Transformer Sequel Details... Finally!

By Matt Jussim

Finally, after all the trailers, exclusive photos, and footage of Watchmen, Terminator: Salvation, and Star Trek, that have come out over the past six months, there’s something we all can get REALLY excited about.

The buzz is finally starting to grow on one of 2009’s biggest releases: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen has finally gotten the “exclusive” treatment with Empire Magazine releasing the first official images of the film, and in USA Today with a report from the set. And the pictures look fantastic.

A gallery of pics from Empire shows Shia LaBeouf (bandaged hand and all) running with the always stunning Meagan Fox away from what looks like certain danger. There’s a pic with a car flying through the air, and awesome tank fight, a badass shot of Optimus Prime and a couple with some army rangers and more tanks. The best ones of all though are shots of the crew filming at the Pyramids in Giza, which will serve as the climax of the film. The Great Pyramids look unbelievable, and it is a definite upgrade in location from the first films climax, which took place at the Hoover Dam and the creatively named Mission City.

The sequel to 2007’s blockbuster Transformers looks to be bigger and even more explosive than its predecessor. The USA Today article describes the plot and some details of the story.

This time around, Sam (Shia LaBeouf) has learned a secret about the origins of the Transformers and their ancient history, which leads to the Decepticons to pursue him rather than wanting to kill him. The rest of the world meanwhile is still dealing with the aftermath of the events in the first film, and tries to figure out which of the creatures to trust, while an international coalition has allied itself with the Autobots.

The movie will introduce new characters, including some important Deceptions: Soundwave, a communications expert, and Devastator, whose arms and legs are built from other Transformers (can’t get any more poetic than that). The good guy Autobots will have Jetfire, a former villain whose age and failing physical state leads him to help Optimus Prime’s crew.




















The film’s action sequences seem as if they will be extremely realistic due to the fact that the movie has the seal of approval from the U.S. Department of Defense. This allowed director Michael Bay and his crew to film at the Army’s New Mexico missile range, and also to follow jets and fighter planes as they navigated through the skies. Some of the equipment used were two A-10 Thunderbolt II “Warthog” tanks; six F-16 Fighting Falcons; 10 armored Humvees; the Army’s Golden Knights parachute team, two armored personnel carriers and two missile launcher vehicles.

The near $200 million dollar production will feature 40 robots, and as I mentioned before the filmmakers were granted permission to shoot not just around, but also actually on the 5,000 year old Great Pyramids for the first time ever.

I was a huge fan of the first movie, and from the looks of it, the sequel is going to be even more exciting and action packed. Along with LaBeouf and Fox, the sequel will star returning cast members Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, and John Tuturro. Newcomers include Matthew Mardsen as a Special Forces ranger, Isabel Lucas as a girl at Sam’s college and The Office’s Rainn Wilson will have a cameo as a university professor.

The first teaser trailer for the film will possibly debut in February during Super Bowl XLII. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen will be released on June 26th, 2009.