I have a confession to make: I unironically love the live-action Transformers movies. Sure, all of them have their problems. Some considerably more than others. But when that first Transformers adventure hit theaters in 2007, seeing Optimus Prime and the Autobots come roaring onto the big screen was one of those theatergoing experiences that stuck with me. Nearly 20 years later, Paramount may be getting ready to bring that flavor of Transformers back to life.
Steven Spielberg is returning to the franchise in a much more hands-on creative role for the next live-action movie, currently being referred to as Transformers 8, while Michael Bay is in early talks to return as director. Spielberg will serve as executive producer and oversee the creative direction alongside longtime producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura.
Reunited and it feels so good. Spielberg was heavily involved with the first Transformers movie and its 2009 sequel, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, before stepping back from the franchise’s later installments. Bay directed the first five live-action movies, ending with 2017’s Transformers: The Last Knight.
Bay’s return isn’t official yet. TheWrap reports that he is in early talks to direct, so there is still a very real possibility that another filmmaker ultimately takes the job. But if a deal comes together, the director who helped define the live-action franchise could be back behind the camera for its eighth movie.
And as someone who has spent a lot of time watching these crazy explosion-filled flicks, I have to admit that idea is pretty darn exciting.
The live-action Transformers franchise has gone through some serious changes since Bay left. Travis Knight’s Bumblebee took the series in a much smaller and more character-focused direction, while Transformers: Rise of the Beasts expanded the mythology with the Maximals and brought the franchise back into a larger-scale action mode. The animated Transformers One then went all the way back to Cybertron for the origin story of Optimus Prime and Megatron.
Paramount appears to be looking backward again. According to Variety, Spielberg and di Bonaventura want the new movie to have a tone closer to the earlier Transformers films, when Spielberg was more involved creatively. The screenplay is being written by Jason Fuchs, whose recent work includes It: Welcome to Derry, and the story will take place in the modern day. Plot details are otherwise being kept under wraps.
That modern-day setting is worth noting because the franchise has spent the last several years moving around its own timeline. Bumblebee was set in 1987, while Rise of the Beasts took place in 1994. Going back to the present gives the filmmakers a clean opportunity to decide what they want this next chapter to be without being tied to either of those periods.
It also sounds like the previously discussed Transformers/G.I. Joe crossover is no longer the immediate plan. The new movie is being developed separately, while another Transformers and G.I. Joe project had been in development with Jurassic World writer Derek Connolly.
For me, that’s actually a good thing. I love the idea of seeing Optimus Prime eventually throw down with G.I. Joe, but the live-action Transformers franchise needs to remember why audiences showed up in the first place. Give me Autobots and Decepticons. I want a story that makes me care about the humans caught in the middle. Create drama, then unleash robots to absolutely destroy a city.
That’s what the first Transformers understood. The original movie wasn’t perfect, but it knew how to make the arrival of the heroes feel enormous. Spielberg’s involvement helped give that first movie a sense of wonder, while Bay brought the explosive action that took everything to a level we’d never seen before.
There is a lot of baggage attached to the Bay-era movies. The box office numbers, however, are difficult to argue with. The first Transformers and Revenge of the Fallen each earned more than $700 million worldwide, while Transformers: Dark of the Moon and Transformers: Age of Extinction both passed $1 billion. The Last Knight dropped to roughly $600 million worldwide, and the franchise moved in a different direction afterward.
So maybe this is the reset the franchise needs. Not another complete reboot or crossover designed to launch five more movies. Just Transformers. That’s it. That’s all we really want. We’re simple people.
Not that we ever thought he would, but it’s noted by the trades that Shia LaBeouf will not return as Sam Witwicky, and no other cast members have been announced. There isn’t a release date yet, we’ll just have to wait until Bay makes or breaks his deal to direct.
As a true, longtime fan of these movies, I am very interested, and excited, to see what happens when the people who helped launch the live-action Transformers franchise get another shot at it all these years later.
Because if Spielberg and Bay really are getting back together for Transformers 8, I already know what I want to hear when that first trailer starts. That iconic guitar riff. Spielberg’s got the touch. And Bay’s got the power. Let’s go!
