Despite the fact that Mark Wahlberg is signed on for several pictures in the Transformers universe, the expanding realm of Optimus Prime and his enemies doesn't necessarily have to focus on his protagonist, Cade Yeager, in its next installment. Fortunately for Wahlberg and his fans though, the man himself has confirmed that he is indeed coming back for some bot busting action in Transformers 5.
On the red carpet for his latest film, Daddy's Home, the action star was asked by CinePop if he was ready to return to the world of robots and humans at war. Without playing coy, or mincing any words, Wahlberg unequivocally responded to the affirmative. While the film is looking to start production early next year, having Wahlberg locked down is probably a good move if Paramount is looking to secure future involvement from Michael Bay.
While the franchise father originally said that he wasn't going to direct the fifth installment in the series, he recently admitted that he was taking meetings with Steven Spielberg and discussing pitches. Considering that Bay not only trusted Mark Wahlberg to keep the franchise's torch alive as the lead of last year's Transformers: Age Of Extinction, but also pulled off a hell of a coup casting him in the smaller, more personal Pain And Gain, it wouldn't be surprising if Wahlberg's return was either an indicator that the deal has been made, or a move to help secure Bay's stake in the franchise.
Say what you will about Transformers: Age Of Extinction, but as far as the financial end goes the film was a juggernaut. Even with a new lead character in Wahlberg's Cade Yeager, the series only suffered a slight loss compared with the results of Transformers: Dark Of The Moon's final result. To switch the top-lining actor this early in a new sequence of films could serve to confuse moviegoers, unless through some miracle of science Shia LaBoeuf was willing to return back to the franchise. But even then, the audience is primed for Wahlberg, and Wahlberg they shall get. You can watch the full, yet short, interview with the actor below.
Transformers 5 may be a mostly unknown quantity for the time being, but you can bet that with Mark Wahlberg's place secured in the cast of the 2017 sequel , the wheeling and dealing can begin to see who else is ready to take a spin in the franchise that always promises more than meets the eye.
