Kubo and the Two StringsdirectorTravis Knightmay not have scooped up any gold at the Oscars, but he just landed a hell of a follow-up job. PerDeadline, Paramount has recruited Knight to helm their Transformers franchise spin-offBumblebee, based on the vocally-challenged, musically-inclined fan-favorite characters. Kubo was Knight’s directorial debut andBumblebeewill mark his first foray into live-action.
Bumblebeewill be the studio’s first spin-off from their hugely successful transformers franchise, which has grossed more than $3 billion at the worldwide box office. Little is known about the studio’s approach to the spin-off at this point, except that it is intended to be a"lower cost" installmentin the Transformers franchise, and apparently there was anR-rated “very Quentin” pitchon the table at some point. The current draft of the screenplay, however, emerged from Paramount’sTransformerswriters room, and was penned byChristina Hodson. The three-time Black List scribe was also recently tapped to pen Warner Bros. DC film,Birds of Prey.Lorenzo Di Bonaventure,Michael Bay, andSteven Spielbergare producing.
For Knight, the gig is a major career move. Knight is also the president and CEO of Laika and his feature debut, the stop-motion animatedKubo and the Two Strings, received two Academy Award nominations for Best Animated Picture and Best Achievement in Visual Effects, the latter being an incredibly rare feat for an animated film (onlyThe Nightmare Before Christmashad received the nomination beforeKubo).Kubowas a gorgeous movie and Knight directed it beautifully, but it’s a major leap to a blockbuster live-action film and he’ll be the first director to tackle a live-action Transformers movie after Michael Bay (who is supposedly stepping down afterThe Last Knight, but we’ve all heard that refrain before). However, if you’re going to make a movie about a CGI character who can’t talk, a guy filmmaker with extensive animation experience is a pretty smart choice.
Bumblebee is slated to open oppositeGodzilla 2on June 29, 2025.
