View source for Transformers: Dark of the Moon (film)

{{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 and being three months out of school is currently looking for a job. 
*Since the events of ''Revenge of the Fallen'', Sam and Mikaela have broken up(Despite having an entire film spent on Sam trying to say he loves her). 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 now 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 staying 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, using to the front of being a part of Health and Human Services, that is operating in 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 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 is now joined by Brains and 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, who made his live-action debut in the last film, now joined by Laserbeak, was revealed to have been active on Earth at least since the 1960s and was tasked with hiding Megatron’s secret plan that was hidden on the dark side of the moon. Also, 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.

==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 Arc 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 decpticon. 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 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:'' (<!--Hong Kong, -->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''''' 
*''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: <!--The Time -->When the Moon Becomes Black")
*''Polish:'' '''''Transformers 3'''''
*''Portuguese:'' '''''Transformers: O Lado Oculto da Lua''''' ("Transformers: The Hidden Side of the Moon")
*''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''''' (America, "Transformers: The Dark Side of the Moon")
*''Swedish:'' '''''Transformers 3'''''
*''Turkish:'' '''''Transformers: Ayın Karanlık Yüzü''''' ("Transformers: The Dark Side of the Moon")
*''Czech:'' '''''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]]