Things aren’t looking too great for Bumblebee in the trailers for Transformers: The Last Knight—he’s getting his transforming ass handed to him by Optimus Prime of all Autobot people. Which is why he’s probably looking forward to his spin-off movie, which will undoubtedly see him in happier circumstances for at least part of its runtime. The solo Bumblebee movie is slated for release some time in 2018, wedged between one of the many Transformers movies Michael Bay swears could get made.
We’ve got some new details on the project, which is rumored to begin production this summer. And Bay himself revealed to MTV that the movie will be a prequel that hearkens back to Bumblebee’s younger days, presumably when he had full control of his speech and didn’t have to rely on snippets from the radio. Not only that, but the film will “go a little younger. And it will be dealing more with his character and it’s just about him.” It makes sense for the film to skew younger, since Bumblebee is the character that thrills the kids far more than whatever midlife crisis Optimus Prime seems to be going through. There’s no confirmed date for the Bumblebee premiere, but Transformers: The Last Knight will hold court beginning June 23.