We have pretty much seen the entire main cast list for the movie. There are the main roles and then there are supporting roles. Of course there are many more characters to cover and most of the fans want to see their favorite characters on screen but with such a giant universe of characters, it is hard to fit them all. This movie, we are treated to around 40 bots but unless it is a 4 hour movie, only 20 of them will have decent screen time and to narrow it down, only 10 of them will be the main focus of the movie. Alot of fans want to see their favorites like Wheeljack, Shockwave, the other Seekers, Hot Rod, Cliffjumper, Laserbeak, etc. and some people are hoping for some surprises such as characters showing up in the movie that weren't announced or had been spotted on set. So considering that we can only have so much, or few, characters in the movie due to the fact that we have to focus on a few certain characters, what would you rather have? 1) Character Cameos? - see them in the background, perhaps fighting the battle in the background such as in a big joint military Autobot task force, you see Wheeljack but he is not actually introduced officially. It is done alot in the X-Men movies and you subtley see them in the scene but there is no mention of whom they really are. Kind of like those Easter Eggs in the Star Wars prequels. 2) Minor Roles? - have them in non-speaking or speaking roles with few lines but only in one scene. They don't die and can possibly return in the next movie. Definitely more screen time than a cameo. 3) Quick Death? - they introduce a character but then they kill them off in a battle as robot fodder to make it more dark and edgy and to convey the message that this is in fact war and there will be casualties. This will include characters that we know from the cartoons such as Thundercracker, Skywarp, Huffer, or Tailgate etc. This is probably the only way they would introduce "other" characters compared to the ones we've already seen if the problem you have with the movie is "not enough robots" or "my favorite character was not there".
I'd say minor supporting roles. Cameos could work too but quick deaths to show the ferocity of war can easily end up getting gratuitous and pointless ala the '86 animated movie.
Im sure if there are cameos or quick deaths the community will later complain that such and such didn't get a bigger part etc.... Im all for quick deaths Cameos and minor roles
I like the cameo idea a lot. Watching the X-Men movies with what little knowledge I had at the time, it always made me feel great to point at the screen and gasp when I spotted someone I knew.
All three the options. It's safe to assume some just walk around in the background. Others might say one or two lines. Some will just die. Quick Deaths are least favorable to me though. I'd hate to see an awesome Autobot pop up only to have him killed instantly. However, I am sure this is going to happen anyway, since it would be realistic that both sides get casualties.
I'm gonna go for quick death. In a movie,a war movie no less, it's lucky if the central heroes get out alive. One line/background characters are more or less signing their own death warrant. Chances are they'll be characters that only we really know and recognise, too. springer, for instance.
Over in the Ask Orci thread, Orci said that there's two kinds of robots in the movie, the main characters and cannon fodder. So we can expect lots of quick deaths. I'm all down for death as long as I get a toy of them.
Id say with "40 robots" in the movie there will be alot arrive at some point and they will be shown fighting from a distance or something and they will mostly die off quickly.
I don't think background cameos would work in the movieverse, since the bot modes and faces are so different, it's unlikely you'd realize who it is. IE Starscream, Ironhide, Megs, Ratchet, Frenzy, looked nothing like their G1 personas.
Cameo or Minor Role of Wheeljack I'd like. He doesn't have to talk but it would be nice. I'd like to really just see his movie version... assuming they don't make him look horrible. Then I could buy his toy and draw a pic of his official movie version which would make me happy.
I think there will be some bots that will be used for kills throughout the movie to show the strength of The Fallen and the new cons. And also some cons that will just be cannon-fodder to show that Optimus and the new bots can also kick some ass.
Agreed, I'd like to watch some of the robots be blown to pieces, stabed, etc. Also, this way they can keep majority of the major robots alive.