One of the veteran characters of Michael Bay’s live-action Transformers franchise will indeed be back for the upcoming Transformers: The Last Knight, but he’ll get yet another upgrade for the 2017 film.
Bumblebee, the heroic yellow Autobot that has appeared in all of Bay’s Transformers films so far, will take the form of a customized 2016 Chevrolet Camaro in The Last Knight, complete with all the bells, whistles, and alien technology that can be packed into the robot’s transforming body. Bay himself revealed the popular character’s new look with a photograph in a posting on his website titled “Bee is Back.”
A staple of the live-action franchise since the 2007 reboot, Bumblebee initially appeared as a 1977 Camaro, only to receive a modern update in the first film. Every subsequent film has upgraded Bumblebee to the latest model of Chevrolet Camaro, usually with a heavily customized body.
The image posted by Bay is the third major announcement of a returning robot character in The Last Knight, with Optimus Prime and Megatron both already confirmed to be back for the fifth chapter of the series. Of the film’s human cast, only Mark Wahlberg and Josh Duhamel are confirmed to return, reprising their roles as Cade Yeager and Lieutenant Colonel Lennox, respectively.
One very significant newcomer to the franchise was announced over the weekend, with Sir Anthony Hopkins reportedly joining the film in an unspecified role that’s expected to be a human character (rather than a robot’s voice). Other new additions to the cast include Isabela Moner (100 Things to Do Before High School, Growing Up Fisher) and Jerrod Carmichael (The Carmichael Show, Neighbors).
After returning in The Last Knight, Bumblebee is expected to headline his own solo movie in 2018, which could mean another tune-up is not too far off for the popular character.
Transformers: The Last Knight is scheduled to hit theaters June 23, 2017.
