Optimus Prime and the rest of the Autobots return in Transformers: Dark of the Moon, the third instalment of the blockbuster movie franchise. Earth will be under siege as a once-dormant Cybertronian spaceship is activated and unleashes a terrible danger upon the world. The spacecraft’s potentially vast power draws the vile Decepticons out in space and into the Moon.

Series regulars Bumblebee, Ironhide, and Ratchet return to assist Optimus Prime. They will be joined by new Autobots Sideswipe, Mirage, and Silverbolt. Making things interesting for the Autobots is the appearance of Sentinel Prime, one of the strongest Autobots previously thought dead. Fans of the franchise will get to pick up shirts depicting Transformers which include these characters when the film comes out.

Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) returns to aid the Autobots and the U.S. Government fight against the new alien threat. Model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, as Carly Miller, replaces Megan Fox as Sam’s love interest. Returning actors include John Turturro, Josh Duhamel, and Tyrese Gibson.

The theme song of the movie will be Linkin Park’s track Iridescent. The previous theme songs of the first two movies also featured songs from the band, namely What I’ve Done, and New Divide. Additional artists featured in the movie soundtrack is Paramore, an American rock band.

The 1980s robot toyline from the Hasbro company was the source material for the Dreamworks franchise. The franchise’s box office success – over $1.5 billion in grosses worldwide – has revitalized the toy line’s popularity. The video game versions accompanying each movie’s release has also been selling well, as are the new shirts with Transformers on them and toy models.

The appeal of the movies so far is certainly not limited to kids, Transformers tees can be seen being worn by kids and adults alike. Director Michael Bay has said that Dark of the Moon will be his last with franchise, but the series is still expected to continue with or without his involvement. Explosions, explosions, and more explosions are the trademark of director Michael Bay, as seen in his other works Armageddon, Bad Boys, and The Rock.