Transformers: The Last Knight: The Spoiler FAQ

i09.com has posted their snarky (but to me very accurate) take on Transformers: The Last Knight with their "FAQ" that is a pretend Q&A about the film. It does get into all the spoilers so don't read if have not seen the film but plan to. Below is a sample, you can read the TF5 FAQ here.

Why can’t Michael Bay keep track of the canon of his own four films?
I have a theory. You know how babies’ brains haven’t developed, so whenever their parents wander directly out of their eyesight, they start crying because they assume their parents, having disappeared from view, must be gone forever?

Yeah…

It’s called object permanence, and Michael Bay doesn’t have it either. Once he is done with a Transformers movie, he completely forgets everything that’s happened in it, and he starts the next one with his brain as smooth as a baby’s bottom. It’s the reason why the Transformers are always hunting for a new dumb object that is the most important thing in the universe that no one has ever mentioned before, why Megatron sometimes dies but is suddenly fine in the next movie, why after the Autobots save the Earth in very public ways all Transformers are always being hunted when the next film starts, and why humans keep making dumb, dumb, dumb partnerships with the Decepticons even though the Decepticons keeps trying to kill humanity every. Single. Time.

All of which happens in The Last Knight, of course.

Transformers Future Murky After Last Knight's Opening Weekend

While Transformers: The Last Knight was #1 movie released this weekend in the US and everywhere else it was released, the numbers add up to a very bad picture. In the United States the movie's opening weekend was a franchise low with an estimate of $69 million dollars. The movie also opened in 41 international markets for an estimated take of $196.2M resulting in a worldwide total of $265.3M worldwide total for its first weekend release. Most of that was because of a franchise high opening weekend in China of $123.4M.

While on the surface the numbers seem impressive but trouble spots indicate the franchise will fail to three-peat on a $1 billion box office take. The $69M in the United States includes the early Tuesday to Sunday night so the movie is going to die a quick death in the US as it is unlikely it will cross $150M in the States.

Paramount's plan was always the international box office after ever increasing returns with 77.8% of Age of Extinction's grosses coming from the international box office so was safe to assume that near same 20% US/80% Intl split for The Last Knight. A prediction that is currently holding true. "The movie was conceived of for a global audience and it performed for a global audience. You aren’t making the movie with just the U.S. in mind," said Paramount president of marketing and distribution Megan Colligan.

Man At Arms Builds a Real Optimus Prime Sword

Below is an interesting video that gets into how the team at Man At Arms builds the sword of Optimus Prime, as inspired by Transformers: The Last Knight. Been watching their reforged series for a while and recommend checking out their other builds.

Voice of Cogman Talks Filming the Character

Jim Carter, the voice of Cogman, spoke with HeyUGuys about filming the character which did involve him being on set with Sir Anthony Hopkins. He however did not do the motion capture, that was handled by an actress. Thanks to Feris O. for the link.

Bumblebee Movie to Start Filming in August

In a recent interview with Screenrant, Transformers movies franchise producer Lorenzo Di Bonaventura briefly spoke about the future of the cinematic universe. He also indicated that a Transformers movie a year isn't a guarantee.

“Well we’re going to shoot a prequel actually, a Bumblebee movie, which starts in August, so next summer we’ll see a Bumblebee movie. And then we hope to have another Transformers movie the following summer.“

“Look, I always wait for the audience, because there’s an arrogance to getting ahead of your audience. When you do, you get punched. So we’ll wait each time. We’re planning a lot of movies, but you’ve got to have the audience’s support, because these movies are very expensive.“

The start date of principle photography makes sense as it allows time for the producers to finish up their Last Knight promotional efforts to focus on the movie while providing time to make script adjustments based on the negative reviews the movie has received from critics and audiences and still hit the Jun 8, 2018 release date. Also the 'Bee movie is expected to have a much lower budget (and thus much less special effects) which will not require as long a post-production process as the Bay entries do. As for Transformers 6, they have until end of next summer to begin filming before things get tight schedule wise to risk missing its summer 2018 release.

24 Reasons All Transformers Movies Are the Same

Via Couch Tomato, here is a pretty spot on take on the similarities between all the Transformers movies, most of which the fifth installment also shares. Thanks to Feris O. for the link.

Spoiler-Free Transformers: The Last Knight Review

There is two ways to write a spoiler-free review for Transformers: The Last Knight - the short way and the long way. The short way is if you liked the previous films, you will like this one. It has all the Michael Bay elements you expect, all just kicked up to a new notch compared to the previous entry with all the good and the bad that implies. I was not a big fan of Age of Extinction so that should give you a hint on how the long version is going to go.

While many reviewers keep going on and on about the "complicated" story, it really isn't. Its the exact same formula as the previous four films. There is a McGuffin, the bad guys want it to save Cybertron at the expense of Earth. The good guys want it to save the day. Since its a Transformer McGuffin that means it was hidden in the past, it must be found through a series of coincidences in information drops (the one involving Stonehenge was clever), and victory is achieved by a human activating (or deactivating it) to save the day. The rest is just window dressing around that core story to make it seem more complicated then it really is.

This ultimately remains the consistent problem with the Bay version of the Transformers. Making things look complicated that are not or do not have to be at the expense of everything else (except the Bayhem of course). This story introduces a whole lot of characters of which none really matter. There really is only a few characters you should pay attention. To main one, of course, is Cade Yeager (I am in it for the paycheck Mark Wahlberg) who is missing his daughter and hiding from the Transformers Response Force (TRF) in a junk yard with the rest of the Autobots from Age of Extinction minus Optimus Prime and gets his own half McGuffin piece even though it really only matters for one cool moment in the third act. Sir Edmund Burton (having fun Anthony Hopkins) is an exposition factory whose role as last remaining member of a society that kept all the secret knowledge of Transformers history could have easily been handed off to voice over, text, or a book that Vivian Wembley (always game Laura Haddock) finds. Haddock does the best she can with the what is really the sidekick role but ultimately her job is to be pretty and provide love interest looks in between battle sequences.

Everything Wrong with Transformers: The Movie (1986)

From the Cinema Sins, they focus their humor and nitpicking eye on 1986's The Transformers: The Movie. Per usual, even when I like the film I have a hard time disagreeing with their observations. Not entirely kid safe due to cussing.

Bumblebee Movie Set in 1985, Compared to The Iron Giant

In an interview with Collider, Transformers: The Last Knight and Bumblebee movie producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura revealed the Bumblebee movie will be set in 1985 and compares the story to The Iron Giant (great animated movie, should see if you have not already). Video after the break. The female lead will be played by Hailee Steinfeld but other details about the story remain unknown.

“I know we’re doing a spinoff first in the Bumblebee movie, and that is a very distinctive departure from what you’ve been seeing so far… The objective of that movie is to develop more time with less robots in a way, and to go back to 1985 and go back to sort of the original heritage if you would of the Transformers. So it has a very distinct idea in it, and then whatever is gonna happen with the chemistry is what’s gonna happen, but it really is a young female lead opposite Bumblebee.

There are dramatically less Transformers. We hired purposefully Travis Knight, who is a very distinct filmmaker. You can’t compete with Michael – you’re gonna lose. Also I think the audience wants something different all the time, let’s keep them interested. They’re gonna get a very emotionally complex story, a very tight story in terms of its location and in terms of its storytelling. In fact it reminds me a little bit of Iron Giant years ago when I did that movie at Warner Bros. It just reminds me a little bit of that where it was very contained and yet it didn’t feel small.”

New Clip, Even More TV Spots for Transformers: The Last Knight

Despite the large volume of TV spots released for Transformers: The Last Knight (I lost count after 30), there is yet more to come as the movie is coming out Tuesday night. Below are more for your enjoyment, each with a second or so of new stuff. But first a clip has Anthony Hopkins discusses robotic dementia.

Tyrese Gibson is Not in Transformers: The Last Knight

Apparently Tyrese Gibson is NOT in Transformers: The Last Knight as Epps. He was supposed to be, it was planned but schedule conflicts with Fate of the Furious prevented him from being able to film the role.

"I mean, I was p****d. The goal was for me and Josh Duhamel to come back and surprise the fans, that two of the guys from the original Transformers were back. Josh Duhamel was available and I wasn’t. So I was p****d."

Now the weird part is the source of the story, OK! Online, has sense pulled the story or at least I can't find it on their website which is a little odd and makes you wonder. Mostly if makes me wonder if Tyrese is in the movie, why are they hiding it?

Duhamel, Bay Talk TF5 With USA Today

In video interviews with USA Today Josh Duhamel talks about how he learned part of what is involved in making the Bayhem explosions while Michael Bay and Mark Wahlberg discussed working with Anthony Hopkins. The site does not allow videos to be embedded click the links: Josh Duhamel | Bay/Wahlberg.

Transformers Movie Primer, Stills from The Last Knight

Tomorrow night is the premiere of Transformers: The Last Knight in theaters. To prep, click here for a reminder of the four previous films in the franchise that summarizes each of the movies so spoilers if missed any of the other four. The movie also had its premiere in London (called Global Premiere even though there was global/world premiere in China the week before...marketing folks, what can you do.). You can find pics from that at MB.com.

In addition if like movie stills you can find a bunch of them at Collider (or mirrored at TFW2005). Its a collection of some new (but from trailers/TV spots) or previously released stills.

New TV Spot, Bumblebee Fails to Record Lines and Voice of Hot Rod

First video below is another new TV spot with a few new scenes, the second is a cute bit with Bumblebee trying to record lines but singing them instead. In other news, Omar Sy (Bishop in X-Men: Days of Future Past) has confirmed he is the voice of Hot Rod in the movie. Thanks to Feris O. for the link.

Wahlberg, Bay Say Transformers 5 Is Their Last TF Movie

In two unrelated interviews Transformers: The Last Knight director Michael Bay and star Mark Wahlberg both said that this movie would be their last for the franchise.

On BBC's The Graham Norton Show Friday night he said:

"It's the last one so I get my life back!"

Wahlberg also told Graham Norton in his interview on Friday that he spent "five months" getting in prime physical condition for The Last Knight, only to be saddled with a haircut that he absolutely hated.

"The long hair is the worst thing ever," he joked. "I look like my mum in the '70s – it's just really bad!"

In an interview with Fandango Michael Bay said:

"I've done it enough, and I've had a great time doing it. I'm going out with a bang on this one, and I feel like you gotta go out while you're ahead, you know. I think I've had a good run, and I've got a lot of other movies I want to do."

"I just read a very bloody hit man movie that was a page turner. That seems like a fun one to do," he said. "I love doing 13 Hours, I love doing Pain & Gain -- I think it'll be something more serious and more adult, I guess."

Of course Bay has said this twice before but its pretty clear he isn't doing Transformers 6 so maybe he means it this time. As for Wahlberg, he has never really displayed much enthusiasm for the franchise, apparently doing more for the money and working with Michael Bay so this is probably his last hurrah. That is unless Paramount makes an offer that would be foolish to ignore which could happen if the TF5 passes the $1 billion thresheld yet again for the franchise.

Transformers: The Last Knight - IMAX Behind the Frame

MichaelBay.com has posted a new video that looks at filming Transformers: The Last Knight in real IMAX (aka using specially built camera) vs the usual computer processed version. If sounds familiar, he did the same thing with Age of Extinction. It does include some new behind the scenes stuff have not seen before.

Roll Call TV Spot, Movie Stills and World Premiere Images

A new TV spot does a roll call of the main Transformers in the Transformers: The Last Knight that includes some new scene snippets for each. As for the movie, we now have an official length thanks to British Board of Film Classifications (via TFW2005) 148m 53s (2h, 28m, 53s) which previous reports pretty much nailed. However China is going to get 2 extra minutes with a running time of 150 minutes (2h, 30m). Its unclear if that means additional scenes or just long credits.

If you like movie still images, MichaelBay.com has posted several which are also mirrored on his Flickr account. You can also find his gallery from the World Premiere screening held in Guangzhou, China on June 13. Between investors and box office, China plays a huge part in Paramount's plan to score another $1 billion box office on the Transformers franchise.

A final note, the folks at i09 tried to make sense of Transformers history on Earth based on the four films and released hints for The Last Knight. The result is accurate to my knowledge but does highlight that they definitely did not have a continuity in mind.

Prime Defeats Chair While Hound Practices His Lines

For your amusement here are two quick videos featuring "behind the scenes" with Optimus Prime and Hound. Thanks to Feris O. for the link.

China's Transformers: The Last Knight Trailer Includes Megatron

A new Chinese trailer for Transformers: The Last Knight includes a lot of new footage including a new look at Megatron as he says "We were brothers once" along with a look at some of the new dragon TFs. Being the Bay-verse of Transformers the brothers line could be literal or maybe the writer's room used some of the recent IDW comic mythology where Megatron and Orion Pax (aka Optimus Prime) were once good friends before the TF civil war started. Thanks to Feris O. for the link.

New TV Spot, Mark Walhberg Interview, and Dashcam Vids

We are less then a week away from the release of Transformers: The Last Knight. The first vid below, oddly titled "Final Chapter" since we know more movies are coming, has a second or two of new stuff. The second vid is Mark Wahlberg's interview on The Tonight Show to promote the film. The clip they used is one we have seen before with Cogman jumping him. After that is a very quick viral type video from a cop dashcam of Hot Rod (?) purposely wrecking, it didn't really make sense. Last is a Maaco commercial featuring Bumblebee. Thanks to Feris O. for the link.

Steinfeld Confirms Bumblebee Casting (Updated)

In a profile piece on Hailee Steinfeld who is on a singing tour in Australia, news.com.au spoke with the actress confirmed her casting in the Bumblebee movie.

On the eve of her whirlwind promotional visit to Australia next weekend to spruik Most Girls, Steinfeld was confirmed to star in the Transformers prequel Bumblebee. She will also appear on The Voice while in Australia.

“I am so excited to know that is the next movie I am working on,” she said as the news broke last week.

“Obviously I’m coming to Australia and when I come back, we start shooting.”

When the casting was first rumored, her character was described as "tomboy who also holds a job as a mechanic after school." Now that Wonder Woman has reminded Hollywood (for the umpteenth time) that there can be female action heroes, I can't help but wonder if changes were made to the script to accommodate this "new" reality.

Update: In another interview with BBC's Newsbeat, the actress re-iterated the casting:

"I am so excited I'm doing the spin-off, it's starting very soon," the 20-year-old actress and singer told Newsbeat.

"It's crazy to think about. I'm a big fan of the Transformers movies and I can't believe I am going to be in a version of them."

"I will be shooting Bumblebee in the States and working on the music at the same time. So we will see how that all pans out," she says.

"But this movie is really something special. It has a great storyline and this character that I play, who you will soon meet, is really special. So I'm very excited for people to see it."

Horns on a Planet, IMAX Running Time and Reno Returns

Three quick bits of info for Transformers: The Last Knight:

1) Here is a new poster that certainly seems to be designed to make long time fans think "Unicron". Still nada to back this long desired fan theory.

2) An unconfirmed rumor indicates the IMAX version of the movie will be 2h 32 minutes so 4 minutes longer then theatrical version.

3) Reno Wilson has tweeted confirmation that he will voice a character in Transformers 5 which I think makes him the only actor besides Peter Cullen to do all five movies. In previous movies he voiced Frenzy, Mudflap, and Brains. No indication if he returns as Brains or will voice a different character.

New Poster, Wreck-Gar In New TV Spots for Transformers: The Last Knight

Today we have four more TV spots. The first one gives you the first look at Wreck-Gar (or whatever official name is for the dump truck) and Hound speaks. After that are two spots from South Korea that has one moment or two of new stuff. The last video doesn't really seem to have anything new. Also another new poster that emphasizes the Prime vs 'Bee fight from all the trailers and TV spots. Thanks to Feris O. for the link.

Isabela Moner Talks Casting, Bay with BTS Videos

In an interview with KTLA 5 (station in Los Angeles), Transformers: The Last Knight's Isabela Moner talked about the movie, getting cast, and working with Michael Bay. I suspect the interview is a kind of dipping toes in water practice before the actress is thrown in the deep end to promote the movie to nationwide audiences on the daytime shows and the like since its only 11 days away from release. After the interview there are also three behind the scenes videos from her first three days on set of the movie last year.

General Morshower Returns in New TV Spots, International Trailer for Last Knight

According to the first video below we are now at the 27th TV spot for Transformers: The Last Knight but it feels like more. To give the editors credit, if someone got bored and combined all the spots and trailers together it probably would only cover about ten minutes of the movie. As the first video shows, General Morshower (Glenn Morshower), last seen in Dark of the Moon, returns to the franchise. The second video is a new international trailer that is similar to but not identical to the one from a few days ago. After that a few more TV spots including one from Norway. Enjoy! Thanks to Feris O. for the links. Update: Swapped out first video with HD version posted by MB.com.

Four TV Spots, 1 Clip Show Off More of Transformers: The Last Knight

The TV spots keep coming. The first vid below shows the most of Laura Haddock's Vivian yet (so like 10 seconds instead of half a second) along with a brief glimpse of Agent Simmons (John Turturro) and a bunch of new scenes. The second one is a 30 second spot that is mostly from previous spots but doesn't have a new scene or two. After that there is a clip between Vivian while Cogman takes exception to how Cade talks to her. The fourth and fifth videos also has a few new scenes.

International Trailer and TV Spot for Transformers: The Last Knight With New Scenes

Below is the international trailer and a TV spot for Transformers: The Last Knight that include a few more scenes from the film that were not seen in the US side vids. One seen includes a full look at Megatron's transformation from jet to robot, a better look at Dragonstorm and more from Barricade vs. Bumblebee fight. Cogman gets a moment too. Thanks to Feris O. for the link.

Transformers: The Last Knight SDCC 2017 Exclusive Revealed

San Diego Comic-Con 2017 is coming in a little over a month and for collector's that means exclusives. Hasbro has revealed their voyager class Transformers: The Last Knight Optimus Prime SDCC 2017 exclusive that will go on sale at booth #3329. The figure will come in exclusive packaging with a piece of tire from the Western Star truck used in the film and certificate of authenticity. In the past Hasbro has put any left over SDCC exclusives on sale on Hasbro Toy Shop around a few weeks later for those unable to attend the convention.

Homemade Transformers: The Last Knight Trailer

For your entertainment, here is a trailer for Transformers: The Last Knight...done on the cheap. The very very cheap. But can't fault their dedication as must have been a massive pain in the rear to create. Thanks to Feris O. for the links. Vid below, here for comparison, and BTS.

New Transformers 5 Evil Prime Standee

Here is a new Transformers: The Last Knight theater standee of Optimus Prime with the evil eyes color. I assume Prime is bowing to Quintessa, his creator but could mean just taking a moment before stomping Bumblebee. Thanks to Feris O. for taking these pictures.

Transformers 5 Length, Clip and Two TV Spots

It turns out a google search provides the answer to a question some fans had - how long is the movie? It says it will be 2 hours, 28 minutes long. For comparison Transformers (2007) was 2h 24m, Revenge of the Fallen 2h 30m, Dark of the Moon 2h 37m, and Age of Extinction 2h 45m so within the normal range for the franchise.

In addition the first vid below is a clip that apparently aired with Ellen tv show. After that is a "Tessa" tv spot with maybe Nicola Peltz leaving a message for her father with another video mostly made up of the recent trailer. Both TV spots then just tack on recent trailer and TV spots to pad the length.

More Transformers 5 Posters and Character Profiles

The rest of the Cineplex Posters were released which shows off the core characters from Transformers: The Last Knight with the other two added from the previous post. The top left pic is a German poster for the movie and you can find additional behind the scenes pics and stills here.

Last is an odd and sometimes annoying video that is a series of alerts from the Transformers Reaction Force (TRF) that exists to hunt down all Transformers regardless of faction. Its really a series of brief gifs combined with "reports" that summarizes human, Transformers, and locations that will be in the movie. Update: Added the last three posters.

New Transformers: The Last Knight Spot With New Footage

The new extended TV spot below provides a ton of new footage from Transformers: The Last Knight (relative to other spots) that is also interesting in its last of loud noises and (mostly) light use of Sir Anthony Hopkins' narration.

Transformers: The Last Knight Banners and Posters

Below are pretty cool images found at a Russian site by TFW2005. After that are two character posters posted by the Cinemark twitter account of Hot Rod and Sir Anthony Hopkins.

Two More The Last Knight TV Spots

Missed two TV spots in the previous post so here they are. Per usual, just a second or two of new stuff.

Four New Transformers: The Last Knight TV Spots

Four new trailers for you to enjoy for Transformers: The Last Knight. Unfortunately the official US YouTube site of Transformers: The Last Knight keeps dropping the ball on providing good quality TV spots for the movie but the UK side posted a few which helps. The last two are so-so quality and the channel inexplicably edits on the movie trailers & TV spots after to pad out the length. Will trade out with better once become available. Between the group there is a few new scenes that show off some of Hound, touch more of the Quintessa scene and Bumblebee "speaks". Thanks to Feris O. for the links.

Hailee Steinfeld To Join Bumblebee Movie?

Variety is reporting that Hailee Steinfeld is negotiating to lead the cast of the Transformers: Bumblebee movie. The actress from Pitch Perfect 2, Edge of Seventeen, Ender's Game was also nominated for an Oscar for True Grit and currently working on a singing career. Suffice it to say the casting would result in a movie focused on her character which The Hollywood Reporter said would be a "tomboy who also holds a job as a mechanic after school." The movie is rumored to be set in the 80s with a smaller budget (so probably around $100 million) then the main Transformers films (~$200 million each). The movie is set for a June 8, 2018 release date from a script by Christina Hodson (Shut In) with director Travis Knight (Kubo and the Two Strings).