VIDEO: Hailee Steinfeld’s VW Bug Is More Than Meets the Eye in First ‘Bumblebee’ Teaser

Hailee Steinfeld’s first car is a beat-up yellow Volkswagon Beetle that also happens to be a sentient robot from outer space in the debut trailer for “Bumblebee,” the upcoming spinoff from Paramount Pictures’ long-running “Transformers” franchise.

Set along the California coast in the late 1980s, the teaser (above) begins as a teenage girl named Charlie (Hailee) stumbles across a battered yellow VW bug in a junkyard. She takes a shine to it, even giving it a fresh coat of paint, but soon learns the beat-up old car is more than meets the eye. Soon, government agents are after her and her intriguing new ride.

While Michael Bay’s previous five “Transformers” films are chock-full of explosions and stylized action sequences, the “Bumblebee” first look suggests a character-driven, coming of age film that just so happens to include a robot in disguise. Of course, the trailer also teases a few jokes, like a Rick Astley musical gag, and a bit of action courtesy of wrestler, actor, and Stern Show guest John Cena, who plays one of the gun-toting Sector 7 agents in pursuit of the Autobot.

Written by Christina Hodson and directed by Travis Knight (“Kubo and the Two Strings”), the film co-stars Pamela Adlon, Jason Drucker, Kenneth Choi, John Ortiz, and Martin Short.

“Bumblebee” opens Dec. 25. Watch the official teaser (above).