With Michael Bay out of the way for the first time, Paramount's inaugural Transformers spinoff actually looks good.
Tuesday, Paramount dropped the first trailer for Bumblebee, helmed by Kubo and the Two Strings director and ParaNorman producer/animator Travis Knight. The late 80s-set film, starring Hailee Steinfeld, was written by Christina Hodson. Catch the first trailer up top.
"When I was a kid, I spent hours playing with Transformers toys and making up stories about these amazing characters, so it's been an incredible adventure to come to set every day to tell the story of who Bumblebee is and why we love him," Knight said Monday when teasing the new trailer.
The origin story begins in a junkyard, where Steinfeld's character stumbles upon a very special—i.e. it's Bumblebee—Volkswagen Beetle. The Oscar nominee is joined by John Cena, Pamela Adlon, Kenneth Choi, Jorge Lendeborg Jr., and more.
When asked back in December if the relationship her character has with Bumblebee is similar to the one Shia LaBeouf's character had in the original trilogy, Steinfeld explained her interpretation of the new story. "It is in that Bumblebee is the same," she toldCollider. "He is who he is—that lovable, gentle giant who truly cares. I'm somebody who makes this discovery and is looking for someone to listen to me and to love me and to hear me and that happens to be where he fills the gap."
Bumblebee hits theaters Dec. 21.
