When fans think of the title "Transformers: The Last Knight," they probably think of Optimus Prime, acting on behalf of the creators he swore to confront. They might also think of Bumblebee, who allegedly gets torn apart like Ironhide in "Dark of the Moon," and whose alleged death seems all too temporary with his own movie coming out later.
This knight might actually be hot rod, who is introduced for the first time in the Michael Bay-verse. Combined with what appeared to be the hint of Unicron in the first trailer, it may be time to brush up on what happened in the animated movie from decades ago.
The animated movie might be getting some nods this time
Though Galvatron was also introduced in the same film, he seems to have adopted his original name for "Transformers 5." Now known once again as Megatron, and with Optimus Prime now seeming to have switched sides after his chat with the makers, someone else may need to step up and lead the Autobots. In the animated movie, it was originally Ultra Magnus who Optimus handed off the Matrix of Leadership to, but he couldn't open it.
It wasn't until Hot Rod was literally against the wall and surrounded by threats that the Matrix of Leadership opened up and merged with his spark, turning him into Rodimus Prime. For fans of the G1 set of characters, it was almost a slap in the face to see such a reckless young Autobot inherit the honor of leader.
Of course, the imminent threat of the planet-eating Unicron overshadowed this relatively minor problem and the Autobots eventually prevailed.
At the loss of a leader and a faithful servant to that leader, it may be Hot Rod who steps up and takes Optimus' place. It might also be only temporary if it turns out Optimus was simply mind washed.
The new female Izabella lead might "adopt" Hot Rod
Much like Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) did in the first three "Transformers" films with Bumblebee, we seem to have a young girl dead set on helping take down the threat in the wake of what appears to be a Cybertronian apocalypse. Izabella's (Isabela Moner) courage mirrors Sam's so much that it seems her role could be just as important as that of the potential new Autobot leader.
As the trailers have also shown, Mark Wahlberg's Cade Yeager is also attempting to keep the Dinobots in check. a lot seems to have changed this time around, and we can probably expect some massive changes. While Michael Bay being in the director's chair is one thing many fans wish would change (he tried to back out, but nobody would take his place), perhaps Hot Rod is the key to bringing the core fan base back.
