Several Metro Detroit locations — including the Pontiac Silverdome and the Packard Plant — were visible in the 25 minutes of footage from this summer’s upcoming “Transformers: The Last Knight” that was screened for audiences Tuesday night.
The scenes included one of a group of kids walking through the dilapidated remains of the Silverdome, which thanks to some digital trickery was set at the outskirts of downtown Chicago.
“Y’all wanna see some dead robots?” one of the kids asked, a nod to the “do you guys wanna go see a dead body?” line from “Stand By Me.” That journey leads them to the piles of rubble outside the Packard Plant, where robots that look like “Robocop’s” ED-209 patrolled the grounds. Naturally, this being a Michael Bay movie and all, it’s not long before stuff starts going kablooey.
Other footage included scenes shot in what looked like the lobby of a downtown Detroit building, and a scene that looked like it was filmed in an East Side neighborhood.
“Transformers: The Last Knight” shot for several weeks in Detroit and in other Michigan locales in summer 2016, receiving $21 million in tax credits on projected in-state spending of $80 million.
The scenes, which were introduced by director Bay, were part of a sneak peek held at the AMC Livonia 20, one of 28 North American cinemas carrying the preview.
A sold-out theater cheered the footage, which kicked off with a medieval battle sequence that involved King Arthur and the Knights of the Roundtable. A quipping robot character with shades of “Star Wars’” C-3PO and described as a “crazy ninja butler” was introduced, along with new characters played by Anthony Hopkins, Jerrod Carmichael, Laura Haddock and Isabela Moner.
Mark Wahlberg, who starred in 2014’s “Transformers: Age of Extinction,” reprises his role as the hilariously named Cade Yeager, an inventor who befriends the Transformers.
In January, Wahlberg talked with The News about the shoot and all the stuff they blew up around Detroit while filming. “You know what the great thing is?” Wahlberg asked. “You blow it up, Dan Gilbert builds it right back.”
“Transformers: The Last Knight” is scheduled to open June 23.
agraham@detroitnews.com
(313) 222-2284
@grahamorama