You may think that the “Transformers” film series has run its course, but Hasbro Studios and Paramount Pictures certainly beg to differ.
In what’s considered a surprise announcement, Hasbro Studios chief content officer Steven J. Davis revealed more details about the future of the “Transfomers” franchise during the MIP Junior Conference over the weekend.
Apparently, not 1, not 2, not 3, but 4 live-action “Transformers” sequels are confirmed to be making their way to the big screen through 2025.
Davis confirmed it during a Q&A session at the MIP Junior Conference that the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th instalments of the series are in the works.
He said:
You’re going to see a new Transformers movie coming from Hasbro and Paramount and Michael Bay and our other partners. We decided that we wanted to plot out the next 10 years of the Transformers franchise, so we got together in a room over a 3-month period of time.
He added that the writers are “9 of some of the most creative writers” that he has ever worked with.
Those who are in the “Transformers” universe writers’ room include “Daredevil” showrunner Steven DeKnight and Geneva Robertson-Dworet, “Black Hawk Down” scribe Ken Nolan, “Walking Dead” creator Robert Kirkman, “Iron Man” scribes Art Marcum and Matt Holloway, Jeff Pinkner, Zak Penn, Andrew Barrer, and Gabriel Ferrari.
It is spearheaded by Academy Award-winning screenwriter Akiva Goldsman.
Davis confirmed that TV and digital storylines are in the works too, but so far the only confirmed sequel is “Transformers 5“.
No director is attached to that project yet and Bay tweeted last month that he has “not committed to any idea as of yet”:
Re: directing TF5. No, it's not official. I have not committed to any idea as of yet. Just met with Steven and we are discussing.
— Michael Bay (@michaelbay) September 17, 2015
If you think about it, this is like Hasbro’ version of Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), except that it centres on the CG car-robots. Of course, you should know that Paramount Pictures did have plans to turn the entire franchise into a cinematic connected universe ala MCU style.
It’s easy to understand why the studios would want to keep milking the franchise because 2014’s “Transformers: Age of Extinction”, which was directed by Bay, topped a billion dollars across the globe and broke records in China. On top of that, the movies sell tonnes of toys as well as other movie merchandise.
However, we’re not entirely sure how to feel about this whole cinematic universe. We definitely had fun watching the first film, but we thought the rest of them were less-than-stellar, even though they did well at the global box office.
Since 4 more sequels are being planned now, do you think they will attract the same crowd and bring in new audiences as well?
