Paramount’s Transformers universe is undergoing a transformation of its own, and Bumblebee is the catalyst. After the spinoff film became the best-reviewed Transformers movie yet, many of us thought it would be the perfect place to reboot the franchise, telling simper, more light-hearted stories and getting away from the overblown mess Michael Bay created. Well, it appears that Hasbro and Paramount agree.
For those who don’t know, New York Toy Fair 2019 took place over the weekend and at Hasbro’s presentation Bumblebee was declared the start of “a new storytelling universe.” Makes sense they’d refer to it as that rather than just calling it a reboot, as producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura recently stated that he hates the use of that word, while adding that the next Transformers movie would be “different” than what we’ve seen before. Does this mean the Witwicky family line has been eradicated?
A sequel to Bumblebee is currently in the works, something which was hardly a foregone conclusion. The spinoff, while incredibly well-received by audiences and critics alike, made just $458M worldwide, a far cry from even the lowest-grossing Transformers movie, The Last Knight, at $605M. But the positive buzz and demand for more was something Paramount and Hasbro couldn’t ignore. It does seem to be a ways off, however, as an animated movie and a live-action one may come first. [TFW2005]
