Michael Bay Confirmed to Direct 'Transformers 5', World: 'Nooooo!'

Michael Bay’s Transformers movies, love ‘em or hate ‘em – yeah, mostly hate ‘em – are here to stay. There are plans to make at least FOUR more Transformers films over the next ten years, and Michael Bay is going to be responsible for at least one more.

The news comes from Rolling Stone’s interview with Bay, in which the controversial director casually mentions that he is in fact helming Transformers 5. The article mostly centers on Bay’s latest project, 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi, but the director is quoted confirming his role in the world of Autobots and Decepticons:

“Between his producing duties and directorial work, Bay usually has a half-dozen projects going at once. Right now, in addition to 13 Hours, he’s doing post-production on the next Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which he’s producing and which is due in 2016, and pre-production for the next Transformers, which he’s directing for summer 2017. “I’m doing Transformers … 5, is it?” Bay says, temporarily losing track. He shakes his head. “I’ve taken on a lot of work.”

The appointment is certainly divisive considering the track record of the Transformers movie franchise. Bay has directed all four of the previous installments, which were all critically panned but made loads of money. Considering the latter, I guess it’s no surprise that Bay is back to helm Transformers 5, but it was thought that maybe the franchise would take a new direction after Hasbro announced a partnership with Paramount.

At the MIP Junior Conference in August, Hasbro’s Executive Vice President and Chief Content Officer, Stephen J. Davis explained:

“You're going to see a new Transformers movie coming from Hasbro and Paramount and Michael Bay and our other partners. In fact, we just finished -- as some of you may have read -- an incredible experience. We decided we wanted to plot out the next 10 years of the Transformers franchise, so we got together in a 3 month period of time...nine of some of the most creative writers I have ever worked with -- shepherded by Akiva Goldsman, who many of you may know won an Academy Award for A Beautiful Mind, and written a bunch of great movies. And they plotted out the next ten years of Transformers. Similarly we are doing the same in television and digital. So stay tuned Transformers 5 is on its way. ...And 6 and 7 and 8.”

Transformers movies for the next 10 years supplied by Michael Bay? Needless to say, social users took to Twitter to express their enthusiasm:

Transformers 5 is tentatively scheduled for a summer 2017 release.