I dunno, I think it's very cynical to have a film series reboot after 10 years, and then the very next movie which is supposed to be a direct sequel is already altering things to make them look more like the Bayverse. It doesn't exactly scream confidence or commitment to a "new storytelling universe", and I don't doubt that the only reason Optimus and Arcee still have a G1 look to them is because of the Bumblebee movie models. Everyone else looks like they could have come from The Last Knight, with even Optimus Primal being an overhaul of a scrapped Bayverse design.

A lot of the design choices for ROTB feel inconsistent. Like Wheeljack getting turned into RoboUrkel, but Bumblebee is the 70's Camaro yet again, almost certainly still using the radio talk gimmick, really nothing different from Bayverse except a more aesthetically pleasant robot mode. I don't even dislike ROTB Bumblebee per se, but how come the "everything needs to be different because different" never applies to him? How come he doesn't get a new look for what's supposed to be a new continuity?

 

This!

 

Referencing '07 would be fine if they took the good parts. I'm fine with the swords on Prime, but his face is horrendous. It doesn't fit the aesthetic of the body. The Wheeljack fuckery is also a terrible choice (similar to Que and other design downgrades in the Bayverse). I'm tried of radio Bee and I'm assuming he won't be getting his voice back in this one.

I think Caple is genuinely a fan of Michael Bay and the Bay movies, and that's why we're seeing these references. That or Caple let Bay have a larger influence over the film unlike Knight who said Bay let Knight do whatever he wanted.

 

What I meant is, that referencing the 2007 movie itself or being pro'07 itself is not cynical, it's the fact that they're being pro'07 at bad things that makes all this cynical. Things like nameslap, exaggerated carricature, etc.

As in, director having a nostalgia at '07 is fine, but if the director's only excuse is "I'm having a nostalgia!" to justify all the bad things happened (nameslap, etc) only to forcefully connect it to Bayverse, well...

Basically this. Having updated alt mode is fine, like OP turned from Boxy Truck into Peterbilt Truck, especially with how the Peterbilt truck looks very strong and imposing which fit Optimus Myers Prime or maybe making Wheeljack into a Lancia Stratos or any cool sports car idk I'm not knowledgeable in cars.

I fail to see which in any part of this where Knight treated Cullen like crap. Because if this means Knight treated Cullen like crap, then what does it say for Lorenzo, who ACTIVELY sabotaged Cullen's audition? A torture?

 

Like I said in the other thread he’ll definitely at least body wise be a little different. Due to colors, licensing probably and door wings.

 

The weird thing is the design itself is good…kinda adorable honestly

just needs to be another character

I don’t think anyone would care if he had a different name

 

I mean it's just my reasoning behind it but sure, feel free to think that.

Bay being seen on-location really doesn't mean much of anything. I'll give an example of this, George Lucas has shown up on the set of a few Star Wars productions, including shows like The Book of Boba Fett. Does that mean George had an incredible influence? No, it just means he was invited to the set and if he did film something? It was likely very small. Our director hasn't necessarily directed big robot scenes and most of his experience comes from smaller productions like Creed II but remember, Travis Knight was basically in the same boat. He directed primarily stop-motion productions and never touched live-action before. As for the other elements? Honestly most of those sound like either aesthetic choices for the sake of nostalgia (Like it or not, that original 07 film is nostalgic for some fans.), in the case of Megatron more of a deliberate choice to give other characters some shine and so that when they do use him he's given proper focus and in the case of Jazz? Probably the same deal, they just chose to give another character attention. It sounds to me more like you're going out of your way to find the worst possible interpretation instead of taking a moment to relax and really give this some thought.

 

Ah I see. Agreed.

 

It was bugging me why this Wheeljack looked familiar and now I see it. He's basically built like a Sharkticon.

You could easily redeco this with a different head as an Earth-mode Gnaw.

 

I’d retool the shell somewhat, when I think ‘Predator’ I do think ‘Van’, just not necessarily ‘camper van’

 

So are these Studio Series or the movie toyline versions? Or do we know?

 

It's not confirmed, but the general consensus is these are the main movie toyline deluxes, not Studio Series.

Given the extreme lack of paint on Nightbird (hence all the gold-ish brown) and the unlicensed vehicle modes on both, it's a reasonable assumption to make.

 

I keep hearing in these threads this story about Lorenzo sabotaging Peter Cullen's audition. Do we have a source on that story? I want to know if it's credible or if it's from some lunatic like Don Murphy.

 

More like Wheelton Jack, am I right?

 

The original source was on a movie messageboard that's long since been lost to the flow of time, but I'm pretty sure it was from Don Murphy, given this old post I found in something I posted two years ago:
Transformers Live Action Movie Blog (TFLAMB): Don Murphy on Casting Peter Cullen

The key being " But he had Skorponok and a lot of people at Dreamworks and Paramount FIGHTING actively not to do it" since Skorponok was the codename used to refer to Lorenzo.

And yeah, Don Murphy's a can of worms unto himself but at the same time why would he lie about somebody as headstrong as Lorenzo who actively works against trying to stay true to these franchises? When he says dumb shit like:

SPOILER Interview with Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Transformers: The Last Knight Producer on Origin of Quintessa (seibertron.com)

Even though the 'mythology' he's talking about does not and never has existed, he's literally inventing this bullshit up about how humans built the Transformers on the spot.

And let's not forget his comment about GI JOE in an interview just before the (disastrous) release of the Snake Eyes film:

Lorenzo di Bonaventura On The Future Of The G.I. Joe And Transformers Movies (uproxx.com)

Lorenzo has a very specific way he regards these properties and absolutely is not open to reinterpreting them. Unfortunately, as proven time and again, this more often than not in direct opposition to what people actually want. This is the same guy in that same interview boasting about how novel and creative the changes to Snake Eyes would be, which turned out to be completely changing every aspect of the character to the point he only looks like Snake Eyes in the final frame of the movie, and instead of the heavily war scarred American who wears the mask because he has no face or voice due to injuries, they made the martial arts guy an Asian pretty boy who won't shut up. I personally think the objective was trying to make him into Asian Deadpool or something, but the movie was a complete failure regardless.

So I'd say the voice test story is credible not because Don Murphy is 100% trustworthy, but because it sounds like something Lorenzo would do because the man strikes me as being one of the pettiest people alive.

 

"B-but w-wait for how he acts in the story! He might be a killer nerd!"

More like Killed Nerd, probably.

 

Thanks!

 

Yeah that unfortunately doesn't fly for me, I knew Don, I was on those boards, and he was definitely a god damn nutcase and he is DEFINITELY one of the pettiest people alive. Straight up "asking people on his internet board to dox a woman cuz he's mad his Wikipedia articles has information he doesn't like people to be reminded of" petty. He is the world's worst source on anything he worked on.

 

I said I didn't want Wheeljack to look something like this.

But looks like it is.