Nearly every Transformers character has its share of fans. Even initially despised characters like The Transformers: The Movie’s version of Wheelie (with his annoying rhyme-style way of speaking) have devotees in the modern world. Meanwhile, various initially divisive characters from cartoons like Beast Wars or Transformers Animated have sparked passionate fan bases over the preceding decades. Then there’s the IDW Comics version of Arcee, an initially controversial iteration of the character that deployed storytelling elements some perceived as transphobic. Later rejiggerings of the character have been received extremely positively, including from trans commentators.
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In a fan base this eclectic and expansive, the legion of Transformers fans out there inevitably includes even a handful of fans for characters many dismiss as totally garbage. Good luck finding fans of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen’s Skids and Mudflap, though. These characters, known as The Twins, were immediately lambasted back in 2009 for engaging in harmful racial stereotypes and tired, obnoxious gags. Inevitably, they never appeared in other live-action Transformers media, though, believe it or not, this pair of characters almost made it into 2011’s Transformers: Dark of the Moon.
Where Did The Twins Go?
In the lead-up to Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen’s debut, director Michael Bay constantly emphasized that The Twins were meant to be the new comedic sidekicks that kids could adore. Those ambitions were never realized. Revenge of the Fallen was such a violent and comically lewd feature that it wasn’t quite a hit with the family crowd. Meanwhile, The Twins were such obnoxious creations even beyond commentary on being racial stereotypes that no moviegoers of any age enjoyed their antics. There weren’t hordes of people hoping that The Twins would return for whatever the Transformers saga dished up next.
In the lead-up to Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Bay took a much more repentant approach when talking about The Twins. He explained that this new installment would dial back the comedy in all areas, and that included ditching The Twins entirely. Bay even went so far as to declare in mid-May 2011 that he would hand out $25,000 to any moviegoer “who can find them performing” in Dark of the Moon’s final cut. Bay clearly took the criticism of these characters to heart and made removing them a selling point for why moviegoers should give Dark of the Moon a chance.
Ironically, Skids and Mudflap are in Dark of the Moon, kind of. Tiny orange and green-striped automobiles that were once meant to serve as the fresh alternative modes for Skids and Mudflap can be seen in one wide Dark of the Moon shot. In this shot, the duo are driving alongside the alternate vehicle modes of Autobot comrades like Sideswipe, an indication that Skids and Mudflap were once meant to still be fighting alongside the other heroic robots. It appears Bay and company opted to delete the pair before costly CG effects work was implemented on their robot modes, though this one shot offers a glimpse into how the world almost got more of the most despised Transformers around.
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What Were The Twins Doing in Dark of the Moon?
Tie-in materials for big blockbuster films are not reliable sources of intel on a feature’s plot. Goodness knows how many misleading LEGO sets have been analyzed from every angle over the years as adults on the internet try to parse out what they mean for the newest Marvel or Star Wars movie. Still, recurring plot elements from various Dark of the Moon comics and book adaptations indicate what The Twins’ brief proposed role in Dark of the Moon would’ve been. The IDW comic adaptation of Dark of the Moon especially goes into detail on how they would’ve been the next Autobots to perish at the hands of Sentinel Prime right after this robot killed Ironhide.
Skids would die first before a vengeful Mudflap was obliterated by Prime seconds later. Beyond a desire to clear Dark of the Moon of despised elements like The Twins, it’s easy to see why this sequence was cut from the final film. The slaying of Ironhide is enough to tell audiences that Sentinel Prime is a ruthless foe. Having him also immediately kill Skids and Mudflap would’ve been redundant. Plus, the lengthy nature of these demises (with Skids getting slaughtered before Mudflap dies) would’ve been ill-suited for characters that were so disconnected from Dark of the Moon’s larger plot.
Certainly, some audience members would’ve cheered to the heavens seeing Skids and Mudflap meeting such gruesome demise at the hands of a powerful Transformers villain. However, the robot forms of The Twins were only seen in Revenge of the Fallen, with their automobile forms only showing up for mere seconds in Dark of the Moon. Given how infamous these characters are, who could blame the Transformers producers for making them a one-and-done? Heck, they’ve failed to garner any kind of fan base in even the Transformers fan community, a domain where any robot can become popular.
Transformers: Revnege of the Fallen is now streaming on Paramount+.
