Below is a short video that gives a tease of some of the lines that may be heard with upcoming toys. The video is part of a recording session between Peter Cullen and voice editors Rick Sellers and Wes McCraw in Ohio. While not specified the only toys I can think of coming out that could use the voice of Optimus Prime is for Transformers: Age of Extinction. While always nice to hear the voice, the lines do nothing to suss out any potential AoE spoilers. (via Seibertron)

A few weeks ago it was declared that the first theatrical trailer for Transformers: Age of Extinction was "coming soon." The Alberta Film Ratings board in Canada has apparently seen the trailer and decided to give it a PG rating, basically meaning it can be attached to any movie coming out. It also going to be 2:22 long. Still no news on when its going to be released but I am sticking with Need for Speed on March 14th as likely. Some rumors says the next 300 movie, but that strikes me as unlikely due to its R rating. Thanks to Noe D. for the link.

One of the tertiary actors on Transformers: Age of Extinction, Melanie Specht, spoke with MovieHole.net about filming on the Chicago set of the film. Nothing about the film itself is revealed in the interview. The TF segments below, rest here.

Firstly I’d like to say congratulations on landing your role in Transformers 4! Can you tell us much about the character you play in the film?
My character is Joshua’s senior executive assistant. The very talented and gracious Stanley Tucci plays Joshua. On set director Michael Bay referred to my character as the “Grande Dame”, I got a kick out of that!

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From the Idle Hands blog via the Transformers_Movie Instagram account below are a bunch of images of the packaging for Hex Bug Transformers: Age of Extinction line. The "bugs" are themed to the major characters of the movie. For fans, the key bit is it appears the art isn't based on the toys but on the actual movie CGI art resulting in our best look yet at the new characters of Galvatron, Lockdown, STinger, Drift and the bearded visage of Hound. All images of the Toy Fair TF Hex Bug display is here. Thanks to Feris O. for the link.
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In an interview with The Nerdist to promote his potential new series Bosch (based on Michael Connolly's series of excellent books), Titus Welliver briefly commented on Transformers: Age of Extinction.

“I’ve now won the hard earned respect of my children because I’m in a Transformers film, and I’ve always wanted to work with Michael Bay and certainly Mark Wahlberg and Kelsey Grammer.” And what can fans look forward to in this installment? “It’s a bit more of a darker vision of the Transformers world… It’s not a kids movie, I’ll tell you that much.”

I can't really disagree considering it's likely PG-13 rating but good luck to parents keeping their kids away considering the movie has the killer combo of transforming dinosaurs.

IDW Publishing has released their publishing plans for May 2014. Three comics and three trades are coming. All three floppies are continuing the Dawn of the Autobots storyline as they return to Earth and face the problems that come up from a planet that still isn't quite over being briefly conquered by Megatron. For the full details of IDW's other books including GI Joe, Star Trek, and more click here.
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A new image posted on the Planet Iacon Facebook page by Seibertron seems to reveal the fate of some of the characters from Transformers: Dark of the Moon. The source of the image is unknown so usual validity caveats but it does match the propaganda posters seen on sets during filming and might clarify certain story beats that have been hinted at by alternate vehicles modes. The image is after the break.

Update: As pointed out in the comments and elsewhere, the image was created by TFW2005's TunaKaan's photo-shop ninja skills that was responsible for other TF4 related art. May be fake, but still cool looking.
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While the Super Bowl teaser was exciting, it doesn't quite quench the thirst for more like a theatrical trailer does. We still do not yet know when the next trailer will be coming out except that it will be "soon". My guess is with Need for Speed on 3/14. If the potential description of the trailer posted on ComicBookMovie via Seibertron is true then it will be different than the Super Bowl one. Hard to tell its validity but usual spoiler warnings just in case. Full description after the break.
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Toy Fair 2014 continued today in New York. Today provided a look at what Hasbro plans for teens (and adult collectors) that are not going to be quite satisfied with the simplistic transformations introduced yesterday. The reveals do indicate that teen and adult fans will get their chance to enjoy multi-step transformations for Transformers: Age of Extinction characters that is based on what Hasbro learned when doing the Generations/Classic toys from the last few years. From those revealed, it is now officially confirmed that Galvatron is the black and dark grey 2014 Freightliner Argosy and likely the other big bad of the movie (besides Lockdown). In addition five Dinobot characters are now confirmed: Grimlock (T-Rex), Strafe (two-headed pterodactyl), Scorn (spinosaurus), Slash (velociraptor), and Slug (triceratops). So far only Grimlock and Strafe have been spotted in the Super Bowl trailer, hopefully upcoming trailers will tease the other three and apparently all five of them do transform at some point in the movie.
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In preparation for Toy Fair 2014 being held in New York this weekend, Hasbro has revealed their initial line-up of Transformers: Age of Extinction toys for "youngsters" called the One Step Changers via USA Today (and mirrored on TFormers). The official images (below) show the robot mode of Grimlock (which seems more like a mash-up of Grimlock and Beast Wars Dinobot). The images also provides the first official confirmation of what fans had already worked out for Crosshairs (Autobot, green 2014 C7 Corvette Stingray), Drift (Autobot, black & blue 2013 Bugatti Grand Sport Vitesse), Lockdown (Decepticon, dark gray 2013 Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4 Coup) and Stinger (Decepticon, blood red 2013 Pagani Huayra). In addition there is a "new" Dinobot called Slash with a Velociraptor alt mode. I assume that means that is a fourth Dinobot confirmed for the movie (outside of Grimlock, Slug, and Strafe) but it could just be a toy and not have a movie appearance.
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While America has Botcon, other countries host a Transformers Expo. Below is a large gallery provided by Feris O. who went to the Transformers Expo Malaysia. The expo had a tour exhibit with a substantial size collection of Transformers from G1 through to Transformers: Dark of the Moon that had me doing a mental "have", "want", "pass" as going through it. The first movie 'Bee Chevy Camaro was there along with photo op with life size of movie Prime and Bumblebee. Interactive elements include a 3D presentation video, "a light and sound display of 3D mapping technology on Optimus Prime's head", and augmented reality thing to interact with Optimus and 'Bee. More on the Expo is here. Full gallery below.
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According to a tweet, a #transformers4 teaser #trailer coming soon" for Paramount's Transformers: Age of Extinction. I am not sure if this means a theatrical release of the Super Bowl teaser or a new cut. Also no date was provided. The only movie coming out for remainder of February as a potential candidate is RoboCop. For March potentials include 300: Rise of an Empire (3/7, but R rated and WB film), Need for Speed (3/14, but Dreamworks picture), and Noah (3/28, Paramount pic). In April the possibilities are Captain America 2 (4/4, Marvel/Disney film) and Transcendence (4/17, but WB distributed). As far as most eyeballs, Captain America is an easy choice but that seems to stretch the definition of "soon" so I am going with Need for Speed as the likely movie a TF4 teaser would be attached to if don't get a surprise release with RoboCop. Thanks to Wynton R. for the link.

Below is a video that combines all the transformations from the first three Transformers movies. Just the transformations (and Megan Fox whose face technically transformed too between movies) and nothing else. Bit surprised it was able to reach ten minutes length since actual transformations became less frequent with each movie. The scenes are in no particular order but one thing of note is how the first movie's transformations sequences seem just more thought out and designed compared with the last two movies where they were essentially random moving parts that had very little to do with the alt mode switching too. Not something I noticed (much) while watching the movies but seeing it combined like this, it stands out more. If anything, gives more credence to Hasbro's "simplication" goals for the toys as now wondering if the CGI versions would benefit from it. (via Gizmodo)

Normally I save video reviews for various linkfests, but this provides a first real look at the simplified transformation sequences that is being introduced with the Transformers: Age of Extinction toy line. We have seen it a touch with Beast Hunters and Generations but not at the Leader class scale. The result is a surprising good looking vehicle mode and not all that bad robot mode. The previous leader class transformations were often very complex and time consuming to transform. Basically not all ages could enjoy them. I agree with the reviewer's take. For collector's its "meh" but since it is aimed at kids then Hasbro can consider it mission accomplished. I am curious to see how it works line wide. The toy is available now at Amazon.com.
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Super Bowl XLVIII teaser trailer for Transformers: Age of Extinction has landed. If want to view most of the other Super Bowl ads and trailers hit AdBlitz or NFL. Links below.

Update 1: Added the sweet animated gif from io9.com.

Update 2: The transformers_movie Instagram account (link below) has posted screenshots with labels for some of the characters. Its a fan run account so still nothing official. From those labels, the guy in beginning of trailer below giant ship is Lockdown. He is also the guy that had head transform into a gun and is holding Optimus upside down. The two headed thing is identified as Strafe (aka Swoop), and parachuting Autobot is Crosshairs. Again none of this is official, just speculation. The gray, Megatron looking robot is probably the alt mode of the gray Freightliner truck. Thanks to Feris O. for the heads-up.

Update 3: Hi-res screencaps at the TFW2005 link below for those that really want to dissect the trailer. Also updated the blog title banner. Thanks to Jeffrey Marshall of Pixel Rally who has been updating those banner over the years. The new one makes use of the Age of Extinction font style from the trailer.

Update 4: Added link below for a 1080p dowload of the teaser, courtesy of MichaelBay.com's Twitter account.

Trailer Links YouTube | MichaelBay.com | 1080p Download | Various Languages | AdBlitz | NFL

Screencaps: TFW2005 (Hi-Res) | Instagram | Seibertron

Seems the TF4 news keeps coming. From the comments in the movie still post was a link to this image. Is that the new poster for Transformers: Age of Extinction? Guess we will find out soon.

Update: Nope definitely not movie related. Fan creation from TFW2005's TunaKaan, same one who created the TF Super Bowl image. Bit surprised a new poster has not come out already as usually one follows about the day after a trailer.

Thanks to Feris O. here is the first image from the Transformers: Age of Extinction Super Bowl teaser trailer that is just hours away from release. It seems the robots alt mode is the green 2014 C7 Corvette Stingray. As for his name, speculation has narrowed it down to Crosshairs or Slingshot but still no official confirmation of names with alt modes (except for Prime and 'Bee of course). I wonder how a metallic cape works?

Turns out that you do not have to wait until May to get one of the first toys from Transformers 4. Amazon has First Edition Optimus Prime available now for $59.99. The new design, officially revealed at the London Toy Fair, is Hasbro's new attempt at simplifying the transformation sequence to make the toys more enjoyable to play. A worthy goal, but does the final result retain its articulation and detail? According to a bunch of pictures and text review, it just might. Pics here, review here. Order now here. Press release from Hasbro below.
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A tweet from Reno Wilson suggests that Brains survived the Cybertronian ship crash in Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Below is all the info available, speculate away in the comments.

Just finished a v.o. session for Michael Bay, who is a genius! Each one better than the last! #Transformers4 #Brains

— Reno Wilson (@R2theENO) January 14, 2014

Trailer :



Download :

Part 1 | Part 2

Subtitle :

http://subscene.com/subtitles/enders-game

Trailer :


Download :

Part 1 | Part 2

Subtitle :

http://subscene.com/subtitles/the-hunger-games-catching-fire

According to Barracuda Labs, you might want to avoid Hasbro.com for the next week or so as it seems the site is pushing malicious software (viruses, malware). I have no idea if Hasbro is aware of the problem and working on it. Considering companies in general loathe to acknowledge bad news of any kind, it may be hard to tell when the site will be safe again. So until they get up to speed and fix the problem, its just safer to not visit the website. This could be a larger problem than normal since Transformers: Age of Extinction teaser trailer is coming tonight and that may drive traffic to their site. No mention is made if their online store, HasbroToyShop.com but might be best to avoid any Hasbro site until they do a security sweep of their site servers. More details at the article, highlights below. Thanks to Wynton R. for the link.

A week ago (on Monday, January 20), as well as on January 14, 11, and 10, Hasbro’s website pushed malicious software to visitors’ computers. As with the Cracked.com compromise a week prior, the incident was the result of direct site compromise, and affected users were unlikely to have recognized that their computers were infected. For reference, below is a screenshot of Barracuda Labs’ malicious URL detection environment after a successful attack.

...Upon successful exploitation, a payload is installed that is not well detected (both Symantec and Trend flag the malicious executable as benign).

Given the frequency with which Hasbro’s website has recently served drive-by downloads, Barracuda Labs recommends that users refrain from visiting the site until its operators have confirmed it is again safe.

Sunday is the big game for many but for me its just a good time to see some great movie trailers. Of course the most important one is Transformers: Age of Extinction teaser trailer that is supposed to air at some point during the game (hopefully in the first half like TF3). It seems that Transfans are not the only ones excited by it. According to The Wrap, Transformers 4 teaser is the most anticipated with a whopping 48% of the vote on Fandango. Trailing far behind was The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (20%) and Captain America: The Winter Soldier (17%).

Not to be left out, Michael Bay and Hasbro teased the trailer for the less informed. Bay posted that fans should "Be sure to check The Official Michael Bay Instagram account during the Super Bowl for a special surprise. www.michaelbay.com". Hasbro's Facebook page wrote, "Can't wait for Transformers: Age of Extinction to land in theaters? Something from Hasbro might "Roll Out" sooner than you think..." While they could be planning something else, I doubt it. Of course keep an eye out here as will post links (or embed) the trailer as soon as it pops up online. Thanks to Feris O. for the link.

Time to play catch-up on Transformers non-movie news. A few treats this month with the main one being a great video that from the 1983 Tokyo Toy Fair that introduces to the world what would become the Transformers. On the upcoming third party front, the theme this year is once again combiners with various companies doing their own take on the Protectobots, Combaticons, and another Predaking. Hasbro and Takara have their own non-TF4 news with MP Wheeljack tease, MP Prowl coming stateside, and new Rescue Bots inspired Transformers cartoon coming. In G1 news there is an interview with the guy that killed Optimus Prime, toy design art, official release of Transformers: The Movie score and a new TF book. Finally on the review front lots of great new toys with Warden (IDW Fortrest Maximus), Year of the Horse Prime, Mania King (Galvatron), Bii and Intimidator being on my to buy list. Hit the links and vids to learn more.

1983 Tokyo Toy Fair Video - A substantial piece of Transformers history is now available on YouTube with an old video that shows off the Generation One Transformers for the very first time. Taken at the 1983 Tokyo Toy Show, this was when Hasbro saw the concept and introduced it in 1984 to US audiences. So basically this show and a simple booth launched multi-billion dollar franchise.
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