To everyone's delight, Bumblebee opens with an action-packed sequence on Cybertron where we finally get to witness the Autobot/Decepticon war and watch several fan-favorites, including both Optimus Prime and B-127, kick all sorts of Decepticon ass while sporting their fresh new G1 redesigns, which most can agree are a considerably stepup from their previous Michael Bay-inspired looks.
Since the battle runs only about five minutes, there's a lot to see in a very small amount of time, so in case you missed anything cool, Entertainment Weekly has released six exclusive new photos, spotlighting some of the key moments as well as the heroes and villains that are engaged in this battle royale.
To view every photo at once, simply click on the VIEW LIST (ONE PAGE) button below!
Optimus Prime and Bumblebee
Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen) gives Bumblebee (Dylan O'Brien) his mission to set up a home base on Earth and notify him once its safe for the Autobots to join him. While both Optimus and Bee have always been the two most recognizable live-action Autobots, their relatively simplistic G1 redesigns are still more than welcome and give them a little more character than we've seen before.
Soundwave
Soundwave had a big role in the original trilogy as Megatron's most trustworthy spy, even taking on the form of a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG in
Dark of the Moon, but like most Decepticons, it wasn't always easy to tell him apart from one of his fellow evildoers.
Travis Knight rectifies that by giving Soundwave a pretty sweet G1 look, which makes him look more intimidating than ever. We even get to see him unleash his robotic panther Ravage early on and it seems that Knight did have plans to possibly include Laserbeak at one point as well.
Brawn, Arcee, and Cliffjumper
Brawn, Arcee, and Cliffjumper all make their movie debuts and kick a lot of ass early on as they attempt to save their homeworld. However, if you've seen the movie, you should already know that Cliffjumper and Brawn don't make it out of the movie alive, but Arcee did survive, so there's a possibility we'll see the pink motorcycle zipping around on Earth sooner than later.
Ironhide and Ratchet are also present during the battle, but you'll have to look extra hard to spot them and we even get a brief glimpse at Teletran 1.
Wheeljack
Director Travis Knight was very keen on showcasing Wheeljack almost exactly like he appears in the 1984 cartoon and it's safe to say he succeeds as we get an extremely detailed look at the Autobot engineer in this closeup shot, which is one of the few they did for the Battle of Cybertron.
Shockwave and Starscream
With Megatron frozen on Earth, his lieutenants Shockwave and Starscream are leading the Decepticons and if you've seen any film in the original trilogy, you should be well aware how much fear those two names alone can instill, even without their master.
Director Travis Knight also teases a moment that they ultimately had to scrap that would've paid homage to a hilarious moment from the 1987 animated movie. “
There was a time where I gave him a moment that was basically completely lifted from the 1987 movie where he gets blasted in the foot and says that famous line when he goes ‘Owwww, my foot!’ in that great Chris Landa voice.”
Optimus Prime
Optimus Prime is and forever will be the most iconic Transformer character of them all and while he takes a backseat to the fan-favorite Bumblebee in this movie, he still gets plenty of time to shine during the Battle of Cybertron.
The film's opening battle actually features a key moment, which you can see above, where he charges into crossfire before vaulting through the air, drawing his cannon, and blasting his way through Decepticon scum. It's a shot directly lifted from the 1986 movie and it's pretty damn awesome. “
It was complete wish-fulfillment for me. The whole film was a joy to make and there were obviously a lot of pressures and whatnot, but as I look back it really was a creative and rewarding experience. The moment of high-spirited joy, the most giddy I ever was, was when we were doing the Cybertron sequence. It was just such complete fun.”
On the run in the year 1987, Bumblebee finds refuge in a junkyard in a small Californian beach town. Charlie (Hailee Steinfeld), on the cusp of turning 18 and trying to find her place in the world, discovers Bumblebee, battle-scarred and broken. When Charlie revives him, she quickly learns this is no ordinary, yellow VW bug.
Bumblebee features:
Director: Travis Knight
Hailee Steinfeld as Charlie Watson
John Cena as Agent Jack Burns
Jorge Lendeborg Jr. as Memo
John Ortiz as Dr. Powell
Jason Drucker as Otis Watson
Pamela Adlon as Sally Watson
Rory Markham as Jake Adams
Rachel Crow as Celia
Abby Quinn as Alice
Gracie Dzienny as Tina
Ricardo Hoyos as Trip
Kenneth Choi as Ken
Stephen Schneider as Ron
Len Cariou as Hank
Dylan O'Brien as Bumblebee
Peter Cullen as Optimus Prime
Grey Griffin as Arcee
Steve Blum as Wheeljack
Andrew Morgado as Cliffjumper
Kirk Baily as Brawn
Dennis Singletary as Ratchet
Angela Bassett as Shatter
Justin Theroux as Dropkick
David Sobolov as Blitzwing
Jon Bailey as Shockwave
Bumblebee hits theaters December 21