***THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS PLOT SPOILERS FOR THE FINAL ACT OF Travis Knight's BUMBLEBEE***
After racing past the $400 million mark at the worldwide box office this past week, it's been reportedly that Travis Knight's TRANSFORMERS spinoff, BUMBLEBEE, could be getting a sequel. Deadline was the first outlet to wave the checkered flag on this news, in addition to revealing that fan favorite Autobot, Optimus Prime, could be riding shotgun alongside the expressive B-127 vehicular hero for the sequel.
Of course, this should come as no surprise for those who turned up at the cinema for Paramount's latest attempt at bringing the Robots in Disguise to the big screen, as they assuredly witnessed Bumblebee teaming up with Prime toward the close of the film. From what I've gathered, Prime arrives during the film's final act. Shortly thereafter, the transformative duo then ride off into the sunset, presumably in search of a new adventure. Be that as it may, fans of the revitalized series are now hopeful that Prime will remain as a key player for the rebooted property, which will undoubtedly introduce audiences to other '80s-inspired versions of the TRANSFORMERS characters as well.
"We had many objectives (including) to bring a new set of families into the series, and that succeeded; in the after markets that will continue to succeed in a big way," says Lorenzo Di Bonaventura, a longtime producer of the TRANSFORMERS franchise.
Di Bonaventura then added, "Part of our obligation was to bring people back who had left the franchise or never experienced it which worked well… We are finding our way. Our intention was we wanted to please the core fans but also bring a new audience."
While BUMBLEBEE's current box office totals are impressive enough already, it's worth noting that the film has yet to open in Japan, where the Little Transformer that Could is likely to add even more gas to a tank that's already brimming with success.
Are you interested in there being a sequel to Travis Knight's BUMBLEBEE, or would you rather the series return to Bay's explosive take on the franchise? Let us know in the comments section below.