks and shoves Que along before executing him, the voice heard is Soundwave's. Presumably, this was an artifact of the early alternate version of the scene, in which Soundwave was to kill Dino, and they just re-used the audio.
*While fighting the Autobots at the end of the film, Sentinel Prime's cape disappears for a brief scene before reappearing on his back when the camera angle changes.
*When Sam and Dylan are fighting, the clock behind them changes to different times every shot. It starts at 00:40, then 02:25, 00:15 and 11:00 in the following shots.
*When Sam and Carly are reunited after the final battle, Carly's hands keep changing the position on every cut, sometimes on Sam's neck, sometimes on his shoulders.
*Not intentional: Skids and Mudflap appear for a brief few seconds in the film. This leaves questions as to what happened to them. They weren't seen departing from Earth or taking part in the Chicago battle.
*It's said that four Autobots were captured by the Decepticons in Chicago, but actually five Autobots were captured. (Unless this observation was made ''before'' Bumblebee arrived after saving Sam and Lennox)
*When Que is about to be executed, the "cardboard head on a stick" prop used for [[Mirage (Movie)|Dino]] during the shooting of the movie (a common method used for the movies to give the actors ''something'' to react to) can be spotted in the final edit of the film,<ref name="headprop">[http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-movie-discussion/494618-movies-errors-mirage-prop-final-movie-edit.html "Movies Errors - Mirage prop in final movie edit"] at TFW2005</ref> possibly a leftover from an earlier draft of the script where Soundwave mocked Bumblebee with Dino's disembodied head.

==Transformers references==
In addition to recurring elements from the previous films, ''Dark of the Moon'' bases a number of elements on previous versions of the ''Transformers'' mythos, including plot elements based on older stories, something fairly rare in the other two movies:
* New characters [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] and [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] are heavily based upon their Generation 1 counterparts. [[Wheeljack (Movie)|Que]] is derived from G1 character [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]]. [[Sentinel Prime (disambiguation)|Sentinel Prime]] is the name of Optimus's predecessor in many continuities, and in this instance, he continues his [[Sentinel Prime (Animated)|predecessor]]'s [[Sentinel Prime (G1)#2005 IDW continuity|legacy]] of being a giant jerk.

* Megatron's camp is full of salvaged artifacts from the previous film. A piece of the harvester is being used as part of a tent and several Decepticon corpses are laying around the area. While most are unrecognizable, one of them is a headless Long Haul. Its head was presumable used to create Igor. Megatron's new right hand appears to be salvaged from a fallen Decepticon. The matching left hand can be seen laying around the campsite.

* "Carly" was the name of [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]]'s [[Carly|girlfriend and eventual wife]] in the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|original cartoon]].

* The ''[[Ark (DOTM)|Ark]]'' gets its name from the Autobots' crashed spaceship in the [[Marvel Comics|Marvel]] [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|''Transformers'' comics]].

* The ''[[Xantium (G1)|Xantium]]'' is the name of the [[Wrecker]]s' spaceship in the [[IDW Publishing]]'s ''Transformers'' comics.

* [[Roadbuster (DOTM)|Roadbuster]] and [[Topspin (DOTM)|Topspin]] being members of the Wreckers recalls their original G1 counterparts being likewise part of the Wreckers.

* Optimus's new trailer is based on the trailer that [[Optimus Prime (G1)|his Generation 1 counterpart]] hauled around, including its ability to open up into a weapons base.

* Optimus now carries the Matrix around in his chest as he has in past incarnations.

* The corrosive end met by Ironhide comes at the hands of [[Cosmic Rust (disease)|Cosmic Rust]], the oxidizing pathogen that first appeared in the Generation 1 cartoon episode [[Cosmic Rust (episode)|of the same name]]. Though not named in the film, its identity is made clear by production artwork by [[Josh Nizzi]] which labels Sentinel Prime's gun a "Cosmic Rust gun".

* Megatron removing [[Abraham Lincoln]] from his chair at the {{w|Lincoln Memorial}} and then sitting in it is a scene taken directly from the Generation 1 cartoon episode, "[[Atlantis, Arise!]]", and the Decepticon ending for ''[[Transformers The Game]]'' (sort of).

* The idea of bringing Cybertron to Earth via space bridge and enslaving humans was the plot of the Generation 1 multi-part episode "[[The Ultimate Doom]]."

* Likewise, the idea of an influential and powerful human joining forces with the Decepticons, resulting in the Autobots being exiled from Earth by the government via a spacecraft, only for that spacecraft to be destroyed, was the plot behind another Generation 1 cartoon multi-part episode, "[[Megatron's Master Plan, Part 1|Megatron's Master Plan]]."

* Megatron's first line - a weary "[[The Transformers: All Hail Megatron|All hail Megatron]]" - is the title of IDW's direction-changing comic maxi-series, which had just wrapped up when production on the film was beginning.

* When the worker at Accureta Systems is trying to make the [[Laserbeak (DOTM)|photocopier]] work, it beeps the "more than meets the eye" refrain from the original cartoon's [[theme song]].

* The [[Transformation#The noise|transformation noise]] can be heard at the end of the film when Bumblebee transforms to robot mode, the final onscreen transformation, just as it was heard during [[Blackout (Movie)|Blackout's]] transformation, which was also the first onscreen transformation in the first film.

* The technique of shooting at a skyscraper until it breaks in half and the top falls horizontally on other buildings has been done by [[Megatron (BW)|another Megatron]] in [[Endgame Pt. III: Seeds of the Future|another city]].

==Real-world references==
* When Brains and Wheelie are watching ''{{w|Star Trek: The Original Series}}'', the screen features [[Spock|Mr. Spock]], portrayed by Leonard Nimoy—who voices Sentinel Prime. Wheelie comments that it is "the one where Spock goes nuts," which foreshadows Sentinel's heel turn. The episode itself is the famous ''TOS'' episode "{{w|Amok Time}}", although for some inexplicable reason, the first of the two clips shown on-screen is ''mirrored''.

* Sentinel Prime says "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." The voice actor said the same line in the 1982 film ''{{w|Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan}}'' as Mr. Spock. However, in that movie, Nimoy's character dies a hero.

* To finish the Spock trifecta, when Bumblebee says his goodbyes to Sam, he uses a clip of Leonard Nimoy, as Spock, saying "I will always be your friend," another line from ''Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan''.

* [[Dutch (DOTM)|Dutch]] and his fake girlfriend's name, "India", are a reference to {{w|Dutch India}}.

* [[Wheeljack (Movie)|Que]]'s name is a reference to {{w|Q (James Bond)|Q}} from ''{{w|James Bond}}'' novels and films. Que also gives weapons to NEST soldiers while explaining the advantages and abilities for the weapons much like Q does for James Bond.

* When Bumblebee brings forth "rings" for Sam and Carly, he "hums" the {{w|Wedding March}} (or, more correctly, the {{w|Bridal Chorus}} from {{w|Richard Wagner}}'s 1850 opera ''{{w|Lohengrin (opera)|Lohengrin}}'').
*Before Sentinel gets attacked by Megatron, he quotes "There can only be one" from the film Highlander. Sentinel is also modeled after one of the film's lead stars Sean Connery.

==Other editions==

==Prequel material==
*''[[Transformers: Sector 7]]''
*''[[Transformers: Foundation]]''
*''[[Transformers: Rising Storm]]''
*''[[Transformers: Convergence]]''
*''[[Transformers: Jazz]]''
*''[[Transformers: Space Case]]''
*''[[Transformers: Ratchet]]''
*''[[Transformers: Arcee]]''
*''[[Transformers: Bumblebee]]''
*''[[Transformers: Starscream]]''
*''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (Xbox 360/PS3)]]''
*''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon: Stealth Force Edition]]''
*''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon: Autobots/Decepticons]]''
*''[[Transformers (Titan Magazine)#Dark of the Moon|Transformers (Titan Magazine)]]''
*''[[Transformers Classified: Switching Gears]]''

==Adaptations==
*''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon Movie Adaptation]]''
*''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (novel)]]''
*''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon: The Junior Novel]]''

==Soundtrack==
{{main|Dark of the Moon: The Album}}

==Score==
{{main|Dark of the Moon: The Score}}

==Home video releases==
{{main|Transformers: Dark of the Moon (film)/home video}}
''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'' was released on DVD, Blu-Ray, and Digital Download on September 30, 2011, followed by the 2-Disc Special Edition in December.<ref>[TFW2005 - Official Transformers Movie Website Updated With Transformers 3 Home Release Info http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/official-transformers-movie-website-updated-with-transformers-3-home-release-info-173245/]</ref>
===Additional Information===
{{collist|
* Close Captions in English
* Audio Description as Audio Description in English <ref>http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B005G4TJUC/audiodescriin-20</ref>|collist}}

==Theatrical posters==
<center>
<gallery perrow="3">
File:DOTM-OPbillboardposter.jpg
File:DOTM-Bumblebeebanner.jpg
File:DOTM-Shockwavebanner.jpg
File:DOTM-OPportraitposter.jpg
</gallery>
</center>

==Reception==
On June 23, 2011, the world premiere of ''Dark of the Moon'' was held in [[Moscow]], [[Russia]], with band [[Linkin Park]] performing a concert that included their title song for the movie, "Iridescent".

The official release date was moved up from July 1 to June 29 to allow breathing room between its release and ''{{w|Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2}}''. On June 28, 2011, the film was released in 3D and IMAX at 9pm in the US. Some theaters cheated a little and showed it at 8:45.

''Dark of the Moon'' launched with nearly 10,000 copies in 4011 theaters nationwide. On its opening day, the movie earned $37.3 million, making not only for the best opening day of 2011 up to that point, but also ranking as the sixth most successful opening on a Wednesday ever, while at the same time ranking well behind ''Revenge of the Fallen'', with $60 million on its opening day (also a Wednesday).<ref name="openingday">[http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=3197&p=.htm "'Transformers' Suboptimal on Wednesday"], Box Office Mojo, June 2011.</ref> (Of course, a lot of the print material still listed the release date as [[July 1]]st, the following Friday.)

On [[August 2]], it crossed the $1 billion mark in worldwide gross, just under 5 weeks after its release, landing it in the #9 spot for worldwide gross of all time.<ref>http://www.deadline.com/2011/08/transformers-dark-of-the-moon-crosses-1-billion-worldwide-mark-for-paramount/ Deadline Hollywood</ref> Of that, $338 million came from the US. It is currently one of two Paramount pictures to have made the $1 billion mark, the other being [[Transformers: Age of Extinction (film)|its sequel]]. (While ''Titanic'' also made over $1 billion worldwide, it was only a Paramount movie ''domestically'', where it made "only" $620 million.)

''Dark of the Moon'' ended its theatrical run in the #4 spot for highest worldwide gross of all time.

The film's critical reception was an improvement from ''Revenge of the Fallen'', but it was still considered a bad movie, with a mediocre 35% on Rotten Tomatoes. The film was praised for its special effects, but blasted for its running time and dialogue.<ref>https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/transformers_dark_of_the_moon</ref>

''Dark of the Moon'' was nominated for three Academy Awards, in the categories of Best Visual Effects, Sound Editing, and Sound Mixing, losing all to ''{{w|Hugo (film)|Hugo}}''.<ref>[http://oscar.go.com/nominees#t Official 2012 Oscar nominees page]</ref>

On February 25, 2012, it was announced that ''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'' was nominated for eight {{w|Golden Raspberry Award}}s. Unlike ''Revenge of the Fallen'', however, it did not receive the awards for Worst Picture, Worst Screenplay, & Worst Director, losing all of its nominations to ''{{w|Jack & Jill (film)|Jack & Jill}}''.<ref>[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/transformers-dark-of-the-moon-is-safe-from-razzies-174726/]</ref>

==Production staff==
{{stub}}

===Visual effects===
{{stub}}

===Locations department===
{{quote|[The Decepticons'] decision to attack Chicago<ref>http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-471495</ref> seems inexplicable, until you take into consideration the generous tax credits offered by the Illinois Film Office.|film critic Roger Ebert|[http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2011/07/on_the_origin_of_transformers.html On the Origin of Transformers]}}

==Development details==
===Cast and crew signing on===
[[File:TF3-licensingPrime.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Featuring a surprise appearance by Optimus Prime!]]
On May 30, 2007, a month before the official release of ''[[Transformers (film)|Transformers]]'', [[DreamWorks]] announced that two sequels were already being planned.<ref name="spy">[http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/movies/a58430/two-transformers-sequels-in-pipeline.html Digital Spy article from May 2007, confirming that two sequels were being planned]</ref> On March 16, 2009, over three months before the premiere of ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'', [[Paramount Pictures|Paramount]] announced the third movie for July 1, 2011.<ref name="3release">Pamela McClintock: [http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118001280?refCatId=13 Variety article from March 2009], confirming Transformers 3 for July 2011.</ref> Director [[Michael Bay]] promptly backpedaled, as he had intended for the third ''Transformers'' movie to be released in 2012.<ref name="baywait">[http://www.shootfortheedit.com/forum/showthread.php?3947-Wait-a-minute! Michael Bay's reaction to Paramount's July 2011 date for ''Transformers 3''], March 2009.</ref> He officially changed his mind in October 2009, agreeing to the release date set by Paramount.<ref name="bay3-2011">[http://michaelbay.com/2009/10/01/transformers-3-july-1st-2011/ Michael Bay officially confirms the 2011 release date], October 2009.</ref>

[[Roberto Orci]] and [[Alex Kurtzman]], two of the previous two movies' screenwriters, had already announced in March 2009 that they would not return for a third part.<ref name="noorcikurtz">[http://www.slashfilm.com/orci-and-kurtzman-not-returning-for-transformers-3-will-leonard-nimoy-voice-the-fallen/ Slashfilm quoting Roberto Orci that he and Kurtzman would not return for a third movie], March 2009. (Original post on Don Murphy's message board appears to no longer exist.)</ref> In September 2009, their ''Revenge'' co-writer [[Ehren Kruger]] was confirmed as the screenwriter of ''Transformers 3''.<ref name="krugernelson">[http://michaelbay.com/2009/09/14/transformers-3-pain-gain-bad-boys-3/ Michael Bay's website admin Nelson Lauren sorta-confirms Ehren Kruger as TF3's screenwriter], September 2009.</ref> Kruger had already impressed both director Michael Bay and [[Hasbro]] CEO [[Brian Goldner]] with his knowledge of ''Transformers'' mythology prior to working on ''Revenge''.<ref name="writersr">[http://www.zap2it.com/movies/news/zap-transformers2writers,0,1938976.story Zap2it story about the ROTF writers]</ref>

In an interview with ''Wonderland'' magazine in September 2009, [[Megan Fox]], the main female star of the previous two movies, discussed the harsh conditions on the sets and compared director Michael Bay to [[Adolf Hitler]].<ref name="latimesfox">[http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/the_big_picture/2009/09/megan-fox-on-michael-bay-he-wants-to-be-hitler.html Los Angeles Times article about Megan Fox's fatal interview with ''Wonderland'' magazine], September 2009.</ref> Bay initially played down the affair and still welcomed Fox back for the third installment a month later.<ref name="bay3-2011"/> Even though Fox was still spotted on the ''Transformers 3'' set in May 2010,<ref name="foxonset">[http://www.superherohype.com/news/articles/100786-megan-fox-on-set-for-transformers-3-previz Megan Fox on the DOTM set], May 2010.</ref> Paramount announced a few weeks later that she wouldn't return for a third movie after all.<ref name="nomorefox">[http://www.deadline.com/2010/05/michael-bays-revenge-no-more-megan/ Deadline article confirming that Megan Fox had been dropped off ''Transformers 3''], May 2010.</ref> Still that same month, [[Rosie Huntington-Whiteley]] was confirmed to replace her as the lead female actress.<ref name="rosierepl">[http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1640047/model-rosie-huntingtonwhiteley-cast-transformers-3.jhtml MTV.com article confirming Rosie Huntington-Whiteley as the new female star of ''Transformers ''], May 2010.</ref> Her character's name was confirmed as "[[Carly Spencer|Carly]]" by Nelson Lauren, the webmaster of Michael Bay's official website, in July 2010.<ref name="nelsonchicagojul">[http://www.shootfortheedit.com/forum/showthread.php?7566-Transformers-3-Chicago-Set-Photos Nelson posts about his visit to the Chicago set at shootfortheedit.com's forums], July 2010.</ref> In 2011, Michael Bay finally confirmed in an interview with ''GQ'' magazine that it had been [[Steven Spielberg]], executive producer of the ''Transformers'' movies, who had urged him to fire Fox following the Hitler comparison.<ref name="baygq">[http://www.gq.com/entertainment/movies-and-tv/201107/michael-bay-steven-spielberg-fired-megan-fox-transformers GQ interview with Michael Bay], June 2011.</ref> In a later interview, however, he claimed this statement had been taken out of context.<ref name="baych">[http://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/kultur/kino/Diese-Autos-muessen-zerstoert-werden--und-da-bin-ich-der-richtige-Mann/story/23997460 Interview with Michael Bay from Switzerland] (German language), July 2011.</ref>

In March 2010, Oscar winners [[John Malkovich]] and [[Frances McDormand]] as well as Comedian [[Ken Jeong]] were confirmed having signed on for supporting roles.<ref name="malkomcdor">[http://michaelbay.com/2010/03/22/transformers-3-update-from-michael-bay/ Michael Bay confirming John Malkovich, Frances McDormand and Ken Jeong for ''Transformers 3''], March 2010.</ref>

In April 2010, [[Kevin Dunn]] and [[Julie White]] were confirmed as returning as Sam Witwicky's parents.<ref name="varietydunnwhite">[http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118017329.html?categoryid=1236&cs=1 'Dunn, White sign on for 'Transformers 3''], Variety, April 2010.</ref>

In May 2010, Paramount confirmed that [[Patrick Dempsey]] has been cast in ''Transformers 3'' to play Mikaela Banes' boss (this was before Megan Fox was fired from the production).<ref name="dempsey">[http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2010/05/04/patrick-dempsey-confirmed-for-transformers-3/ "Patrick Dempsey confirmed for Transformers 3"], Hollywood Insider, May 2010.</ref>

In July 2010, Nelson Lauren confirmed that former American footballer [[Lester Speight]] would play a soldier in the movie.<ref name="nelsonchicagophotos">[http://michaelbay.com/2010/07/20/transformers-3-chicago-set-photos/ Photos of the Chicago set by michaelbay.com webmaster Nelson Lauren], July 2010.</ref>

[[Leonard Nimoy]] was confirmed as the voice actor for [[Sentinel Prime (ROTF)|Sentinel Prime]] in March 2011.<ref name="nimoysent">[http://insidemovies.ew.com/2011/03/31/leonard-nimoy-transformers-dark-of-the-moon Entertainment Weekly announces Leonard Nimoy's involvement], March 2011]</ref> Nimoy, who had previously voiced [[Galvatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Galvatron]] in 1986's ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'' and was married to Michael Bay's cousin Susan, had previously been under consideration for [[The Fallen]]'s voice in ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'', but Bay had been hesitant for fear of offending his relative with the relatively low pay allotted to voice actors.<ref name="nimoy1">[http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2009/04/21/michael-bay-afraid-to-offend-leonard-nimoy-with-transformers-family-reunion-offer/ ''Michael Bay Afraid To Offend Leonard Nimoy With ‘Transformers’ Family Reunion Offer''], MTV.com Movies blog, April 2009.</ref> Even though Nimoy openly asked Bay to simply give him a call,<ref name="nimoy2">[http://www.latinoreview.com/news/leonard-nimoy-to-michael-bay-call-me-6682 Leonard Nimoy To Michael Bay: "Call Me!"], Latino Review, April 2009.</ref> it ultimately never worked out, and The Fallen was voiced by [[Tony Todd]] instead. For ''Dark of the Moon'', Bay finally overcame his anxiety and hired Nimoy, who accepted the offer.<ref name="nimoy3">[http://insidemovies.ew.com/2011/03/31/leonard-nimoy-transformers-dark-of-the-moon/ "Leonard Nimoy joins 'Transformers: Dark of the Moon' voice cast -- EXCLUSIVE"], Entertainment Weekly, March 2011.</ref> In return, screenwriter Ehren Kruger included several nods to Nimoy's well-known character as Mr. Spock from ''[[Star Trek]]'' in the movie.<ref name="nimoystartrek">[http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1666643/transformers-dark-of-the-moon-star-trek-references.jhtml "'Transformers: Dark Of The Moon': Behind The 'Star Trek' Nods"], MTV.com, July 2011.</ref> ''Dark of the Moon'' would be Nimoy's final performance in the ''Transformers'' franchise before his death in early 2015.

===Writing and production===
After having defended the almost universally critically panned ''Revenge of the Fallen'' for a long time, Michael Bay finally acknowledged flaws of the script, but blamed the {{w|2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike}} prior to the movie for many problems. As a definite error, he singled out the "dork comedy", which he promised to avoid with ''Dark of the Moon''.<ref name="bayvisit">[http://collider.com/michael-bay-interview-transformers-dark-moon-edit-bay-visit/63824/ Collider.com article about DOTM], December 2010.</ref>

Principal shooting began in May 2010. Shooting locations included [[Chicago]] (and nearby East Chicago and Gary Indiana), Moscow,<ref name="locations">[http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=63682 "Transformers 3 Headed to Chicago and Moscow"], Comingsoon.net, February 2010.</ref> the [[Kennedy Space Center]] in Florida,<ref name="kennedyspace">[http://www.superherohype.com/news/articles/101114-the-transformers-3-shoot-at-kennedy-space-center "The Transformers 3 Shoot at Kennedy Space Center"], SuperHeroHype.com, May 2010.</ref> Milwaukee (Wisconsin),<ref name="milwaukee">[http://www.jsonline.com/entertainment/movies/98266574.html "'Transformers 3' takes over Milwaukee Art Museum"], Journal Sentinel Online, July 2010.</ref> Detroit,<ref name="detroit">[http://www.superherohype.com/news/articles/107775-photos-from-the-detroit-transformers-3-set "Photos From the Detroit Transformers 3 Set"], SuperHeroHype.com, September 2010.</ref> [[Washington, D.C.]]<ref name="militaryextras">[http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=473674758199&id=114648515718 US Department of Defense casting call for ''Dark of the Moon''], October 2010.</ref> and Angkor Wat in Cambodia.<ref name="angkor">[http://www.akp.gov.kh/?p=1184 "'Transformers 3' To Be Shot in Cambodia"], Agence Kampuchea Presse, January 2011.</ref>

For the scene where Lennox and his soldier jump out of a V-22 Osprey using wingsuits, Michael Bay used real parachutists and thus avoided unnecessary CG effects. In fact, he had been inspired for this scene in the first place by watching the parachutists in their wingsuits on television<ref name="wingsuits">[http://blog.movies.yahoo.com/blog/1498-transformers-wingsuits-no-cgi-required Yahoo! Movies article on the wingsuit parachutists], June 2011.</ref> and wrote the scene with the intention of using the parachutists in the movie.<ref name="bayvisit"/>

For the Apollo 11 moon landing mission in the flashback sequence at the beginning of the movie, astronauts [[Neil Armstrong]] and [[Buzz Aldrin]] are played by actors Don Jeanes and Cory Tucker, respectively. In the present day timeline, Aldrin himself appears briefly as his own older self.<ref name="aldrin">[http://movies.yahoo.com/news/yahoo-contributor-network/astronaut-buzz-aldrin-hangs-out-with-optimus-prime-transformers-dark-moon Yahoo! Movies article on Buzz Aldrin's appearance in DOTM], July 2011.</ref>

Over 500 cars were destroyed in the making of ''Dark of the Moon'', all of them damaged property from insurance companies intended for destruction.<ref name="baych"/>
[[Image:ROTFvsDOTMUSNavyHollenbeck.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|right|Wherever General Morshower goes, I go.]]

Two accidents happened during shooting: In September 2010, while shooting in East Chicago, Indiana, a female extra was severely injured when a stunt scene went wrong, leaving her with permanent brain damage, the left side of her body paralyzed and her left eye stitched shut. Paramount was subsequently sued for damages by the victim's family.<ref name="extrastunt">[http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-10-05/news/ct-met-transformers-lawsuit-20101005_1_gabriela-cedillo-stunt-welding Chicago tibune article on the injured extra and the subsequent lawsuit], October 2010.</ref> She was eventually granted an $18.5 million settlement in May 2012.<ref name="settlement">[http://www.tmz.com/2012/05/23/transfomers-3-injured-extra-gets-18-million-settlement/ TMZ story about Gabriela Cedillo's settlement]</ref> As a consequence, part of the scene of the car chase battle in Washington, D.C. (which would have included the shoot that had led to the accident) was instead "[[Stock footage|borrowed]]" from Michael Bay's 2005 film ''{{w|The Island (2005 film)|The Island}}''.<ref name="island1">[http://www.ign.com/articles/2011/07/04/transformers-3-re-uses-car-crash-from-the-island "Transformers 3 Re-Uses Car Crash From The Island"], IGN Movies, July 2011.</ref> While shooting in Washington, D.C., in October 2010, one of the Chevrolet Camaro prop cars that served as Bumblebee's [[alternate mode]] crashed into a {{w|Metropolitan Police}} SUV. Nobody was seriously injured this time, though Bumblebee sustained severe front-end damage.<ref name="camarocrash">[http://jalopnik.com/5661321/bumblebee-smashes-cop-car-in-yet-another-transformers-3-accident Jalopnik article on the Camaro crash], October 2010.</ref> Hasbro would later "commemorate" this latter event with the [[Toys"R"Us]] [[exclusive]] [[Cyberverse (toyline)|Cyberverse]] "Cybertronian Warriors Pack". Fans, meanwhile, joked that the SUV was Barricade getting revenge.

Another (brief) instance of recycled footage occurs during the Chicago battle: When the Navy fires several Tomahawks at the Decepticons, the mission control room scene was previously used to depict the interior of the [[USS Kidd]] in ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]''. The most obvious similarity is the [[Hollenbeck|same operator]] saying "Target acquired" both times.<ref name="recycled">[http://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=6tSMdR8vH0s Youtube video] featuring brief clips from ''Dark of the Moon'' and ''Revenge of the Fallen'', highlighting the recycled footage.</ref>

''Dark of the Moon'' is the first of the ''Transformers'' movies to be released in 3D. Despite early considerations to shoot the movie in 2D and convert it into 3D later, Michael Bay ultimately shot 60% of the film in native 3D, another 15% were done digitally, and the rest was shot in 2D and converted later. [[James Cameron]] assisted Michael Bay with the 3D effects. The movie's budget amounted to $195 million, which is about the same budget ''Revenge of the Fallen'' had. About $30 million went into the 3D effects.<ref name="cameron">[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/michael-bay-reveals-james-camerons-191774 "Michael Bay Reveals James Cameron's Secret Role in the Making of 'Transformers'"], The Hollywood Reporter, May 2011.</ref>

=== Sponsors and partners ===
==== Hasbro ====
Hasbro, licensor of the [[Transformers brand]], hoped that the third movie would once again boost toy sales, after profits had dropped in the first quarter of 2011.<ref name="hasbroq12011">[http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Hasbro-1Q-profit-drops-71-pct-apf-664090076.html?x=0&.v=11 Yahoo! Finance article about weak Hasbro toy sales in 2011's first quarter], April 2011.</ref> For the second quarter of 2011, Hasbro reported a net revenue growth of 23 percent to $908.5 million, citing brands such as ''Transformers'' and ''Beyblade'' as the main sources of the increased income.<ref name="hasbro2nsq">[http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Hasbro-Reports-Revenue-and-bw-4063497156.html?x=0&.v=1 "Hasbro Reports Revenue and Earnings Growth for the Second Quarter 2011"], Yahoo! Finance, July 2011.</ref>

==== US military and NASA ====
Like the previous two movies, ''Dark of the Moon'' featured real military personnel as extras, supported by the [[United States Department of Defense]].<ref name="militaryextras"/> Shooting locations were Hurlburt Field and [[Edwards Air Force Base]].<ref name="hurlburt">[http://www.shadowspear.com/special-operations-entertainment/105725-transformers-filmed-at-hurlburt.html "'Transformers 3 Filmed at Hurlburt, 1SOW Included as 'Extras'"], ShadowSpear Special Operations, July 2011.</ref>

In addition, ''Dark of the Moon'' was also supported by NASA, and NASA employees appear as extras in the movie as well.<ref name="nasa">[http://www.space.com/12142-transformers-film-nasa-space-program-touches.html "'Transformers: Dark of the Moon' Has Real-Life NASA Touches"], Space.com, July 2011.</ref>

==== General Motors and other car manufacturers ====
[[General Motors]] once again provided several vehicles. All recurring Autobots retain their [[alternate mode]]s from ''Revenge of the Fallen'' despite some minor tweaks, such as Sideswipe now being a convertible, and Bumblebee now sporting a rear spoiler. Once again, the cooperation was mutual, with General Motors using Bumblebee for TV commercials. The first of those, aired during the 2011 Super Bowl, also revealed some minor tweaks to Bumblebee's robot mode.<ref name="bumblebeead1">[http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2011/02/-bumblebee-appears-in-a-chevrolet-camaro-super-bowl-ad/1 "'Bumblebee' appears in Chevrolet's Super Bowl ad"], USA Today, February 2011.</ref><ref name="bumblebeead2">[http://www.autoblog.com/2011/06/06/chevy-drops-new-ad-touting-transformers-3-tie-in/ "Video: Chevy drops new ad touting Transformers 3 tie-in"], Autoblog.com, June 2011.</ref> According to Chevrolet, the ''Transformers'' movies notably affect car sales, as about ten percent of all Camaros sold in the preceding year were yellow, twice as many as with other models.<ref name="carstarscast">[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/transformers-dark-moon-how-sequels-204557 "'Transformers: Dark of the Moon': How the Sequel's Star Cars Were Cast"], The Hollywood Reporter, June 2011.</ref>

New additions for ''Dark of the Moon'' are a Ferrari 458 Italia and a Mercedes-Benz E550 as Autobots ([[Mirage (Movie)|Dino]] and [[Wheeljack (Movie)|Que]], respectively) and a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG as a Decepticon ([[Soundwave (ROTF)|Soundwave]]). In the movie, both Autobots sport names which aren't recycled from existing Hasbro toys. In the Ferrari's case, the reason for this is that Hasbro's greatest competitor, Mattel, has an exclusive license for Ferrari toys.<ref name="ferrarimattel">[http://www.ferrari.com/English/Pages/Mattel.aspx Mattel license information], Ferrari.com.</ref><ref name="nelsonnomirage">[http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-news-rumors/409844-mirage-no-longer-name-red-italia-dotm-3.html#post6103423 Michael Bay's website admin, Nelson Lauren, explaining why the Ferrari isn't named "Mirage"], TFW2005, May 2011.</ref> "Dino" is named in reference to {{w|Alfredo Ferrari|Alfredo "Dino" Ferrari}}, as per Ferrari's request. The Mercedes-Benz E550, meanwhile, was specifically customized for the movie.<ref name="e550tuning">[http://www.eurotuner.com/news/eurp_1102_mercedes_benz_e550_for_next_transformers_movie/index.html "Mercedes-Benz E550 for Next Transformers Movie - Web Exclusive"], Eurotuner.com, February 2011.</ref> "Que" is named in homage to {{w|Q (James Bond)|Q}} from ''{{w|James Bond}}. A Maybach 62S Landaulet is also featured in the movie, albeit not as a Transformer, but merely as a regular car used by [[Seymour Simmons]] and his assistant [[Dutch (DOTM)|Dutch]].

Unlike Optimus Prime, whose alternate mode was not licensed for any of the three movies, the Rosenbauer Panther 6x6 airport fire truck used for [[Sentinel Prime (ROTF)|Sentinel Prime]] was officially provided by the Rosenbauer International AG and entirely repainted specifically for the film, at a cost of thousands of dollars, as real-world aircraft fire-fighting vehicles are required by FAA regulations to have a much lighter color scheme, which didn't appeal to director [[Michael Bay]].<ref name="rosenbauer">[http://www.rosenbaueramerica.com/press/2011/06/rosenbauer-panther-6x6-to-be-f/ Rosenbauer America press release, June 28, 2011]</ref>

Since the heavily armed Chevrolet Impalas that serve as the [[Wrecker|Wreckers']] alternate modes are directly based on existing NASCAR race cars, the prop versions of [[Roadbuster (DOTM)|Roadbuster]], [[Leadfoot (DOTM)|Leadfoot]], and [[Topspin (DOTM)|Topspin]] made an appearance at [[2011]] Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on [[February 20]], four month before the movie's release, appearing both off the track as display cars, and on the track, participating in the ceremonial first lap.<ref name="daytona">[http://www.hendrickmotorsports.com/news/photos/2011/02/18/TRANSFORMERS-cars-on-display-at-Daytona "'TRANSFORMERS' cars on display at Daytona"], Hendrick Motorsports, February 2011.</ref> Director Michael Bay, actor [[Josh Duhamel]] and actress [[Rosie Huntington-Whiteley]] also attended the event, and during the television broadcast of the race, a new ''Dark of the Moon'' television spot was aired.

==== Other product placement ====
As always, various companies have their products and names prominently displayed throughout the movie, such as {{w|Northrop Grumman}}, [[CNN]], [[Fox News Channel|Fox News]], {{w|Cisco}} and {{w|Superfund}}.<ref name="brands1">[http://www.brandchannel.com/brandcameo_films.asp?movie_year_az=2011 "Transformers: Dark of the Moon"] at brandchannel.com.</ref> Paper manufacturer Double A also cooperated with Paramount and even had Michael Bay direct a commercial that features scenes from ''Dark of the Moon'', notably [[Laserbeak (DOTM)|Laserbeak]].<ref name="paper">[http://www.superherohype.com/news/articles/167497-transformers-featured-in-double-a-paper-ad "Transformers Featured in Double A Paper Ad"] at SuperHeroHype, June 2011.</ref> Of particular note is the large number of Chinese brands such as {{w|Lenovo}}, {{w|Yili Group|Yili}} Shuhua Milk, {{w|Metersbonwe Group|Metersbonwe}} Mtee shirts and {{w|TCL Corporation|TCL}} HDTV screens.<ref name="chinesebrands">[http://advertising.chinasmack.com/2011/transformers-the-rise-of-chinese-product-placement.html "Transformers: The Rise Of Chinese Product Placement"] at Chinasmack.</ref><ref name="brands2">[http://www.brandchannel.com/home/post/2011/07/05/Brandcameo-070411-Transformers-3.aspx "Transformers 3 Product Placement: If Tom Hanks Gets a Pass, Michael Bay Does Not"] at brandchannel, July 2011.</ref>

For [[Nokia]], the product placement turned out to be dated by the time the movie came out, as a mobile phone featured in the movie ran on {{w|Symbian}}, despite Nokia mostly dropping Symbian as an operating system due to their recent partnership with {{w|Microsoft}}.<ref name="nokiaobit">[http://www.thenoisecast.com/2011/07/nokia-x7-product-placement-in-transformers-3-feels-like-an-obituary/ "Nokia X7 Product Placement In Transformers 3 Feels Like An Obituary"], Noisecast, July 2011.</ref>

=== Changes before, during and after production ===
* In an interview with the Los Angeles Times in June 2009, Michael Bay suggested that [[Ramon Rodriguez]] would reprise his role as [[Leo Spitz]] from ''Revenge of the Fallen'' for the third movie.<ref name="bayramon">[http://herocomplex.latimes.com/2009/06/30/ramon-rodriguez-will-have-bigger-role-in-third-transformers-movie-bay-hints/ "Ramon Rodriguez will have bigger role in third ‘Transformers’ movie, Bay hints"], Los Angeles Times, June 2009.</ref>

* As stated above, [[Megan Fox]] was originally intended to reprise her role as [[Mikaela Banes]] from the previous two movies. She was still spotted on the ''Dark of the Moon'' set during the previsualization stage in May 2010,<ref name="foxonset"/> but was fired from the production shortly afterwards due to a falling out with director [[Michael Bay]]. [[Rosie Huntington-Whiteley]]'s character of [[Carly Spencer]] was written in as a replacement, though the fact that her part was originally written for Mikaela still shows in some parts: For example, Carly is overseeing [[Dylan Gould|Dylan]]'s car collection, which could be viewed as an extension of Mikaela's history with working with cars. Furthermore, Sam and Carly not only have [[Wheelie (ROTF)|Wheelie]] (who had been previously "domesticated" by Mikaela) as a "pet", but also her dog [[Bonecrusher (dog)|Bonecrusher]] (played by Michael Bay's eponymous real-life dog).

[[File:DOTM Skids, Mudflap, Que and Sideswipe.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|Eat this, Megan Fox.]]
*In January 2010, actor James Avery claimed in an interview that he would be playing a new Autobot named "Silverbolt".<ref name="avery">[http://unscripted.ca/episodes/show/136 James Avery interview on Unscripted], January 2010</ref> In June 2010, representatives of James Avery, responding to a bizarre rumor that he had passed away, confirmed that the actor was indeed alive and would be playing Silverbolt in ''Transformers 3''.<ref>[http://www.examiner.com/entertainment-in-national/uncle-phil-james-avery-isn-t-dead-after-all James Avery isn't dead after all], The Examiner, June 2010.</ref> Despite this, neither Avery nor Silverbolt ultimately appear in ''Dark of the Moon''.

* In January 2011, an Idaho newspaper<ref>[http://magicvalley.com/news/local/article_d4f374a4-d960-5589-8d0c-be37df66fc40.html?mode=story "Rupert's Fagerbakke finds a voice that is truly golden"]</ref> announced voice actor [[Bill Fagerbakke]] as the voice of a "Chevy Impala stock car" that would appear in ''Dark of the Moon'' (presumably meaning one of the three [[Wrecker]]s, who share that base altmode). Why Fagerbakke did not end up voicing any of the Wreckers in the final cut of the film is unknown.

* Shockwave's original voice actor, [[Corey Burton]], expressed that he had no interest in voicing him for ''Dark of the Moon'', explaining "[I] have practically no interest in that kind of mega-budget movie enterprise involvement" and that the inspiration for his Shockwave voice, {{w|David Warner (actor)|David Warner}}, was rumored to have been considered.<ref>[http://www.coreyburton.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?p=2707&highlight=#2707 Corey Burton's message board post.]</ref> In the end, Shockwave's almost-entirely-wordless-snarl-based role would have been something of a waste of Warner; the role ultimately went to Frank Welker. There's a nice touch of symmetry in the casting, with Welker taking over a Burton-originated role not long after Burton took on a Welker-originated character in [[Megatron (Animated)|''Animated'' Megatron]].

* In an earlier draft of the movie's script, Megatron is sincere when he offers Optimus Prime a truce at the end. Optimus accepts, and Megatron and the remaining Decepticons leave Earth to rebuild Cybertron. This ending is used for the [[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (novel)|novelization]] and the [[Transformers: Dark of the Moon Movie Adaptation|comic adaptation]]. According to Michael Bay's website administrator Nelson, the ending was changed because the studio didn't want the adaptations to share the same ending with the film.<ref>http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/members/nelson-47919.html#vmessage284191</ref>

* Furthermore, it was originally supposed to be [[Mirage (Movie)|Mirage/"Dino"]] rather than [[Wheeljack (Movie)|Wheeljack/"Que"]] who would have been executed by [[Soundwave (ROTF)|Soundwave]] in Chicago. This version made it into the comic adaptation and the [[Transformers: Dark of the Moon: The Junior Novel|junior novelization]].

[[File:DOTM-SentinelPrimetrailer.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|Colour me your colour, baby<br>Colour me your car<br>Colour me your colour, darling<br>I know who you are]]
* Another scrapped death for Mirage is seen in the [[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (novel)|novelization]], in where he's decapicated by [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]]. His severed head is subsequently used by Soundwave to mock the Autobots before they are about to get executed.

* A scrapped death for Wheeljack/"Que" involved the Autobot being run off of a Chicago street and into a river by the [[Driller]], where he would have been torn to pieces by Decepticon troopers lying in wait in the river.

* [[The Twins]], [[Skids (ROTF)|Skids]] and [[Mudflap (ROTF)|Mudflap]], were originally supposed to return for ''Dark of the Moon'', and to die at the hands of Sentinel Prime shortly after Ironhide. Even though [[General Motors]] provided two Chevrolet Sparks to serve as their alternate modes<ref name="chevyspark">[http://www.leftlanenews.com/chevrolet-spark-transformers-3.html Left Lane News article on two Chevrolet Sparks spotted on the DOTM set], May 2010.</ref> which were still spotted on the set as late as October 2010,<ref name="dcparking">[http://transformerslive.blogspot.com/2010/10/transformers-3-dc-parking-lot-gallery.html "Transformers 3 DC Parking Lot Gallery"], Transformers Live Action Movie Blog, October 2010.</ref> the two were mostly edited out of the final movie (their vehicle modes can barely be glimpsed in a few brief shots). Michael Bay even went so far as to offer a $25,000 reward for anyone who would see the Twins "perform" in the movie.<ref name="reward">[http://collider.com/transformers-3-twins-skids-mudflap-michael-bay/91104/ Collider.com article on Michael Bay's "reward" for spotting Skids and Mudflap "perform" in DOTM], May 2011.</ref> In the novelization and the comic adaptation, Skids and Mudflap still appear.

* Another plot point that was apparently dropped was an anti-Autobot sentiment among the human populace. Graffiti with a crossed out Autobot [[insignia|logo]] with the words "go home" below it showed up in several set photos.<ref name="gohome1">[http://transformerslive.blogspot.com/2010/05/transformers-3-filming-with-twins.html Photos from the set in Sherman Oaks, California] at the Transformers Live Action Movie Blog, May 2010.</ref><ref name="gohome2">[http://www.seibertron.com/transformers/news/possible-tf3-plot-point-revealed-autobots-go-home/19188/ Photos from the Chicago set] at Seibertron.com, July 2010.</ref> In the movie, Congress instantly passes a law exiling the Autobots from Earth following Sentinel Prime's ultimatum.

* Early working names included "[[Ultra Magnus (disambiguation)|Ultra Magnus]]" for [[Sentinel Prime (ROTF)|Sentinel Prime]],<ref name="chicagocall">[http://transformerslive.blogspot.com/2011/06/chicgo-call-sheet-for-ultra-magnus.html "Chicago Call Sheet For Ultra Magnus"], Transformers Live Action Movie Blog, June 2011.</ref> "Enzo" (after {{w|Enzo Ferrari}})<ref name="callsheet2">[http://tilallaremine.wordpress.com/2011/07/01/dark-of-the-moon-call-sheets/ Dark of the Moon Call Sheets!] at Til All Are Mine blog, July 2011.</ref> and "Rush" for Mirage/"Dino", "[[Warpath (disambiguation)|Warpath]]" for both [[Roadbuster (DOTM)|Roadbuster]] and [[Topspin (DOTM)|Topspin]], "Tempest" for Topspin, "[[Flash (disambiguation)|Flash]]" for [[Leadfoot (DOTM)|Leadfoot]], "[[Dreadwind (disambiguation)|Dreadwind]]" for [[Crankcase (DOTM)|Crankcase]], "[[Hooligan (disambiguation)|Hooligan]]" for [[Crowbar]], "[[Dirtbag]]" for [[Hatchet (DOTM)|Hatchet]], "[[Blitzwing (disambiguation)|Blitzwing]]" for [[Shockwave (Movie)|Shockwave]], "[[Breakdown (disambiguation)|Breakdown]]" for Soundwave's new vehicular design, "[[Clench (G1)|Colossus]]" for the [[Driller]],<ref name="nizzi">[http://www.joshnizzi.com/TF3.htm Josh Nizzi DOTM concepts.]</ref> "Buzzard" for [[Laserbeak (DOTM)|Laserbeak]], "[[Undermine (Cybertron)|Undermine]]" for [[Igor]] and "[[Steeljaw (disambiguation)|Steeljaw]]" for Wheeljack/"Que". However, it's quite possible a few of these were code names used to keep character identities a secret during production as images of Megatron's new cloak obscured face refer to the character as "[[Cyclonus (disambiguation)|Cyclonus]]".<ref name="wburt">[http://conceptartworld.com/?p=8388 Wesley Burt DOTM concepts.]</ref>

* Roadbuster was originally intended to have {{w|Jeff Gordon}}'s #24 {{w|DuPont}}-sponsored Chevrolet Impala as his alternate mode, rather than {{w|Dale Earnhardt, Jr.}}'s #88 Impala sponsored by {{w|AMP Energy}}.<ref name="nizzi"/>

[[File:DOTMSuperBowlvsTrailer.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|So does this qualify as a retcon?]]
* Que/Wheeljack's head was once considered to be based on {{w|Christopher Lloyd}}'s {{w|Emmett Brown|Doc Brown}} from ''[[Back to the Future]]'', rather than [[Albert Einstein]].<ref name="wburt"/>

* The Wreckers were originally intended to have a robot pet dog, whose working names also included "Warpath".<ref name="nizzi"/> Hasbro released a toy of the dog with the [[Human Alliance]] version of Leadfoot, named "[[Steeljaw (DOTM)|Steeljaw]]".

* Megatron was originally supposed to appear in his ''Revenge of the Fallen'' form.<ref>http://joshnizzi.com/images/TF3/JoshNizzi_TF3_56.jpg</ref>

* In an interview with MTV.com, actors [[Shia LaBeouf]] and [[John Malkovich]] hinted at some smaller scenes that were cut from the final edit of the movie. In addition to some ad-libbing by the actors, one scene would have featured Malkovich's character, [[Bruce Brazos]], attempting to get Carly's phone number.<ref name="deletedmtv">[http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1666772/transformers-dark-of-the-moon-dvd-deleted-scenes.jhtml MTV.com on deleted scenes], July 2011.</ref>

* In the original teaser trailer for ''Dark of the Moon'' that was released in December 2010, the opening scene that featured [[Neil Armstrong]] and [[Buzz Aldrin]] investigate the ''[[Ark (DOTM)|Ark]]'' on the moon had Sentinel Prime sport a gold and silver color scheme. For the final movie, his base color was changed to red.

* Similar to the teaser trailer, the Super Bowl spot also features footage that contains unfinished CG effects. Most notably, the shot that depicts Optimus Prime, equipped with his flight pack, swooping down on the Decepticons before starting his epic rampage on the ground was changed by the time the first full trailer was released: Optimus himself and the first [[M1 Abrams Decepticon]] are both rescaled and moved to different positions on-screen; a Decepticon using the same [[body-type]] as [[Blackout (Movie)|Blackout]] and [[Grindor (ROTF)|Grindor]] is removed entirely; and a Decepticon using the same body-type as Long Haul, as well as other [[generic]]s, are added. The final movie uses pretty much the same version as seen in the trailer.
{{-}}

=== Leaks and disinformation===
[[File:DOTMgameSoundwave.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|What you're about to see is totally classified.]]
The movie's title, then "Transformers: ''The'' Dark of the Moon", was first discovered on October 6, 2010 via listings for childrens' books on [[Amazon (website)|Amazon]]. The title was further confirmed by a whois check for "www.transformersdarkofthemoonmovie.com".<ref>[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/transformers-3-title-revealed-170697/ Transformers 3 Title Revealed?] @ TFW2005.com</ref> On October 31, the official website for all three movies, [http://www.transformersmovie.com/ transformersmovie.com], was updated to show the ''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'' logo as well as international release dates.

[[Shockwave (Movie)|Shockwave]] was heavily touted as the new main villain, no doubt in an attempt to conceal [[Sentinel Prime (ROTF)|Sentinel Prime]]'s unexpected betrayal halfway through the movie. A piece of information that commonly popped up in media coverage was the claim that Shockwave was the ruler of [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] while the other Autobots and Decepticons were duking it out on Earth.<ref name="pushpops">[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/transformers-3-plot-summary-revealed-170756/ "Transformers 3 Plot Summary Revealed"], TFW2005, October 2010.</ref> The last bit could be written off as a case of {{w|Chinese whispers}}: Shockwave got announced as the villain for ''Dark of the Moon'', mainstream media (such as USA Today<ref name="usatodayswitch">[http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2010-06-11-Transformers11_ST_N.htm "Next 'Transformers' is due for a switch"], USA Today, June 2010.</ref>) who aren't versed in Transformers lore looked up the character, found out about his ''[[The Transformers (franchise)|Generation 1]]'' [[Shockwave (G1)|namesake]]'s role in the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|cartoon]], included it as a piece of trivia to show they did their research, and then the trivia note got picked up as gospel by other media. Nevertheless, it was included in the ''official plot summary'' by Paramount's German branch (which also claimed that ''Shockwave'' was the robot discovered inside the ''[[Ark (DOTM)|Ark]]'' as seen in the trailer).<ref name="germansite">[http://www.transformers3-film.de/ Official German DOTM site] including faulty plot summary.</ref>

[[File:TF3HasbroSoundwaveBio.JPG|thumb|upright=1.66|left|If you breathe a word of what you see in here, you will do time for treason.]]Michael Bay and other official parties tried ''really'' hard to suppress the plot twist of the silver Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG given to [[Carly Spencer|Carly]] by [[Dylan Gould|Dylan]] turning out to be the new [[alternate mode]] of [[Soundwave (ROTF)|Soundwave]]. After the Mercedes had been spotted on the set, with [[Rosie Huntington-Whiteley]] exiting it,<ref name="mercedesset">[http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=67518 DOTM Set Photos], ComingSoon.net, July 2010.</ref> the first hint that it was more than meets the eye came with the trailer for the [[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (Xbox 360/PS3)|video game]], which showed Soundwave's robot mode with car [[kibble]] such as wheels that heavily resembled those of the Mercedes. In addition, [[Rising Storm issue 3|issue 3]] of ''[[Transformers: Rising Storm]]'' depicted Soundwave's robot mode not only with car kibble, but with a Mercedes star on his chest. Despite this, director Michael Bay insisted that the Mercedes was simply Carly's car, claiming that "Mercedes would never let us make their car into a bad Decepticon. Car company's {{sic}} really frown on that. I can't say what the game company and comics do that's their own thing. They don't have the same constraints movies do. It's Carly's car."<ref name="baynomerc">[http://www.shootfortheedit.com/forum/showthread.php?8724-Update-Is-Soundwave-the-silver-Mercedes-on-set-of-DOTM&p=169598&viewfull=1#post169598 Michael Bay's response to the fan theory that Soundwave is the Silver Mercedes.], April 2011.</ref> On April 19, 2011, an event for promoting the ''Spider-Man: Edge of Time'' and ''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'' video games was held in London. As part of this, [[High Moon Studios]] released promotional stills from the ''Dark of the Moon'' game, one of which depicted Soundwave's new robot mode, again with Mercedes parts. However, a news embargo was enforced on the attending press, which was broken by South African video game site [http://egamer.co.za egamer].<ref name="egamera">[http://egamer.co.za/2011/05/exclusive-hands-on-transformers-dark-of-the-moon/ egamer's preview of the ''Dark of the Moon'' video game]</ref> The site was soon asked to take down the article and images, as were various ''Transformers'' fan sites that had reported on the article and mirrored the images. On May 2, 2011, Hasbro's [http://www.hasbro.com/transformers/en_US/ official Transformers website] was given a massive overhaul, including the addition of the new [http://www.hasbro.com/transformers/en_US/discover/cybertronian-database.cfm Vector Sigma database]. The entry for Soundwave initially identified his alternate mode as a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, but was soon changed to "satellite". On May 3, 2011, the embargo for the video game article and promotional stills was finally lifted, allowing sites to freely show the image of Soundwave's new robot mode.

On May 5, 2011, several weeks before the trade paperback collection's official release, preview pages from [[IDW Publishing|IDW]]'s [[Transformers: Dark of the Moon Movie Adaptation|''Dark of the Moon'' comic adaptation]] were discovered at [[Amazon (website)|Amazon]]. Through some bizarre system error, ''several dozen pages'' were made available, which included the major plot twist of Sentinel Prime showing his true colors and killing [[Ironhide (Movie)|Ironhide]]. Unsurprisingly, this discovery was quickly posted on several major Transformers [[fandom|fan sites]], often without a spoiler warning.

==Notes==
* A 126-page script for the movie was leaked in December 2009,<ref>[http://www.allspark.com/content/view/6435/20/ The Allspark: Transformers News Movie Comics Animated - Script Treatment for Transformers 3? Bogus or Not, Here You Go!]</ref> causing much discussion among the fandom. It was later confirmed as fake.<ref>[http://shootfortheedit.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6532 Script]</ref>
* When word hit that [[Megan Fox]] was off the picture, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VTs5ESycpY Heidi Montag] put an "audition" for her part on YouTube. [http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/114ce28ddd/sir-ben-kingsley-shows-up-heidi-montag Sir Ben Kingsley] and [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4FZeucBO0c Ashton Kutcher] made fun of her, because life is rad.
* Several concepts that had been established by the [[Transformers (film)|first movie]] were (more or less) dropped with ''Dark of the Moon'' in favor or a more traditional, ''[[The Transformers (franchise)|Generation 1]]''-esque approach:
** In the 2007 movie, the Autobots arrive on Earth in "[[Protoform]]" entry modes (which was subsequently used as the basis for the Decepticons' arrival in [[Planetfall (Movie)|Planetfall]]). Prior to the release of the movie, screenwriter [[Roberto Orci]] defended this choice over the use of a spaceship such as the ''Ark'' by asking why "aliens who moonlight as vehicles need other vehicles to travel".<ref name="orcitravel">[http://tformers.com/Ark-Not-Making-An-Appearance-In-the-Movie/6513/news.html TFormers quoting Roberto Orci], because Don Murphy's board can only be read by registered members.</ref> He somewhat changed his mind after the movie had been released, however.<ref name="orciship">[http://boards.transformersmovie.com/showpost.php?p=388596&postcount=271 Roberto Orci on the Transformers Live Action Movie Boards], July 2007.</ref> After the Decepticons' ship, the ''[[Nemesis (ROTF)|Nemesis]]'', had made an appearance in ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'', ''Dark of the Moon'' not only introduces the movieverse version of the ''[[Ark (DOTM)|Ark]]'', but also reveals that all the new Autobots who have been on Earth since before ''Revenge of the Fallen'' had arrived in their own spaceship, the ''[[Xantium (DOTM)|Xantium]]'', making the notion of individual Transformers traveling through space as "comets" an exception rather than the rule. ''[[Transformers: Age of Extinction (film)|Age of Extinction]]'' would also later depict the Autobots as stranded on Earth after the destruction of the ''Xantium'' in this film, further pointing towards the "comet" transportation as an abandoned concept. ''[[Transformers: The Last Knight (film)|The Last Knight]]'' would also show this idea when the Autobots again declare themselves stranded, as they don't know where the ''[[Knight Ship|Knightship]]'' is, only being able to finally go home after they acquired it.
** Furthermore, ''Dark of the Moon'' largely abandons the idea of Transformers having all their weapons integrated into their bodies in favor of more traditional, separate weapons. For example, [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]], who had blades and hooks emerging from his forearms in the previous two movies now stores all his weapons (including an axe) as accessories inside his trailer (though he still carries some on his person). Also, Ironhide, whose cannons were previously affixed to his arms, now sports handheld firearms instead. Even Megatron, whose [[fusion cannon]] previously grew out of his arms, now has a hand-held shotgun. Though it can be argued that Optimus still has his swords in his arms during the Chicago battle, and both Ironhide and Megatron lost their integrated weapons in the previous film, the general change is still noticeable. The only ones who still seem to have the same converting arm cannons as in the previous movies are Bumblebee, Ratchet, and Starscream.
* Another change from the previous movies (though not rooted in ''Generation 1'') is that Transformers that take damage in battle now spill a red liquid that is very obviously meant to resemble human blood.
* [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]] finally achieves a certain consistency between his two primary modes: Ever since his upgrade to a modern Camaro in ''Transformers'' (2007), his [[license plate]] had alternated between "900 STRA" in vehicle mode and "4NZZ 454" in robot mode. ''Dark of the Moon'' finally uses "900 STRA" for the robot mode as well. Hasbro's toys, which had previously favored the CG robot model's "4NZZ 454" (barring the occasional "4NZZ'''Z''' 454" flub), follow suit.
*Speaking of license plates: [[Dutch (DOTM)|Dutch]]'s Maybach 62S Landaulet sports a German license plate, "'''S MM 6201'''", registered in the city of Stuttgart. In reality, that plate is registered to the manufacturer and used for promotional photos.<ref name="maybach">[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/update--transformers-3-rumor--who-wants-to-be-a-millionaire-170533/ Set photos and promo photos of the Maybach 62S Landaulet] at TFW2005.</ref>
*Michael Bay's private Gulfstream Aerospace G-1159A jet (registration number N4500X) has a cameo in the movie as [[Charlotte Mearing]]'s plane.

===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''''Transformers/Darkside Moon''''' (トランスフォーマー/ダークサイド・ムーン ''Toransufōmā/Dākusaido Mūn'')
*''Cantonese:'' (變形金剛: 黑月降臨, "Transformers: The Arrival of the Black Moon")
*''Finnish:'' '''''Transformers: Kuun pimeä puoli''''' ("Transformers: The Dark Side of the Moon")
*''French:'' '''''Transformers 3: La Face cachée de la Lune''''' ("Transformers 3: The Hidden Side of the Moon")
*''German:'' '''''Transformers 3: Die dunkle Seite des Mondes''''' ("Transformers 3: The Dark Side of the Moon")
*''Italian:'' '''''Transformers 3'''''
*''Mandarin:'' '''''Biànxíng Jīngāng 3''''' (Taiwan, 變形金剛３, "Transformers 3"), '''''Biànxíng Jīngāng: Yuè Hēi zhī Shí''''' (Mainland China, 变形金刚：月黑之时, "Transformers: When the Moon Becomes Black")
*''Polish:'' '''''Transformers 3'''''
*''Portuguese:'' '''''Transformers: O Lado Oculto da Lua''''' (Brazil, "Transformers: The Hidden Side of the Moon"), '''''Transformers 3''''' (Portugal)
*''Russian:'' '''''Transformery 3: Tjomnaja storona Luny''''' (Трансформеры 3: Тёмная сторона Луны, "Transformers 3: The Dark Side of the Moon")
*''Serbian:'' '''''Transformers 3: Tama Meseca''''' ("Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon")
*''Spanish:'' '''''Transformers: El Lado Oscuro de la Luna''''' (Latin American, "Transformers: The Dark Side of the Moon"), '''''Transformers 3''''' (Spain)
*''Swedish:'' '''''Transformers 3'''''
*''Turkish:'' '''''Transformers: Ayın Karanlık Yüzü''''' ("Transformers: The Dark Side of the Moon")
*''Czech:'' '''''Transformers 3'''''
*''Hindi:'' '''''Traansaphormars: Chaand ka Andhera''''' (ट्राँसफॉर्मर्स: चांद का अंधेरा, "Transformers: Darkness of the Moon")
*''Tamil:'' '''''Ṭirāṉsḥpārmas: Ṭārk op ti mūṉ''''' (டிரான்ஸ்ஃபார்மஸ்: டார்க் ஒப் தி மூன், "Transformers: Dark of the Moon")
*''Greek:'' '''''Transformers 3'''''
*''Ukrainian:'' '''''Transformery: Temnyy bik Misyatsya''''' (Трансформери: Темний бік Місяця, "Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon")
*''Dutch:'' '''''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'''''
*''Norwegian:'' '''''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'''''
*''Hungarian:'' '''''Transformers 3'''''
*''Croatian:'' '''''Transformeri: Tamna strana Mjeseca''''' ("Transformers: The Dark Side of the Moon")
*''Latvian:'' '''''Transformeri 3: Mēness no otras puses''''' ("Transformers 3: The Moon on the Other Side")
*''Lithuanian:'' '''''Transformeriai: tamsioji Mėnulio pusė''''' ("Transformers: The Dark Side of the Moon")
*''Arabic:'' '''''Almtahawilun: Aljanib Almuzlim Lilqamar''''' (المتحولون: الجانب المظلم للقمر, "Transformers: The Dark Side of the Moon")
*''Indonesian:'' '''''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'''''
*''Malay:'' '''''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'''''
*''Hebrew:'' '''''Rvvvtrkm 3. Flt hrch''''' (רובוטריקים 3: אפלת הירח, "Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon")
*''Korean:'' '''''Teulaenseupomeo 3''''' (트랜스포머 3, "Transformers 3")
*''Romanian:'' '''''Transformers: Fața ascunsă a Lunii''''' ("Transformers: The Hidden Face of the Moon")
*''Thai:'' '''''Thrāns̄̒ fxr̒m me xr̒s̄ 3''''' (ทรานส์ฟอร์มเมอร์ส 3, "Transformers 3")

==External links==
* [http://www.transformersmovie.com/ Transformersmovie.com]
* [http://www.imdb.com/tt1399103/ ''Dark of the Moon'' at IMDB.com]
* {{w|Transformers: Dark of the Moon|''Dark of the Moon'' film on Wikipedia}}
* [https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/transformers_dark_of_the_moon/ ''Dark of the Moon'' on RottenTomatoes.com]

==Footnotes==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.transformersmovie.com/ Official ''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'' website]
*[http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/paramount/transformersdarkofthemoon/ Trailers.Apple.com ''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'' page]
* Designer portfolios: [http://www.joshnizzi.com/TF3.htm Josh Nizzi], [http://www.warrenmanser.com/WarrenManser.com/PORTFOLIO_M/Pages/TRANSFORMERS_3.html Warren Manser], [http://www.joelchang.com/index.php?/projects/transformers-dark-of-the-moon/ Joel Chang], [http://conceptartworld.com/?p=8293 The Aaron Sims Company] (at Concept Art World), [http://conceptartworld.com/?p=8388 Wesley Burt] (at Concept Art World), [http://massiveblack.com/MBwebolution/blog/?p=301 Massive Black], [http://www.ghull.com/#/125195 George Hull]

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[[Category:Dark of the Moon| Dark of the Moon (film)]]
[[Category:Dark of the Moon media| ]]
[[Category:Real world films]]