Transformers

If I had to pick the most egregious example of product placement ever, I would nominate the scene from Transformers: Age of Extinction, when the entire movie stops to examine the wreckage of a crash involving an alien spaceship and a Bud Light truck. The camera pans across a street littered with Bud Light bottles; then Mark Wahlberg picks one up, cracks it open, and takes a healthy swig. And while he’s shilling beer, there’s a second product placement in the background; just over his shoulder, very much in focus, is a giant Goodyear Tires sign.

Actually, Optimus Prime Has Always Been a Total Jerk

Everyone loves comic book trivia, but with over 75 years of superhero comics behind us right now, there’s always some new obscure fact to learn. That’s why ComicsAlliance is going deep into the minutiae of your favorite names in comics in our continuing video series. You think you know comics? Well, here’s a few things you might not know! This week we're taking a look at those robots in disguise waging an endless battle between the Autobots and the evil forces of the Decepticons, the Transformers! But, like, in the comics, not in the cartoons, or the movies.

All those rumors and speculation have turned out to be true: Transformers: The Last Knight will indeed feature the King Arthur legend in some capacity, and they’ve found their Arthur. Liam Garrigan will play the Once and Future King, a role he’s quite comfortable with, seeing as he plays the same character on ABC’s Once Upon a Time. Hopefully this doesn't mean he’ll end up in some niche typecasting hell, unable to find work until someone decides to reboot Excalibur or Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

What does your favourite superheroes' colors tell the audience about their personalities? Using the same color theory people use to group-think a corporate logo, or paint their room, we've been exploring what it means to superhero comics. Last time we mentioned that The Invisible Woman's blue and white is wise, and elemental, but what does invisible mean as a color? The Wasp's one constant through her many costume changes has been her transparent, flighty wings. And while Kitty Pryde, who also can't seem to settle on a costumes (or a name), isn't transparent as a color, she does actually pass through things.

A long, long time ago, a massive spaceship crashed on Earth. Thanks to an opportune volcano eruption, the inhabitants of the ship were woken up just in time to enjoy the '80s. Unfortunately, not everyone on the ship is a good person... or robot. While the Autobots befriend the humans they encounter in the hopes of finding a way back to their home planet, the Decepticons immediately set to work on a plan to eliminate the Autobots, take over Earth and return to Cybertron to rule. Over the years, the story of the Transformers has taken many forms, from different animated series to movies, comics and games. One thing always holds true though --- Autobots and Decepticons really can't stand each other. That rivalry serves as the backbone for Hasbro's newest mobile game, Transformers: Earth Wars. A base-building strategy game, Earth Wars follows suit with Clash of Clans and Rival Kingdoms, putting you in charge of creating the perfect base for your faction and working to stop the other side. The formula might be similar to what you've seen before, but Earth Wars has enough new wrinkles to make it stand out beyond the license.

Since Michael Bay decided to make Transformers: Age of Extinction his last directorial outing with the franchise, it’s been unclear just where the series is heading. We’d heard talk of Mark Wahlberg returning to continue the storyline that began with last summer’s film, but little else since then. Taking a cue from Disney’s Star Wars plans (along with every other major studio’s “expanded universe” attempts), Paramount has hired Akiva Goldsman to create a “writers room” and brainstorm new sequel and spinoff ideas.

We currently live in a world where society has stopped blinking incredulously at the mere idea of major film franchises based on the dumb toys you used to play with back in the ‘80s. So, it’s not too surprising that Hasbro is apparently examining the possibility of a big screen ‘GoBots’ revival.

There’s not a lot the ‘Transformers’ movies and ‘The Big Lebowski’ have in common. Yet, buried within ‘Age of Extinction’ is a very Dude-like easter egg for those who are paying attention. Did you miss it? Don't worry, we've got that, and a lot more for you, in the latest installment of You Think You Know Movies. Roll out!

You'll be hard-pressed to find many people who actually liked 'Transformers: Age of Extinction.' But unlike the previous three movies in this franchise, the box office actually reflected that. With the film currently struggling to hit $250 million at the domestic box office (despite doing great numbers overseas), it isn't that surprising that director Michael Bay is jumping ship on 'Transformers 5'.

Over the years, Angry Birds has gone from being a must-have game to a cultural institution, even generating its own upcoming feature film. In continuing this legacy, game developer Rovio announced the next big installment to tackle another big franchise -- Angry Birds Transformers.

Michael Bay may be notoriously difficult to work with, but that didn’t stop Shia LaBeouf from pranking the director on the set of ‘Transformers: Dark of the Moon.’ On Monday night’s ‘Late Show With David Letterman,’ LaBeouf said some people dream about getting screamed at by Bay since it’s like “getting insulted by Don Rickles.” And he described the director as “aggressive” and “demanding.” Read