Corona | Coming Attractions

Paramount Hone Entertainment will release a Blu-ray/DVD combo edition of Transformers: Dark of the Moon on September 30, 2011. However, if you were hoping to watch the bonus and supplemental material associated with the three-quel, director Michael Bay has something to say to you.

"For fans who can't wait, the Blu-ray release in September will deliver an awesome ride with the movie in stunning 1080p high definition and a 7.1 Dolby TrueHD soundtrack that was personally overseen by our phenomenal supervising sound mixer just for the Blu-ray," said Bay in a company issued press release. "As you know, we put a lot of effort into the 3D experience for the theatrical release and I want to make sure we get it right for home viewing — and that process takes time. So stay tuned for an even more incredible release that will include the film on Blu-ray 3D and loads of bonus features."

That means that the Dark of the Moon disc that drops later this month will only contain the theatrical movie. The Blu-ray movie is delivered in 1080p high definition with English 7.1 Dolby TrueHD. For the first time in one of their home releases, Paramount is including English 5.1 Discrete Dolby Digital and English 2.0 Discrete Surround Dolby Digital tracks.

The DVD in the combo pack is presented in widescreen enhanced for 16:9 televisions with Dolby Digital English 5.1 Surround, English 2.0 Discrete Surround, French 5.1 Surround, Spanish 5.1 Surround and English Audio Description and English, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles. The digital copy is presented in English 2.0 Stereo with no subtitles.

Directed by Michael Bay and presented by executive producer Steven Spielberg, Transformers: Dark of the Moon is the second highest grossing movie in the Transformers film franchise and the fourth highest grossing 3D release of all time. Worldwide the picture took in $1.1 billion dollars including $350 million from North American cinemas. The movie stars Shia LaBeouf (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull), Josh Duhamel (Life As We Know It), Tyrese Gibson (Four Brothers), John Turturro (The Good Shepherd), Patrick Dempsey (Grey's Anatomy), Frances McDormand (Fargo), John Malkovich (Beowulf) and newcomer Rosie Huntington-Whiteley as LaBeouf's love interest. Transformers: Dark of the Moon also features the voices of Peter Cullen as Optimus Prime, Leonard Nimoy (Star Trek) as Sentinel Prime and Hugo Weaving (Captain America: The First Avenger) as Megatron.

Paramount Pictures is bringing back Transformers: Dark of the Moon to 246 3D IMAX theaters this coming Friday. The studio plans on running the three-quel at these locations straight through until Thursday, September 8. To date the movie has grossed $348 million dollars domestically and $748 million worldwide.

$59.6 million of that domestic box office gross has come through IMAX theaters.

On its second day of release Transformers 3 took in an estimated $21.4 million dollars. According to the studio 60% of that figure came in through 3D showings of the film.

The total domestic box office for Transformers: Dark of the Moon now stands at $64.6 million dollars.

Paramount released a new trailer for Transformers: Dark of the Moon today, and it is frontloaded with way more action than the first, earlier one. Are you ready? You better be sitting down.

This is our best look at the face of the film's new Decepticon, Shockwave. The single-eyed cyclops was one of the G1 Transformers introduced back in the 1980s, and his movie version resembles his original toy design fairly closely (except for less purple armor.)

The image first appeared on the iTunes gallery for the film.

The original Spock and voice of Galvatron in 1986's Transformers: The Movie, Leonard Nimoy himself, will speak for Sentinel Prime in Transformers: Dark of the Moon.

Nimoy's character is an Autobot, one of the good guys, which is a change from the Decepticon leader he played in the animated '86 movie. In Dark of the Moon, Sentinel Prime is an old Autobot discovered by the Apollo 11 astronauts when they landed on the moon. In 2011, he transforms into a Chicago fire truck and will have an important part in the battle scenes.

"I was too scared to ask him," director Michael Bay explained to EW. "Plus, he’s married to Susan Bay, who’s a cousin of mine. So I had to be careful. I've met him at family functions. But he told me, 'I would be honored. I’m glad to be back!'"

Scans of our first look at Sentinel Prime, a new Autobot character introduced in Transformers: Dark of the Moon, have gone online. The photos first appeared in the pages of the new Empire movie magazine and then were scanned in by a forum user of Transformers World.

There are also quotes from director Michael Bay promising that the new Transformers movie will now treat death and mayhem seriously, and that many new Transformers will appear on the screen including a new Decepticon sportscar called Dreadswipe.

This commercial aired during Superbowl XLV today, part Chevy ad, part movie promotion. Does it work for either company? You be the judge:

And then came the real commercial for the movie. You can tell this was filmed by Michael Bay because of all the 'splosions:

The first teaser trailer for Transformers: Dark of the Moon has been released. If you recall the teaser for the first Transformers film you may remember that it was set on Mars and was about a supposed secret revelation that there were Transformers on the red planet. The Dark of the Moon movie uses a similar approach to its teaser except this time it's the year 1969 and the stellar body where we are startled to find Transformers is our Moon.

This just in from a Chi-town reader: The Chicago Tribune website has published a whole boatload of images from shooting on the Magnificent Mile, in fact, over 100 images can be seen on their site. The photos show base jumpers leaping off a skyscraper and parachuting down into the action; Shia LaBeouf and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley running for their characters' lives; extras dressed as soldiers running afoot; and the crew prepping the scene with fires and smoke effects.

View the action in the Tribune's photo gallery.

We were sent this photo of what the sender claims is from the Chicago set of Transformers 3. This is the view that they see when looking out of their window. As you can tell there are flipped over cars and lots of fake rubble, suggesting that this is the aftermath of a battle.

Five spy photos showing Shia LaBeouf, Rose Huntington-Whiteley and Tyrese Gibson working on the set of Transformers 3 have sprouted over at Just Jared. The trio and extras dressed up as soldiers are acting on an exterior set made up to resemble a fallen building. According to a JJ source, the building got tipped over by a Decepticon that crashed into it.

USA Today uncovered new plot details for the third Transformers movie. The info comes straight from director Michael Bay and producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura so what follows is 100% legit and confirmed:

• Shockwave is the villain of Transformers 3. Introduced in the 1980s as a Decepticon that remained behind on Cybertron in lieu of the absent Megatron, it sounds like the purple cyclops that transforms into a laser gun will be a bad guy to both the movie's Autobots and Decepticons.
• Part of the movie's plot concerns the true reasons why there was a space race between the Soviet Union and America, and how the Transformers had a hand in it. "The movie is more of a mystery," Bay told the paper. "It ties in what we know as history growing up as kids with what really happened."
• We already know that the two Autobot twins won't be in the three-quel but Bay insures us that the kid-level comedy will also be heavily toned down. Only the return of John Tuturro was given as the new movie's comedic outlet.
• Transformers 3 sounds like it's the end of the road for Michael Bay's involvement with the franchise. "As a trilogy, it really ends," he said. "It could be rebooted again, but I think it has a really killer ending."
• Whomever dies in TF3 will remain dead. No resurrection by the All-Spark, no magical visitation from the Transformers afterlife; whomever dies this time around the Transformers creative team insists will stay dead.
• Said by producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura: "Shia has this great line: 'You know, I've saved the world twice, but I can't get a job.'"
• The TF3 storyline will be more improved over the heavily criticized Transformers 2 faults. "We tried to do too many things in the second movie, which didn't give enough time in any one of them. We were constantly jumping to the next piece of information, the next place," said di Bonaventura.
• On the departure of Megan Fox and the hiring of Rosie Huntington-Whiteley as Shia Labeouf's new love interest, the actor had this to say: "I love Megan and I miss the girl," LaBeouf says, flecked with fake blood and dirt during a break between shooting. "But Sam and Mikaela became one character, and here ... you have discovery again from a new perspective."

Bay's website has confirmed Rosie Huntington-Whiteley has got the job as the new Transformers female lead.

According to Deadline the hunt for a replacement for Megan Fox is down to three contenders: Victoria's Secret model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Sarah Wright (The House Bunny) and Brooklyn Decker, a Sports Illustrated model-turned-actress.

The site updated its story to say that the role is Huntington-Whiteley's to lose and that it's been offered to her. Michael Bay calls action on the set on May 17.