"Transformers: Age of Extinction," the fourth installment in the "Transformers" movie franchise, proved to be a film in a different direction as it featured Mark Wahlberg instead of Shia Lebouf as its male protagonist, while Megan Fox was replaced by Nicole Peltz, who played Wahlberg's daughter. Although the film was panned by critics, it earned $1.104 billion worldwide, more or less guaranteeing that the franchise's team will be making more "Transformer" movies in the future.
Last year, director Michael Bay said that he would be leaving the franchise to focus on other projects, which made fans wonder if the films will be as successful as the previous installments. But Paramount is determined to keep the franchise going with a team of writers, headed by Akiva Goldsman, sharing ideas and writing scripts.
According to Collider, the team is composed of Zak Penn ("The Incredible Hulk"); Jeff Pinker ("Lost"); Art Marcum and Matt Holloway ("Iron Man"); "The Walking Dead" creator Robert Kirkman; Christina Hodson ("Shut In"); Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari ("Ant Man"); "Black Hawk Down" writers Lindsey Beer and Ken Nolan; and Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Steven S. DeKnight ("Daredevil" TV series).
Speaking to the website at the TCA's for "Daredevil," DeKnight said that writing the next "Transformer" movies has been quite an experience for him as he was in "a room full of brilliant, funny, amazing people." He revealed that one of the best experiences they had while exchanging ideas for the film was when Steven Spielberg dropped by just to talk and to learn about what they've been working on.
"Everybody was about to throw up they were so excited," he said.
Meanwhile, fans are still hoping that Bay might change his mind. Last June, Wahlberg said that there is a possibility that Bay will end up directing "Transformers 5." In an interview with Collider, when asked if he thinks that Bay will direct the film, the actor simply answered, "Yes."
As for the film itself, Wahlberg said that he hasn't heard any updates about the movie, but he did reveal that Goldsman and his team of writers have started to write the screenplay.
"Transformers 5" is slated to premiere in 2017.
