Line #59 Trivia/TransformersFilmSeries


1	!!Entries with their own pages:
2
3	* ''Trivia/Transformers2007''
4	* ''Trivia/TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen''
5	* ''Trivia/TransformersDarkOfTheMoon''
6	* ''Trivia/TransformersAgeOfExtinction''
7	* ''Trivia/TransformersTheLastKnight''
8	----
9	* AuthorsSavingThrow:
10	** The decision to cancel the sixth planned film and reboot the franchise (without Michael Bay directing) can be seen as this due to the declining quality of the films. On the other hand, the now final film ends on a cliffhanger and there will be no ending for the franchise.
11	** ''Film/{{Bumblebee}}'' is clearly trying to be one, with the change of director, a lighter tone and more G1-accurate character designs. See its own page for details. Critically, it has paid off big time.
12	** Throughout all the films there has been a certain dissonance between the toys that are released versus the characters that have time in the films, either those with smaller roles [[AdvertisedExtra get the large toys]] or [[DemotedToExtra vice versa]] or otherwise not looking much like the way [[ShowAccuracyToyAccuracy the character actually appears on screen]]. The Studio Series line released in 2018 became an enormous hit for introducing new, more accurate molds of popular characters from the films but also with an attention to relative robot mode sizes. This includes a larger Leader class version of Blackout[[note]]The previous version was a Voyager class that didn't do justice to the largest character in the first film[[/note]], larger Voyager class version of Bonecrusher[[note]]The previous deluxe class sold well but didn't scale properly to replicate his epic fight with Optimus on the highway[[/note]], what is considered the only genuinely good version of Grimlock [[note]]Whose previous toys had weird proportions for his T-Rex form[[/note]] and, eventually, ''eight separate Constructicons'' that will form Devastator[[note]]The ROTF line had a couple regular figures of the individual Constructicons but were never intended to combine, there was a larger combiner figure that had no individual robot modes and a much smaller legends-class figures with both robot and vehicle modes but were ultra-simplistic[[/note]].
13	* BackedByThePentagon: Somewhat odd, considering almost every Decepticon from the first film was a military machine, and the Pentagon typically doesn't support scripts that make the military look bad. The fact that the US Armed Forces kick a considerable amount of ass in the first three movies, and the movie producers pointing out that the Decepticons picked US military machinery because it kicked the most ass, is what convinced them to sign on.
14	* CashCowFranchise: The most popular sub-series of the enormous ''Transformers'' franchise. It's made nearly $5 billion at the box office, billions more in home video and TV revenue, and has generated various spin-off media such as comics, books, and video games. Not to mention ''tons'' of merchandise.
15	* CastTheExpert:
16	** In a directing version, Michael Bay has directed many car commercials in his time. His base understanding of how to film and light cars on camera made him, incidentally, ideal to teach CG animators how they would look.
17	** Most of the military extras that shows up were ''actual'' military personnel. Most of the time, they don't even have a script beyond director Creator/MichaelBay telling them to say and do what they'd do in the situation.
18	* CastTheRunnerUp: Creator/SteveBuscemi was originally considered for Simmons. He would later voice Daytrader in ''Film/TransformersTheLastKnight''.
19	* TheCharacterDiedWithHim: [[spoiler:Dino indirectly qualifies as he likely died in ThePurge between ''DOTM'' and ''AOE''; Francesco Quinn passed away months after ''DOTM'' came out, and no voice actor replaced Quinn.]]
20	* CreatorBacklash:
21	** Creator/MeganFox has had a history of badmouthing the series and its [[Creator/MichaelBay director]], and behind-the-scenes drama (most notably her saying Bay had a Hitler-like dictator persona on set and several members of the crew responding by anonymously praising Bay while bashing Fox in an open letter without Bay's approval) was why she did not return for the third film. Interestingly, Bay laughed off her comments until Creator/StevenSpielberg (who is Jewish) asked him to fire her because he was insulted that Fox would compare his friend to Hitler.
22	** Many of the major players of the film series have expressed regrets towards ''Revenge of the Fallen''. Creator/MichaelBay in particular apologized for ''Revenge of the Fallen,'' and promised better results for ''Dark of the Moon.''
23	** Eventually the franchise became this for Bay. He was essentially forced to keep making sequels like clockwork, and being unable to make [[Film/PainAndGain a more personal movie]] until the franchise took a three-year hiatus. Ironically and hypocritically, executive producer Creator/StevenSpielberg, who bemoans the lack of originality in Hollywood, pressured Bay to keep making more sequels.
24	** Downplayed with Creator/HugoWeaving. After the films were done, Weaving said that he wasn't invested in his role as Megatron, but expressed genuine regret that he didn't care too much for the role that is so beloved by fans. Michael Bay was offended and sniped at him for the backlash.
25	** In a rather late addition, Creator/TravisKnight revealed that he disliked Michael Bay's take on Bumblebee.
26	** Creator/PeterCullen has expressed dismay at some of the more aggressive lines he is given as Optimus, and particularly singled out the line in ''Age of Extinction'' where Optimus vows to kill Harold Attinger as the line he felt was the most out of character. Peter has remained a trooper and does as asked, but he's expressed sadness at the more aggressive Optimus we see in the sequels.
27	* CreatorsPest: Creator/MichaelBay has gone on record to say he hates Arcee, and [[spoiler: happily killed her off, without much of a sendoff. He even openly said so in an interview prior to ''Revenge of the Fallen''. IDW stuck a big middle finger up to that a few years later in their ''Dark of the Moon'' prequel comics by having all three sisters as alive.]]
28	* CutShort: The series ended up being canceled and rebooted after the failure of ''Film/TransformersTheLastKnight'' and the success of ''{{Film/Bumblebee}}'', right when the former film ended on a {{Cliffhanger}}.
29	* TheDanza: Glenn Morshower as General Morshower in ROTF and DOTM.
30	* {{Defictionalization}}: The Wreckers appeared in WeaponizedCar form for the opening pace laps of the 2011 Daytona 500.
31	* DisownedAdaptation:
32	** David Wise, one of the writers for [[WesternAnimation/TheTransformers the original Transformers cartoon]], has [[https://screencrush.com/transformers-animated-retrospective/ a bone to pick with the films]]. He feels that they have less story and characters than the show he worked on, and has questioned the portrayal of Optimus Prime, mainly him [[spoiler:executing Sentinel Prime]] in ''Film/TransformersDarkOfTheMoon''. He compared the original Optimus with Abe Lincoln, and responded: "He's got to have malice toward none. And Abe Lincoln doesn't just up and bust a cap in a dude's ass because he was a turncoat." He told Michael Bay "Leave my stuff alone!" in relation to both the original ''Transformers'' cartoon and ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles1987''.
33	** Matt Moylan, the former editor and staffer for Dreamwave's ''ComicBook/TransformersGenerationOne'' comics and author of ''WebComic/LilFormers'', also expressed complete distaste to the entirety of Michael Bay's live-action films. He even claimed that the [[https://twitter.com/LilFormers/status/1079398931233153024 Transformers franchise is financially dead because of this]].
34	** [[https://twitter.com/spankzilla85/status/1079602178900348928 Matt Frank]], the artist for the ''Transformers: Beast Wars Sourcebook'', [[https://twitter.com/spankzilla85/status/1079602178900348928 reveals that he is angry for sitting through 10 years of the Bay-directed movies]] after watching ''{{Film/Bumblebee}}''.
35	** Derrick J. Wyatt, who worked on ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'', didn't care much for the way Lockdown, who he helped create, was adapted in ''Age of Extinction''. He was even less happy about the design of Hot Rod in ''The Last Knight'', responding to a tweet of the design that proudly boasted it was [[AnimationAgeGhetto "no cartoon"]] with a blunt "[[https://twitter.com/derrickjwyatt/status/761051835473928193?s=46&t=ShS5uPEPpCO7i6XGhakybQ Fuck you]]" and deriding him as a "[[InNameOnly name slap]]" in replies.
36	* EnforcedMethodActing: Most of the stunts were performed live, with no CGI. While safety measures were put in place, Creator/ShiaLaBeouf was really holding onto a statue 20 stories up and the actors were fully briefed on what kind of explosives were used to create the Scorponok sand explosion.
37	* HeAlsoDid: Mark Ryan, the voice of Bumblebee, Jetfire and Lockdown, is best known for playing Nasir in the 1980s series ''Series/RobinOfSherwood'' (the first ever Middle Eastern Merry Man who became a FountainOfExpies, inspiring most famously Morgan Freeman's character in ''Film/RobinHoodPrinceOfThieves'' but also several other Sherwood bandits).
38	* MoneyDearBoy:
39	** Apparently, the only reason Creator/MeganFox didn't quit after the ''first'' movie.
40	** Similarly, Creator/HugoWeaving freely admits to phoning in his performance, a comment that Bay evidently took personally.
41	* MoneyMakingShot: The know how to make a BigDamnMovie, with appropriately big trailer scenes
42	** Bonecrusher splitting a bus in half, then tackling Optimus in the first scene.
43	** Devastator simply forming itself together in the second.
44	** The Driller splitting a high rise in half in the third.
45	** Multiple scenes between Optimus and Grimlock in the fourth.
46	** Optimus and Bumblebee fighting in the fifth.
47	* TheOtherDarrin:
48	** Creator/FrankWelker replaces [[spoiler:Hugo Weaving]] as Galvatron's voice. It's unknown whether this is intended to be an in-universe result of [[spoiler: the new body]] or just a plain old case of TheOtherDarrin. The fact that he is back as Megatron in the fifth film implies the latter.
49	** In ''Dark of The Moon'', Sideswipe is voiced by Creator/JamesRemar instead of André Sogliuzzo. In a confusing audio mix-up[[note]] and if one pays attention, [[OffModel was clearly animated to say it]][[/note]] Barricade spoke with Soundwaves' voice, thus technically Jess Harnell was replaced by Creator/FrankWelker.
50	** The video games based upon the films often have different voice actors for several characters for cost reasons or due to the movie's casting of a character for the movie proper not being revealed until it's close to release or already released. However, it seems that if Optimus is in some tie-in material, you can expect that Peter Cullen will voice him.
51	*** In a [[ZigZaggedTrope Zig-Zag]] of this trope where the original actor replaces the replacement, Frank Welker fills in as Megatron for most tie-in games, and [[VocalDissonance makes it clear why his voice wasn't considered to fit this version of Megatron.]]
52	* PermanentPlaceholder: Mark Ryan was the person on set to be [[ActingForTwo the voice of all the different robots]], before other actors would portray them in post production. In different films he ended up cast as Bumblebee, Jetfire and Lockdown.
53	* PlayingAgainstType: Mark Ryan previously voiced the heroic Bumblebee and Jetfire. Now he voices Lockdown, a cold, fierce bounty hunter.
54	* TheRedStapler: There has been an increase in the popularity of twin black racing stripes for custom paint jobs, whether or not they are yellow, Camaro's or even sports cars.
55	* RoleReprise:
56	** Creator/PeterCullen voices Optimus Prime, as he did in [[WesternAnimation/TheTransformers the original cartoon]].
57	** In the Brazilian dub, José Santa Cruz and José Santanna reprise their respective roles as Megatron and Starscream from the original cartoon and ''Anime/TransformersArmada''. Creator/GuilhermeBriggs reprises his role as Optimus from ''Anime/TransformersRobotsInDisguise'' and ''Armada''.
58	* ShowAccuracyToyAccuracy:
59	** One of the eternal demands of the fans. Despite the divisiveness of the films, the toys are of an unbelievable high quality. This is especially surprising given the ''thousands of parts'' that make the movies' CG models, yet they were still able to create [[http://tfwiki.net/w2/images2/c/ce/ROTF_Leader_OptimusPrime.jpg this Optimus Prime toy]].
60	** Takara's gone a step further with [[http://tfwiki.net/w2/images2/8/89/ROTF_Leader_BusterOptimusPrime.jpg Buster Optimus Prime.]]
61	** [[http://tfwiki.net/w2/images2/0/01/ROTF-toy_leader_Starscream.jpg Leader Class Starscream also leads to rejoicing.]]
62	** And then there's the ''Studio Series'' line. The premise of the entire line is to make new versions of characters from across the movie series, with particular attention to them being ''in scale with each other'' (as well as redesigning characters that had inaccurate toys due to [[ProductionLeadTime an evolving character design with the movies]]). This resulted in characters like Blackout and Bonecrusher getting better toys than originally released.
63	* ThrowItIn:
64	** Creator/MichaelBay is a fan of playing around with the script. Shia was hired based on how well he could improv. Also, the reason Sam's friend Miles starts climbing a tree at the lake party is because the actor started doing it in between takes and Bay thought it was a goofy thing the character would do.
65	** DOTM is introducing a "third" form for the Transformers, a battle-ready vehicle mode reminiscent of ''WesternAnimation/{{MASK}}''. The reason seems to be because Creator/MichaelBay saw the sub-line of the previous movie toy-line called "Stealth Force" that presented a very similar mode and liked the look. The Wreckers' NASCAR altmodes appear to have this form as their only vehicle mode (specifically, armored versions of the #42 of Juan Pablo Montoya, the #48 of Jimmie Johnson, and the #88 of Dale Earnhardt, Jr.).
66	* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
67	** Sam would've originally had the nickname of "Spike", and while the door was open for him to gain it in the sequels, it never happened. "Spike" does eventually get used in the fourth movie...as a nickname for Scorn, the Spino-Bot.
68	** Optimus Prime was originally going to be voiced by Creator/LiamNeeson, and the animators were instructed to model Prime's body language off of him. One of the producers encouraged Michael Bay to get Optimus' original voice actor, Creator/PeterCullen, and Bay decided after the audition that no one else could voice the character.
69	** Soundwave was among the cast of the first film, but the production team couldn't agree on a way to portray him, so they left him for the sequel. Blackout, Barricade and Frenzy became DecompositeCharacter's, all serving roles Soundwave would've in one way or another.
70	** Arcee was in the initial Autobot line-up, but was replaced by Ironhide when the writers felt it would take too much time to explain a female robot. The issue would go unaddressed in ''Revenge of the Fallen'' when she debuted there.
71	** Princeton University was going to be named in ''Revenge of the Fallen'' as Sam's university, but Princeton refused to allow it after learning of the pot brownie scene.
72	** The Fallen would've been sealed in a sarcophagus, something that made it into IDW fiction, but he ended up just sitting in the ''Nemesis'' in the film, something that shocked Chris Mowry (who took pains to write the complicated subplot). Also, Megatron was originally to deliver the global ultimatum, but it ended up going to The Fallen to give him more screen-time.
73	** Optimus would've been NotQuiteDead, only in stasis lock after the forest battle.
74	** Ransack, an ancient biplane Seeker was to briefly harass Jetfire before literally being Curbstomped to death.
75	** A subplot regarding The Fallen falsely promising Megatron Primehood was dropped.
76	** Sentinel Prime was originally Ultra Magnus; as a DevelopmentGag, the design ILM fashioned for the Magnus character is the face that Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong stumble upon (the one the dust collapses onto).
77	** A scene where Sentinel observes the world's need for more playgrounds was cut, as was a meeting between Optimus and the President (the latter was likely cut to to the [[SarcasmMode total likelihood]] of Obama filming a scene for a movie while, you know, leading the free world).
78	** Mudflap and Skids would've returned only in a [[DemotedToExtra minor role]], and then getting [[TakeThatScrappy killed off]], but due to the sheer critical backlash against them, Bay excised them from the film almost entirely (they can still be glimpsed in a brief scene at the NEST HQ).
79	** Que/Wheeljack would've fallen into the Chicago river and have been killed by aquatic Decepticons. Similarly, Dino/Mirage was going to be killed by Starscream, and his corpse would've been used to taunt the hostage Autobots,
80	** [[spoiler: Megatron and Optimus would've explicitly teamed up against Sentinel, and killed him together with his own cosmic rust gun. Megatron, weary of the war, would've sincerely asked for a truce so he could leave to find and rebuild Cybertron, and Optimus would've allowed it. In the film proper, Megatron is less than sincere (still pointing a gun at Optimus and condescending him), and Optimus tears his head off.]]
81	** A scene from ''Age of Extinction'' featuring Tessa dancing with Bumblebee and Hound was shown in the TV spot trailer but ultimately cut from the final film.
82	** Lockdown would've had a poncho and a design more evocative of his ''Animated'' counterpart.
83	** Concept art of ''Velociraptor'', ''Apatosaurus'', ''Stegosaurus'', and ''Parasaurolophus'' Dinobots can be found. The ''Velociraptor'', Slash, was intended to be featured in the film, while the ''Apatosaurus'' Slog and ''Stegosaurus'' Snarl were only featured in the toy line.
84	** A silver-toned upgrade for Optimus was planned and heavily featured in the toy line but was ultimately cut.
85	** A sixth film was planned and would've continued from the storyline in ''[[Film/TransformersTheLastKnight The Last Knight]]'', but it was cancelled due to the film's poor performance and Hasbro ultimately deciding to retool ''Bumblebee'' from a prequel to a ContinuityReboot of the film series, thus ending the Bayformers series.
86	** Peter Cullen reprises his role as Optimus Prime for the Michael Bay films, but he does not reprise his role as Ironhide. Frank Welker returns as the voices of Soundwave and Ravage, but his other characters (Megatron, Frenzy and Laserbeak) have new actors. He was going to portray Megatron once more, but Michael Bay decided that Welker's voice didn't match his vision for Megatron. Though he ''would'' get to voice Galvatron in AOE, and ultimately reclaimed the role of Megatron in TLK.
87	** Amusingly, Creator/FrankWelker's brief lines for Shockwave in DOTM sound an awful lot like his G1 Megatron voice. Fans have also noted (often derisively) Soundwave sounding similar to [[WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget Doctor Claw]]... which, amusingly is because Soundwave's voice ''is'' the same as Claw's; the vocoder effect from G1 was what made them different.
88	* YouLookFamiliar: Mark Ryan was the person on set who would voice all the robot characters to give the actors someone to react and respond to, while the official voice actors would record their lines months later. Ryan would go on to be [[PermanentPlaceholder cast in a number of voice roles]] across the films, most notably providing Bumblebee's few lines in the first film, Jetfire in ''Revenge of the Fallen'' and Lockdown in ''Age of Extinction.''

Context Trivia / TransformersFilmSeries