"Transformers 5" will blast into cinemas in two years time. However, there are still scores of creases Paramount Pictures has to iron out before the highly-anticipated movie officially gets off the ground, one of which is the person who will be directing the installment.
Rumors are raging about Michael Bay's return to the director's seat. Months back, there were speculations that the director, who piloted all four "Transformers" movies (which are all blockbuster hits), will be passing the mantle to another and that he is off to direct something that's robot-free.
However, actor Mark Walhberg, who was rumored to be leaving the franchise but eventually turned out to be willing to go for another round of mechanoid action, revealed that Bay might be back to direct "Transformers 5." In addition, there are rumors that Paramount wants the director back as well.
This fueled the speculations that Bay may return after all. Besides, he was the one who took the reins on all of the films in the franchise and the last one that stars Wahlberg grossed $1.1 billion. Needless to day, the "Transformers" franchise is one of the most money-spinning gems Paramount has.
This leads to the studio's plan to breed the robot mythology into hosts of spinoffs and films, which can tackle multiple timelines. This also, in turn, opens the possibility of comebacks such as Shia Labeouf (who, the last time he spoke about the franchise, did not sound interested) and Megan Fox, who already said she is willing to return if Labeouf will.
"We think there are any number of stories to be told from the brand that has been around for 30 years with amazing canon and mythology. We would expect the sequel to the Transformers movie [TF4] to happen in 2017," Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner was quoted as saying in one of its earnings conference.
In order to pull that off, Goldner revealed that they enlisted the talents of Oscar-winning screenwriter Akiva Goldsman, who will lead the "writers' room," in determining the direction of the "Transformers" franchise, presumably, with Bay.
