Rumor Patrol: Michael Bay Is Not Making A Secret ‘Thundercats’ Movie
Update: Writer Rhett Reese has shot down this rumor on Twitter. Our original article continues with an update at the bottom of the post.
DirectorMichael Bayhas spent more than a decade working onTransformersmovies with only a few scattered non-Transformersprojects in between. But now a new rumor says Bay is working on a live-action adaptation of a different 1980s cartoon.
IGN claims Bay is at the helm of a secretThundercatsmovie for Netflix withDeadpoolstarRyan Reynoldsin a lead role – and the film is in productionright now. Read more about today’s wackiest film-related rumor below.
What We Know
Here’s what we know for sure: Michael Bay and Ryan Reynolds have teamed up to make a movie (a co-production between Netflix and Skydance Productions), and it’s filming right now with a script fromDeadpoolandDeadpool 2writersRhett ReeseandPaul Wernick. We also know the film is Netflix’smost expensive original movie yet. All signs point to the movie being calledSix Underground, which wasreportedto be about “six billionaires who fake their own deaths and form an elite team to take down bad guys.”
But now a new report has come along to claim thatSix Undergroundis actually a secretThundercatsmovie. Yes, the sameThundercatsfrom the 1980s animated series about cat-human aliens. Here’s the intro of the old show:
The report comes fromIGN Middle East, which says that “while the action flick is said to be a war movie, IGN Middle East has learned that the film – which will be shot in Abu Dhabi, UAE in November of this year – is actually an adaptation of Thundercats, the hugely popular cartoon series from the 80s.” Their source is someone who’s working with the Abu Dhabi production unit, the same person who told them that Simon Pegg would appear inStar Wars: The Force Awakens(which also filmed there). IGN claimsSix Undergroundis merely a codename used to avoid leaks and divert attention from the project.
The Case Against
IGN’s article linked to a different outlet’s piece from 2012 that listed Bay as a producer on aThundercatsmovie. That linked article turned out to be a fake that was written on April Fools Day, so IGN has since updated their report with a link to adifferentarticle which also lists Bay as a producer. Butthatarticle doesn’t cite any sources for the claim and is most likely based on the information that appeared in that same fake April Fools Day piece.
Setting that aside, would Bay really want to jump fromTransformersright into another geek-friendly ’80s property? It seems like that’s the type of movie he’s trying to get away from, not embrace.
Former /Film writer and friend of the site Germain Lussier is currently on vacation in Florence, Italy and came across Bay filmingSix Underground. you’re able to check out his whole thread, but there’s no Lion-O, Cheetara, or Snarf to be seen.
So, Michael Bay is filming his Netflix movie outside of my hotel in Florence today. That’s him in the middle.pic.twitter.com/Wz54yUKXBE
— Germain Lussier (@GermainLussier)July 21, 2025
WAIT! Finally. Here’s some Bayhem at magic hour here in Florence. ~Fin~pic.twitter.com/n7i3sk4rTh
Looks an awful lot like a regular ‘ol action movie to me.
And then there’s the new animatedThundercatsTV series,Thundercats Roar, which seems to imply that the franchise is moving in a more kid-friendly direction. A Michael Bay-directed action movie starring the guy who plays a foul-mouthed superhero doesn’t exactly seem like it’s on the same wavelength as this new show.
The Case For
As much as I’m on board with seeing Bay step back into the kind of high-octane action thrillers of his early filmography, I’d be lying if I said that I had no interest in seeing how in the hell this seemingly modern action film might also be a Thundercats movie. If Ryan Reynolds’ character’s name is John Lyono, andMelanie Laurentis playing someone named Chi Tara, does that technically count as a fresh take on aThundercatsmovie?
At this point, Netflix might want to consider having a conversation with Reese and Wernick to see if they can retroactively make this aThundercatsmovie even if it isn’t one. (Not really. That was a joke, andSix Undergroundis almost certainly not aThundercatsmovie.)
Besides,The Onionwrote about Bay directing aThundercatsmovie in 2009, so this would be pretty ridiculous if it ended up actually happening. We’ve reached out to Netflix about this and will update this article if we hear back.
Update: Writer Rhett Reese has gone on the record to deny this, and we’ve heard from a separate source close to the production that IGN’s report is not accurate. We’ll update again if we hear an official response from Netflix.
— Rhett Reese (@RhettReese)August 07, 2025
