The last two days have seen the internet blow up with news that Hasbro was in "active" talks with Michael Bay about returning to helm the next two installments of the Transformers franchise. Along with rumors of Jason Statham taking over the lead, both films could be shot back-to-back, with production to kick off as soon as late 2012. Well...Michael Bay says that's all a bunch of hokum. From his official site...
I am currently not talking to Paramount on T4 and T5 despite reports. I'm looking at a lot of possibilities coming my way right now weighing options. Most likely going to be doing the low budget Pain and Gain, a true story crime thriller. It's a very quick shoot and quite funny. Also just finishing the 3 disc set of the Transformer trilogy.
Michael
Before you get too excited, this could all just be a negotiating ploy by Bay, either for more loot or more time to complete Pain and Gain, which he's been wanting to get done for awhile now. I'm bettting that in the end Bay will return, because it's just too perfect of a gig to pass up. And shooting both films back-to-back should speed up the process, allowing him to pursue these other "possibilities" he's currently weighing.
