Whether you love or hate his particular filmmaking style, there's no question that Michael Bay has developed a trademark in Hollywood. He is known for big, stylish action set pieces, and no franchise has epitomized that idea more than his work on the Transformers franchise. We are on pins and needles waiting for Transformers: The Last Knight to debut this summer, but it now seems that Bay may already be signing on for his next project--one which may see him scale things down in the quest to capture notorious drug lord El Chapo.
According to Variety, Michael Bay is currently in talks to helm an adaptation of Hunting El Chapo. As the title of the source material suggests, the story centers on the quest to capture infamous cartel leader Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera -- who was recently extradited to the United States after a worldwide manhunt. Bay has not signed a deal yet (he is in talks to either produce, or produce and direct), but if he does sign on the dotted line to direct the adaptation, then we can reasonably expect Hunting El Chapo to feature a ton of explosive action and carnage.
While it might seem strange for this to be Michael Bay's next project, the director has said that Transformers: The Last Knight may be his last directorial effort in that franchise. Which is OK by us if these are the sorts of projects he will take. It's awesome to once again see Michael Bay leveling his sights on a gritty and grounded crime drama such as this. Bay earned his reputation in Hollywood as a fantastic action filmmaker with movies like Bad Boys and The Rock, so our hope remains high that he can return to his roots and deliver a similarly gripping and intense thriller with the Hunting El Chapo adaptation. Considering the recent success of movies like Sicario and TV shows such as Narcos, it is pretty clear that now could be a good time for that type of story. Time to strike while the iron is hot.
Having said this, it will undoubtedly be interesting to see how Michael Bay handles this particular true story as he moves back into the realm of historical fiction. Between his work on films like Pearl Harbor, Pain & Gain, and 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi, he has proven that he does not necessarily enslave himself to every detail of a story. He dramatizes and adds stylish flares wherever necessary, so there's reason to believe that this El Chapo film will not necessarily be 100% historically accurate. Of course, as long as it is an exciting adventure that at the very least captures the spirit of the source material, we will not mind
We will bring you more information about Michael Bay's work on the upcoming adaptation of Hunting El Chapo as new details become available to us. For now, you can catch his work on Transformers: The Last Knight when the latest shape-shifting robot adventure blasts its way into theaters on June 23, 2017. If you are looking for more information concerning the rest of 2017's major film debuts, check out our movie premiere guide!
