With Michael Bay no longer behind the wheel, the new film takes us back to the 1980s and stars Hailee Steinfeld as the young human lead. The film is facing stiff competition at the box office from the likes of Aquaman and Mary Poppins Returns, but has been widely praised for its heart, story and performances. So should audiences hang around as the credits start to roll?
End credits scenes have become expected by audiences now, thanks mainly to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
So is there one on Bumblebee?
WARNING: Minor spoilers for Bumblebee ahead.
There is indeed – although it happens so soon, you’ll barely even have time to think about missing it.
Bumblebee boasts an epilogue scene that takes place after only director Travis Knight has been credited.
It’s an exciting one: it reveals that the iconic Optimus Prime has arrived on Earth, and shows Charlie (Steinfeld) saying goodbye to Bumblebee.
This beat also sets up the original 2007 Transformers movie, with Bee turning himself into the Camaro form that we see in that film.
So it doesn’t particularly set up a sequel, but it does help to tie the prequel in to Bay’s output.
Will there be a sequel? It remains to be seen, and presumably it depends on the box office receipts, but Steinfeld for one has said she’s keen to return.
In the US, Bumblebee is set to be trounced by Aquaman in its opening weekend but it’s a straight-up coin-toss as to whether or not it beats Mary Poppins Returns.
According to Deadline, they are both tracking towards similar three-day grosses, but it’s Bumblebee with the highest Rotten Tomatoes score.
It’s not out in the UK until Monday, Christmas Eve.
