Hailee Steinfeld: My 'Bumblebee' character doesn't have special powers but she is a superhero

Actor Hailee Steinfeld says she loved the idea of playing a young female character who is a normal girl in Transformers spin-off Bumblebee. The 22-year-old actor plays the role of a headstrong vulnerable teenager Charlie Wilson who befriends the affable autobot Bumblebee in the Travis Knight-directed film.

How Wilson and Bumblebee end up helping each other in times of crisis is the plot.

"She doesn't have any special powers but she has the qualities of a superhero. She is brave, strong, smart and fully capable to handle obstacles that come her way.

"Although she might not necessarily know that, she discovers that with a help of a Transformer friend named 'Bumblebee'. I feel lucky to be part of a story that feels honest, real and authentic," she said at a press conference here.

John Cena, who plays the hardened Lieutenant Jack Burns and holds a grudge against the Transformers, said it was "total luck" that brought him to the project.

"I didn't know the script was for this movie. They were casting for the film. I started reading it. It read really well. It reads like a good book that you can't put down. I then met this guy and this guy (points at the producer and the director). He said about me (pointing at Knight), 'He's alright' Then he did this (shows a thumbs up)," Cena, 41, quipped.

Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura said narrating Bumblebee's story was the easiest choice as the team wanted to make a "really human story".

"He's the most accessible, fun and emotional. In trying to make a really human story, you would need the most human of all Transformers. He's a fan favourite. We always had fun in the other movies. Bumblebee was our favourite character. So it was pretty much easy to sign on that," he said.

The film also features Jorge Lendeborg Jr, John Ortiz, Jason Drucker, and Pamela Adlon.

Releasing on January 4, 2019, Bumblebee - A Paramount Pictures movie will be exclusively distributed in India by Viacom18 Motion Pictures.