Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was a pretty big disappointment last summer. After the first movie debuted in 2007 to launch a massive film franchise and re-ignite Hasbro's merchandise toylines, we hoped Michael Bay would take the criticisms of his first summer Robot explosion party and improve upon it for the sequel.

Needless to say, our hopes were dashed and we instead were treated to a rushed and convoluted movie which increased on the problems of the first Transformers. Going forward, it's hard for our expectations on Transformers 3 to sink any lower and Michael Bay seemingly understands this.

For that reason, Bay is admitting to some of the problems of Transformers 2 and is willing to accept some of the criticism, while offering his plan of how to bring back some love for the Cybertronians in TF3.

"I'll take some of the criticism... It was very hard to put (the sequel) together that quickly after the writers' strike (of 2007-08)."

The strike certainly explains the scenes with Sam Witwicky's (Shia LaBeouf) mom getting drugged up on campus and the dog humping shots...

Fixing the Franchise

So, what will Transformers 3 do differently to win back fans and deliver something new for the franchise? According to Bay, there's no more of the childish forced humor and many characters will be killed off. And when they say characters will die in Transformers 3, they mean no more resurrections (a la Megatron and Optimus Prime).

Michael Bay already informed the world a month ago that the film-ruining characters of Skids and Mudflap (the twins) would not be back for Transformers 3 and that's a big step forward. But in this latest interview with USA Today, Bay revises what he says about them to, "they're basically gone." It seems pretty evident that the characters will only cameo before being quickly killed off. At least we hope that's the case.

The Story of Transformers 3

The story of Transformers 3 also promises to bring an interesting plot centered around the space race between the Soviet Union and the United States, hinting that there was some alien influence guiding what happened in one of the most notable aspects of the Cold War.

"The movie is more of a mystery... It ties in what we know as history growing up as kids with what really happened."

Let me guess; The Apollo 11 command craft, Columbia, is an Autobot!

Continue to Page 2 to find out who the villain of Transformers 3 along with confirmation that the movie is coming in 3D!

Transformers 3 story about Space Race - Apollo 11 Transformer

The Villain of Transformers 3

Another tidbit of information was revealed in the USA Today report that may get some of the more hardcore Transformers fans excited and that's the news of who the villain of Transformers 3 will be. According to the report, after Michael Bay cursed at how bad The Fallen was as the villain in Revenge of the Fallen, Shockwave will be the feature villain in Transformers 3.

For those who don't know, Shockwave is a Decepticon whose power rivals that of their leader, Megatron. Unlike the other Decepticons in many ways, Shockwave is both unique in his character traits and visual design. He is more robotic in look, with only one eye and his alternative form is that of a giant cannon instead of an Earth-based disguise.

Shockwave is second in command to Megatron and while he acts in a more more scientific, precise and civil manner compared to the wild beast-like mentality of his allies, he is ruthlessly destructive in combatting Autobots.

Here's the original Shockwave we know and love [click to enlarge]:

Shockwave as Transformers 3 villain

As it turns out, Transformers 3 will be coming at us in 3D and this will no doubt be done in post-production (the bad 3D) due to the rushed production schedule.

Shie LaBeouf returns as the star and joining him as his new love interest (replacing Megan Fox) will be Victoria’s Secret model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. Most familiar faces will return along with our Cybertronian friends.

If you missed them, some set photos for Transformers 3 hit the web on Tuesday and while they depicted only characters we're already familiar with, they do reveal the new paint job for one of the veteran Autobot characters.

What do you think about these Transformers 3 updates?

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Transformers 3 arrives in theaters July 1, 2011.

Source: USA Today

Shockwave art by Draven