Fan favorite robot-in-disguise Bumblebee will star in an upcoming Transformers film, Hasbro has announced. During a recent call with investors, Tom Warner, Habsro's senior vice president in charge of the Transformers franchise, revealed that the film scheduled for 2018 would focus on Bumblebee.
The film will serve as the series' first spinoff, with Transformers 6 instead to follow in 2019. The Bumblebee-starring film will debut on June 8, 2018, going up against the sequel to Godzilla.
Details are slim right now about the silent Autobot's first feature. Hasbro and film distributor Paramount recently announced that the Transformers franchise would release on an annual schedule starting next year. The companies also said last year that it was crafting an expanded cinematic universe that will incorporate films, games, cartoons and toys as well.
A writers' room approach will be taken to create these interconnected releases, with various screenwriters collaborating on future film installments and related Transformers entries.
Next up for the series is 2017's Transformers 5, which will see the return of both longtime director Michael Bay and Transformers: Age of Extinction star Mark Wahlberg.