For almost a decade, Paramount and Michael Bay’s live-action Transformers series has set the standard for effects-heavy action blockbusters, financially speaking, with each new installment pulling in hundreds of millions across the globe. Age of Extinction, for instance, broke past $1.1 billion two years ago.
Alas, that success has in many ways been hamstrung by the overriding critical consensus, and it’s fair to say that each new Transformers movie – barring maybe the first – tends to get a critical drumming at the outset. Hoping to reinvigorate its crown jewel, Paramount established a writers room for the franchise late last year, drafting in some of the industry’s finest screenwriters to not only steer TF toward success, but also future-proof the series.
So far, that writers room has yielded plans for three new movies – next year’s Transformers: The Last Knight included – and we now have word that each Transformers spinoff could take place in different historical eras. During an interview with Screen Rant, franchise producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura teased, “you could do [different time periods]. For sure, you could do that. And we’ve examined – you could easily make an argument that in Roman times, you know what I mean? That seems like a good period.”
In related news, director and all-round series stalwart Michael Bay turned in a separate interview with Collider, where the filmmaker admitted that despite his long experience in the blockbuster genre, he currently has no interest in helming a Marvel movie.
“I wouldn’t want to, it’s not my thing, it’s just not my gig. I don’t ever wanna take someone like a third of something or second of something. I gotta do my own thing,” Bay continued, “’cause the most fun is when a real director creates the world. You know, you talk to Ridley Scott, one our favorite things to do is to create the world. Steven Spielberg, create the world. That is what it’s about.” Adding, “If I were to do something I would have to redo it my way.”
Next up for Paramount’s lucrative juggernaut is the release of Transformers: The Last Knight on June 23, 2017. It’s expected to debut its first trailer later today, and we’ll have the big reveal for you right here on We Got This Covered the moment it goes live.
