Despite "Transformers: Age of Extinction" being universally bashed by film viewers and critics alike, a Deadline report says Paramount Pictures is working with screenwriter Akiva Goldsman to expand the "Transformers" franchise into its own cinematic universe. According to the report, Paramount is organizing a "writer's room" with Goldsman, director Michael Bay, Steven Spielberg, and Lorenzo di Bonaventura with the goal of drafting a "multi-part" sequel and potential spin-off films set in the same universe as the four movies already released.
It comes as no surprise that Paramount is giving a lot of attention to its "Transformers" property, given that the fourth film grossed $1.1 billion worldwide. It also broke new records as it earned $320 million in China, surpassing "Avatar" as China's largest blockbuster hit.
Despite the announcement of Goldsman leading the creative team, Deadline reports that he may not actually pen any of the planned "Transformers" films but instead serve as a supervisor and creative director, along with producers Bonaventura and Spielberg.
Bay, on the other hand, has not yet confirmed if he will be coming back to direct the next "Transformers" sequel or spin-off. The director has taken a break to work on the Benghazi drama flick, "13 Hours." It has been suggested that the director's chair may be offered to someone else.
Paramount Pictures is taking a page from what Disney has shown to be a successful endeavor. Disney launched the first successful cinematic universe with its Marvel property and it is looking to repeat that success with the main "Star Wars" episodes and spin-offs such as "Star Wars: Rogue One."
Warner Bros. is following suit and already launched its own DC cinematic universe that began with "Man of Steel" and will continue with "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice," "Suicide Squad," and "Justice League." 20th Century Fox also has its "X-Men" and "Fantastic Four" cinematic universes.
