Transformers: The Last Knight (film)

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So forget any ideas you've got about lost cities, exotic travel, and digging up the world. We do not follow maps to buried treasure, and "X" never, ever marks the spot.

Transformers: The Last Knight is the fifth film in the live-action film series, and was released on June 21, 2017. The film serves as a sequel to Transformers: Age of Extinction, and is directed by Michael Bay, and is written by Art Marcum, Matt Holloway, and Ken Nolan. As with the previous films, it is a Paramount Pictures production.

Characters

Autobots	Decepticons	Humans	Knights of Iacon	Others
Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen) Bumblebee (Erik Aadahl) Hound (John Goodman) Drift (Ken Watanabe) Crosshairs (John DiMaggio) Grimlock Slug Wheelie (Tom Kenny) Sqweeks (Reno Wilson) Hot Rod (Omar Sy) Canopy (Frank Welker) Cogman (Jim Carter) Daytrader (Steve Buscemi) Excavator Autobot Mini Slug Mini Strafe Mini Grimlock Topspin (Steven Barr) "Bulldog" (Mark Ryan) Hurricane Autobot Northrop Autobot HMS Alliance Autobot	Megatron (Frank Welker) Barricade (Jess Harnell) Onslaught (?) Dreadbot Berserker Nitro Zeus (John DiMaggio) Mohawk (Reno Wilson) Starscream's head	Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg) Merlin (Stanley Tucci) Izabella (Isabela Moner) William Lennox (Josh Duhamel) Seymour Simmons (John Turturro) Viviane Wembly (Laura Haddock) Sir Edmund Burton (Anthony Hopkins) Santos (Santiago Cabrera) Morshower (Glenn Morshower) Jimmy (Jerrod Carmichael) King Arthur (Liam Garrigan) Sherman Sam Witwicky's photograph	Dragonstorm Dragonicus Stormreign Skullitron Steelbane	Quintessa (Gemma Chan) Infernocus Infernocons Unicron The watch that killed Hitler Vatti Transformer

Errors

Continuity errors

• How does Daytrader have Starscream's head if it was destroyed in the third film?
  • Also, how did Starscream's head end up in Buffalo, NEW YORK, when it was destroyed in Chicago, ILLINOIS?
• When the Decepticons invade the junkyard, Sqweeks is seen trying to escape, with both of his original arms intact, despite having been shown with Izabella welding a scavenged Decepticon arm onto him to replace the arm lost earlier in the film. The next time Sqweeks is seen, the Decepticon arm is back, and remains for the entirety of the film.
• Ironhide is depicted in a historical painting, but he was clearly seen arriving on Earth in the first film.
• Optimus remarks that he has not heard Bumblebee's voice "since Cybertron fell". Bumblebee actually spoke with his real voice briefly at the end of the first film, albeit it with a different voice actor.
• How does Hot Rod have the Lamborgini chest in an old war photo if he selected the new disguise merely seconds ago?

Technical/animation errors

• Topspin is depicted with Leadfoot's head instead of his own.

Geographic discontinuities

• When the authorities arrive at Burton's mansion, it is noted that "TRF and MI6" are in pursuit. In real life, MI6 is the UK's external intelligence agency; it is more likely that MI5, the UK's domestic intelligence agency, would be the British central government's agency present.

Transformers references

• Quintessa is a loose adaptation of the Quintessons - the recurring race of antagonistic extraterrestrials who terrorized both the Autobots and Decepticons in season 3 of the original 1980's cartoon. In the cartoon continuity, the Quintessons were the creators of the Transformers, in the same way that Quintessa claims to be in the film. Here, though, Quintessa seems to be physically based off of Quintus Prime, a relatively new character introduced through 2013's The Covenant of Primus, though the decision to make the character female is something wholly new.
• Unicron having a connection to the Earth seems inspired by the Transformers: Prime cartoon; in that series, Unicron's alternate mode was the core of the Earth, with the rest of the planet having formed around his dormant body during his hibernation. Whether or not this corporeality holds true for this incarnation of Unicron remains to be seen.
• When Optimus Prime falls under Quintessa's control, he is dubbed "Nemesis Prime", an obvious reference to the evil clone of Optimus Prime that has appeared in many continuities.

Other references

• Crosshairs calls Cogman a "C-3PO ripoff".

Notes

• There appears to be at least two versions of the film, with dialogue being altered in certain places. An example being Megatron's dialogue to Optimus when he breaks from of Quintessa's control. One version has him say "I knew you couldn't do it. Your time is over, Prime!" , while the second version has him say "Quintessa, the most ruthless of our Gods, knew you couldn't do it. She knows I'm strong and you're weak."

Theatrical posters

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  No, those are Pretenders, Legends are too small.
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Reception

After four films where critics hated it but the audience showered it with money, The Last Knight broke the trend by not being showered with money. It had been projected to make $70-75m in its first days in North America, itself the lowest opening, but that was downgraded to $63m after the first few days were even lower than the lowest expected. Compare that to the $100m Age of Extinction got in its first weekend. Internationally, however, the film is expected to do gangbusters and China (where delaying The Last Knight reduced 2016 cinema growth to 3% from 40+!) was expected to spend up to $290m.

Development details

Transfivemers doesn't have the same ring to it.

• December 18, 2014 — Mark Wahlberg confirms to MTV that he is signed on for the next two Transformers films.
• March 27, 2015 — Paramount Pictures negotiates with Akiva Goldsman, hiring him to create a "writer's room" with the intention of building a cinematic universe. Goldsman goes on to hire a number of writers over the next few months: Steven DeKnight (Daredevil), Robert Kirkman (The Walking Dead), Art Marcum and Matt Holloway (Iron Man), Christina Hodson (Shut In, The Fugitive), Lindsey Beer (Dig), Zak Penn (Pacific Rim 2), Jeff Pinkner (The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Lost), Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari (Ant-Man), Ken Nolan (Black Hawk Down), and Geneva Robertson-Dworet. Involved in the pitching process are Steven Spielberg, Michael Bay, Brian Goldner, Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Mark Vahradian, and Don Murphy.
• May 27, 2015 — As part of the news surrounding Barrer and Ferrari joining the room, it's revealed that another pitch is an animated prequel movie set on Cybertron, with the working title of Transformers One.
• June 8, 2015 — The writers meet on the Paramount lot for the writer's room. The writers work for the next three months to plot out the next ten years of Transformers films.
• July 28, 2015 — DeKnight reports that as a result of the gathering of writers, Goldsman and Pinkner will be co-writing Transformers 5.
• September 17, 2015 — Deadline reveals more about the writer's room process and reports that Barrer and Ferrari will write the animated feature, with Pinkner and Beer writing later films. Bay remains uncommitted to directing.
• October 3, 2015 — Hasbro Studios's Stephen J. Davis relates more details of the writing process in a keynote speech at the MIP Junior Conference.
• November 20, 2015 — With Goldsman now enlisted to create a writer's room for G.I. Joe and Micronauts, Paramount begins negotiating with Marcum, Holloway and Nolan to write the film.
• December 14, 2015 — Wahlberg re-confirms in an interview with CinePop that he'll be back in Transformers 5.
• January 4, 2016 — Bay confirms he will be returning to direct.
• January 12, 2016 — It's totally definitely the last Transformers film for him this time though.
• February 12, 2016 — Transformers 5 is now being released on June 23, 2017. In addition, Transformers 6, acting as a Bumblebee spin-off, and Transformers 7 are set to be released respectively on June 8, 2018 and June 28, 2019.
• February 18, 2016 — Casting calls go out for June filming in London and Detroit, also confirming Peter Cullen's return as Optimus Prime.
• February 26, 2016 — After negotiations, it's announced that Michigan will provide $21 million in incentives towards the film.

5 movies in and Michael Bay is still finding ways to make my face even more ridiculously detailed. Pretty soon I'm going to look like Deceptigod.

• April 6, 2016 — Cinematographer Jonathan Sela is reported as being booked to work on the film.
• April 13, 2016 — Filming dates are revealed via a casting call on acting-auditions.org.
• May 12, 2016 — Isabela Moner tweets that she's been cast in the movie.
• May 14, 2016 — Bay suggests Tyrese Gibson is under consideration to return.
• May 16, 2016 — The film's title is officially revealed to be Transformers: The Last Knight in teaser trailer posted on a newly-launched Transformers Movie Instagram.
• May 17, 2016 — Josh Duhamel announced to be returning for Transformers: The Last Knight.
• May 25, 2016 — Michael Bay posts a photo as production begins in Cuba.
• May 27, 2016 — A teaser is posted containing morse code which translates to "I'm coming for you May 31st."
• May 31, 2016 — Michael Bay posts video of Megatron and announces production is about to start.
• June 3, 2016 — Anthony Hopkins joins the cast.
• June 4, 2016 — First look at Bumblebee's vehicle mode, which is a 2016 Chevrolet Camaro.
• June 4, 2016 — The World's Loneliest Dog is cast.
• June 10, 2016 — Barricade is confirmed to return as a 2016 Ford Mustang.
• June 18, 2016 — Mitch Pileggi reveals he has a role.

Back to the basics.

• June 20, 2016 — Laura Haddock joins the cast.
• June 22, 2016 — New robot character Sqweeks is revealed.
• June 28, 2016 — Tyrese Gibson is confirmed to return.
• June 30, 2016 — Santiago Cabrera joins the cast.
• July 1, 2016 — Drift is confirmed to return with a new Mercedes alt-mode.
• July 27, 2016 — Onslaught is confirmed to appear in the film.
• August 4–13, 2016 — A series of character profiles are released on the official movie Facebook. New character Hot Rod is first to be revealed, and Crosshairs and Hound are confirmed to return. Also shown are profiles for Drift, Sqweeks, Barricade, Megatron, and Bumblebee.
• August 9, 2016 — Members of a number of Transformers fan sites, including TFWiki, are treated to a set visit.
• September 4, 2016 — Stanley Tucci is back as Joshua Joyce.

True fact: Isabela had to beat Megatron in an arm wrestling contest to get this part.

• September 24, 2016 — Location shooting at Blenheim Palace in England proved controversial as Winston Churchill's birthplace became draped in Nazi banners. Bay told BBC News that veterans shouldn't be too upset as Churchill is a "big hero" in the film.
• October 14, 2016 — Bay announces via Facebook that John Turturro will be back as Seymour Simmons & John Goodman back to voice Hound
• December 5, 2016 — The teaser trailer is released.
• February 3, 2017 — The "Big Game Spot" is released on YouTube.
• March 12, 2017 — The Kid's Choice Award Clip is revealed.
• March 17, 2017 — The "Izzy Stays and Fights" preview, a family-aimed trailer attached to Beauty and the Beast, is released.
• March 22, 2017 — Eight "motion posters" for the film's robot cast are released.
• April 12, 2017 — Another trailer is released.
• April 24, 2017 — As part of the "Reveal Your Shield" promotion, Hasbro releases a video featuring Peter Cullen and Frank Welker credited as the voices of Optimus and Megatron.
• May 5, 2017 — Variety reports that the film's release is being moved forward two days to June 21.
• May 7, 2017 — The "Optimus Prime Dialog Coach" teaser is released.
• May 9, 2017 — The "Secret Past" TV spot is released.
• May 15, 2017 — A preview of an Empire Magazine feature on the film includes the news that Jim Carter has been cast as Cogman.
• May 17, 2017 — The International Trailer is released.

Notes

• Tyrese Gibson was intended to return as Robert Epps, but the logistics of filming in Europe resulted in him being unable to take part.
• This is not the first time the Transformers have been associated with Arthurian times.

Foreign names

• Italian: Transformers - L'ultimo cavaliere ("Transformers: The Last Knight")
• Japanese: Toransufōmā Saigo no Kishi-ō (トランスフォーマー最後の騎士王, "Transformers: The Last Knight King")
• Korean: Teulaenseupomeo: Choehuui Gisa (트랜스포머: 최후의 기사, "Transformers: The Last Knight")
• Mandarin: Biànxíng Jīngāng 5: Zuìhòu de Qíshì (Taiwan, 變形金剛5：最後的騎士, "Transformers 5: The Last Knight"), Biànxíng Jīngāng 5: Zuìhòu de Qíshì (China, 变形金刚5：最后的骑士, "Transformers 5: The Last Knight")
• Portuguese: Transformers: O Último Cavaleiro (Brazil, "Transformers: The Last Knight"), Transformers 5 (Portugal)
• Russian: Transformery: Posledniy rytsar' (Трансформеры: Последний рыцарь, "Transformers: The Last Knight")
• Spanish: Transformers: El último caballero ("Transformers: The Last Knight")
• Ukrainian: Трансформери - Останній лицар ("Transformers: The Last Knight")