Did you see this year’s Kubo and the Two Strings? How about the other films made by stop-motion animation company Laika, like Coraline, Paranorman, and Boxtrolls? Did you like them? If the answers are “yes,” get excited. The head of that company, Travis Knight, is making a Transformers movie.
It’s the Bumblebee spin-off movie, to be exact. The film already has a tentative 2018 release date and a screenplay that was developed in tandem with the writer’s room that came up with Transformers: The Last Knight. Knight will now direct, making his live-action debut.
Kubo was Knight’s directorial debut, but as the head of Laika, he was a huge part of all that company’s other films as well. He has a great eye and a real knack for emotional stories, so it will be interesting to see how that translates not just to the live-action realm, but also to a film series that’s as effects-driven as Transformers.
As for what the film will be about, last year on the set of Transformers: The Last Knight, prodcuer Lorenzo DiBonaventura offered just a hint.
“It’s Bumblebee’s story,” he explained. “I don’t think you’ll see a lot more [Transformers] in it. We’ll see as it evolves.”
[Deadline]