I’ve got good news. Michael Bay has (almost) nothing to do with this one… yay.

After some (one) good but mostly bad Bay-formers films we are finally getting one not directly attached to Bay himself. This is, however, not a reboot. The first film without Bay is set to be a Bumblebee spinoff taking place in the 1980’s. To make things a little better Optimus Prime is supposed to make some kind of appearance. But what kind of appearance would that be? This is set before the first movie, so he shouldn’t be on Earth yet. Maybe it’ll be some sort of holographic communication? Or maybe we’ll actually get to see Optimus talking to Bumblebee on the Ark? Wait! Maybe we’ll actually get to see Cybertron! …When it’s not blown to pieces, anyway. Either way, more Optimus is always a good thing. He is the best part of pretty much all the movies.

It’s likely this will focus on how Bumblebee got to Earth. Maybe this can do what the 2015 show Robots in Disguise failed to do? That last movie did establish that there have been Transformers on Earth for a long time. I would just be happy with a decent story for once. The first Bay-formers film was okay, with some really good bits and pieces. All I want is one that isn’t subpar. Personally, I would be happy if they just reboot the whole Bay-formers and started fresh. This might be their way of doing just that (though is extremely unlikely).

Well, who’s making this one? Maybe that’ll give us a little hope? The film is being directed by Travis Knight, the guy behind Kubo and the Two Strings. And that… is his only other director credit. Oh. Good. Well, he was in the animation department on a ton of other stop-motion films. So… at least the movie might look pretty? The screenplay is being written by Christina Hodson, the writer for Unforgettable and Shut In… and that’s… it. Lady, I hope you’re good at this. I really hope you’re good at this. I’m praying that you’re good at this.

Well, it’s not happening anytime soon. Bumblebee is set to hit theaters on December 21, 2018, starring John Cena, Hailee Steinfeld, and… Pamela Adlon? Wait… she does a lot of voices. Could she be voicing a Transformer? Could it be Arcee?! Please be Arcee! (Chris Note: No. Please don’t be. We don’t need you screwing with the sanctity of one of the three good female Transformers).