New Transformers' 'Bumblebee' TV Spot Reveals New Optimus Prime and Cybertron Footage

The Transformers spinoff Bumblebee is suddenly looking like it has some dark horse hope of actually revitalizing the franchise, when it hits theaters around Christmas Day. A lot of the excitement around Bumblebee has to do with the film's visual design, as director Travis Knight has created a much more fitting ode to the G1 Transformers animated series than Michael Bay did.

In this latest promo for Bumblebee, we get to see even more of the film's big ccameo appearances from both Optimus Prime and other G1 Transformers, who are still doing battle on Cybertron when the events of Bumblebee take place. Check that out in the video above!

Transformers fans have been singing a chorus of cheers for how this new film is going with the classic Optimus Prime design from the G1 cartoon. It kind of a curious question as to how Prime, Soundwave, and other Cybertronian characters are rocking the designs of Earth vehicles and technology, if they've never been to Earth. Perhaps they were scouting the planet and preparing for the mission that would follow Bumblebee's first excursion. Of course, even that explanation doesn't really sync up to sequence in Michael Bay's Transformers, when all of the Autobots (including Prime) first arrive on Earth in their basic robot forms, and first choose the vehicles they will mimic...

Paramount has been steadily increasing the marketing for Bumblebee, launching a steady wave of international promos revealing lots of new footage, with news that Paramount is holding early screenings of the movie have led to industry speculation that the studio has confidence in what Travis Knight has put together.

The previous installment of Transformers, The Last Knight, was nearly a franchise-killer. It dropped about 50% of the box office returns of its predecessor, Age of Extinction, and had the worst reviews in the franchise (which has never been rated 40% mark on Rotten Tomatoes to begin with). Most ironically, The Last Knight was supposed to be a major franchise expansion film, but instead it's left Bumblebee now facing a major uphill battle.

SYNOPSIS: "On the run in the year 1987, Bumblebee finds refuge in a junkyard in a small Californian beach town. Charlie, on the cusp of turning 18 and trying to find her place in the world, discovers Bumblebee, battle-scarred and broken. When Charlie revives him, she quickly learns this is no ordinary, yellow VW bug."

Bumblebee is directed by Travis Knight. The film also stars John Cena, Pamela Adlon, Stephen Schneider, Jorge Lendeborg Jr., Jason Drucker, Kenneth Choi, Ricardo Hoyos, Abby Quinn, and Grace Dzienny. It hits theaters on December 21st.