Michael Bay tries to defuse Bumblebeegate

I’m not nostalgia-prone enough to follow the minutiae of the new Transformers live-action movie, but I admit being puzzled by the changes to the scrappy character Bumblebee. Michael Bay’s film recasts the canary-yellow VW Beetle from my childhood as a Chevy Camaro. This news came with heaps of conspiracy buzz, as superfans couldn’t help but notice General Motors being a high-profile “partner” of the movie. One rumor claims Volkswagen shot down the licensing because they don’t want to be affiliated with “war films.”