Transformers 6: Where is John Cena and Hailee Steinfeld? The absence of the “Bumblebee” stars explained

• With “Rise of the Beasts” the 7th “Transformers” live action film has already started.
• The film takes place after “Bumblebee” and before the other “Transformers” productions.
• However, there is no trace of the stars from “Bumblebee” in the film.

After the “Transformers” trilogy with Shia LaBeouf, the main actors for the next two films were changed, after Sam Witwicky, Mark Wahlberg as Cade Yeager was now the new contact for Optimus Prime and his Autobots. But although the later films were extremely successful, especially in China, interest in Michael Bay’s “Transformers” productions slowly waned.

With “Bumblebee”, the first spin-off in the series, the “Transformers” films experienced a rejuvenation treatment that not only convinced the audience but also the critics. The family-friendly action-adventure held back with chaotic material battles and convinced with a lot of humor.

After the release in 2018, things went quiet for the Transformers, only now is the next big cinema event awaiting us. It is surprising that “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” is not a “Bumblebee” sequel, which seemed inevitable a few years ago.

However, “Rise of the Beasts” is a new start and takes place between “Bumblebee” and the first “Transformers” film from 2007. With Anthony Ramos (“In the Heights”) as Noah Diaz and Dominique Fishback (“Swarm of Bees”) as Elena Wallace, there are two new main characters, Optimus Prime, Bumblebee and Co. are of course back.

But what became of Charlie Watson (Hailee Steinfeld) and Jack Burns (John Cena) from “Bumblebee”?

Appearance of the “Bumblebee” stars in “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts”?

It is already known that neither Hailee Steinfeld nor John Cena will appear in “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts”. Since the film takes place only 7 years after “Bumblebee”, a return of them could have been quite possible, but there just wasn’t room for them in this story.

Steinfeld and Cena aren’t ruling out a return, but neither has a Bumblebee sequel or a reunion with their characters in another film been confirmed. However, future productions following Rise of the Beasts may feature Charlie Watson and Jack Burns as human support.

“Tranformers” producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura has already emphasized that he hopes to bring John Cena back into the “Transformers” universe after Cena was last seen in “Fast & Furious 10” for the second time as Jacob Toretto. Steinfeld doesn’t want to get his hopes up too high, but if the opportunity arises, she’d be back as Charlie Watson too.