Stanley Tucci Back For Transformers: The Last Knight

Courtesy of insightful set photos unearthed by the BBC a fortnight ago, speculation surrounding Transformers: The Last Knight has been set firmly into overdrive ahead of the sequel’s arrival in 2017.

For instance, the casting of Liam Garrigan (24: Live Another Day) has all but confirmed The Last Knight‘s Arthurian undertones – rumor is that Optimus Prime will be on the hunt for an ancient artefact that could bring about the restoration of Cybertron – but Variety now has firm confirmation that Stanley Tucci will reprise the role of Joshua Joyce.

He’s not the only familiar face bound for Transformers: The Last Knight, after Michael Bay welcomed the return of both Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson from the original trilogy of blockbusters. Granted, Variety didn’t disclose how big a part Tucci’s anti-hero will hold once the robot-vs.-robot action kicks off, but we’ll likely learn more once the first teasers and trailer begin to emerge online.

Speaking of which, The Last Knight is now in active production with Mark Wahlberg, Laura Haddock and Anthony Hopkins all filming scenes for the action sequel. They’re part of a starry ensemble that also includes Peter Cullen, Mitch Pileggi, Santiago Cabrera, and Liam Garrigan.

Heralding a fresh wave of retooled Transformers movies from Paramount, Transformers: The Last Knight is expected to descend into theaters on June 23, 2017. It’ll be followed up by a further two entries into the TF universe, with a possible Bumblebee-centric spinoff in 2018.