Over a year ago, it was revealed that Paramount was establishing a Transformers writers room. The group would be led by Oscar-winning screenwriter Akiva Goldsman, and in said writers room, the scribes would brainstorm over what direction to take the franchise in. They’d establish many possible ideas for future films, and effectively create a “cinematic universe” within the established world. Among the many ideas being tossed around was that of a Bumblebee spinoff.

Deadline is now reporting that a draft of the script for the Bumblebee-centric Transformers film has been completed by Shut In writer Christina Hodson. The draft is so strong, in fact, that script will go out to directors who may be interested in helming the project. Of course, once a director is chosen, there is a high probability that script will go through more revisions until it fully matches the vision of the director who comes on board, but the fact that they have a working script on the table is a great start.

This is also a notable moment because while it’s not the first film to come out of that writers room, it will be the first Transformers movie without Michael Bay at the helm. As good of a director Bay is on non-Transformers fare, it’s hard to think he wouldn’t dash all the notes from the writers room in favor of his own vision. So though Transformers: The Last Knight is a result of that writers room, it will still very much have Michael Bay’s thumbprint on it. With this Bumblebee film, it’s possible that we’ll get the true vision of the writers in that room. They will get a director who is more willing to play ball with the studio, and with that, I imagine there may be a bit more story integrity in it — at least that’s the hope.

This film is also a big deal because of the writer, Christina Hodson. Sure, she’s  woman in an industry mostly comprised of men, but her talent is undeniable. We have yet to actually see any of her work — Shut In has only hit theaters today and has yet to have a critical consensus, and her next film, Unforgettable hits theaters next year — her work has hit the Black List on three separate occasions. For those who don’t know, The Black List is a list of favorite unproduced scripts for the year. Given that she’s only been writing in the business for four years or so, that’s no small feat.

While we can all hope that Transformers: The Last Knight is the one to turn things around, I think realistically, this Bumblebee film is the one fans should actually pay close attention to. Who knows? In three years, we may very well start seeing the entire franchise in a different way.

What do you think? do you have hope that this can turn things around for the franchise? Let us know your thoughts down below!

Transformers: The Last Knight hits theaters on June 23, 2017, and this Bumblebee spinoff hits theaters on June 8, 2018. 

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SOURCE: Deadline