‘Transformers 5’ Poster Confirms A Dark Turn For Optimus Prime
A Transformers 5 poster has been released, and it appears to confirm almost everything the first teaser did. Optimus Prime is seen holding a massive sword over a pile of rock and the remains of what seems to be Bumblebee.
This is a risky maneuver for the franchise known for its explosions and the usually heroic intentions on which Optimus acts. Bumblebee has been a staple character from the beginning, having brought Shia LaBeouf’s Sam Witwicky into a battle he was apparently destined to help fight. For clarification on how that happened, see Revenge of the Fallen.
Sam was suddenly not so important to the overall plot when Mark Wahlberg took over as a genius scrapper/inventor who found Optimus by accident in Age of Extinction. The beginning of that film was the first time we’d seen the heroic semi at odds with his heroic side, apparently ready to leave the humans to their fate and let the Decepticons rule them. This is because the war had almost been lost due to humans siding with the Decepticons, and it took Cade and his family to convince Optimus that humans are worth fighting for.
According to Cinema Blend, it seems Optimus has lost his heroic nature once more and slaughtered Bumblebee, which might be a shocking change for fans. From the start, Bumblebee was barely more than a walking iPod who happened to take the form of a cherry condition Chevrolet Camaro as his disguise, but he was well-liked.
The theory behind the Transformers 5 teaser and poster is that the creators reprogrammed Optimus Prime to forget his rebellious heroic ways and give in to the Decepticon way of thinking. The biggest hole in this theory comes from the teaser, where he clearly says “forgive me” before killing Bumblebee. This might indicate that he’s trying to fight his reprogramming and become “the last knight,” as the title suggests.
Another possibility is that Unicron is somehow involved, as there was a glimpse in the teaser of what looked like a giant horn in space. That horn is one of Unicron’s trademarks, as a massive planet-eating robot who is considered to be the father of the Decepticons. If this character is involved, The Last Knight could be the writers’ attempt to bring the story of the original animated movie into their own.
Of course, with Michael Bay in the director’s chair, through no fault of his own (he tried to get someone else to take his place), the armchair critics are going to hate it before they’ve even seen it. He is up against some nearly impossible odds to try to please the fans, which might be why he’s taking the chance of turning Optimus against his own kind.
Another element of the poster is the background, which appears to be the smoking ruins of something massive being held up by a giant net. This could be purely symbolic, a sign that a lot of carnage is going to take place, like a major war.
It’s unknown if Optimus Prime is the titular “last knight” or if it’s someone else who stops him to earn the title. The Harry Potter series did the same thing with The Half-Blood Prince, making us guess until the very end who the title was referring to.
The Transformers 5 poster clearly portrays a darker scenario than the previous films, possibly indicating more of a war movie or apocalypse setting. If it’s the latter, Michael Bay is treading some very dangerous ground. Very few recent apocalypse movies have been well-received, even the X-Men one with Bryan Singer at the helm.
Could this film surprise us and make Hot Rod the “last knight,” despite what Screen Rant suggests?
[Feature Image by Paramount Pictures]
