But It Came Out in 2007 / "Directed by Michael Bay"

About

But It Came Out In 2007 is a memetic trend of video parodies that were popularized in August 2022, particularly on Twitter. The trend sees people edit the final scenes of popular films with Linkin Park's song "What I've Done" as the soundtrack, typically using the catchphrase and phrasal template "X but it came out in 2007." Memes usually overlay the song's piano riff over the film's final moments, and the film's title card appears as Chester Bennington sings the word "Done." Following the trend, memes ending with the original Transformers credits, which begin with Directed by Michael Bay, saw spread on TikTok and other platforms.

Origin

The trend appears to have been inspired by Michael Bay's 2007 film Transformers, which used Linkin Park's "What I've Done" to transition from the film's final scene into the end credits (shown below).

On August 17th, 2022, Twitter user @CastCretaceous^[1] posted the first iteration of the meme, editing "What I've Done" into the final scene of Jurassic World. The tweet gained over 11,000 retweets and 86,000 likes in one week (shown below).

Spread

Over the following week, many Twitter users posted iterations on the trend. High engagement examples include an August 20th, 2022, tweet by Twitter user @TheChunkierBean^[2] that had "What I've Done" play over the end of Halo 2, gaining over 2,800 retweets and 26,000 likes in four days (shown below, top). Another notable iteration was an August 18th tweet by user @mane_tank,^[3] which used the song at the end of Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers, gaining over 940 retweets and 3,200 likes in one week (shown below, bottom).

The meme surged in virality on August 22nd and 23rd, 2022, as several other iterations began going viral on Twitter. Notable examples include a clip by Twitter user @AlingMedia^[4] that used the final scene from The Godfather, gaining over 9,400 retweets and 54,000 likes in one day (shown below, top). Another by @EzraCubero^[5] used the song over the final scene of Knives Out, gaining over 5,500 retweets and 47,000 likes in a similar timeframe (shown below, bottom).

Expansion Into Other Years

As "But it came out in 2007" memes went viral on Twitter in late August 2022, many users attempted similar styles by indulging in cliche credits transitions from other time periods, expanding on the initial 2007-specific trend. These were similar to the "But it came out in 2007" parodies, but used music and credits styles from other time periods. For example, on August 25th, Twitter user @jaybauman posted an edit to the ending of Eyes Wide Shut that included Disturbed's "Down with the Sickness," gaining over 2,200 retweets and 16,000 likes in less than 24 hours (shown below, top). On August 23rd, Twitter user @jeffehobbs posted a "Godfather-in-1999" parody that found Smash Mouth's "All Star" playing over the final scene, gaining over 20 retweets and 150 like in three days (shown below, bottom).

Other examples include an August 25th, 2022, tweet by user @Calumshinlan that used Imogen Heap's "Hide and Seek" over the end of Schitt's Creek, gaining over 180 retweets and 1,800 likes in less than one day (shown below, top). On August 23rd, Twitter user @hsmtpod posted an example that used New Radicals' "You Gotta Get What You Give" over the ending of Knives Out, gaining over 10 retweets and 140 likes in three days (shown below, bottom).

Various Examples

Search Interest

Unavailable.

External References