Travis Knight’s Bumblebee gives the fan-favorite Autobot an origin story, but does the latest Transformers movie have a post-credits scene teasing sequels or connecting it to the main franchise continuity? Michael Bay kicked off the series about Robots in Disguise with Transformers in 2007. It was such a success that Paramount has since released four more main Transformers movies, with Bumblebee being the sixth to hit theaters. Knight’s film is a Bumblebee origin story, taking the fan-favorite Autobot back to the ’80s when he first arrives on Earth and forms a bond with teenager Charlie Watson (Hailee Steinfeld).
In terms of the overall franchise, Paramount has seen diminished returns from Transformers movies. They’ve generally been less and less well received by critics as time goes by and though each can be considered a financial success, 2017’s Transformers: The Last Knight had the lowest box office total of the series. To make matters worse, Bumblebee is projected for the worst opening weekend box office of the franchise. However, Bumblebee is the most well received Transformers movie, currently holding a 94 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. No matter how Bumblebee’s opening weekend shakes out, the movie is still the latest installment in what’s considered a largely successful movie franchise.
Now, as Bumblebee hits theaters and Transformers fans can get their chance to see the Autobot’s origin story for themselves, they may be wondering if the film has any extra surprises in store during the credits. Bumblebee has two mid-credits scenes, grouped together and arriving very early on during the credits.
In fact, once the main film concludes, the Bumblebee title card is shown and Knight is credited as the director, then the credits scenes roll. So, fans should stick around after the title card, but they won’t have to wait long for the Bumblebee credits scenes. In terms of whether fans need to watch these credits teasers, the scenes do work to offer a happy epilogue for the human character Charlie, and connect Bumblebee’s story to the larger Transformers continuity. As such, fans of the movie and overall series will no doubt want to stick around - especially since it’s such a short wait.
Of course, what comes next for the Transformers franchise after Bumblebee still remains to be seen. The 2020 release date for Transformers 6 was removed from Paramount’s release slate earlier this year, indicating the studio may go in a different direction for its franchise. If Bumblebee does turn out to be a box office success, it’s possible Paramount could go the way of the X-Men franchise by rebooting the series and kicking off with a prequel - that prequel being Bumblebee. The future of the Transformers franchise likely depends on how Bumblebee performs at the box office. For now though, those checking out Bumblebee in theaters should simply know to stick around once the movie ends for the credits scenes.
Next: Every Transformers Movie Ranked (Including Bumblebee)
- Bumblebee Release Date: 2018-12-21
