Bumblebee falls before Prime in new Transformers: The Last Knight poster

Mention the ‘Transformers’ movies, and there are one or two things we immediately expect: giant robots changing into fancy vehicles, and epic displays of mass destruction. One thing we might not anticipate, though, is the most beloved Transformer of them all, Autobot leader Optimus Prime, being the bad guy.

However, this is just what the marketing for upcoming fifth instalment ‘Transformers: The Last Knight’ is pointing towards – and, as has been hinted at since the first trailers arrived, the film will see Prime come to blows with his most trusted soldier, Bumblebee.

Such a moment is sure to be a big deal to fans of the mega-blockbuster series, so it’s little surprise that this latest poster for the Michael Bay-directed sequel puts this confrontation front and centre.

Hot on the heels of Vin Diesel’s Dominic Turreto going ‘rogue’ in ‘Fast & Furious 8,’ 2017 seems to be the year in which our big screen heroes turn to the dark side – and yet, as was also the case with Dom in ‘Fast 8,’ it seems Prime has his reasons for turning against his friends.

The official synopsis for the fifth ‘Transformers’ movie tells us, “‘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.”

While it’s expected to be Michael Bay’s last film (he’s directed all five films so far, starting with the 2007 original), this is by no means the end of the series – nor is it necessarily the end of Bumblebee, as the yellow Autobot has his own solo movie scheduled for 2018, from writer-director Travis Knight.

An as-yet untitled sixth ‘Transformers’ is also lined up for 2019, for which a director has not yet been announced.

‘Transformers: The Last Knight’ opens in UK cinemas on 23 June.

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