Paramount Pictures intends to produce its newly confirmed Bumblebee spinoff for a lower cost than the other films in its "Transformers" franchise.

First mentioned as a possibility in May, the film telling “the never-before-heard story of Bumblebee" is now targeted for release on June 8, 2018.

“There are characters in the 'Transformers' universe that can be and should be made into their own movies,” Paramount CEO Brad Grey told The Hollywood Reporter. “We will make the first movie with Michael [Bay] and go right into a Bumblebee movie, which will be at a lower cost.”

Bay, whose four "Transformers" films to date have grossed $3.8 billion, contends he'll say farewell to the franchise with "Transformers 5," which opens June 23, 2017. It will be followed by the Bumblebee movie in 2018, and a film simply referred to as "Transformers 7" on June 28, 2019.