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Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen director Michael Bay recently revealed he hated one particular robot in disguise so much that he only included it in the sequel so that he could kill it off. Spoilers…
In an interview with MTV News, Bay explained that the Autobot Arcee so offended his awesome-loving sensibilities that he just had to get rid of her in the most senseless way possible. Arcee is notable both for being one of the few female Transformers and for turning into an absolutely adorable pink motorcycle. Says Bay:
"You know what? I didn't like Arcee," the filmmaker revealed exclusively to us Thursday night, "so I kill her later, all right?"
His phrasing might make his decision seem somewhat arbitrary, almost spiteful, but apparently Arcee just didn't turn in a good enough performance. This probably has nothing to do with the character's vocal performance – indeed, her voice actor doesn't even seem to have been cast yet – but there was just something about her appearance on the screen that rubbed Bay the wrong way:
"You know what? It's like actors," he explained, comparing his Transformers to flesh-and-blood stars Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox. "There are certain actors that blossom on screen, and there are certain others where you're like, 'Yuck, I'm cutting them out of the movie.'" So Bay decided to kill Arcee – a pink motorcycle who can be glimpsed in the movie's trailer during a chase scene in Japan. As some fans might remember, the death of Jazz in Bay's first "Transformers" film not only served as a reminder of the severity of the robot war, but also became one of the film's most touching moments. In the sequel, however, Bay was so eager to kill off Arcee that he had no desire to milk the moment for emotional impact. "This isn't sad," he grinned, discussing Arcee's sudden death. "This is just 'get it out and get it over with.'"
It's times like this when I really understand why Michael Bay is one of the most financially successful directors of all time. He also took the time to shoot down the rumor that Arcee and human costar Megan Fox would be sharing some female bonding moments (including Fox possibly riding Arcee in her motorcycle form), saying the two characters have nothing to do with each other.
For his part, ubiquitous Transformers screenwriter Roberto Orci addressed the issue on the TFW2005 forum, writing Bay "has his own charm" and "cracks me up sometimes." When asked whether Arcee's death is really as pointless as Bay seems to suggest, Orci simply replied, "You will have to be the judge!", followed by a smiley emoticon that would tend to suggest at least Orci was reasonably satisfied with her fate. Indeed, one can never rule out this is just another of the lies and misdirections with which Michael Bay so loves to confuse Transformers fans.
But what of poor Arcee? Since it's apparently not too early to write her obituary, here's the story of some people's favorite fembot in disguise.
Although Arcee wasn't the first female Transformer, she quickly became the most famous. Debuting in 1984's animated The Transformers: The Movie, she went on to play a key role in the show's later seasons. A skilled marksman (markswoman? marksbot?), she often served as a gunner during missions, carrying two rather large firearms.
The animated series never really explicitly addressed why Transformers had gender at all, or indeed why the token female Autobot would have such a decidedly pink color scheme. These questions proved troublesome enough for Transformers screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman that they scrapped their plans to include the character in the original movie, prompting her replacement by Ironhide.
Although her original animated incarnation turned into a pink convertible, she'll be a motorcycle in the movie, as some concept art we posted a while ago rather awesomely shows. This follows on from her appearance in the 2004 Transformers: Energon incarnation of the franchise, where she also transformed into a motorcycle. In Revenge of the Fallen, she'll be appearing alongside her two sisters, the blue motorcycle Chromia and an as-yet-unnamed purple motorcycle.
It just goes to show you - never cross Michael Bay. He will make you pay for the high crime of not being awesome.
[MTV News]
Send an email to Alasdair Wilkins, the author of this post, at alasdair@io9.com.
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