Potential Villainous Turn from Optimus Prime Highlights Bleak ‘Transformers: The Last Knight’ Trailer

While we still have to wait for the real-life version of standing Autobots, there’s one more movie in this franchise coming out soon.

During last night’s Monday Night Football game, Paramount Pictures debuted the first full length trailer for this summer’s upcoming Transformers: The Last Knight. The Michael Bay film is the fifth in the franchise, but first since Paramount Pictures announced plans to develop a cinematic universe full of spin-off films around the Transformers brand.

The first half of the clip eschews the normal explosive robotic action of the series, instead focusing on expanding the series’ mythology. Set to booming narration from Anthony Hopkins, the trailer goes through numerous time periods in human history – including the middle ages and World War II – building on the idea that Cybertronian robots have been involved in human history for eons. The trailer then segues into a haunting scene of a wrecked modern landscape, highlighted by a degrading Optimus Prime floating through space, seemingly dead.

All is not lost for those who crave the series’ trademark brand of robot on robot violence however, as the second half of the trailer delivers in spades. The gargantuan action of Autobots and Decepticons destroying their way through cities and other landscapes is interspersed with scenes of star Mark Wahlberg striking action hero poses. The trailer does pack one major surprise though, as it ends with a revived Optimus Prime fighting with fellow hero Bumblebee.

Transformers: The Last Knight is scheduled to premiere on June 23, 2017 in the U.S. The film, directed by Bay, stars Wahlberg, Stanley Tucci, Isabela Moner, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, and John Tutoro.