Optimus Prime and Bumblebee To Get New Look in ‘Transformers 3′

SCI FI Wire had the chance to talk to Industrial Light & Magic animation supervisor Scott Benza at the Visual Effects Society Awards. Benza shared with them the news that Optimus Prime and Bumblebee would be getting a new look for Transformers 3.

Our two lead characters, Optimus and Bumblebee, needed to be updated for the next chapter in the Transformers series,” said animation supervisor Scott Benza in an exclusive interview Sunday at the Visual Effects Society Awards in Century City, Calif., where he and visual effects supervisor Scott Farrar were nominees. “Bumblebee’s matured a little bit, so I would just say look for subtle changes to his physique that have him look more mature.

“[Prime will have] little tiny things that maybe the average viewer isn’t going to notice but probably the fanboys will,” Farrar said. “You actually will run into pieces that are maybe always in the way, and wouldn’t it be nice if that part wasn’t there? Maybe you make a shift in the shoulder, in the chest or what have you. So it might be proportioning, but it also might be for usability, so [the animators]’ task could be easier, too.”

The article goes on to mention that most of the script for the film is done. Last month, director Michael Bay mentioned that the third film would not be as “robot-heavy” and would have fewer explosions. This sort of contradicts what Ferrar says about this film introducing more new robots. Transformers 3 is schedule to release July 1, 2011.