Paramount Pictures has released the first trailer forBumblebee, the very first spinoff from the studio’s wildly lucrativeTransformersfilm franchise. The studio tapped LAIKA CEO andKubo and the Two StringsdirectorTravis Knightto make his live-action directing debut on the pic, which findsHailee Steinfeldtaking on the lead human role in a story that takes place in the 1980s.
Indeed,Bumblebeewill set itself apart fromMichael Bay’s five (!)Transformersfilms in that it is set in the 1980s and tells a smaller scale story, with the titular Transformer befriending a young girl. The tone is said to be more in line with a coming-of-age/teen movie, with Bumblebee featuring as one of the only major Transformers in the film. That’s a stark contrast to Bay’s movies, in which the fate of the entire planet is on the line. That’s a change of pace from the nonsensical action ofMichael Bay’s five (!)Transformersfilms, and it’ll be interesting to see how audiences respond.
As you can tell from this first trailer, which feels more like “A Girl and Her Robot” story than any of Bay’s high-octane, often incomprehensible action-packed smash-em-ups, and I’m here for it. It’s interesting that the title character has already become a legacy character within theTransformersmovie franchise–the marketing team understands this full well and that tie-in is on display in this trailer–but Knight and Steinfeld look to make their own unique mark on the ongoing saga.
Watch the firstBumblebeetrailer below. Written byChristina Hodson, the film also starsJohn Cena,Pamela Adlon,Kenneth Choi,Megan Pryce, andMartin Short.Bumblebeeopens in theaters on December 21st.
Here’s the official synopsis forBumblebee:
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.
