On the run in the year 1987, Bumblebee finds refuge in a junkyard in a small Californian beach town. Charlie, 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.
Acting
Hailee Steinfeld carries this harder than Optimus carries the franchise.
Practical Effects
G1 designs that finally respect the toys you actually owned.
Director
Travis Knight
Dylan O'Brien
B-127 / Bumblebee (voice)
Hailee Steinfeld
Charlie Watson
John Cena
Jack Burns
Jorge Lendeborg Jr.
Memo Gutierrez
John Ortiz
Dr. Powell
Stephen Schneider
Ron
Jason Ian Drucker
Otis Watson
Pamela Adlon
Sally Watson
Len Cariou
Hank
Glynn Turman
General Whalen
Peter Cullen
Optimus Prime (voice)
Angela Bassett
Shatter (voice)
Justin Theroux
Dropkick (voice)
Gracie Dzienny
Tina Lark
Ricardo Hoyos
Tripp Summers
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Travis Knight is the first feature director who'd never made a live-action film before—he came from Laika Animation, which explains the actual care in framing shots.
The opening Cybertron sequence uses original G1 designs as deliberate fan service, but also establishes this as a separate timeline—explaining why Prime looks different and Bumblebee fought in WWII (shown in The Last Knight) is conveniently ignored.
US
