'Bumblebee' Spoilers: Does 'Bumblebee' Have a Post-Credits Scene?
Technically, it's a "mid-credits" scene.
Don’t bother trying to remember exactly what happened in the original Transformers from 2007. It hardly matters for the brand-new Bumblebee. The new prequel is basically an origin story for everyone’s favorite yellow Autobot, Bumblebee, set 20 years before the first Michael Bay movie.
So it’s all but inevitable that any potential post-credits scene would bridge the gap between these movies, right? Right! Well, sort of.
Spoilers for the post-credits ending of Bumblebee follow.
Let’s clear this up right away: Bumblebee does not actually have a post-credits scene, instead opting for what’s essentially an epilogue immediately after the ending of the film. You might even call it a mid-credits scene. So there’s no need to wait until the very end.
For the most part, Bumblebee ignores Transformers, so even when this credits scene delivers some connective tissue to the future, it also establishes a bit of a continuity error.
Remember the AllSpark? Because Bumblebee doesn’t.
Bumblebee without his memory acts just like a toddler.
In Transformers, the AllSpark is what originally what made Earth important. It’s what led Megatron to crashland in the Arctic Circle to then be discovered by Archibald Witwicky centuries later. We can also assume that the government took possession of Megatron at this time. Yet in Bumblebee that’s not what happens.
Instead, Earth is just a random inhabitable planet that Optimus finds at the start of Bumblebee, saying it would make a great rebel base. He sends his best scout, B-127, there for this very reason.
‘Bee loses his voice and memory in a fight with the Decepticon Blitzwing almost as soon as he lands on Earth. Not long after that, he’s discovered as a beat-up old Volkswagon Beetle in a junkyard by a young mechanic named Charlie (Hailee Steinfeld). The two become fast friends and team up to defeat two Decepticons called Dropkick and Shatter, preventing them from using a beacon to call their allies to Earth.
Once Bumblebee recovers his memories of his mission to protect Earth, Charlie and he go their separate ways. “You’ve got people that need you,” Charlie says to him.
Sad Charlie knows she has to say goodbye to Bumblebee.
Several noteworthy things happen in quick succession: Bumblebee scans a 1977 Chevrolet Camaro and assumes the form he’ll eventually take in Transformers. Then he rides across the Golden Gate Bridge alongside a 1977 Freightliner semi truck that’s obviously Optimus Prime.
Here’s where the credits scene kicks in: The final shot of the movie shows the two of them standing in a wooded area. Optimus talks about the “battle to come” and they look up to see at least seven more Transformers streaking down to Earth.
On one hand, Bumblebee becoming a Camaro makes it seem like a lead into Transformers, but the number of Autobots doesn’t quite add up.
The 2007 movie only featured three Autobots aside from Optimus and ‘Bee, so if this is meant to lead directly into that movie, then some of those new Transfomers must be Decepticons. But it also doesn’t make sense that they’d all be flying together. We’re supposed to believe these huge robots hid for two decades?
An alternative explanation is that there could be a direct Bumblebee sequel in the works that further bridges the gap between these movies. Or perhaps Bumblebee establishes its own continuity outside of the other movie?
No matter what the explanation here, Bumblebee really wants us to think that there are more Transformers movies coming. Based on the critical success of the latest entry, we can’t wait to see what happens next.
Bumblebee is out now in theaters.
Related video: Check out this excellent preview scene from the movie in which Bumblebee runs away from the cops:
