Why The Transformers Bumblebee Movie Will (Probably) Succeed #BumblebeeMovie
Tuesday, June 5th, 2018 8:11pm CDT
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With that general context in mind, then, why not join me in speculating about the reasons why this last but first venture (if you are to believe the Paramount direction) outside of the currently beaten path for the Transformers live action movie universe, may in fact be its most successful as a media franchise - in 5 bullet points. But first, take a look at the trailer with us again.
5. The timing.
The initial news of a shift in the release date for the movie did not fill us with confidence about this Transformers spin-off endeavour from Paramount, but moving it away from a Star Wars opening was a good move after all, it would seem. That said, there will be competition with other December 2018 openings, such as both Marvel animated Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse and WB / DC's Aquaman, followed by the Mary Poppins sequel the following week.

But the best part about the new timing? The marketing campaign cycle and product shelf date will be hitting - allegedly - late October / early November, meaning that the major gift holidays will be included squarely into the product releases, and all leading up to Christmas for that extra oomph in both movie and toy sales. Plus, there's a new Movie Masterpiece figure supposed to be hitting the sweet spot too.
4. The licensing
We've been seeing a lot of buzz about toys and products that will be linked or related to the movie, outside of the regular Studio Series and more simplified toylines that will undoubtedly accompany it (and which once again Paramount and Hasbro are keeping under wraps other than peculiar listings and vague names). The latest, in fact, finally featuring the new movie design for Bumblebee himself, were revealed earlier. What is new, again, and exciting, is that licensing this time round also brings back in accompaying literature.

From both the graphic novel and the comics side of things, we get some book tie-ins to the movie that hasn't been seen for a long while in the Paramount universe, to avoid spoilers and leaks getting out there during Michael Bay's tenancy, or so we were told. This also comes at a fortuitous time, as the current IDW Transformers comics will have ended their stories a whole two months prior, and having something to fill that absence - no matter its shape - might prove more of a boost than expected.
3. The director (and crew).
Travis Knight is known, sure, but not necessarily that visible a director for the action-movie genre and canons. As CEO and President of LAIKA studios, he's established his presence as an emotional, careful, and detail-oriented children's movies - with a streak towards the darker comedy for adults watching the same movie with their kids. We're talking lead animator on Coraline (a kids' horror to remember, based on Neil Gaiman's chilling tale), ParaNorman (a zombie comedy, with the first openly gay character in children's animation), and The BoxTrolls.
But it's his directorial debut behind Kubo and the Two Strings that fills me with confidence here, along with the presence of the same sound editors Aadahl and Van Der Ryn and composer Dario Marianelli, and writer Christina Hodson, completely switching gears from the Paramount movies so far. We're expecting an emotional, Iron Giant-esque, string-tugger of an experience, and I'm all here for it.
2. The cast
Mind you, you may not know who some of the people involved are - and that may work either way depending on your demographic: older Transformers aficionados may be very familiar with the likes of WWE pro wrestler John Cena and Canadian comedian and actor Martin Short, while younger fans will be totally in the know about actor and comedian Jorge Lendeborg Jr, singer and Nickelodeon actress Rachel Crow, super young Jason Drucker, and of course, sensational Hailee Steinfeld.
And the cast themselves are extremely good at self promotion and image curation - be it from wrestling careers or multi-media spanning appearances and talents - being directly involved in fan interaction and with some seriously impressive followings on social media platforms. Look at it this way: we've had very very little information from the actual marketing team for the movie until now, but Steinfeld's Instagram updates alone have cranked up the hype - and I still haven't mentioned the presence of Starscream.

1. The Nostalgia Goggles
This was clever, extremely so. If The Toys That Made Us documentary's success - and the response to the likes of Visionaries in comics, and Thundercats Roar! in animation - has shown us anything, is that the 80s are still holding a tight grip on current media-consuming general audiences. Specifically for Transformers, the 80s is held in high regard by the adult collector and fan demographic, but is also still the source of the primary material in the franchise.
What Bumblebee does in particular is straddle those two currents: we get the style, the world, the pop media and culture of the time, from clothing to music to what we think we remember from that time - and does so in the modern, media-savvy and social media aware context of part of its target audience. Expect more than just rickrolling jokes, Motorhead t-shirts, and hints and references to the Bayverse for those who still like the franchise despite everything. The adventure is just only starting - again.*
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*There is a legitimate concern playing against these final points, that have to do with the Transformers brand specifically, which is an over-reliance, yet again, on the G1 elements (visual, style, story, icons) in favour of anything new narratively. But, with the confirmation that now 11 year old Bayverse is worthy of Easter Eggs from the crew, with the possible Starscream vs Bumblebee dynamic reminiscent of Transformers: Animated, the initial critical reaction to initial footage, the vacuum left by the end of the current, more emotion-oriented IDW comics stories, and the fact that is might be the new benchmark for the future of the media development of the brand, there's enough for now to at least be cautiously optimistic!
What do you think? Does the trailer confirm or dispel your doubts? Will you be watching the movie as it comes out in December? Are you done with the Paramount series? Let us know about this and more, in our Energon Pub discussion boards!
This article was last modified on Thursday, June 7th, 2018 1:09pm CDT
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Posted by EvasionModeBumblebee on June 5th, 2018 @ 8:17pm CDT
WreckerJack wrote:william-james88 wrote:Hasbro confirmed this movie is not directly related to the previous films, it is not meant to connect to them or be part of their specific timeline.
Praise the lord.
Wait, what? We hear Bobby B.’s voice, Bee’s design is a variation of his existing movie design, his transformation noise is his unique one from the previous movies, and we see Sector 7. How isn’t this connected to that timeline?
Posted by Mr.MicroMaster on June 5th, 2018 @ 8:39pm CDT
EvasionModeBumblebee wrote:WreckerJack wrote:william-james88 wrote:Hasbro confirmed this movie is not directly related to the previous films, it is not meant to connect to them or be part of their specific timeline.
Praise the lord.
Wait, what? We hear Bobby B.’s voice, Bee’s design is a variation of his existing movie design, his transformation noise is his unique one from the previous movies, and we see Sector 7. How isn’t this connected to that timeline?
We've slided!
Posted by .... on June 5th, 2018 @ 8:40pm CDT
megamanfan wrote:ha, found out because of visible head syndrome.
Lol I remember when I hated the visible heads on Bumblebee toys, but now I HOPE these have a visible face on the bottom.

Also I see this movie probably will be a sort of bridge between the Bay movies and a reboot. Like this by itself connects to the previous movies subtly for the fans of the previous movies, but opens the way for more movies that divert from that story and go on to something completely new with completely old concepts. I. Am. STOKED. For. This. Movie.
Posted by Rodimus Prime on June 5th, 2018 @ 8:44pm CDT
Posted by bacem on June 5th, 2018 @ 9:10pm CDT
Posted by Va'al on June 5th, 2018 @ 9:15pm CDT
Mr.MicroMaster wrote:EvasionModeBumblebee wrote:WreckerJack wrote:william-james88 wrote:Hasbro confirmed this movie is not directly related to the previous films, it is not meant to connect to them or be part of their specific timeline.
Praise the lord.
Wait, what? We hear Bobby B.’s voice, Bee’s design is a variation of his existing movie design, his transformation noise is his unique one from the previous movies, and we see Sector 7. How isn’t this connected to that timeline?
We've slided!
I believe Will is misquoting stuff.
Travis Knight said this:
So, what I was kind of trying to do with this film because it's set in the 80s, was harken back to the great, original, G1 vibe and feeling and tone. So, there are definitely Easter eggs for fans who are down with that sort of thing. There's a lot of continuity between this and the film's that Michael has done. But the film does stand on its own.
Posted by D-Maximal_Primal on June 5th, 2018 @ 9:32pm CDT
bacem wrote:i know this is just wishfull thinking, but looking at that travis in front of red muscle car, i really want it to be cliffjumper.
I'm betting it's Barricade
Posted by Burn on June 5th, 2018 @ 9:39pm CDT
Because you know ... it's not like the writers have nothing to be blamed for.
I'm keeping my expectations low, considering trailers often feature the best parts of the movie (or some times certain parts don't even make it into the final product!) and you're left with a big festering crapfest.
Posted by Counterpunch on June 5th, 2018 @ 9:58pm CDT
Posted by fenrir72 on June 5th, 2018 @ 10:05pm CDT
Plotwise, do we just forget episodes 2,3, 4 and 5 did not exist

The director in charge does give hope (a least if the script/story is just as good and that they aren't using the same chimpanzees who wrote the last 4 movies). Kubo, Coraline were great thoughtful movies!(Though Ron Howard is also an equally great director.....just see how great Solo is in the box office

Posted by fenrir72 on June 5th, 2018 @ 10:09pm CDT
Va'al wrote:Mr.MicroMaster wrote:EvasionModeBumblebee wrote:WreckerJack wrote:william-james88 wrote:Hasbro confirmed this movie is not directly related to the previous films, it is not meant to connect to them or be part of their specific timeline.
Praise the lord.
Wait, what? We hear Bobby B.’s voice, Bee’s design is a variation of his existing movie design, his transformation noise is his unique one from the previous movies, and we see Sector 7. How isn’t this connected to that timeline?
We've slided!
I believe Will is misquoting stuff.
Travis Knight said this:
So, what I was kind of trying to do with this film because it's set in the 80s, was harken back to the great, original, G1 vibe and feeling and tone. So, there are definitely Easter eggs for fans who are down with that sort of thing. There's a lot of continuity between this and the film's that Michael has done. But the film does stand on its own.
Spreading misinformation......FAKE NEWS?

Posted by Va'al on June 5th, 2018 @ 10:11pm CDT
fenrir72 wrote:Va'al wrote:Mr.MicroMaster wrote:EvasionModeBumblebee wrote:WreckerJack wrote:william-james88 wrote:Hasbro confirmed this movie is not directly related to the previous films, it is not meant to connect to them or be part of their specific timeline.
Praise the lord.
Wait, what? We hear Bobby B.’s voice, Bee’s design is a variation of his existing movie design, his transformation noise is his unique one from the previous movies, and we see Sector 7. How isn’t this connected to that timeline?
We've slided!
I believe Will is misquoting stuff.
Travis Knight said this:
So, what I was kind of trying to do with this film because it's set in the 80s, was harken back to the great, original, G1 vibe and feeling and tone. So, there are definitely Easter eggs for fans who are down with that sort of thing. There's a lot of continuity between this and the film's that Michael has done. But the film does stand on its own.
Spreading misinformation......FAKE NEWS?Shouldn't we verify first before, like you know, typing out a sentence?
Mistakes are one thing. Being intentionally ignorant another.
If you have issues with how staff reports news, please let me know directly, via email.
Posted by william-james88 on June 5th, 2018 @ 10:54pm CDT
Va'al wrote:Mr.MicroMaster wrote:EvasionModeBumblebee wrote:WreckerJack wrote:william-james88 wrote:Hasbro confirmed this movie is not directly related to the previous films, it is not meant to connect to them or be part of their specific timeline.
Praise the lord.
Wait, what? We hear Bobby B.’s voice, Bee’s design is a variation of his existing movie design, his transformation noise is his unique one from the previous movies, and we see Sector 7. How isn’t this connected to that timeline?
We've slided!
I believe Will is misquoting stuff.
Travis Knight said this:
So, what I was kind of trying to do with this film because it's set in the 80s, was harken back to the great, original, G1 vibe and feeling and tone. So, there are definitely Easter eggs for fans who are down with that sort of thing. There's a lot of continuity between this and the film's that Michael has done. But the film does stand on its own.
Yes, but Brian Goldner said this:
it is an alternative; a different chronology. So, rather than going to a sequel from what people had seen last time, this takes place in the 1980s.
However, I do trust the director more than the man handling the brand, so Brian could be saying it in an unintentionally misleading way.
Posted by Va'al on June 5th, 2018 @ 11:04pm CDT
william-james88 wrote:Yes, but Brian Goldner said this:
it is an alternative; a different chronology. So, rather than going to a sequel from what people had seen last time, this takes place in the 1980s.
However, I do trust the director more than the man handling the brand, so Brian could be saying it in an unintentionally misleading way.
Chronology does not necessarily mean continuity, but I get why there might be confusion - and yes, the director might be better equipped in this case!

Posted by Sabrblade on June 5th, 2018 @ 11:09pm CDT
How a corporate executive uses the word "chronology" and how sci-fi/fastasy fiction nerds use the word "chronology" are two different things.william-james88 wrote:Yes, but Brian Goldner said this:
it is an alternative; a different chronology. So, rather than going to a sequel from what people had seen last time, this takes place in the 1980s.
However, I do trust the director more than the man handling the brand, so Brian could be saying it in an unintentionally misleading way.
Goldner was probably using the word to mean "This movie will not be another sequel set in the present day like the previous films have all been. It is set in a different time era of its own, separate from the forward-moving path that begin with the 2007 movie, serving as a new jumping-on point for fresh viewers just coming into this film franchise for the first time."
It is off the path of the first five movies in that it precedes them chronologically.

Posted by Nickster563 on June 5th, 2018 @ 11:13pm CDT
Posted by Counterpunch on June 6th, 2018 @ 12:03am CDT
Sabrblade wrote:How a corporate executive uses the word "chronology" and how sci-fi/fastasy fiction nerds use the word "chronology" are two different things.william-james88 wrote:Yes, but Brian Goldner said this:
it is an alternative; a different chronology. So, rather than going to a sequel from what people had seen last time, this takes place in the 1980s.
However, I do trust the director more than the man handling the brand, so Brian could be saying it in an unintentionally misleading way.
Goldner was probably using the word to mean "This movie will not be another sequel set in the present day like the previous films have all been. It is set in a different time era of its own, separate from the forward-moving path that begin with the 2007 movie, serving as a new jumping-on point for fresh viewers just coming into this film franchise for the first time."
It is off the path of the first five movies in that it precedes them chronologically.
This.
100%
Posted by Blurrz on June 6th, 2018 @ 1:16am CDT
Posted by Carnivius_Prime on June 6th, 2018 @ 1:59am CDT
fenrir72 wrote:Proof in the pie is in the eating! I must say, despite despising the Bayverse franchise(most especially the toys! They suck!),
So very wrong. Some of the best Transformers figures ever made are 'Bayverse' figures.
I'm still not sure how I feel about this film. Actually not so much the film but moreso some of the reactions that are postive but can't seem to express that without being further negative about the stuff I love ( and I can't help it if I love 'Bayverse' Starscream's design and was never a big fan of the G1 Seeker look which I always felt looked absolute crap in comparison to the Macross mold used for Jetfire when it comes to robots from jets... fold the wings awaaaaay) But yeah it's ok. I never really fit in anywhere anyways.
fandom kinda sucks really. Even had to mute the words 'Star Wars' and similar things from my twitter feed cos of all the fans of that arguing with each other (and I don't even caaaare about Star Wars... I just got sick of all the toxicity filling up my timeline)
Posted by Qwan on June 6th, 2018 @ 2:09am CDT
Carnivius_Prime wrote:fenrir72 wrote:Proof in the pie is in the eating! I must say, despite despising the Bayverse franchise(most especially the toys! They suck!),
So very wrong. Some of the best Transformers figures ever made are 'Bayverse' figures.
I'm still not sure how I feel about this film. Actually not so much the film but moreso some of the reactions that are postive but can't seem to express that without being further negative about the stuff I love ( and I can't help it if I love 'Bayverse' Starscream's design and was never a big fan of the G1 Seeker look which I always felt looked absolute crap in comparison to the Macross mold used for Jetfire when it comes to robots from jets... fold the wings awaaaaay) But yeah it's ok. I never really fit in anywhere anyways.
fandom kinda sucks really. Even had to mute the words 'Star Wars' and similar things from my twitter feed cos of all the fans of that arguing with each other (and I don't even caaaare about Star Wars... I just got sick of all the toxicity filling up my timeline)
It's very true that sometimes it feels like positivity can't exist without some negativity coming along for the ride, especially when it comes to fans of anything.
That said, I am really, really excited for this new Bumblebee movie. Yes it's been said to death already, but it feels like 2007 again for me too - back to being a kid excited to see Transformers on the big screen, awestruck at the sense of wonder such an idea brings along with it. It might be partly because I'm exactly the right age for the '07 movie to hit childhood nostalgia for me, but this trailer is really making me feel like the Bumblebee movie might be something great.