First Look: Bumblebee unveils two new Decepticon muscle cars

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Bumblebee is no longer disguising its bad guys.

Set in the yesteryear of 1987, the new Transformers film (out Dec. 21) finds the wounded yellow Autobot taking shelter with a teenager mechanic (Hailee Steinfeld) while trying to avoid two Decepticon trackers.

As the film prepares for its Comic-Con showcase in San Diego next week, EW has the exclusive reveal.

One of the Decepticons is Shatter, who takes the form of a cherry-red Plymouth Satellite. She will be voiced by Angela Bassett.

Dropkick, whose vehicle form is a blue AMC Javelin, will be voiced by Justin Theroux.

Bumblebee is very much a throwback to the original 1980s cartoon, with the hero returning to his Volkswagen Beetle form instead of a Camaro. But the film is breaking tradition by giving the Decepticons wheels instead of wings.

“The two main villains are Decepticon muscle cars,” says director Travis Knight (Kubo and the Two Strings).

There is one flying villain, whose identity and voice actor are still under wraps, but otherwise, these bad guys will be prowling the roads rather than the skies while pursuing their prey.

Although the film focuses only on this trio of Decepticons, the filmmaker promises these two will have more personality than usual.

“When the cast is too big, and you have a finite amount of time, there’s only so much you can do to create an investment in them,” Knight says. “This is a more personal, intimate, and character-driven story, so it felt right to keep the villain plot relatively simple and contained. If you keep things lean, you can add a lot of other stuff on top of it that makes it more enjoyable.”

In other words, there is more to Shatter and Dropkick than meets the eye.