New Bumblebee trailer looks closer to classic Transformers than ever

The simple story of a girl and her giant murderous robot

An entire cinematic universe springing off of Michael Bay’s interpretation of Transformers may sound like a complete nightmare on paper, but this new trailer for Travis Knight’s (Kubo and the Two Strings) Bumblebee prequel film may be proof that the franchise can become just what fans want it to be under better hands. All you need is a relatable story, some classic designs, and apparently, John Cena.

To be fair though, this seems like the same “child and their dog” story that audiences have seen hundreds of times, the “child” played by True Grit’s Hailee Steinfeld, and the dog here is replaced by an alien cybernetic robot that turns into a damn car. Couple that with the conflict involving some sort of military unit (led by Cena’s character) that doesn’t trust the Transformers, and you have basically have the same Transformers movie you’ve been getting for the past decade now.

But man, did you see those classic G1 Transformers design in that trailer? Did you see how square Optimus Prime looked? Was that Soundwave? I’m not even that big a fan of Transformers, but I can only imagine how these brief images are a form of catharsis to fans of classic Transformers who are undoubtedly tired of all the bits and pieces from Michael Bay’s aesthetic.

We don’t know where the Transformers films are going after this, with a sixth mainline film in the series having been taken off of Paramount’s schedule, in lieu of a possible reboot. If this is the last hoorah of this era of Transformers films, let’s hope that it’s a good one. Bumblebee hits theaters on December 21.