Transformers Movie Universe Preview

Transformers: The Movie Universe hardcover by DK books is coming and as part of that it includes bio on the various Transformers in Revenge of the Fallen. Thanks to Rodrigo, below is a few sample pages from the book for The Fallen, Devastator (who is described as having six components, no Overload), the Twins, and Megatron.

Book description:

Find out everything you ever wanted to know about the Transformers including footage from the films Revenge of the Fallen and Transformers, with this explosive guide.

Read behind-the-scenes stories from the Transformer movies, secret dossiers, mission objectives, stats, top 10s, amazing facts and more. Get access to the data files of your favorite heroes from Optimus Prime and Megatron to Bumblebee and Sam Witwicky.

Step into dramatic battle scenes and learn everything you ever wanted to know; from an insiders guide to Cybertonian history to the secrets behind the Transformers military hardware. Plus, fantastic cross-sections will take you deep inside their incredible world

Fallen Bio, Jetfire, Gravity Bot Pics and Other Galleries

TF08.net has scored more photos of the Transformers 2 toy line. This time it includes a first look at Leader Jetfire, Voyager The Fallen in package with bio, Interrogator Barricade, Cannon Bumblebee, and multiple gravity bots. Below are a few pictures with the full gallery here. Thanks to Phil and DeceptiFreak for the link.

In addition, here are a few more galleries.
Cannon Bumblebee - A side by side comparison of preview Bumblebee with his counterpart
Wobbler Transformers - Prime, Bumblebee, and Megatron wobbler pics.
Voyager Megatron - Another gallery of the figture in different poses.

Voyager The Fallen Bio:

For millennia, he has waited. Thousands of years have dragged by as he recruited proxies, one by one, to scour the cosmos for the artifact he required. Now he finds he must return to the primitive, flesh-slug infected planet on which his quest began. Nothing will stand in his way this time. If need be, he will scour the surface of this disgusting world clean in the fire of his rage, and search through the blasted rubble for that which he seeks.

Defiance #4 Movie Spoilers (Updated)

The concluding issue four of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Prequel Defiance arc came out this Wednesday and it provides a few details and spoilers for the upcoming movie. The arc is the story of what started the Transformers Civil War that eventually reached Earth in the first movie. I have not read the copy so the information is from Seibertron and TFW2005.

In this first three issues, a relic (the sarcophagus Megatron bows before) is found during an archaeology dig on the planet Cybertron. At this time Megatron is leader of the military and Optimus (not yet Prime) is essentially his assistant and director of the dig. Due to the influence of The Fallen, Megatron claims the relic as his own. The Fallen continues to build on Megatron's ambition until he declares martial law and forms the Decepticons and orders the arrest of Optimus and his friends for treason.

So now to the movie related points of interest:

- The Fallen and his "brothers" (13 total perhaps?) were born on the same planet as the AllSpark (its own origins unknown).
- The AllSpark's power was limited but could be restored by harvesting the energy of a sun.
- The first Cybertronians (including Jetfire) were created to find an appropriate star while the Sun Harvester is built on another planet (Earth).
- The Fallen wanted the AllSpark power for himself but his brothers turn the tables and trap The Fallen and themselves in the sarcophagus
- After the brothers are trapped, a pyramid is built around the Sun Harvester.
- The Fallen influences Megatron to form the Decepticons to use the AllSpark to find the Sun Harvester and activate it so he can be released (alluded to in coloring book pages).
- Optimus Prime forms the Autobots to stop Megatron and his followers from freeing The Fallen.
- As part of the war, the AllSpark is sent into space where it lands on earth due to it detecting the Sun Harvester on the planet (and thus the beginning of the first movie).

Update: Small update, changed the cover photo in the top left to much better variant cover for the issue. To bad there wasn't a scene like that in the first movie.

Transformers 2 CGI Art Work (Update 2)

It took a while but finally some new CGI artwork of the some of the characters for Transformers 2 has appeared online. Some of the CGI in the gallery is old but much is brand new. Thanks to Ken and David for the link.

Update: Added the image in the left created by D-M0de (thanks!) for those that like the idea of the Twins running for their lives. Good for wallpaper or imagining such a scene in the movie.

Update 2: D-M0de provided the below two pictures to replace the previous Twins chase image. Uses the below CGI images along with Photoshop magic to tell a better story.

By D-M0de


Devastator


Ironhide


Megatron


Ratchet


Ravage


Sideswipe


Starscream


The Fallen


The Twins

More MixMaster, Fallen, and Other Toy Pics (Updated)

Another day, another set of galleries to look through.

Voyager Mixmaster - Large set of images that compares the vehicle mode of the Constructicon with other Transformers past and present.
Voyager The Fallen - A few pictures that show off the main villian of the upcoming sequel for an eBay auction.
Leader Megatron - Gallery and review of the toy.
Leader Optimus Prime - Two high quality pictures that show off the re-designed toy.
Deluxe Bumblebee - Also two pictures of the slightly tweaked toy.
Deluxe Skids - Review from Peaugh of the upcoming toy. Yep, he does have buck teeth.
Hyper Hobby Magazine Compare - Two pictures below are from the Japanese magazine that gives a comparison of the first movie vs sequel design of multiple Transformers characters.
Scout Scalpel (The Doctor) - Another gallery similar to Mixmaster that shows off the character and compares him to other Transformers.



Update: Added a link to the Scalpel gallery and corrected the class for Mixmaster.

Eight Constructicons In Transformers 2?

Two new articles on USA Today and Yahoo! Movies suggest that Transformers 2 will feature a total of eight Constructicons, seven of which will form Devastator. The articles are part of a first look at some of the Transformers 2 robotic cast. This would be the first official word on many of the characters that we figured out over time between set and toy pictures but news to the general public. One change is Wheelie is being officially cast as a Decepticon and the addition of "The Doctor" also called Scalpel according to the Hasbro toy packaging and has the alt mode of a microscope. Below are excerpts.

Ravage and Soundwave
"In the spirit of 'more than meets the eye,' Ravage isn't just lethal because of his sharp teeth," says screenwriter Alex Kurtzman. "There's actually another skill set Ravage has that didn't exist before, so there's going to be a surprise for fans." ...his role will be similar to the 1980s cartoon and Hasbro toy — the ultimate spy.

Ravage doesn't turn into anything. But Soundwave will appear, again serving as an evil communications expert but this time in the form of an orbiting space satellite.

And Ravage, as before, won't speak like the other Transformers. "We wanted to stay true to the idea that Decepticons who take visual clues from beasts maintain that," says Orci. "It would be strange to have a talking jaguar, or a scorpion with an English accent."

Insecticons
"We have big guys, some little guys. We have a lot of littler ones, too. Little weirder ones," Bay says. Like the Insecticons, which were giant bugs in the original series and Hasbro toy line, but are now tiny creepy-crawly infiltrators.

Jetfire
As in the original, this fighter plane crash-landed on Earth a long time ago, and he will become a reformed Decepticon now fighting for the humans. His alternate form is the SR-71 Blackbird, the outdated but still-sleek Cold War spy plane.

"He's old, craggy, forgetful ... doesn't work very well. Can't transform very well, because he's very geriatric. They get stuck with him a lot," Bay says. "He knows the plan of the bad guys, but he forgets all the good parts of the plan."

The Twins
"Some of the junior Transformers are just dumb," Bay says with a laugh. "But it's great for kids because they're like the Little Engine That Could. They're (screw)-ups, but they get really heroic at the end."

Arcee
Arcee is the only female and turns up as Megan Fox's hot-pink motorcycle. Co-screenwriters Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci say she was in an early draft of the first movie. "But we felt we needed to win the audience over before asking for that suspension of disbelief: a feminine alien robot," Kurtzman says.

The Fallen
The Fallen is an ancient robot, sort of the Transformers' version of Lucifer. He's one of the original robot aliens, and his defiance and arrogance led to his banishment into another dimension. The screenwriters say that The Fallen holds the key to life on both Earth and Cybertron, the Transformers' home planet.

The Doctor
A smaller, but no less malevolent Decepticon is known as The Doctor — a spider-like droid that transforms into various implements of torture and has a not-so-nice encounter with star Shia LaBeouf.

Devastator
These seven robots — Scavenger, Scrapper, Hightower, Longhaul, Rampage, Overload and Mixmaster — transform into construction machinery, but also link up with one another to form one gigantic robot stomper named Devastator.

"He's made of vehicles designed to build, and he turns into is someone who loves to destroy," Orci says. "He is an agent of absolute chaos."

"Spielberg saw it and said, 'This is (expletive) awesome!' " Bay says, and adds: "It's always nice when you can make him swear."

Missing from the list is Megatron, who Bay has already verified is returning. Of interest is the bit about Devastator merging with seven Constructicons, one of which is not Demolisher (the one wheeled guy in the trailer busting through a bridge).

The 2009 Toy Fair pictures and display along with the preview on The Today Show suggested that the toy was a combination of six constructions:
     Demolishor - red O&K/Terex RH400 Hydrolic Mining Excavator (torso)
     Scrapper - yellow Caterpillar 992G Front Loader (right arm)
     Long Haul - green Caterpillar 773B Dump Truck (right leg)
     Mix Master - silver Mack Cement Mixer (head)
     High Tower - yellow Kobelco CK2500 Truss Crane (left arm)
     Rampage - yellow Caterpillar D9L Bulldozer (left leg)

Apparently this is wrong. Instead of Demolisher we have the addition of Scavenger and Overload whose alt modes remain unknown. Suffice it to say I am a bit confused. Either the Toy Fair displays were missing two Constructicons (why do that when the Fairs purpose is to sell a line to vendors?) or USA Today and co have some of their information confused ("The Doctor" vs Scalpel). I guess things will get cleared up a bit more once the toys get released.

Thanks to all the site readers for sending in the links.

Update:As pointed out in the comments, the Toy Fair pictures did show one of the toys with the word "SCVNGR" which even then was identified as Scavenger but dismissed as an error or early production model. Clearly, instead there are two variations of the Hydraulic Mining Excavator as part of the Constructions. One is Demolisher seen early in the film (and now I assume meets a bad end) and the other is Scavenger which helps form the torso of Devastator.

Best guess for Overload is the Komatsu HD465-7 Articulated Dump Truck TFW2005's source provided way back in October. The other six were right so small leap to assume the last is correct too. My best guess in this scenario is Overload is the lower torso that the legs connect to and Scavenger is the upper that the arms and Mixmaster attach to.

Update 2: Oops got my construction vehicles confused. Probably going to do that a few times with the Constructicons.

Ask Orci: Nimoy Voicing A Transformers 2 Character?

Time for another summary of Transformers writer Roberto Orci's Q&A threads on the Don Murphy and TFW2005 forums. It is about two weeks worth of answers and covers early plans for Transformers I, mostly cryptic comments on Transformers 2 story lines, will the writers return for Transformers 3 and potential voice for The Fallen. My comments are in parenthesis.

Will Barricade's disappearance be explained in ROTF?
Explained is a very specific kinda word... implied may be more like it

Will you guys seriously rethink about staying on?
Time for fresh blood!

Just to be clear, what is your reason for not writing it? If the other main players comes back and they don't see a need for fresh blood, then why would you?
Not clear who is coming back yet, but the main reason we would move on is because we risk getting stale and comfortable. If you only sing one song for too long, you miss the opportunity to sing news songs. We'll see.
(It should be noted that Orci and Alex Kurtzman both indicated they would not return to write Transformers 2. TF3 is three years away so plenty of time to change their mind again. Honestly, usually this kind of talk in Hollywood translates to "how much will you pay me to return?" as don't want to appear to eager.)

who thought of the name for the movie? you, michael bay, alex, or someone else?
Alex.

how many fans do you think saw past Michael's "no Megatron" announcement? And second, is he aware that his comment about Megs only appearing in a flashback kind of contradicts Hugo Weaving's hint that the Allspark shard has something to do with Megatron's resurrection?
god love him
(Probably good idea to not answer directly.)

Did the fallen enslave the Egyptians to build the pyramids (which actually are space bridges)?
Hmm. Getting warm

Did the Egyptians seal the fallen within his own design?
Also very warm but not quite.

Did you ever intend for Blackout and Brawl to speak?
Yes.

Would you consider a giant battle in the Grand Canyon?
We actually had a giant battle in the Grand Canyon in the very first draft of the first movie.

Is there really still time to add stuff and how much stuff can be added at this point?
On the first movie, we were re-writing dialogue until about 2 weeks before release!

can you let us know how many Autobots can fly in the movie?
very few
(So basically 1 or more. My guess is only 1 and that is Jetfire.)

I know very early in development Mike Bay said that there would be a geriatric robot. Was it already set there and then that Jetfre would be that bot, or did you and the writers/Bay decide later that Jetfire would suit that type of character?
We decided Jetfire would fit after the idea came up to have a geriatric robot.

Would you consider this movie the "Empire Strikes Back" of the Transformer movie line (dark, feeling of hopelessness, crazy reveal/twists/turns)?
yes

Bay mentioned in passing that about 40 bots are in the movie. Sound about right or less/more?
sounds about right

Will The Fallen have any dialogue?
Yes.

Can you name the 3 scenes that were filmed in IMAX format?
Yes.
(The danger of asking closed questions.)

Will Prime survive the movie?
Prime's spirit can never die.
(Nice non-answer, no details but gives a sense of impending doom for Prime).

Did you decide to not have Megatron renamed Galvatron for the general audience?
yes.

Similarly, did you intend Sideways (Audi R8) to be Barricade?
We'll see

which of the 2 movies was more difficult to get along with the story.
Movie 1 was the hardest thing have ever worked on. Period. Nobody could imagine what it was, everyone thought it was just a silly cartoon or a toy commercial, the studio wasn't sure if the robots should talk, we had to come up with a story that would attract someone like Bay, and we had budgetary constraints that made it necessary to generate a significant human story which was counterintuitive to some Transfans. By the second movie, the paradigm of the franchise was clear.

what are your feelings towards the idea of Leonard Nimoy doing the voice of the Fallen?
Would love it. I actually talked to him about it, given the odd coincidence that he is Michael Bay's cousin through marriage, but fan outcry has also put Welker in the running.
(Who to support? Quite a conundrum for Transfans. Nimoy is the iconic Spock of Star Trek and part of Transformers past as the voice of Galvatron (and Unicron) for 1986's Transformers: The Movie while Welker is was the voice of Megatron, Galvatron, Soundwave and many others.)

Coloring Books Gives TF2 Spoilers?

Image scans of a Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen coloring book may provide a few spoilers for the movie. The various images suggests that Agent Simmons is critical in stopping Devastator, contradict Bay's recent statement of Megatron only appearing in flashback, Sam's dad is going to be less then pleased with what happens to his lawn, the sliver plays an important part in the story and retains the AllSpark's power, Wheelie's wandering loyalties (see bio) causes problems for Mikaela, and the Decepticon's go to Egypt to retrieve an "ancient machine" that is aimed at the Sun.

Below are a few pictures but the full gallery can be found here. Thanks to Chris for the link.