THAT! The problem I had the most with the Bayverse was Michael Bay's "AMERICA F*** YEAH! GI Joe mentality of a Post-9/11 world. This anti-alien mindset is toxic enough when it's all you see in the news these days, but it's worse when it takes the hopeful optimism of the franchise's past and throws it all away just so we could see another generic military action movie where nobody understands what the jargon is while the camera can't focus on anything outside of the explosions.
On that note, I think that'd be a great way to differentiate a reboot series from Bayformers, have an alliance with humanity that builds up over the movies, instead of just "the military gets Autobots to assist them in hunting Decepticons, then they betray them and hunt the Autobots too." I'd love to see something like a Rescue Bots cameo where they repair the damage done during a Decepticon battle, or the construction of Autobot City as a testament saying "You are welcome here". It could be great. I got tired of entropy and everything being expendable except Optimus and Bee.
We need a Witwicky type, just not a whiny one. Spike or Buster maybe, or both. The closest we had to what those character were in the comics/TV series was Cade. and to be honest I liked Mark Walhberg's character, except that he came in so late to the franchise and got saddled with the 'daughter dating issues plot. The real problem with Sam was he was too much of the focus, and too much of a whiner like you're implying. "I want to be special!" and all I can think is DUDE, you're hanging out with giant robots, quityerbitchin'. I know when Spielberg had some level of input as producer, wanted it to be a story about a boy and his car, but it got to be too much about the boy, and boy was he disappointing.
I disagree. I really like that aspect of the movies, because many humans realistically would hate an advanced alien race that can hide in plain sight. Look at how humans hate other humans and many other species, and how we will hunt other beings to extinction or near extinction over mere trinkets for profits. Additionally, I thought the Autobots were much more interesting as characters when they were challenged by a more hostile human race. Get shrekt!
They just need to establish a concrete background and mythology before they start. None of this dipping into deifferent things on the fly and creating a mess. Decide on the general direction of things so sequels aren’t literally afterthoughts. It doesn’t have to be a cinematic universe like Marvel, but given the same consideration to the overall plan. J K Rowling wrote biographies and histories for all the Harry Potter character, most of which wasn’t even mentioned in the books, but it helped her create a world and know exactly who was where and doing what at any given time, and why.
Here's an interesting possibility: what if the reboot starts with earth on the cusp of developing reliable interstellar space travel, and the start of the movie based around a cybertron at peace and a prototype human ship coming into normal space perilously close and accidentally crashing on Cybertron's moon/one of cybertron's moons? Does this trigger resurgence of a civil war thought over? Be an interesting perspective that way I think, especially if the method of interstellar travel humans use is different and more inherently unstable from the rest of the interstellar community, but avoids issues regarding high energy radiation or other hazards of space travel that would kill fragile organic species. Also changes the dynamic- as the few human characters are guests on an alien planet that may not be normally hospitable to organics.
I actually kinda like this idea. It's nice and simple for starting things over, and changes enough while still having the same basic story. I wouldn't have Prowl killed, though (an Autobot with development should die, though, for a set of stakes). It could then go off into more of its own identity as it went on, of course, with potential sequels.
In what ways? Superficially perhaps? Sure the designs aren't usually traditional, but the Bay movies already have plenty of core concepts from the source material, and every single one of the movies is inspired directly from one or more pieces of G1 fiction, and sometimes other stuff as well, like Animated. People complained plenty enough about the military and NEST hogging the action in the first three films. How would that appease fans wanting more robot focus? It almost certainly do the opposite; you'd suddenly have all this focus on G.I. Joe's human characters at the expense of the robots in all likelihoof.
Since we're talking about Reboot, I'd like to see half the movie on Cybertron and the rest on Earth. Or like an exodus from Cybertron, where we see a mass departure of Autobots in search of a new home and make the Decepticons more deadly and a huge threat. And their arrival on Earth. I'd like to see: Prowl, Brawn, Ultra Magnus, Hot Rod (don't give him a French accent, that was plain dumb), Bluestreak, Kup, Cliffjumper, Springer, Bumblebee, Ironhide, Ratchet (as a veteran medic), First-aid (an upcoming medic), Wheeljack (Not some Einstein wannabe), Optimus Prime, Jazz (please have him last more than just one movie), Chromedome, Fireflight, Grimlock, Sunstreaker, Sentinel Prime, Warpath and Elita-One for the Autobots Starscream, Thundercracker, Skywarp, Shockwave, Megatron, Onslaught, Rumble, Ravage, Laserbeak, Runamuck, Runabout, Blitzwing (tank), Astrotrain (Train), Soundwave, Nightbird, Swindle, Dead End, Kickback as for the Decepticons Galvatron with his army: Cyclonus, Scourge. I would include Acid Storm, Bombshell, Blast-Off, Sixshot, Mindwipe, Mirage, Brainstorm, Scorponok in Galvatron's army. They will act as rogues, siding with nobody.
It's also a really dumb idea. The only reason Marvel has done so well is because they gave that experiment to a guy who knows his Marvel shit and is willing to take some chances on the weird stuff Marvel has to offer (a lot more now). WB/DC fucked up with how they chose to approach their properties by selecting big name people who don't really understand how their characters work. Snyder is a pretty talented director but it was pretty fucking clear he has no idea what makes any of their characters tick beyond the simplistic Dark Knight style of heroes (which he has said before, he didn't "get" comics until that era) and he has said often enough how they struggled to adapt Superman, an easy "fish out of water" character. Feige feels comfortable embracing some of the dorkiness of their world, Snyder and his people did not and didn't understand that was the charm of some of them. Hasbro does need a Feige like person, I think anyone trying to craft a franchise large universe needs someone to take the big picture view and help shape it just as Feige has done with Marvel. Part of that, though, is that person having a love and familiarity with the franchise's roots and understand WHY and WHAT has made these characters live on beyond a simple toy line and get that message across in their movies. Bay was much like Snyder, he' got talent but he has no connection to these characters and their story beyond the huge explosions. I don't know WHO should take that lead but I do think Guillermo del Toro, Steve DeKnight and Simon Furman could help craft a really solid first reboot movie.
Set in the modern day Transformers have been on Earth since the 80's AND THAT'S IT NO SECRET HISTORY BS Transformers are a SECRET and STAY SECRET The EDC is the secret agency that works with the Autobots AND ARE NOT DICK MEASURING TOOLS
I think they should take notes from the Marvel Transformers Comics. (Aka: The best Transformers thing ever besides Prime and FOC)
