Michael Bay Was Pitched An R-Rated Bumblebee Movie

When you think of Transformer’s Bumblebee, Quentin Tarantino probably doesn’t come to mind. […]

September 5, 2017, 11:03pm

When you think of Transformer‘s Bumblebee, Quentin Tarantino probably doesn’t come to mind. The vocally challenged hot-rod has become one of the franchise’s most memorable figures, and Paramount Pictures plans to capitalize on the bot’s popularity with a spin-off film. So far, there are few details out there about the anticipated standalone, but Michael Bay did let it slip that plenty of ideas were pitched for the film, and one of them was decidedly R-rated.

Collider recently spoke to the director about Bumblebee’s on-screen future, and Bay said he wished an R-rated Transformers movie could be made. While that dream will probably never be realized, it has not stopped Paramount’s writers room from spinning out NSFW storylines, and Bay told the site one such idea would have made Tarantino proud.

Videos by ComicBook.com

“You know, yeah, that would be fun,” Bay said about an R-rate installment. “There’s actually one idea that would be really fun R rated, with Bumblebee. I don’t wanna say, but it would be really fun. Very Quentin [Tarantino], you know.”

Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura shed more light on the status of Bumblebee’s standalone flick. He stressed the movie would focus on the yellow Transformer and his story.

“It’s bumblebee’s story. I don’t think you’ll see a lot more in it,” Bonaventure said. “We’ll see as it evolves. In the treatment form? No.”

Currently, the film is being written with Christina Hodson leading the charge. Bay will be involved with the project as it continues to develop, but no director or executive crew members have been tapped as of yet.

If you are looking forward to the Bumblebee film, then Bonaventura said you will want to see Transformers: The Last Knight when it hits theaters. The producer hinted the blockbuster will set up the spin-off in certain ways.

“Some of the things will have a very direct relationship,” he teased. “You’ll see some things in here that are laying a pipe. You won’t necessarily know that it’s laying a pipe for another movie, but it’s there.”

The cast of Transformers: The Last Knight features Mark Wahlberg (Planet of the Apes) as Cade Yeager, Isabela Moner (100 Things To Do Before High School) as Izabella, Josh Duhamel (Life as We Know It) as Lieutenant Colonel William Lennox, John Turturro (The Big Lebowski) as Seymour Simmons, and Tyrese Gibson (Furious 7) as Robert Epps, as well as Jerrod Carmichael (Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising), Anthony Hopkins (Thor: The Dark World). The voice cast includes Peter Cullen as Optimus Prime and John Goodman (10 Cloverfield Lane) as Hound.

Michael Bay, who has directed the previous four installments in Transformers live-action film franchise, returns to direct the fifth installment. Transformers: The Last Knight was written by a trio of screenwriters: Art Marcum, Matt Holloway, and Ken Nolan.