Transformers 5 Cast Thanks the UK

Not entirely clear if Transformers: The Last Knight has completed principle photography but it did complete its United Kingdom filming. Below is a thank you message from the core cast of the film to the UK. Michael Bay posted a note on his Instagram page saying "Goodbye London!!! Great shoot out here! Great place to make Transformers!!"

IDW January 2017 Transformers Comics

IDW Publishing has released their publishing plans for January 2017. The post Revolution story arc world for Hasbro properties continue but based on the solicitations it seems Transformers are being allowed to go their separate way for a while to tell their own stories once again. For the full details of IDW's other books including GI Joe, Ghostbusters, Star Trek, and more click here.

Transformers 5 Behind the Scenes Roll Room

Below is a new behind the scenes video from Transformers: The Last Knight in what they are calling the "Room Roll." Set before a green screen, the circular cave rolls to film a sequence with Mark Wahlberg and Laura Haddock as they climb or hang on to something. The surface has a Cybertronian look so could be a Transformer body part, planet surface, or another large object (like a spacecraft).

HasCon Official Hasbro Convention Announced

Yesterday Hasbro announced their replacement for Botcon and the other conventions they stopped supporting as of this year. Called "HasCon" the convention will be on September 8-10 in Providence, Rhode Island at the Rhode Island Convention Center and Dunkin Donuts Center. The three day event will focus on all things Hasbro including Transformers, My Little Pony, Star Wars, Magic The Gathering, and more with panels and more.

What this means for Botcon remains unclear. I think its defunct but not entirely sure. Since this convention is a celebration of all things Hasbro, that means Transformers fans will not get the TF exclusive experience they are use too but conventions have long been able to multitask fandom so not seeing an issue there. There is no mention of a preview day that Botcon had so something to be aware of in planning. Third party Transformers will be forbidden, but then they were not allowed at Botcon either for its last few years.

The location of the convention is no coincidence as its very near Hasbro HQ in Pawtucket, Rhode Island so I wouldn't be surprised if the convention (assuming Hasbro deems it profitable), will be held at the same location each year. It should be interesting as to hear how it works out since anything placed under a corporate umbrella inevitable brings an increased level of oversight and complexity to it but the sheer volume of fandom (besides Transformers) that Hasbro touches is large so the potential any age entertainment value could be immense.

In addition Hasbro announced a new Transformers Fan Club for 2017. The current one was licensed out to the same company that ran Botcon with that license ending at the end of the year. No details on what the new fan club will offer but if head over to Transformers.com you can join the mailing list and get a 20% off coupon for the Hasbro Toy Shop.

Below is the press release for HasCon and click here for the official website.

Bay: Tuturro, Goodman, Trailer This Year, UK Filming Completed

In a new Facebook video, Transformers: The Last Knight director Michael Bay revealed the most news at once about the movie. It isn't really much but compared to the impressive cone of silence he has kept on the production up to this point, its practically a feast.

- John Turturro and John Goodman are confirmed to return for the movie when Bay rattled off a list of names. John Turturro played Agent Simmons in the first three films of the franchise while John Goodman will voice Hound once again.

- Thursday was the last day of filming in the UK with production moving to Namibia, Africa for a few days to complete principle photography on the movie.

- A teaser trailer is planned for release either in November or December. I assume they are going to try to attach it to Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them as that is expected to be the big movie of the holiday season.

In the video (below) Bay mentioned the above news, showed off a little bit of a UK set in what I guess was filming set during King Arthur's time.

TF5 BTS Video of Soldiers Charging Up a Hill

A new video (embedded below) from the Transformers Facebook page provides a little bit of behind the scenes footage from Transformers: The Last Knight. Filmed somewhere (Scotland?), the sequence involves dozens of troops, including Josh Duhamel and Santiago Cabrera, running up a hill. Not exactly sure why this video was called "Epic Journey". Whatever sequence is being filmed apparently it is one of the larger fights Transformers has had. This doesn't mean they are fighting Transformers, just that the sequence involves more soldiers then has been typical in the previous films.

First Look at The Last Knight Art

Thanks to Arun09345 on Instagram, we now have the first look at some of the Transformers: The Last Knight art that will likely be used for the toy line and other tie-in products over the next year. Prime and Megatron definitely have that knight armor look to their design while Bumblebee remains more or less the same. Below are pics of the three but reast of the TF related images can be found on Instagram or mirroed at TFormers.

NYCC: TF5 Voice Changer Helmet, RID Season 3, and New Titans

The New York Comic-Con kicked off on Thursday and turns out Hasbro decided to bring some news to the event. For Hasbro, the grand reveal is the Transformers Voice Changer Optimus Prime Helmet for Transformers: The Last Knight. This is the first official item from the upcoming line that Hasbro has shown off. The helmet is large enough to fit adult heads and will come with "21 button-activated sounds and phrases from Transformers lore" as voiced by Peter Cullen, who has been voicing Optimus for over 30 years now. It will also do voice modulation to change your voice to something Prime-ish in sound. The helmet seems like an easy sell for Christmas but sadly it will not be out until spring 2017.

It turns out that Transformers: Robots in Disguise cartoon was not cancelled. Renewed for season three, it will get an updated title of "Transformers: Robots in Disguise Combiner Force". The official synopsis:

Transformers: Revolution Humble Bundle for Charity

Once again Hasbro and joined with Humble Bundle to create a DRM free Transformers comic collection to benefit the Hasbro Children's Fund. Available from now until around October 29, you can get nearly the entire current run of IDW's Transformers comics up to the Revolution storyarc that just started. Per usual, the bundle is segmented but at a value of $405 so you can't beat the deal with most of the proceeds going to charity so you should really consider donating over the $15 minimum for the full bundle. These purchases are not tied into Comixology or other online retailers.

If ordering I recommend creating a Humble Bundle account first and then log in before donating. That way it automatically ties your purchase to your account to re-download if need to in the future. After donating you will receive an email that directs you to the site to download the books in your preferred format. If interested in the .cbz format of the books, the readers I use is ComicGlass for iPad/iPhone, Cover for Windows 10 and Perfect Viewer for Android (but add your own suggestions in the commments). If go with epub format, Play Books from Google will probably more that meet your needs in most cases and includes syncing across devices.

Full details are at Humble Bundle.

Transformers 5 Films at "Stonehenge"

Transformers: The Last Knight continues to film in the London area. This time Wiltshire Plain where production built a re-creation of Stonehenge so that some explosions could be used as a military helicopters fly around the area in a scene involving Mark Wahlberg and Laura Haddock running across the plain from one of the helicopters. Sir Anthony Hopkins filmed a moment at the fake stones but no mention was made if he shared a scene with the other two actors (keeping my theory he is playing Winston Churchill in the past theory intact). The full gallery of images can be found at Daily Mail.

Josh Duhamel Talks To ET In London

Below is a new interview with Josh Duhamel where the actor was filming Transformers: The Last Knight. There seems to be a mix of mostly behind the scenes footage from Arizona filming (I think), but hard to tell what may or may not be London footage. Sadly nothing was revealed about the film itself was revealed. Thanks to Feris O. for the link.