The Transformers movie franchise is no stranger to briefly exploring other time periods in the midst of present day events, but The Last Knight is kicking this to the next level. We've known for over a month that the fifth movie will be visiting the medieval period, specifically to explore Arthurian legend. Now new photos have surfaced showing that Transformers: The Last Knight will also be visiting World War II.
In the midst of their UK production, the Transformers: The Last Knight decked out one of their locations on Wednesday to look like Nazi territory. One of the buildings had big Nazi flags on it, there were extras dressed as SS stormtroopers, a Panzer tank was sighted, the works. You can check out the pictures for yourself over at The Sun, but World War II will somehow factor into the plot. How exactly? The report says that Transformers: The Last Knight is "thought" to involve the Nazis successfully invading Great Britain. While one shouldn't take this as official confirmation, let's remember that in real life, no such invasion ever occurred. This suggests that the movie's look back at World War II won't be a mere flashback. Could the Transformers franchise finally be incorporating time travel into one of its stories? That would also provide a reason for why the medieval period is being featured. We'll have to wait and see.
Unfortunately for director Michael Bay and the rest of people involved with this particular shoot, controversy broke out over the building where those Nazi flags were hung, Blenheim Palace. It happens to be the place where Winston Churchill was born. Yes, the man who was the United Kingdom's prime minister during the majority of World War II and led his people through some of the conflict's darkest moments, including The Blitz from September 1940 to May 1941. Needless to say, a lot of people were angered that his home was used as a stand-in for a Nazi headquarters, though film insiders who spoke to The Sun said it would be "inconceivable" that the folks at Blenheim Palace didn't know what this shoot was going to involve ahead of time. The swasitkas and set pieces were taken down before visitors came the following morning, but the damage had already been done.
Plot details concerning Transformers: The Last Knight are being kept under wraps, but with the story involving both Arthurian legend and Nazis during World War II, we can't help but think this movie will be even more bonkers than its predecessors. Along with a wide assortment of Autobots and Deceptions both returning and being introduced, there will be plenty of human players involved as well, including Mark Wahlberg, Isabel Moner, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, Liam Garrigan, Stanley Tucci and Anthony Hopkins.
Transformers: The Last Knight hits theaters on June 23, 2017.
