So as some may know a few months ago Collider had a set visit for Transformers: The Last Knight, details for the set visit were meant to drop online the day after, but it kept getting delayed and we've heard nothing from it, but the embargo for the set visit has been lifted and today they reveal some information regarding the movies such as the status of the animated movie set in Cybertron, More Dinobots Screentime, we will learn the origins of the Transformers, dont expect Bay to every direct a Marvel or DC movie, among others so lets begin.
So when asked about the Dinobots, producer Lorenzo Di Bonaventura has promised that we will see more Dinobots in the upcoming movie and that characters such as Grimlock would have more of a personality compared to the last movie
Bonaventera: "I think everybody wanted to see more Dinobots, including ourselves, you know what I mean? We all were like, “God, we wish we could have found a way in that story to include them more.” So that was one of the hopes/priorities going into this, was to try to find a way to bring them back into the stories.
You’re going to see Grimlock again. So that, to me, is one of the characters in the last movie that didn’t get enough screen time.
He has a personality this time, for sure. A little more personality, that’s for sure.
There’s a few others, but … I like Grimlock the most, so that’s probably why I talk the most about it, you know? He’s funny. He’s like a naughty dog in this movie. He’s really sheepish when he does something wrong. He’s a great character. He’s really–we’re bringing out a side of him that you’re going to like–you’re going to relate to."
Also Bay confirmed that we would see Mini-Dinobots in the upcoming movie, something that was revealed by star Mark Walhberg a while back.
Bay: "
We have Mini Dino’s. Those are really fun. We’ve got little mini T. Rexes. He’s just learning to spit fire. He’s just come into his powers. It’s pretty funny."
Bay was also asked if he would ever direct a Marvel or DC movie, while he praised the movies, dont expect to see his explosions in the Marvel Cinematic Universe or the DC Extended Universe, noting that he would prefer to do his own universe instead of working on an already established universe.
Bay: "I really liked Civil War. I like a lot of the Marvel movies,” he told the journalists on set. “When I saw Iron Man, it broke a lot of new ground for me, and it was a great character. Funny, witty, I liked that about it.” Though he does “wonder where [superhero movies] are going to go,” noting that Batman v Superman and Captain America: Civil War as having “almost the same setup."
"I wouldn’t want to, it’s not my thing, it’s just not my gig,” Bay explained.
“I don’t ever wanna take someone like a third of something or second of something. I gotta do my own thing,” Bay continued, “’cause the most fun is when a real director creates the world. You know, you talk to Ridley Scott, one our favorite things to do is to create the world. Steven Spielberg, create the world. That is what it’s about.” Adding, “If I were to do something I would have to redo it my way.”
di Bonaventura also explains how the 5th movie could set up future installments in their Cinematic Universe.
Bonaventura: "Some of the things will have a very direct relationship. You’ll see some things in here that are laying a pipe. You won’t necessarily know that it’s laying a pipe for another movie, but it’s there.
So there’s probably, in a really meaningful way, two or three things in this movie that really have a meaningful aspect in terms of it, and then there’s a bunch of little things. But we’re not making this movie to set up the other movies. That’s what I’m trying to say. If you get too carried away with that, you stop thinking about this movie.
And this movie, the two lines of mythology in a sense give you freedom to go a lot of different places later on that may or may not directly relate to another movie, but it’s opening up the universe in a way that, I think, it’s probably the most provocative, in terms of the movie. It’s opening a really large universe of what Transformers is, and where they’ve come from, and how we relate to them, and how they relate to themselves."
He also explained that the upcoming 2018 Bumblebee spin off, will center on just him and not feature a essemble cast of Autobots, but that could change.
Bonaventura: "No, no. It’s bumblebee’s story. I don’t think you’ll see a lot more in it. We’ll see as it evolves. In the treatment form? No."
Also dont expect an R-Rated Transformers movie, even though Bay would love to see an dark and edgy movie in the style of Quentin Tarantino to be made.
Bay: "I would be very involved but we’ve got someone just starting work on the script right now. Steven [S. DeKnight] is involved too but he’s shooting too.
You know, yeah, that would be fun. There’s actually one idea that would be really fun R rated, with Bumblebee. I don’t wanna say, but it would be really fun. Very Quentin [Tarantino], you know."
Here are some more tidbits revealed from the Collider article.
Producer Lorenzo Di Bonaventura says The Last Knight is going to explore the mythology of how Transformers “were created, where did it start, where did they go from being a sort of a slave-race to a sentient race–we’re delving into that aspect of the mythology, so the characters that are involved in there are Megatron before he’s Megatron, Optimus before he’s Optimus, the Librarian, the Quintessons, there’s a whole group of things that have to do with how, in a sense, the Transformers were birthed, and also with how they were divided. What brought up the division, and what were the jealousies involved.”
In the writer’s room, when they were developing ideas to turn into films, Di Bonaventura says “It was not immediately obvious that this was going to be the choice. It evolved over time. As it turned out, there was not one idea that won the day for this movie. It ended up being two ideas in particular, so there was a bit of a combination thing that happened over time.”
The film will have two parallel stories that are leading to the same place, all surrounding one mythology. Di Bonaventura said, “They’re part of the same mythology, but the fact that these two pieces could interrelate, and have quite a span in time in which we’re trying to draw from–one is, in the Transformers’ mythology, billions of years ago, and one is hundreds of years ago, so in that sense, those two ideas came together. At first, we thought maybe they were two different movies, and then they came together.”
With Paramount and Hasbro hoping to make a number of future Transformers movies, Di Bonaventura revealed they have outlines for six and seven. However, they haven’t started writing the scripts because they didn’t want to rush them and needed to see how The Last Knight would change during filming.
Di Bonaventura said the Cybertron animated movie is currently being written and it’ll be in continuity with the mythology of the films. He went on to say, “We’re not trying to affect the animated movie, and the animated movie is not trying to mimic or take from us.”
Regarding other Transformer movie spinoffs, we asked Di Bonaventura if they might want to do a different time period. He said, “you could easily make an argument that in Roman times, you know, there were–you know what I mean? That seems like a good period.”
With The Last Knight being the fifth film in the series, some might wonder if they need to see the first four films to enjoy the latest one. According to Di Bonaventura, “The opening of the film will introduce the sort of exploration of the mythology that we’re going to do. Therefore, it’s not necessary to have seen the films before, because it’s going to establish the–let’s call it the mystery of the movie, and the direction the movie is going to go in. If you’ve never seen another Transformers movie, you don’t need to.”
Regarding the antagonists of the film, it looks like we’re going to get a new villain. Di Bonaventura said it will be “A surprise, I think, as you discover who the villain is. So in that respect, that is a very different kind of Decepticon form, if you would. I think that the understanding of the mythology, as you begin to unveil it, you’ll understand just how big the jeopardy that we’re going to face is.”
The film will explore the history of the “Primes.”
There will be a submarine Transformer.
Transformers will not share continuity with the upcoming M.A.S.K., Micronauts, or G.I. Joe movies.
Mark Wahlberg’s character Cade Yeager starts the film on the run and said the film is “a man on the run adventure story.” The reason his daughter (who was played by Nicola Peltz in Transformers: Age of Extinction) is not in the film is she’s in hiding. Wahlberg said it’s “a nice departure from what we did before.”
Laura Haddock plays a character named Vivian Wembley and is related to someone important who teams up with Mark Wahlberg’s character to try and save the world. In the film they will have some fun banter because he’s American and she’s English and they don’t get along.
Santiago Cabrera plays a mercenary who’s out to get all the Transformers. He says, “I was a SEAL but I’ve retired and I’m on contract, I’ve been hired –The TRF (stands for the Transformers Response Force) has been formed to fight the Transformers, so my orders are I don’t care if they’re Autobots or Decepticons, we gotta stop this war. So I’m a team leader and I’ve come with my team to fight them and what I find and when I see Cade Yeager is harboring them he becomes the enemy basically.”
Josh Duhamel says NEST is not part of the film. During an interview, he revealed that it’s a bit of a mystery who he is working for in the film. He explained, “Am I with the US military, the Army, or am I working with a group that’s trying to eradicate all Transformers? Not just Decepticons, but all of them. There’s a bit of a struggle between myself and Santiago Cabrera, and then we’re also working against [Mark] Wahlberg’s character in this. Because he’s definitely working with the Autobots. It’s just a lot of big fun movie shit that we get to do. And what brought me back personally is the fact that you get to do stuff that you don’t get to do anywhere else. Michael [Bay] does stuff bigger than anybody I’ve ever worked with, for sure.”
Isabela Moner describes her character as a tomboy and says when we meet her she’s homeless and joins Mark Wahlberg and the team in defeating the Deceptions. She’s also the one that brings Sqweeks, who is a mini-Transformer Vespa, into the group as they’ve been together for a while. Apparently Sqkweeks is broken, so the only thing he can say is chihuahua. Moner’s character lost her family in the battle of Chicago (Battle was depicted in Transformers: Dark of the Moon)
Sqweeks has been in her life since the battle of Chicago and has since been broken. In the time they’ve been together, she’s been trying to fix him.
Originally Sqweeks was going to be an all CGI creation but when Moner was in Michael Bay’s office, she asked about having a real version on set and they thought it was a good idea do they built a practical one. It’s remote controlled so it can interact with the actors. It doesn’t move but it has sounds and lights.
Hot Rod is in the film and he’s got a French accent, but he’s not from France. Bay said “he just likes the accent.”
Transformers: The Last Knight opens next June, stay tuned for more news regarding the Transformers movies as soon they are released.