Hailee Steinfeld in talks to star in the first Transformers spin-off

Last Updated on July 31, 2021

We're less than a month away from the release of Michael Bay's latest TRANSFORMERS opus, but following the debut of TRANSFORMERS: THE LAST KNIGHT, we'll finally get a look at what a TRANSFORMERS movie looks like without Bay at the helm. The TRANSFORMERS writers room has been busy developing an astounding number of potential movies to keep the franchise chugging along, and the next film on the slate will be BUMBLEBEE, a spin-off centered around the much-loved Autobot in the years before he joined forces with Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf).

Production on BUMBLEBEE is expected to get underway this summer and Variety reports that it may star none other than Hailee Steinfeld. The TRUE GRIT actress is currently in negotiations to star in the TRANSFORMERS spin-off, and although not much is known about the film just yet, THR adds that Steinfeld will be playing "a tomboy who also holds a job as a mechanic after school." BUMBLEBEE will be penned by Christina Hodson (UNFORGETTABLE) and Laika CEO Travis Knight will be making his live-action directorial debut with the film after impressing audiences with the excellent KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS. It's not too late to turn this TRANSFORMERS spin-off into a stop-motion animated film is it?

The official synopsis for TRANSFORMERS: THE LAST KNIGHT:

The Last Knight shatters the core myths of the Transformers franchise and redefines what it means to be a hero. Humans and Transformers are at war, Optimus Prime is gone. The key to saving our future lies buried in the secrets of the past, in the hidden history of Transformers on Earth. Saving our world falls upon the shoulders of an unlikely alliance: Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg); Bumblebee; an English Lord (Sir Anthony Hopkins); and an Oxford Professor (Laura Haddock). There comes a moment in everyone’s life when we are called upon to make a difference. In Transformers: The Last Knight, the hunted will become heroes. Heroes will become villains. Only one world will survive: theirs, or ours.

TRANSFORMERS: THE LAST KNIGHT is set for a June 21, 2017 release and will be followed by BUMBLEBEE on June 8, 2018. I wouldn't be surprised if we see that date get pushed back a bit.