Why Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts Director Cut A Bumblebee & Charlie Reference

If there's one thing that "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts" viewers can be sure of, it's that the movie is absolutely jam-packed with references, callbacks, and easter eggs for die-hard fans of the franchise to pick out. Not only does the movie re-introduce iconic features of the "Transformers" universe like Unicron, but it also serves as one massive homage to the classic series "Beast Wars: Transformers" and its corresponding line of toys.

Despite this obvious respect for what has come before, one element that "Rise of the Beasts" remains relatively light on is references to previous live-action efforts like the Michael Bay films, instead opting to be taken as a relatively standalone adventure. Interestingly enough, the film was originally going to include a major reference to the events of 2018's "Bumblebee," but it was ultimately cut by director Steven Caple Jr..

In an interview with io9 of Gizmodo, Caple Jr. spoke about the scrapped "Bumblebee" reference, which would have seen mention of Hailee Steinfeld's character Charlie. "We had mentioned Charlie at one point, but we weren't too sure if that started to mix up or mislead everyone to think that Charlie's about to be in this film or Hailee, so to speak. So we didn't want to bring too much of that into this 'Transformers.' We want that to be his own sort of stand-alone Bumblebee project, because it just felt like we'd have to now really abide by what was set up before."

The creators of "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts" opting not to make many overt references to previous movies like "Bumblebee" also ties into a growing issue that the franchise has been facing: an unclear continuity. Taking place in the 1990s, "Rise of the Beasts" is ostensibly set in the same universe as both "Bumblebee" and the Michael Bay films, but there are strong contradictions between those other movies that suggest they may not even be in the same timeline.

For years, fans have been trying to reconcile the ending of "Bumblebee" with the previous "Transformers" films, as they present two very different versions of certain events. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Steven Caple Jr. noted that he specifically developed "Rise of the Beasts" so as not to trouble this already-shaky canon. "It doesn't mess up any of the timeline in 2006, 2007," he explained. "We're actually going in a direction that allows us to protect that side of the universe, but that's all you need to know." Nonetheless, "Rise of the Beasts" does introduce some troubling issues, such as how its version of Unicron can be reconciled with the one glimpsed in "Transformers: The Last Knight."

All in all, it doesn't seem like an absolute given that "Rise of the Beasts" is directly canon with any previous movie, at least for the time being. At the very least, it's holding off on taking a concrete stance until that pesky "Transformers" timeline gets cleared up.