2005 Boards Member Optimus_Prowl attended a test screening of Transformers: Bumblebee earlier this year and shared info with our members several months back. Following the release of the movie, he was very kind to talk with us and discuss the differences between the initial test screening and the finalized version of the movie.
Although we would like to keep exact details on the ‘Read More…’ section of this news post due to spoiler reasons, it is worth noting here that the mystery of Martin Short‘s missing voice over work is finally solved. According to Optimus_Prowl, the voice work was included on a scene which was later removed from the final movie.
Transformers: Bumblebee initial test screening had more scenes linking straight up with the rest of the previous movies from Bayverse. However, such links were heavily removed to create the “pre-boot” movie we received as the final product.
You can read the details after the jump, and leave a thought on the thread associated with this news post.
Spoilers Below!
Note: Information from Optimus_Prowl are scattered across this thread and several other threads. The following is a consolidation of the info.
Opening of the movie lacked the Cybertron sequence in the initial Test Screening. However, it had an opening narration done by Dylan O’Brien (voice of Bumblebee).
“In the prescreener it opened with a shot of earth from space with a quick few lines of exposition from Bee before we cut to the jeeps and Humvee already chasing Bumblebee. We never see him crash-land or have a Cybertronian mode.”
Unlike the final movie, Bumblebee is already on Earth, alluding to the WWII scenario from Transformers: The Last Knight.
“The Entire Opening was new and the earth sequence was re-shot scene to have John Cena and his crew in training exercise in a random forest rather than already hunting Bumblebee in a forest Bee is hiding in.
Majority of Cena and Powell’s dialogue has been re-shot to remove Sector 7’s prior knowledge of transformers and Cena being xenophobic towards them due to a person close to him being killed by one at some point has also been removed from the final version.”
Which brings us to a very different version of Agent Burns:
“Cena’s dialogue was also re-shot in [the final version] to make him funnier when in the pre-screener he was much more serious and cut throat. Some of these more intense lines still come through like when he and the general are listening to Powell gush about the Decepticons creating the internet. The first line about “Powell being weird” is re-shot but the rest is the original scene hence why he seems a bit more serious. This shift in his performance may be whats throwing some people off about him as there are are two distinct performances being twisted together.”
Regarding the flashback sequence:
“The flashback with Prime fighting the Decepticons on Cybertron when Bee sees his hologram was newly added. It originally just played the message.”
A large scene from the middle of the movie has been removed. This scene included Allspark energy leaking from Bumblebee giving life to the appliances at Watson household. This scene included voice work by Martin Short. The pre-school book retains this scene with an artwork (see news post image). The reference to the Allspark is also removed.
“There was a whole sequence removed at Charlie’s house after Bumblebee accidentally over charging outlet and brings several household appliances to life while they are still plugged in. This causes Memo to call Charlie to come home from work and help with the situation. She returns home and then the two fight off all the appliances and electronics by cutting their power cords, hence why the mother asks later why Charlie cut the power cord for the TV. Very slapstick-y and over the top from what I remember. Almost gremlins-esque?”
Golden Gate Bridge ending remains unchanged:
“The final shot at the Golden Gate Bridge with Bee turning into a Camaro and following Optimus was the same in both cuts”
Several people who attended test screenings confirmed a scene involving Megatron frozen inside Hoover Dam. We now have the exact detail:
“A scene that was cut from the end in final version was a Sector 7 scene between Cena, Simmons, and the General talking about how the Autobots must never know about NBE-1 which is revealed to be a frozen G1 styled Megatron, fusion cannon and all, that has the same aesthetic as the Cybertonian bots from the new opening sequence.”
Post credit scenes are later additions:
“Both post credits scenes were brand new in the final release, those being Bee and Prime walking along and watching more Autobots coming to Earth and Charlie finishing her father’s car.”
“Everything else was essentially the same between both versions, just cut slightly faster in some places to keep the pacing steady.”
Digger
I mean they’re also accurate in terms of transformations that betray physics.
VikingiGamer
I guess the Bayformers are really G1-accurate then.
Sagitta
And here I thought Generation 1 had continuity errors. The Bayformer movies have them beat.
Smasher
I really wish they had come out and said this was a reboot.
I was at Gamestop yesterday and I spoke with the manager about all the good movies that had come out this holiday season.
He liked Aquaman. He liked Spider-verse. I asked him about Bumblebee and he said he was done with the "nonsense and explosions" of the Transformers films.
I told him it was a reboot, they had started over and were telling a better story and he had no idea it was a reboot.
Then another customer said he didn't realize it was a reboot either.
While I think "directionless mania" is a good way to describe the Bay films, I actually think Bay had a direction.
I think that he was actively trying to ruin the Transformers.
How many aspects of the film got worse?
There is the overt sexualization of Megan Fox's underage character, to the explicit sexualization of Nicola Peltz's character because she is underage, followed by the sexualization of fourteen-year-old Isabela Moner.
There is the fans' voicing their dislike of Optimus Prime's murderous behavior. Did Michael Bay listen? Yes. And he made Prime even more murderous.
And then, in The Last Knight, there is Canopy, a Transformer who literally turns into trash.
If that's not a metaphor for how Michael Bay views the franchise then nothing is.
Or completely forgets aspects of prior movies like Megatron becoming Galvatron, or Optimus having the destructive Seed with him when one movie ends, but no mention of it in the next movie.
But I think my favorite is Bumblebee's being inexplicably immortal in The Last Knight. It appears that Bee just can't be killed -and it's not even mentioned, by anyone.
That's a valid point, to be sure.
But it loses it's validity when the concept is revisited every single movie.
And not only are there the historical aspects that happened off screen or in flashbacks, but there are also the events that we the viewer watched unfold that got changed.
There were three movies with Sam Witwicky.
We, the viewers, watched Sam Witwicky discover The Transformers and have adventures with them.
We went on that ride with him.
Then, in The Last Knight, we find out that Sam Witwicky and his whole family are the last surviving members of a society that has helped the Autobots for centuries.
And that society is literally named after them, The Witwiccans.
How is it for three movies no one involved acted like they knew they were members of The Witwiccans?
Why didn't Sir Edmund Burton, or any of The Witwiccans, or any of the potentially hundreds of Autobots that have been on Earth for decades or centuries help during any of the other four movies?
Optimus literally sends out a message to any Autobots that are listening at the end of every movie.
None of the Autobots already on Earth responded?
MindChamber
It didnt feel lower quality to me, just different. He had a G1 face, but had loads of moving panels and intricate designs.. what turned me off was the fact they couldn't have give Bee a more similar face. It couldve been a hybrid of the two.
Sagitta
Personally saw that as what soldiers did when refusing to answer interregation questions: "name, rank, serial number".
Digger
I thought the pods were just sent to random locations with little control. Like how would bee know what a forest is and if it’s uninhabited. It’s a nice thought but I’m not sure if it really works.
Yeah that seems about right.
Digger
Yeah I don’t get why you’d spoiler tag that. Heck why would you spoiler tag something in a thread that already has a spoiler warning?
Sablebot
Or, maybe the fact from jumpstreet that Bay and Lorenzo were among the 10 producers of BB. . .
They put Travis out front like he was running the show: typical PR move. . .
darkspellmaster
1. Probably a nod to the actual agency that was funded for a while to study some flying anomalies. They probably mostly do tracking for spy planes and other such things at first with the added edition of watching for the UFOs.
2. Assuming that that area is normally uninhabited, since it is forest, my guess was that Bee was landing there to not get spotted. At most they would have found probably a what they would have thought were meteorites and left it to that. But Burns and co happened to be there and thus he was spotted. Blitzwing probably followed him.
3. My guess is it goes, Megatron, Shockwave, Soundwave -as communications officer, and then Starscream. I get the feeling that Shockwave is a ground and field commander, and Starscream is head of the air support. So he follows orders from Shockwave, but maybe not Soundwave as they may be the same Rank just different jobs and Shockwave has Soundwave act as his second when he's in the role of leader.
Terrellatron
Creator of the thread asked to keep everything in le spoiler tags when discussing about what he saw I'm only following his demands
Ephland
Since when is fan art considered a spoiler?
Terrellatron
Which is also weird in a way due to Soundwave coming to the earth in the 70s as discussed in DOTM
Terrellatron
Temenos
I think they've done enough of that as well, to be honest.
Powersa
Thanks for sharing. Personally I'm glad the final release cut the ties from 2007 movie/NBE1. Seeing Bumblebee as prequel of Bay universe might sound like cool concept but it means a frozen Megatron until 2007, in other words Optimus had landed in 80s but without rivalry for another 25 years. I don't know about you guys but another movie with main villains at Shatter/Dropkick class would seem lacking to me. Hopefully they unleash the beast and travel around the globe next time. Hard for me to sit through another movie of home -> work -> military base -> home.
Rumblestorm
Would be nice if this version was released on DVD, kind of how like XMen: Days of Future Past had the Rogue Cut released.
Tekmen
But those cut scenes? Were they finished?