Changes are definitely in store for Michael Bay's Transformers 4, which he didn't really want to do but was convinced to come back for anyway. We already know that the bulk of the human cast will be gone, including Shia Labeouf, Josh Duhamel, and Tyrese, although I'm betting Bay will find some room for another Victoria's Secret model. For what he says will be his final film in the franchise before turning over the reins, Bay also revealed to the LA Times that we may be seeing Optimus Prime and his gang of Autobots heading into outer space. Maybe even to Cybertron?
Bay: “That feels like the way to go, doesn’t it? I want to go alittle off but I don’t want to go too sci-fi. I still want to keep it grounded. That’s what works in these movies, that’s what makes it accessible.”
We really haven't seen much of the Transformers' home planet of Cybertron yet, so it would make sense for Bay to want the story to go there for a little while. With so much turnover in the cast, and a new director on the horizon, some have speculated that we could be on the verge of a reboot. Bay makes it pretty clear that a reboot isn't what he and writer Ehren Kruger are planning at all...
Bay: “It’s not a reboot. That’s maybe the wrong word. I don’t want to say 'reboot' because then people will think we’re doing a 'Spider-Man' and starting from the beginning. We’re not. We’re taking the story that you’ve seen — the story we’ve told in three movies already — and we’re taking it in a new direction. But we’re leaving those three as the history. It all still counts... We’re moving on to something different.”
I still have my doubts that Bay will actually leave when all is said and done, and although he tried to sound definitive in this statement, all I see is him leaving the door slightly cracked open...
Bay: “Here’s the thing, it’s tough to find someone who’s done these kind of movies and to have the complication of creating the new stuff that needs to be in this movie – not just characters but a new type of action, I hope – and that’s a lot for someone new to bite off. And so after this one I will leave it in the best hands possible. That’s the plan.”
So...what if Bay feels he's the "best hands possible" for the job? Yeah, see what I mean? Whatever the case, Bay says that Transformers 4 will feature a scaled down budget, down about $30M from Dark of the Moon. That still leaves a budget hovering around $165M, a massive sum for anybody else, but nothing when you figure that the franchise has made over $2.5B. Not too shabby.
With everything that's swirling around Transformers 4, this may be the most interesting one to follow yet. Look for it to hit theaters on June 29th 2014, and we should be hearing about a release date for Bay's crime comedy, Pain and Gain, before too long.
