Ten years after thrilling us with one of the best car-chase-scenes-turned-droid-death-match we’ve seen in the history of cinema, Barricade will return in the fifth installment of the Transformers movie franchise. The film, titled the Last Knight, is currently in production and it appears that after seeing the franchise go stale in the third and fourth films, director Michael Bay is dipping into the success of the first movie, including reviving one of the coolest Decepticons in that movie.
Back then, Barricade was a Ford Mustang police cruiser, decked in the familiar black and white colors of law enforcement and sporting a “to punish and enslave…” livery to tout his Decepticon roots. Now that he’s returning to the franchise, Barricade will once again use a Ford Mustang, albeit the current generation model that launched in 2014. A picture of the car tweeted by actor Josh Duhamel is the first official look we get of the new and supposedly meaner Barricade, and judging by the massive body kit fitted into the Mustang, this Decepticon is going to be all business.
The familiar police equipment is there, including the roof lights, the bull bar, and the all-too familiar black and white colors. There’s also a massive body kit highlighted by the extended arches, the huge rear spoiler, and the bulging hood with the two massive scoops. Seems like Barricade is ready to do Megatron’s bidding anew, and from the looks of it, I don’t think he’s forgotten what Bumblebee did to him back in 2007.
Transformers: The Last Knight is scheduled to be released in theaters on June 23, 2017. Duhamel will return to the franchise after a one-movie sabbatical to reprise his role as Lt. Colonel William Lennox. Joining him in the case is Mark Wahlberg, who played Cade Yeager, the lead role in Transformers: Age of Extinction, and franchise newcomer Anthony Hopkins in a yet-to-be-revealed role.
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Why it matters
As horrible as Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon and 4: Age of Extinction} were, I’m still not prepared to turn my back on the movie franchise. Michael Bay earned a lot of equity from me with the first movie and even though it’s been 10 years since that movie was released, it still holds up in my book to this day.
A big reason for that was the whole scene between Bumblebee and Barricade. I’ve probably seen it around 100 times and it has never failed to get my juices flowing. Part of it may have been Bay’s choice of cars. I don’t think it was a coincidence that the scene played out like a muscle car showdown between a dinged up Chevrolet Camaro and a brand new Ford Mustang. I don’t know for certain if there were subliminal hints, but I do know is that both cars turned into giant robots at the end to give us the first real showdown between an Autobot and a Decepticon in the movie franchise. It was glorious on so many levels.
It's 10 years later and the antagonist in that iconic scene is making a dramatic return in the Last Knight. Details on Barricade’s role in the movie have yet to be revealed, but I think there’s an element of revenge in his comeback as he seeks to return the favor to Bumblebee. Obviously, the Autobot will most likely win again because, well, it’s Bumblebee. That much is certain if the two robots lock horns again.
Personally, I’m stoked to see Barricade’s return, if only for the simple reason that I wanted to see how he’d look like in the current-generation Mustang. Judging by the photo that Duhamel tweeted, there’s nothing to worry about regarding Barricade’s look. He’s meaner and a lot angrier-looking than he was in the first movie.