Update: Well, it didn't take long for Michael Bay to chime in on his status for Transformers 5. He did direct all the previous installments, and just took to Twitter to say that, though there have been talks, he has not committed to the next chapter just yet.
Original Story: It wasn’t long ago that Michael Bay was distancing himself from Transformers 5. After helming Age of Extinction with a new cast of lead actors, he said he wanted to focus his energy in a new direction and that the dinobot-filled explosion was his final bow in the franchise. However, a new report has emerged confirming Bay, the master of chaos and mayhem, will be back to direct at least one more Transformers movie.
The news comes from Deadline, which reports the future of the Transformers franchise has been decided upon — at least, for the near future. According to the trade, a Transformers writers room of sorts took place to drum up ideas for the property moving forward. Among those included were Christina Hodson, Lindsey Beer, Ant-Man writers Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari, The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman, Iron Man writers Art Marcum and Matt Holloway, Pacific Rim 2 writer Zak Penn, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 writer Jeff Pinkner, Daredevil showrunner Steven DeKnight, and Geneva Robertson-Dworet. For more than two weeks, they pitched ideas to Bay, Steven Spielberg, Paramount, Hasbro, and Transformers producers Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Mark Vahradian. Many of their proposed ideas didn’t make the cut, but at least one did — Transformers 5.
Akiva Goldsman, who supervised this writers room, came out of these pitches with a skeleton for the Age of Extinction follow-up. The plan is for Bay to direct the movie, and while Deadline hints that the director could still turn down the project, he’s expected to sign on. Even if he does, though, the franchise apparently has enough ideas for potential spinoffs to keep the franchise alive. Details on the plot for Transformers 5 are unknown, but it will be laying the groundwork for what could come. Spielberg reportedly acknowledged that five out of the nine pitched ideas could be created into feature films, and Transformers 5 could lead into any number of them.
The report also confirms that Mark Wahlberg will return to star in Transformers 5 as Cade, the rural junker who stumbles upon a Transformer. His daughter was played by Bates Motel’s Nicola Peltz and her boyfriend was played by Jack Reynor – though there is no mention of either of them in the new trade report. The news of Bay’s involvement comes after Transformers voice actor Mark Ryan told The Christian Post that Transformers 5 would focus on two storylines — one will center on Cade and the human struggle, while the second one will focus on the Transformers and the mythology and history behind them.
Transformers: Age of Extinction not only introduced the existence of dinobots, but it also gave the live-action universe Lockdown, an alien bounty hunter of sorts. His ship was filled with imprisoned Transformers, any number of which could arguably make good source material for a new movie. We’ll keep you updated as more details about the project become available.
