Bumblebee (film)

This article is about the feature film. For the Autobot it features, see Bumblebee (Movie). For a list of other meanings, see Bumblebee (disambiguation).

Movie continuity family « Bumblebee » Toyline Film Prequel comic Novel Studio Series Home video Motion comic Online games Albums Animated shorts

According to all known laws of aviation, there is no way a bee should be able to fly. Its wings are too small to get its fat little body off the ground. The bee, of course, flies anyway, because bees don't care what humans think is impossible.

Bumblebee is the sixth movie in the live-action film series. Though originally intended as a prequel to the first five films, Bumblebee is considered to be a reboot of the film series as a whole. Another change is that the film is directed by Travis Knight rather than Michael Bay, written by newcomer Christina Hodson, and produced on a far lower budget of around $70. million. The film was released in the US on December 21, 2018.

When Bumblebee is sent to Earth to establish a base for the Autobots, he finds himself hunted by both Sector Seven and the Decepticons. With his memory and voice lost in battle, he is found by Charlie Watson, a young woman in search of a direction in life. The pair work together to try to discover who Bumblebee is and why he's on Earth, but ultimately they'll find themselves with the fate of the planet in their hands...

Quotes

"I'll never talk."
"Is that right? Then let's make it official."

—Bumblebee and Blitzwing, right before the latter destroys the former's voice box.

"They literally call themselves Decepticons. That doesn't set off any red flags?"

—Agent Burns doesn't trust the giant alien robots.

"Look, I know what you saw is a little crazy. I can explain. ... Yeah, I can't explain, but here's the deal: If you tell anyone what you just saw, I'm going to have to run you over with my car."
"...Jeez!"

—Charlie and Memo

Characters

Autobots	Decepticons	Humans
Bumblebee (Dylan O'Brien) Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen) Arcee (Grey Griffin) Wheeljack (Steve Blum) Cliffjumper (Andrew Morgado) Brawn (Kirk Baily) Ratchet (Dennis Singletary) Ironhide	Shatter (Angela Bassett) Dropkick (Justin Theroux) Blitzwing (David Sobolov) Shockwave (Jon Bailey) Soundwave (Jon Bailey) Ravage Seekers Starscream Thundercracker Skywarp Decepticon soldiers (Kirk Baily)	Charlie Watson (Hailee Steinfeld) Memo (Jorge Lendeborg Jr.) Sally Watson (Pamela Adlon) Otis Watson (Jason Drucker) Ron (Stephen Schneider) Sector Seven Jack Burns (John Cena) Dr. Powell (John Ortiz) General Whalen (Glyn Turman) Seymour Simmons (Nick Pilla) Uncle Hank (Len Cariou) Craig (Kollin Holtz) Tina (Gracie Dzienny) Tina's girlfriends (Isabelle Ellingson, Mika Kubo) Sheriff Lock (Fred Dryer) Ray (Lenny Jacobson) Amber (Megyn Price) Charlie's Dad (Tim Martin Gleason) Bill the Mechanic (Antonio D. Charity)

Tie-in material

During the lead-up to the release of the movie, IDW Publishing released the four-part comic mini-series Transformers: Bumblebee Movie Prequel, detailing an adventure set in the 60s, during which Bumblebee works with British intelligence to foil the plans of a group of Decepticons, including Blitzwing.

Theatrical posters

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Development details

• 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.
• October 3, 2015 — During his keynote speech at the MIP Junior Conference, Hasbro Studios's Stephen J. Davis notes that the writing team has come up with film concepts for Transformers 5, 6, 7, and 8.

  

  Yellow-black, yellow-black, yellow-black, yellow-black... Ooh, black and yellow! Yeah, let's shake it up a little.

• February 12, 2016 — At ToyFair, Hasbro reveals the projected release date of Transformers 6, along with those of its predecessor and Transformers 7, as well as the fact that Transformers 6 will focus on Bumblebee.
• December 29, 2016 — Lorenzo di Bonaventura names Christina Hodson as the screenwriter in an interview.
• March 3, 2017 — Travis Knight is appointed director.
• May 26, 2017 — A poster at Licensing Expo 2017 gives the name of the film as Transformers Universe: Bumblebee.
• June 10, 2017 — Hailee Steinfeld reveals in an interview that she's been cast in the film.
• July 11, 2017 — Jorge Lendeborg Jr. is reported by The Hollywood Reporter to have been cast as the male lead.
• July 13, 2017 — More actors including Jason Drucker, Abby Quinn, Rachel Crow, Ricardo Hoyos, and Gracie Dzienny join the cast.
• July 23, 2017 — Pamela Adlon joins the cast.
• July 31, 2017 — John Cena is announced as a cast member. Also Bumblebee is a Volkswagen this time. The film is pushed back to December of 2018. Production begins, with the filming going under the codename "Brighton Falls".
• August 6, 2017 — Hailee Steinfeld reveals on Twitter that her character's name is Charlie Watson.
• September 9, 2017 — At HasCon 2017, di Bonaventura discusses some hints on the film, including that the movie is set in 1986.

  

  "You like jazz?"

• September 12, 2017 — Actor and stuntman Rory Markham reveals on Instagram that he is playing a Sector Seven agent named Adams.
• September 20, 2017 — Travis Knight reveals the first Decepticon vehicle mode in the form of a 1971 Plymouth GTX.
• October 2, 2017 — Peter Cullen has a role in the movie.
• October 26, 2017 — John Ortiz is revealed to be a cast member.
• November 12, 2017 — A wrap party for the movie reveals the movie's title as Bumblebee: The Movie.
• December 11, 2017 — Martin Short is revealed to be doing some voice work for the film.
• December 29, 2017 — A "first look" photo is released showing Hailee Steinfeld and Bumblebee's Volkswagen alternate mode.
• January 28, 2018 — During an interview at the Grammys, Hailee Steinfeld suggests Bumblebee may sing during the movie.
• February 16, 2018 — At Toy Fair 2018, Hasbro states that the film series will be reset after Bumblebee: The Movie.
• April 24, 2018 — Footage of the film is shown at Cinemacon.

"Thanks for the coffee. Sorry, I couldn't finish it. If I did, I'd be up the rest of my life."

• June 5, 2018 — The official teaser trailer is posted by Paramount Pictures, also revealing the film's title has been shortened to just Bumblebee.
• June 6, 2018 — Charlie Adler reveals he is not in Bumblebee.
• June 8, 2018 — Starscream is initially stated to be in the film in a blog post on Paramount's parent company, before his name is later scrubbed from the post afterward.
• July 13, 2018 — Entertainment Weekly reveals Angela Bassett and Justin Theroux will voice new Decepticons Shatter and Dropkick respectively.
• July 20, 2018 — A Bumblebee panel at the San Diego Comic-Con 2018 reveals more information on the film, such as details regarding the characters. Also John Cena dressed as Bumblebee.
• August 26-30, 2018 — David Sobolov confirms he is part of the cast of Bumblebee as the voice of Blitzwing.
• September 22-23, 2018 — Three teasers were released on various platforms with many different languages, revealing Soundwave and Ravage's appearance in the movie, as well as Optimus Prime's design. Additionally, shots were revealed of the three Triple Changers in the movie, as well as Cybertron.
• September 24, 2018 — The official trailer is uploaded by Paramount Pictures' YouTube channel, revealing (among other things) Shockwave and the Seekers' appearances in the movie. A second international trailer is released showcasing some more scenes. An interview with Travis Knight on the new trailer is also published, revealing Wheeljack's appearance in Bumblebee.
• September 27, 2018 - Before a special showing of the animated movie, another interview with Travis Knight and Hailee Steinfeld was seen AND a brief scene of Charlie and Bee's first interaction.
• November 13, 2018 - Bumblebee is rated PG-13 for sci-fi violence.
• November 23, 2018 - A new trailer is released showcasing some new scenes, namely, Bumblebee's Cybertronian robot mode. Another trailer is released animated with...Play-Doh.
• November 27, 2018 - A new featurette demonstrates the more G1-inspired designs of the Transformers, including a proper look at Optimus's model and brief shots of what appear to be Arcee, Ratchet, Ironhide, Wheeljack and Cliffjumper.
• December 2, 2018 - Lorenzo di Bonaventura confirms Dylan O'Brien as the voice of Bumblebee.
• December 4, 2018 - New footage of the movie drops, showing Soundwave's voice, as well as many new shots of Cybertron and the battle between Bumblebee and Blitzwing.
• December 8, 2018 - Special early screenings of the film took place in specific areas. Fans who attended were given free Tiny Turbo Changers toys, and short behind-the-scenes featurettes were shown before and after the film.

Changes before, during and after production

• Travis originally intended Megatron to make an appearance during the opening battle, however as Transformers had Megatron frozen on Earth at this point in time, he ultimately didn't make an appearance.

Notes

• During production, the film was referred to in presentational material under a variety of names including "Transformers 6", "Bumblebee: The Movie", "The Bumblebee Movie", and "Transformers Universe: Bumblebee".

External links

• Bumblebee on Wikipedia
• Bumblebee on IMDB