It'll be interesting to see what the reason for time travel would be, then, since obviously BW Megatron or whomever isn't going back in time to kill a comatose Optimus Prime.

 

I think it's fine to dislike the direction Lorenzo wants to take, but it is important to keep in mind he is a producer on this series...a man with high influence. Fans tend to write off Lorenzo as a crazy old uncle who says kooky stuff that everyone else in the room rolls their eyes at...but that's not the case. He's in there making decisions, and people under him kind of have to go along with his wishes. Even if his wishes are dumb and nonsensical. It's not like everyone else involved in the movie just sits him in a corner and pretends he doesn't exist.

People talk like Lorenzo is the only one insisting this is still the Bayverse, but we really don't know that. There are other producers, and we have no idea what they think. For all we know some of them might agree with him. But just for the sake of argument let's say Lorenzo is indeed the only Bayverse holdout. That still accounts for something.

Also, I'm skeptical of whether or not it boils down to big bad Lorenzo refusing to concede. It could be a calculated decision by the filmmakers to try to appeal to both "camps". That's honestly the vibe I get, it feels like they're just trying to have their cake and eat it too. But who knows.

But there are unambiguous Bayverse references and connections here. Bumblebee is remaining the '77 Camaro. They basically flat-out said this movie will explain how Optimus grows into his Bayverse self, with very little wiggle room for any other interpretation. The only image we've seen so far (the title) has two direct Bayverse connections...the font and the Autobot symbol with the angled eyes.

And there are also some other things that imply Bayverse, but could go either way. Like Megatron's seeming absence and the reference to seeing robots like the Predacons in other movies (which is almost surely something from the Bay movies, because Bumblebee didn't have any reptilian robots).

Is any of this proof that it exists in the Bay timeline? No, obviously not. But my point is that there are intentional connections. The mere fact that the filmmakers chose to use the Bayverse font means they clearly want to draw some connection, even if it's a subconscious one. If they "don't want anything to do with the Bayverse", wouldn't using a different font be a no-brainer?

The fact of the matter is they've been trying to play both sides of the field since 2018, and they're clearly still trying to play both sides. They could have easily used this press release to clarify this film's continuity, but instead they muddied the waters even more. Almost intentionally so. They talked about ignoring the Bayverse, but then made statements that imply it still has some connection. As of now, it's still Schrodinger's continuity. There is no definite answer.

 

Found an article that has the director's commentary alongside the characters that were revealed. It adds some context to the art:

The filmmakers announced Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Arcee, and Mirage on Team Autobots. Optimus Prime will have his G1 look with some tweaks.

“We are going G1 with Optimus Prime,” Caple Jr said. “And I made him flexible, because I know he was a bit boxy. So I’ve definitely taken care to make sure he can move and still fight and do all the cool stuff we need him to do.”

Bumblebee won’t be a classic Volkswagen Beetle this time around. He’ll be a classic Camaro once again like in Bay’s first Transformers film. He’s getting added pieces for off-roading since the film will have new terrain.

“We’re traveling to new terrain,” the director said. “So there’s some added pieces to them. So we call this our off-road Bumblebee, a Bumblebee special. And so what’s cool about this film is that we’ll see pieces of their vehicles more, if you will, in robot form.”

Mirage will be in the film as a Porsche 911.

“Slightly different than original,” Caple Jr. said. “It was a Formula One, but he still holds that speed. He’s fast, he’s flashy, and he still holds up to the name Mirage, which you’ll see in the film. As a character, I would say he’s just a rebel in a group. He’s more of an outlaw.”

Arcee will be a Ducati 916, and her design will be an homage to Generation 1, especially the head and the color scheme. There will be pink and white and red.

“I saw a glimpse of her, just a glimpse – no shade to Lorenzo – in Bumblebee,” the director said. “And I just wanted to bring her back. I want to give her more. I want to give her a voice. I want to give her a fight. She’s super tough and fierce, she’s very much a loyal soldier to Prime, the voice of reason at times, and she’s a motorcycle. She can do really cool things.”

The Terrorcons will be the new threat in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. Leading the charge will be Scourge, a villain that appeared in the classic animated Transformers movie. In the upcoming film, he has more of an industrial look, smokey pipes coming out of his shoulders, and a giant claw serving as his left hand complete with electricity.

“He’s a prideful dude,” Caple Jr. said of Scourge. “He loves to collect Autobots and Maximals and use them as his trophy. Let’s just say that’s how ruthless he is.”

Serving as Scourge’s right-hand robot is Nightbird, a deadly female ninja robot. She can transform into a GTR, and her color scheme is metallic grey and purple.

“She still has those ninja traits though, if you remember from the cartoon,” he added. “Yeah, she was the actual ninja and so I still kept that alive with her.”

The Maximals were the heroes in Beast Wars, and they will be coming to the live-action movie. Leading the charge is Optimus Primal, a robot who can transform into a gorilla.

“It makes Prime have a character that he can actually have a philosophical conversation on sort of the same plane,” said di Bonaventura. “They both have dealt with leadership; they both deal with what is it like to be on Earth, etc. So there’s a lot of commonality in what they’re dealing with. But there’s a difference in perspective that they share with one another.”

Airazor is a robot that can transform into a bird, and she is the heart of the Maximals.

“She’s very nurturing, but I definitely say don’t test her,” said Caple Jr. “Underneath her regal design, there’s still a beast. She’s very rustic and design, as you can tell. She has this aged texture to her. And we’re basically playing with how long the Maximals have been traveling, and how long they’ve been here on Earth. This older design is a little bit more fluid and different than the the Autobots or any other robot that you’re actually seeing, where you can see the animal style and design but yet underneath that, you’ll see the mechanics if you pay close attention to it.”

And then we have Rhinox, the rhino robot.

“Rhinox, the muscle of the group,” the director said as he looks at the WIP art. “He was also the the brains of the Maximals. He has a rustic design too. And again, playing with more of this organic and sort of natural material to make them all sort of feel alive. That was a big thing for me. I wanted these animals to feel like they’re breathing. And you can see him pushing out some air right now. So you’ll see a lot of mechanics move. That’s why you can see the slit and things like that. I think it allows us a whole new sort of category and area to play with when we start to really design them and put them into a live-action movie.”

 

I did notice Optimus body seemed "less articulate" during his fight in the Bee film, so it is pleasant to hear they're tweaking him to be a bit more mobile.

Also glad to hear the director actualy brings up Mirage's diff alt mode, makes it feel like it was a real creative decision instead of a nameslap.

 

I really like how Steven Caple Jr. talks about the characters in the movie. Some of the designs choices sound really interesting. I like the idea of more vehicle parts on Autobots. It's great to hear that somone else also find the original boxy designs unwieldy, making OP's frame more flexible is a good move. I'm really curious about that breathing effect on Maximals.

I'm really looking forward to Nightbird.

 

From the way Steven describes and explains things, it seems like he has his shit together. I feel a sense of competence from him. He’s definitely interested in this film and isn’t here just for the paycheck.

I really hope this film turns out good. However, I’m a little put off by Lorenzo acting like it’s a prequel. I’m also put off by the amount of content that’s going to be in the film. There’s definitely a lot going on, and now Unicron is even rumoured to be involved. But other than that, the details we were given are great. Also, I can’t wait to see Bumblebee’s off road alt mode. I’m actually glad he’s still a Camaro.

I hope the final act of the film takes place in Peru. It would be very interesting to see a giant battle in the middle of a jungle or on an old temple or something. It’s also about time we don’t have another final battle in another damn city. TLK is so far the only film to not have a battle in a giant city at the end of it.

I really like how they are making Arcee and Nightbird look G1, but changing them a little to make them look different. For example, Arcee is now red and turns into a motorcycle, but still has her G1 head. And Nightbird has plenty of G1 features, but plenty of new features as well such as dreads.

 

Caple does seem to be thinking this through. He seems to know what he's dealing with. I want to be optimistic about this. (though I absolutely hate that director's chair with Transformers 7 written on it ).

 

Eh, that doesn't really affect the whole reboot thing (if that's what you were thinking). Bumblebee was referred to as TF6 and still is for the toys. It just implies it's the 7th live-action Transformers film and nothing about the continuity.

 

I get that, but it can confuse potential audiences who think they're getting another Bayverse movie.(or more importantly, they may try to avoid getting what they think is another Bayverse movie).

 

The general audience won't ever see "Transformers 7" on the poster. It's just an internal name to easily identify the film. Thus, I can't see it having a huge effect. Really, how they market it is going to mainly affect the way people will view the film (in terms of reboot or being part of the Bayverse). Or maybe they'll just continue to keep it vague like now. :/

 

You and me both. It really doesn't help the idea of trying to present that this is better than bayverse when you just lump it in and make it look more of the same on paper.

 

There have been a number of more public Transformers 6 and 7 references here and there. I'm beginning to think that maybe keeping things vague is not a great idea anymore.

 

I agree with this. It definitely isn't. It just makes things more confusing.

 

I've always hated blind boxes. I like to know what I'm paying for.

 

well this info either confirms one bit of either wrong information or inconsistency with Bumblebee film; in that, arcee was standard bot size(about bee's height), meaning that is she is a motorcycle(groan) then they are gonna cheat with mass shifting or just completely change her size.

 

I think it's a prequel in a very broad sense, like how War For Cybertron (2010) was originally marketed as a prequel to G1 despite glaring contradictions.

It would be kind of messed up if they finally did Arcee justice and she became a popular character only to definitively tie her into a continuity that offed her so unceremoniously that one of the writers didn't realise she even had died until the recording of the DVD commentary. I honestly think that's a bigger factor than any single continuity discrepancy.