Travis Knight Signs on to Direct BUMBLEBEE Spinoff
[featured image via Transformers official Facebook]
Travis Knight, who made his directorial debut with the Oscar-nominated stop-motion animated film Kubo and the Two Strings, has signed on to direct his first live-action film. Bumblebee, a spinoff of the Transformers series, is based on the signature yellow Autobot who is Optimus Prime’s Lieutenant and has taken the form of a Chevrolet Camaro in the recent live-action films from the franchise.
Christina Hodson, who has been tapped to write the Harley Quinn spinoff Gotham City Sirens, also developed the script for Bumblebee. This will be the first movie from the franchise that isn’t directed by Michael Bay.
Knight, the son of Nike founder Phil Knight, is the CEO of Laika, the stop-motion animation studio responsible for Coraline, The Boxtrolls, and Corpse Bride. Knight worked as the lead animator on both Coraline and The Boxtrolls, which was also nominated for an Oscar in 2015.
Lorenzo Di Bonaventura, Steven Spielberg, and Bay are producing the film with Hasbro’s Brian Goldner and Stephen Davis. There are no plot details available yet, but the film is set to be released June 8, 2018. The next movie in the Transformers lineup, The Last Knight, will be released June 23 this year and stars Mark Wahlberg.
