To date, Marvel and DC Comics movies have attracted a wide range of filmmakers. We've seen them put in the hands of big names like Christopher Nolan, Kenneth Branagh, and Sam Raimi, but also indie auteurs like Joss Whedon, James Gunn and David Ayer. It's been clearly demonstrated that any random day could deliver news about a surprising director taking on a superhero property. If you're waiting for the day Michael Bay takes on one of these projects, however, you should definitely exhale now, as he has no interest in taking on a blockbuster that he can't say is entirely his own making.
Along with a group of other reporters, Collider got to speak with Michael Bay on the set of the upcoming Transformers: The Last Knight, and it was during their interview that the filmmaker expressed his opinion about the comic book movie genre. Bay was asked if he would have any interest taking on a Marvel or DC property at some point in the future, and he plainly explained why it's not something he wants to do. Said the director,
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, because 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. If I were to do something I would have to redo it my way.
Michael Bay is clearly specifically talking about the respective Marvel and DC Cinematic Universes, which at this point have both been built on a foundation of several movies. It seems that Bay really doesn't have any interest in continuing a story that was started by other filmmakers. It's a pretty narrow perspective, particularly when you consider the unique work that James Gunn was able to do on Guardians of the Galaxy, which is very much separate from most of the MCU audiences are familiar with, but clearly Bay only has interest in making franchises from the ground up.
In the interview, Michael Bay did note that he has certainly appreciated films within the genre, specifically citing Jon Favreau's Iron Man and Joe and Anthony Russo's Captain America: Civil War, but he also does question how much gas is in the tank, noting that Civil War and Zack Snyder's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice had plots built on similar ideas.
Based on his recent production and work habits, it seems that Michael Bay has very much fallen into a familiar "one for them, one for me" groove, breaking up his work on Transformers films with titles like Pain & Gain and 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi. Of course, that means that whatever lies beyond Transformers: The Last Knight is currently a total mystery.
