New ‘Bumblebee’ Trailers Reveal Vintage Approach To ‘Transformers’

The Transformers are going vintage – well, as vintage as you can get for a toy line created in the eighties.

Bumblebee, the latest film in The Transformers franchise, is set in 1987, and appropriately references the earlier designs of the characters. Multiple trailers released today offer new looks at the film’s universe, including appearances by Soundwave, Ravage, Blitzwing, and Optimus Prime.

Here is the American trailer:

And the international trailer:

Notably, Bumblebee, the sixth film in the hybrid Transformers franchise, is the first not directed by Michael Bay. The film marks the live-action debut of Laika CEO and president Travis Knight (Kubo and the Two Strings) directing from a script by Christina Hodson (Shut In, Unforgettable).

The studio synopsis:

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.

VFX are handled by Industrial Light & Magic (vfx supervisor: Jason Smith) and Cantina Creative (vfx supervisor: Tony Lupoi), with previs by The Third Floor.

Paramount will release Bumblebee on December 21, 2018.

Last year, we broke down the vfx in a Bumblebee sequence from Transformers: The Last Knight. Here’s that article.