Michael Bay In Final Talks For ‘Transformers 4’? [Updated]
In October, the president of Hasbro made news when he said that his company wasin talkswith Paramount,Steven SpielbergandMichael Bayto make a fourthTransformersfilm, or perhaps back to back fourth and fifth films. Bay quicklydeniedthat he was in talks (“I am currently not talking to Paramount on T4 and T5 despite reports”) and the story quieted down to some extent, though Spielberghas saidthat he’d like moreTransformersout of Bay, too.
But now there is a new report that Bay is in final talks to direct a fourthTransformersfilm, and that it would be shot in late 2012, after he finishes his"low-budget" moviePain and Gain.
Update:As we assumed, Bay has weighed in on his own website about this news, and he says he is still undecided about the fourth Transformers movie. His quote is below.Vulturehas the report, citing unnamed insiders. The site also says that the director’s long-held desire to makePain and Gainis one thing that got in the way of commitment to a fourthTransformersmovie. If this deal is finished, and Vulture seems to think that will be as early as next week, Paramount will getPain and Gaingoing early next year to keep the director happy and then get Bay back to work making another $200m merchandising commercial.
This goes along with Bay’s most recent comment about the possibility of a fourth film, which he gave at the grand opening of Transformers: The Ride:
We’re talking about it, but there’s nothing right now. I’m going to do a tiny movie first, then we’ll talk about it, if I potentially do it.
What’sT4going to be about? Vulture says,
…the details of the next cyborg saga are being kept secret, but we’re told that it is definitely not a prequel, and that it will delve deeper into Transformers canon to mine older characters and lore.
Then again, the mundane concerns of story have never been a big part of this film series.Dark of the Moonseemed to me like Bay’s general Transformers approach taken to an extreme — almost totally disinterested in story and character, focusing entirely on almost fetishistic robot combat. What does he do to top that? And does he rope Shia LaBeouf back in, despite the actor having said more than once that he is done?
Michael Bay is often quick to comment on reports such as this, but so far he hasn’t taken to his favorite podium — the forums on his own website. Keep an eyeherefor any statement from Bay, and we’ll update as studio or producer/director-vetted info becomes available.
Update:And here’s Bay’s statement.He says,
