Hailee Steinfeld poses next to classic VW Beetle in first pic for Bumblebee

Alongside Empire Magazine's look at a new image from FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE CRIMES OF GRINDLEWALD comes the first official image from BUMBLEBEE.

The TRANSFORMERS spinoff directed by Laika Studios' lead animator Travis Knight (KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS, THE BOXTROLLS) will feature the fan-favorite classic Volkswagon Beetle as a refuge forced to hide in small Californian beach town junkyard in the year 1987. Charlie, on the cusp of turning 18 and trying to find her place in the world, discovers Bumblebee, battle-scarred and broken. Together, the two characters embark on an action-packed adventure filled to the brim with vehicular-related mayhem.

The image printed in Empire Magazine shows Charlie (Hailee Steinfeld), gazing out onto an open road, with Bumblebee transformed into his classic VW Beetle disguise beside her.

In talking about the film, Travis Knight told Empire, "I wanted to approach this massive, expansive franchise and really focus in on a tiny corner of the canvas," said Knight to the entertainment outlet. "Everything I’ve tried to do at Laika, searching for an artful blend of darkness and light, intensity and warmth, humour and heart, I wanted to bring to the Transformers franchise."  Pardon my French, but fuck yeah!

I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm genuinely excited for this movie. I know that the TRANSFORMERS movies have grown rather "copy-and-paste," lately. Though I can't shake the feeling that Knight will bring something fresh and exciting to the long-running TRANSFORMERS film franchise. After all, you don't get to be the lead animator of such films as CORALINE, PARANORMAN, THE BOXTROLLS, and KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS without having a unique sense of vision bursting from your creative core. My hope is that Knight's experience with Laika will prove useful in establishing a bold new cinematic era for the robots in disguise.

BUMBLEBEE: THE MOVIE will transform in theaters on December 21, 2018.