Hailee Steinfeld, one of the stars of the upcoming Transformers spinoff film Bumblebee, has revealed the first look at her character, Charlie Watson. Paramount's prized cash cow is in a state of flux right now, after the disappointing critical and commercial (for this franchise's standards) showings of this summer's Transformers: The Last Knight. The property's writers room, which was led by Oscar winner Akiva Goldsman, was recently disbanded as the studio tries to figure out a new game plan for the future. In the meantime, there are still a couple of projects on the slate coming through the pipeline - beginning with next year's Bumblebee.
As the title suggests, the film will revolve around the popular Autobot Bumblebee, who was heavily featured in the previous five installments helmed by Michael Bay. This offshoot is conceived as a 1980s-set prequel with a premise that has drawn favorable comparisons to Brad Bird's animated classic The Iron Giant. Bumblebee has assembled quite an interesting creative team, with Steinfeld (herself an Academy Award nominee) at the forefront of the production. Many of the details about the film have been kept under wraps, but now the actress has shared the first image of Charlie Watson as she gears up to start filming.
Taking to Twitter, Steinfeld posted the photo, which you can see below. With her hairstyle and outfit (complete with ripped jeans and a Motorhead shirt), she looks very much like a child of the '80s, illustrating how Bumblebee will bring its time period to life.
It will be interesting to see what connections between Bumblebee and the mainline Transformers movies exist, since it sounds like Steinfeld's Charlie is a completely new character with no ties to the source material or previous movies. That would probably be for the best, as the series could use some fresh blood as it looks to rebound following The Last Knight. Obviously, the spinoff is part of the same series, but right now it seems as if it's going to embrace its standalone nature and try to tell an entertaining story about its titular robot in disguise bonding with Charlie. Based on the synopsis, Steinfeld is set to have a lead role. The youngster has demonstrated much talent in her career, receiving widespread praise for her turns in films like True Grit and The Edge of Seventeen, so she should make for a valuable addition to Transformers.
With principal photography on Bumblebee starting ahead of the film's December 2018 release date, fans will be hoping to learn more about the project in the near future. There is still a number of undisclosed roles, including the one belonging to John Cena. Several big-budget tentpoles in the past have embraced mystery to great effect, but Paramount is in a position where they need Bumblebee to be a smashing success. It wouldn't be surprising if they tried to drum up excitement early on with key information.
MORE: Who Could John Cena Be Playing In Bumblebee?
Source: Hailee Steinfeld
